Dec 11, 2024 Story by: Editor
Quebec is taking its fight against a court-ordered ban on random traffic stops to the Supreme Court of Canada after the province lost twice in lower courts.
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette announced that the provincial government is challenging the Quebec Court of Appeal’s ruling, which deemed random traffic stops unconstitutional. He emphasized that his ministry believes the court made errors in its decision. “We consider it important to make it so that police have the tools to do their job, and we’re going to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider the position of the Quebec Court of Appeal and to maintain this very important tool for police work,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters at the National Assembly in Quebec City. However, he did not specify the errors, saying the details would be outlined in their application to the Supreme Court.
The Quebec government has been given six months to amend the law, and Jolin-Barrette said they would request the Supreme Court to suspend the appeals court’s decision while awaiting the highest court’s ruling. This move follows a 2022 decision by Superior Court Justice Michel Yergeau, who ruled that the provision in the province’s Highway Safety Code, Article 636, which allows police officers to stop drivers without cause, was unconstitutional. Justice Yergeau noted that such stops contribute to racial profiling, particularly targeting Black drivers. “Racial profiling does exist. It is not a laboratory-constructed abstraction. It is not a view of the mind. It is a reality that weighs heavily on Black communities,” Yergeau stated in his ruling.
In October of this year, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the previous ruling, asserting that random traffic stops violated Charter rights, including freedom from arbitrary detention and equality rights.
The Quebec government argues that the ban would significantly hinder police efforts and deprive them of an essential tool. Public Safety Minister François Bonnardel expressed his support for the government’s decision to appeal, calling Article 636 “immensely important” for road safety. “Thanks to 636, we save lives and we make the roads safer,” he said.
However, social justice advocates have criticized the appeal. Joel DeBellefeuille, founder of the Red Coalition, expressed disappointment, stating, “It tells us that the Quebec government does not see that this section of the Highway Safety Code discriminates against Black and Arab people.” DeBellefeuille, while not advocating for the complete abolition of Article 636, called for a clear framework to prevent its misuse in racial profiling.
The case was originally brought to court by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a Black Montrealer who claimed to have been stopped by Quebec police nearly a dozen times without cause, with no tickets issued as a result of the stops. Source: CBC
