Judge in Quebec racial profiling case orders end to random traffic stops

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has issued a major racial profiling ruling today, invalidating laws that allow police to randomly pull over drivers for traffic stops.

Justice Michel Yergeau ruled today on a constitutional challenge to random stops, writing that racial profiling exists and that it’s a reality that weighs heavily on Black people.

The challenge heard this year was brought by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a Black Montreal resident who said he had been stopped by police nearly a dozen times without reason.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association intervened on his behalf, arguing that random stops by police violate equality rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Luamba and the civil rights group challenged the power of Canadian police to stop drivers without a reasonable suspicion that an offence had been committed, though they did not challenge structured police traffic stops such as drunk-driving checkpoints.

In his ruling, Yergeau says rights protected by the Charter cannot depend on the good will of police, and ethics and justice must go hand in hand.

The judge ruled there would be a six-month delay until the rules allowing random stops are officially invalid.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2022.

The Canadian Press