The Ontario Human Rights Commission is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into what it says is racial profiling and racial discrimination by Toronto police.

Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane says the inquiry will focus on the activities of the police service from Jan. 1, 2010, to June 30, 2017.

Mandhane says racial profiling and discrimination has been allowed to continue for decades and has undermined public trust in police.

The inquiry will assess whether the practices of the police service were consistent with racial profiling and discrimination against the black community in a number of areas including stops, questioning and use of force.

The commission has asked the service and the province's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, to turn over a wide range of data to determine how and where racial profiling exists in law enforcement.

The commission says it will examine the police service culture, training, policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms.

