Overview

• The Supreme Court of Canada has granted Quebec leave to appeal a ruling that deemed random police traffic stops unconstitutional.
• The case stems from claims by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, who reported being stopped nearly a dozen times without cause, highlighting systemic racial profiling concerns.
• In 2022, Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Yergeau ruled that random stops disproportionately harm Black Canadians, violating Charter rights, a decision upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2024.
• The Supreme Court will reexamine the 1990 R. v. Ladouceur decision, which justified random stops under the Charter’s reasonable limits clause as essential for public safety checks.
• Pending the Supreme Court's decision, Quebec has suspended most random stops, maintaining only structured checkpoints for specific safety measures like impaired driving checks.