Quebec says police need power to randomly stop people. Can it convince Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today on a Quebec case that could have far-reaching implications on policing across Canada. 

Quebec’s attorney general is set to argue against a lower court decision that invalidated random police traffic stops, finding that they led to racial profiling and violated Quebecers’ rights. 

The case has been winding through the courts for four years. It was brought by Montrealer Joseph-Christopher Luamba.

After hearing arguments on Monday and Tuesday from Quebec’s attorney general, Luamba and several interveners, the court could take anywhere from several weeks to several months to issue a decision. 

Here’s what you need to know about the case. 

Joseph-Christopher Luamba, the young man at the origin of this case, was pulled over by police nearly a dozen times without reason in the 18 months after he got his driver’s licence. 

He told Quebec Superior Court in 2022 that when he sees a police cruiser, he gets ready to pull over.

Luamba, who is Black, said he believes he was racially profiled during the traffic stops — none of which resulted in a ticket. 

"I was frustrated," he told the court back then. "Why was I stopped? I followed the rules. I didn't commit any infractions."

The original decision on this case dates to October 2022. Quebec Superior Court Judge Michel Yergeau ruled that Article 636 of Quebec’s Highway Safety Code, the section that allows for random traffic stops, violates articles seven and nine of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Article 7 guarantees the right to life, liberty and security according to the principles of fundamental justice. Article 9 ensures everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. 

The Supreme Court of Canada previously ruled on random traffic stops in 1990. In a case called R. v. Ladouceur, the court ruled the stops, though arbitrary, were justified as an appropriate and proportional way to ensure drivers are following the law. 

“Stopping vehicles is the only way of checking a driver's licence and insurance, the mechanical fitness of a vehicle, and the sobriety of the driver,” the court ruled.

In his 2022 decision, Yergeau said evidence had since shown that arbitrary power granted to the police to make roadside stops without cause became "for some of them, a vector, even a safe conduit for racial profiling against the Black community."