Montreal Organization Pushes for an End to Street Checks in Quebec, says it Enforces Racial Profiling

Human rights organization, la ligue des droits et libertés is asking the Quebec government to ban random street checks. They believe street checks violate human rights, the practice is at the root of racial profiling and that the practice is not among officer’s powers.

The Defund the Police Coalition held a series of events in Parc Vinet, including a panel on ending street checks in Quebec.

The panel included Lynda Khelil from la ligue des droits et libertés, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Attorney and activist in la ligue des droits et libertés M'mah Nora Touré and board of director at la ligue des droits et libertés Philippe Nemeh-Nombré.

Nemeh-Nombré said in February 2023, la ligue des droits et libertés launched a campaign to ban street checks in Quebec.

Data between 2014 and 2017 shows that during police "street checks", Black people were four times more likely than white people to be stopped by police and Indigenous people were five times more likely than white people to be stopped by police. Indigenous women were specifically overrepresented: they were 11 times more likely to be stopped by police than white women.

Quebec police face more than 100 complaints for racial profiling each year. Half of these cases are in Montreal.

Police Chief Fady Daghar has acknowledged the existence of racial profiling within the SPVM; he however believes random stops by police are useful.

Random stops were ruled unconstitutional by Judge Michel Yergeau last October, specifically stating they are a source of racial profiling. This ruling has been appealed by the Quebec government.