In an “unprecedented” case, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) is turning to the Superior Court of Quebec in the hope of obtaining compensation of $205,000 for a black resident of Terrebonne who has been arrested many times in a few years simply because he was driving his wife’s car.
According to the CDPDJ, which validated 13 of the 15 complaints related to police arrests submitted to it by Pierre Marcel Monsanto, of Haitian origin, the man was the victim of discrimination, racial profiling and harassment from 18 agents. of the City of Terrebonne Police Department. Normally, this type of case is brought before the Human Rights Tribunal, which comes under the Court of Quebec, but the CDPDJ decided this time to opt instead for the Superior Court.
“We are here to talk to you about a case that is truly unprecedented,” said Fo Niemi at a press conference Wednesday in Montreal. who accompanies Mr. Monsanto in this legal process.
According to Mr. Niemi, the exceptional nature of this legal action is due not only to the fact that the CDPDJ is turning to the Superior Court to have it heard, but also because of the size of the sums claimed.
The Commission is thus claiming $170,000 from the City of Terrebonne, while the 18 police officers involved in these police interceptions, which occurred between September 2018 and April 2021, are each called upon to provide financial compensation to Mr. Monsanto, for a total of 35 $000.
Each time Pierre Marcel Monsanto was arrested, he was driving his spouse’s car. The police thus used the reason that he was driving another person’s vehicle to intercept him on the road, which the Highway Safety Code does not prohibit. The CDPDJ notes, however, that the repeated police arrests show that Mr. Monsanto suffered “discriminatory harassment” from Terrebonne police officers.
“Can you imagine being stopped every time you drive your spouse’s vehicle to go shopping, take your children to school or daycare? launched Pierre Marcel Monsanto, who confided to live a lot of anxiety. “I hope that the courts will declare that this kind of arrest is not only discriminatory, but also illegal,” he added. He also plans to leave Terrebonne, where he no longer feels “safe”.
In late October, Superior Court Judge Michel Yergeau declared traffic stops without a real reason illegal, as they are often accompanied by racial profiling. A decision that the Quebec government has decided to appeal.
Further details will follow.