A Quebec Superior Court judge has approved a class-action lawsuit on behalf of racialized drivers who allege they were stopped by police without cause, marking a significant development in ongoing legal efforts to challenge street-level racial profiling in the province.

The lawsuit, authorized by Justice Catherine Piché, targets police forces in eight Quebec cities, including Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau, and surrounding areas, as well as the provincial police and the Quebec attorney general. The case was initially brought forward in 2022 by Papa Ndianko Gueye, a Longueuil resident who claims he was pulled over in March 2021 without having committed a traffic violation.

According to court filings, Gueye said he was stopped while driving his white Audi and told by police that he had been speeding. He contends there was no legal basis for the stop and that the officer’s behaviour escalated unnecessarily, including calling for backup. Days later, when Gueye inquired at a police station about the incident, officials reportedly had no record of it. He eventually received three tickets by mail.

The judge noted that while the case is still at an early stage, the evidence presented so far does not appear baseless.

The class action includes anyone identifying as racialized who believes they were subjected to similar stops by police in the listed cities or by the Sûreté du Québec since May 23, 2019. Gueye’s legal team includes several lawyers involved in a related 2022 case that challenged the legality of random police stops.

That earlier case, Luamba v. Quebec, resulted in a landmark ruling from Justice Michel Yergeau, who found that the discretionary power granted to police under Section 636 of the Highway Safety Code had enabled systemic racial profiling, especially against Black drivers. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision, leading the provincial government to suspend most random traffic stops.

The Supreme Court of Canada recently agreed to hear the constitutional challenge, which could have national implications.

In the meantime, a hearing in the Gueye class action is expected to take place in the coming months, as Quebec’s legal system continues to confront the issue of racial profiling in law enforcement practices.

#RacialProfiling #QuebecNews #BlackLivesMatterCanada #SystemicDiscrimination #JusticeForAll #LuambaCase #BlackInCanada #CaribbeanCamera

  Montreal Quebec