In decision after recent decision, the courts in Quebec have been crystal clear: The police practice of random interceptions runs the risk of racial profiling and must be halted.

This month, Quebec Superior Court authorized a class-action lawsuit against police forces in the province, including Montreal’s. It was filed by Papa Ndianko Gueye, who was pulled over in his white Audi in Longueuil in 2021, on behalf of “any racialized person who has been the victim of racial profiling during a traffic stop without reason to suspect the commission of an offence.”

That suit is in its preliminary stages, but last month, the Quebec Court of Appeal refused most of the provincial government’s request to extend a six-month grace period for banning random spot checks after two earlier judgments found them discriminatory.

For anyone keeping score, both the appeals court and Superior Court sided with Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a Black Montrealer, who sought a legal remedy after being stopped numerous times by various police forces without apparent cause. But after two strikes, Quebec is now hoping for a final kick at defending the tactic

© Montreal Gazette