The trial of a police power, or the right to carry out random roadside checks, began this Monday at the Montreal courthouse. Those who want to have it declared invalid, because contrary to the Charter, argue that this practice is the source of many cases of racial profiling. They are therefore asking that this power be taken away from the police forces.
The applicant is Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a young black man who denounces having been arrested a dozen times in a year and a half, either when he was driving, or even a passenger in a vehicle.
He wants to have declared that the common law rule authorizing certain peace officers to stop a motor vehicle and its driver without the slightest suspicion that an offense has been committed, as well as subsections of the Criminal Code and the Highway Safety Code , are unconstitutional.
“I would like to stop this scourge of racial profiling,” he told Superior Court Judge Michel Yergeau on Monday afternoon.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), a not-for-profit organization, participates in the constitutional challenge to this power, arguing that it is unjustified, arbitrary and represents a significant violation of rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms.
The exercise of this power has resulted in racial profiling, discrimination and harassment for decades “and disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous and other racialized people,” the organization alleges in its proceedings.
Not to mention that it undermines public confidence in law enforcement, she continues in her proceedings.
“The practice of racial profiling, in particular, undermines the belief and expectation — fundamental in any democratic society — that all individuals are equal before the law,” it reads.
The governments of Quebec and Canada defend this existing police power in their respective laws.
The trial is expected to last about a month.