Overview
- Canada’s top court opened a two-day hearing Monday as Quebec urged retention of random-stop powers for road safety and Joseph-Christopher Luamba argued the practice is arbitrary and discriminatory.
- Quebec’s Article 636 was struck down in 2022 and that ruling was unanimously upheld in 2024, with courts citing evidence that Black drivers are disproportionately stopped.
- Random police stops have been suspended in Quebec since April 2025 pending the appeal, while other provinces continue to rely on the 1990 Ladouceur precedent.
- Police chiefs and Mothers Against Drunk Driving back the authority as a compliance and impaired-driving tool, even as governments acknowledge racial profiling as a serious problem.
- The justices are weighing Charter protections under sections 7, 9 and 15 and could take weeks or months to issue a decision with nationwide implications.