No, racial profiling is not acceptable

Quebec Premier François Legault can be daunting at times.

The Superior Court has just rendered an important decision on Tuesday in the matter of racial profiling. In six months, Quebec police will no longer have the arbitrary power to intercept a motorist without real reason. Because in practice, this type of interceptions without reason leads to racial profiling against black people. It violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ruled the Superior Court.

The Legault government has not announced whether it will appeal the judgment, but that did not prevent the Prime Minister from making an irresponsible statement.

“We have already put in place measures against racial profiling. However, when we talk about random arrests, we have to understand that we have to let the police do their job. When you see the violence there is in Montreal in certain neighborhoods, you also have to… […] I completely trust the police […] It’s not about racial profiling, it’s about making sure we stop the violence in Montreal,” Legault said Wednesday.

There are two gigantic problems with this statement. First, this kind of shortcut fuels prejudice. Second, Quebec kind of argued the opposite in court.

For the Attorney General of Quebec (PGQ) as for the Association of Police Directors, the power to intercept a driver without real reason serves only for road safety purposes. We use it to fight alcohol and drugs while driving, period. Nothing to do with gun violence and shootings in Montreal. By making this unfortunate statement, Mr. Legault contradicts the police chiefs and the PGQ.

On the merits, the Superior Court made the right decision. In 2022, we must no longer allow the police to intercept a motorist without reason when we know how much this contributes to racial profiling, a form of systemic discrimination exercised by people in authority (for example the police).

Let’s hope that Quebec and Ottawa will not appeal, or that the higher courts will confirm this decision which will help to combat racial profiling.

Rights and freedoms are never absolute and the legislator can limit them in a reasonable way if he has a good reason. Road safety is a valid goal, but Quebec and Ottawa have not proven that interceptions without cause really help reduce drunk and drugged driving (the police did not have precise data), concludes the Superior Court .

Mr. Legault is right to say that “we have to let the police do their job”.

Even with this decision, the police have ample means to do their job – a very important and difficult job, it must be underlined on two counts.

The police will be able to continue to arrest any driver if they have reasonable cause to believe that they are committing a violation of the Traffic Act or the Criminal Code.

The police will be able to continue to make random roadblocks (it is clearly written in the judgment).

The police will be able to set up structured programs of random checks (for example, stopping a vehicle every five vehicles, or every vehicle whose license plate ends in 2).

In the street, the police cannot stop a pedestrian without a reasonable reason. Tuesday’s judgment would apply the same rule to motorists.

In the United States, the police cannot intercept a motorist without reason since 1979. It is also prohibited in Germany, where the rate of road deaths (4.1 deaths per year per 100,000 people) is lower than in Canada (5.8).

Racial profiling does not mean that all police officers are racist, or that the police are overtly racist. This means that a minority of police officers more often intercept black people driving on the basis of “more or less conscious prejudice”, according to the judgment.

The plaintiff in this case, Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a 22-year-old black man, was pulled over for no reason three times in one year. Never received a ticket. White readers, how many times have you experienced the same thing in a year?

In 2022, we must take the necessary steps to no longer tolerate racial profiling. Yes to the training and awareness of the police, but we must also put an end to interceptions without cause while driving.