City of Longueuil facing contempt charges related to police racial profiling
By CityNews Staff, Posted Mar 15, 2023, 4:00PM EDT, Last Updated Mar 15, 2023, 11:17PM
Watch the video here: https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/03/15/city-of-longueuil-facing-contempt-charges-related-to-police-racial-profiling/
A 2012 racial profiling case has led to the City of Longueuil facing charges of contempt of court, for failure to publish data about racial profiling.
This is after Joel Debellefeuille won his racial profiling case against the Longueuil police in 2020.
The human rights tribunal ruled the city of Longueuil had to publish data related to racial profiling within 24 months – which it failed to do.
Now – a judge has summoned the city to enter a guilty or not-guilty plea on March 23, 2023, or face charges of contempt of court.
The Red Coalition is disappointed it has come to this.
“Racial profiling in Quebec will never correct itself if those in power seek to directly or indirectly stick a spoke in the wheels of change. There was the opportunity to address the problem and share the data with other law enforcement agencies across the province,” says Debellefeuille. “The City of Longueuil were served two demand letter via bailiff by the Red Coalition in November 2022 letting the know that time had lapsed and they had risked facing charges in court if they did not publish the data and province information on how their officers had been trained on racial profiling we have them 5 calendar days and in both instances we were ignored.”
“The fact that the human rights commission had a responsibility to follow up on this court orders and they failed to do so,” said Alain Babineau, director of racial profiling & public safety, red coalition.
The group filed a motion in court claiming former Longueuil police chief and current Montreal police chief Fady Dagher had been told by the Ministry of Public Security to “wait” to implement the collection of race-based data on police interceptions of the presumed race of individuals, as they were planning on rolling out a program for all law enforcement agencies across the province.
“We’re here today to shed light on this extremely problematic overreach by the CAQ government which led to the city of Longueuil in breach of several orders by the court,” says Debellefeuille.
Both the Ministry of Public Security and the Longueuil police force previously told CityNews that Quebec’s ministry of public security has never – or will never- instruct a police force to defy the decision of any court.
“The highlighted sections in the letters that were given to you provided clear statement made by Chief Dagher that completely contradicts both statements made by the MSP and the Longueuil police,” says Debellefeuille.
On Wednesday, the minister of public security, François Bonnardel, presented a bill that addresses the issue of police stops.
The minister says he is committed to establishing guidelines to ensure that police stops based on discriminatory grounds are prohibited. If the guidelines are not followed, police officers could face disciplinary action.
Police forces will also be held accountable by providing annual information on the stops they have made.
Following the court case, Longueuil was ordered to complete a list, which included training for all officers in order to remove racial profiling based on the matters listed below. That training was supposed to happen within 24 months.
The summons marks the first time a municipality will appear in court for contempt charges.
A letter issued by the former Longueuil Chief of police on Sep. 29, 2021, reads in part that a training development project to counter racism and racial and social profiling was supposed to begin in 2023 as part of a province-wide police mandate.
Wednesday, The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, presented a vast bill that aims mainly to modernize certain practices of police forces.
Following the adoption of Bill 14, Minister Bonnardel is committed to establishing guidelines to ensure that police stops based on discriminatory grounds are prohibited. If the guidelines are not followed, police officers could face disciplinary action.
Watch the video here: https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/03/15/city-of-longueuil-facing-contempt-charges-related-to-police-racial-profiling/
A 2012 racial profiling case has led to the City of Longueuil facing charges of contempt of court, for failure to publish data about racial profiling.
This is after Joel Debellefeuille won his racial profiling case against the Longueuil police in 2020.
The human rights tribunal ruled the city of Longueuil had to publish data related to racial profiling within 24 months – which it failed to do.
Now – a judge has summoned the city to enter a guilty or not-guilty plea on March 23, 2023, or face charges of contempt of court.
The Red Coalition is disappointed it has come to this.
“Racial profiling in Quebec will never correct itself if those in power seek to directly or indirectly stick a spoke in the wheels of change. There was the opportunity to address the problem and share the data with other law enforcement agencies across the province,” says Debellefeuille. “The City of Longueuil were served two demand letter via bailiff by the Red Coalition in November 2022 letting the know that time had lapsed and they had risked facing charges in court if they did not publish the data and province information on how their officers had been trained on racial profiling we have them 5 calendar days and in both instances we were ignored.”
“The fact that the human rights commission had a responsibility to follow up on this court orders and they failed to do so,” said Alain Babineau, director of racial profiling & public safety, red coalition.
The group filed a motion in court claiming former Longueuil police chief and current Montreal police chief Fady Dagher had been told by the Ministry of Public Security to “wait” to implement the collection of race-based data on police interceptions of the presumed race of individuals, as they were planning on rolling out a program for all law enforcement agencies across the province.
“We’re here today to shed light on this extremely problematic overreach by the CAQ government which led to the city of Longueuil in breach of several orders by the court,” says Debellefeuille.
- The definition of racial profiling recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada in Quebec (CDPDJ) v. Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier Aerospace Training Center), 2015 SCC 39;
- A summary of the case law on racial profiling, including this judgment;
- A summary of the literature on the social context of racial profiling in police interventions;
- The existence of the phenomenon of racial profiling in police interventions and the manifestation of conscious or unconscious prejudice during such interventions;
- The principle types of prejudice and stereotypes associated with various racialized groups, including people of colour;
- The principle signs of differential or unusual treatment that are characteristic of racial profiling in police interventions;
- The identification of measures and practices to effectively counter racial profiling in police interventions; and
- The prejudicial consequences of racial profiling on racialized persons and groups.
Both the Ministry of Public Security and the Longueuil police force previously told CityNews that Quebec’s ministry of public security has never – or will never- instruct a police force to defy the decision of any court.
“The highlighted sections in the letters that were given to you provided clear statement made by Chief Dagher that completely contradicts both statements made by the MSP and the Longueuil police,” says Debellefeuille.
On Wednesday, the minister of public security, François Bonnardel, presented a bill that addresses the issue of police stops.
The minister says he is committed to establishing guidelines to ensure that police stops based on discriminatory grounds are prohibited. If the guidelines are not followed, police officers could face disciplinary action.
Police forces will also be held accountable by providing annual information on the stops they have made.
Following the court case, Longueuil was ordered to complete a list, which included training for all officers in order to remove racial profiling based on the matters listed below. That training was supposed to happen within 24 months.
The summons marks the first time a municipality will appear in court for contempt charges.
A letter issued by the former Longueuil Chief of police on Sep. 29, 2021, reads in part that a training development project to counter racism and racial and social profiling was supposed to begin in 2023 as part of a province-wide police mandate.
Wednesday, The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, presented a vast bill that aims mainly to modernize certain practices of police forces.
Following the adoption of Bill 14, Minister Bonnardel is committed to establishing guidelines to ensure that police stops based on discriminatory grounds are prohibited. If the guidelines are not followed, police officers could face disciplinary action.
Recent
Red Coalition puts teeth into fight against racial profiling
September 7th, 2023
Inside men
September 6th, 2023
‘Legal hub’ for victims of racial profiling launching in Canada
August 30th, 2023
‘Gross incompetence:’ Man ticketed for contraband cigarettes says he was racially profiled
July 28th, 2023
Man alleges random police stop in South Shore led to illegal search, fine for contraband cigarettes
July 26th, 2023
Archive
2023
January
Family of Montreal man killed while unlawfully jailed wants systemic racism inquiryLa famille de l’homme demande une enquête sur le racisme systémiqueSystemic racism inquiry called for by family of man who died after being pepper-sprayed at Bordeaux prisonDétenu mort à la prison de Bordeaux: une coalition exige plus de transparence sur le milieu carcéralUN GROUPE ANTIRACISTE RÉCLAME UNE ENQUÊTE PUBLIQUE SUR LA MORT DU DÉTENU DE BORDEAUXRights group seeks public inquiry into death of man in Montreal jailLobby group seeks public inquiry in Montreal man's jail deathAnti-racism group calls for release of video in connection with Montreal jail deathCivil rights group calls for inquiry into death of illegally jailed 21-year-old black manUne coalition réclame la publication de la vidéo de l’interventionLobby group seeks public inquiry, release of video in Montreal man’s jail deathAnti-racism group claims Quebec told Longueuil police to ignore court order on racial profilingAllison Hanes: Montreal prison death demands urgent answersRed Coalition: Quebec ministry told Longueuil police force to defy court order on racial profilingQuebec told Longueuil police to disregard court order on racial profiling, says anti-racism groupCivil rights group accuses Quebec of covering up race-based police dataQue s’est-il passé à Bordeaux ?Public inquiry ordered into jail death of illegally detained Montreal manPublic inquest to be held into death of man in Montreal jailChief coroner orders public inquiry into death of 21-year-old illegally detained at Bordeaux jailCoroner orders public inquiry into Montreal man's jail deathIl y aura une enquête publique du coroner sur la mort de Nicous SpringRed Coalition calling for investigation into systemic racism in Quebec jailsChief Coroner orders public inquiry into death of Nicous SpringPolice union head tells Montreal's new chief: staffing shortages 1st, community policing 2ndPROFILAGE RACIAL: UNE PLAINTE OFFICIELLE DÉPOSÉE CONTRE LA VILLE DE LONGUEUILCoalition alleges contempt of court against LongueuilPROFILAGE RACIAL: «LA CAQ DOIT TENIR SES PROMESSES», ESTIME LA COALITION ROUGEGroups to kick off Black History Month with measures to fight racism
February
Anti-racism group accuses Montreal-area school of systemic racismCalls grow to change streets named after Christopher Columbus on island of MontrealQuebec sisters afraid to go school, say racism complaints ignoredGroup says private school near Montreal ignored racism complaintsCas de racisme et de cyberintimidation au Collège Bourget de RigaudUn citoyen souhaite «annuler» Christophe Colomb à Pointe-ClaireRACISME ET CYBERINTIMIDATION: LE COLLÈGE BOURGET MIS EN DEMEUREBlack anti-racism groups lob volleys at Canada and QuebecProminent Quebeckers voice support for Trudeau’s anti-Islamophobia representativeProminent Québecers plead for federal anti-Islamophobia rep to be given a chancePetition against Bill 21 tabled at National AssemblyMontreal police brotherhood says it's too easy to blame its members for racial profilingLongueuil, other Quebec police slow in implementing race-based data frameworkAucune accusation ne sera portée contre les policiers qui ont tué Junior OlivierCalls for police accountability as officers who fatally shot Jean René Olivier face no chargesLack of care on Loyola property "unacceptable":DeBellefeuilleGroups call to cancel puppet show featuring minstrel characterUn spectacle pour enfants sème la controverse dans l’ouest de MontréalUn exemple de « racisme systémique », dénoncent des associationsLocal Montreal play carries on despite upset over controversial puppetFamily of man killed by Repentigny police says lawsuit incomingLa mère de Jean-René Junior Olivier poursuit la Ville de RepentignyLa mère de Jean-René Junior Olivier, abattu par des policiers de Repentigny en août 2021, a déposé une poursuite contre la Ville de RepentignyFamily of Black man killed by Repentigny police files to sue city for $430K in damages
March
Red Coalition alleges SPVM withholding findings on racial profilingAnti-racism group says Montreal police withheld findings of racial profiling reportUN GROUPE ANTIRACISTE AFFIRME QUE LE SPVM A RETENU LES CONCLUSIONS D'UN RAPPORT SUR LE PROFILAGE RACIALThis boarded-up building lays bare Montreal's crumbling social housing systemCity of Longueuil facing contempt charges related to police racial profilingLE PROFILAGE RACIAL EXERCÉ PAR LA POLICE DANS LA MIRE DU MINISTRE BONNARDELQuebec Bill on police practices facing criticismEthics complaint filed against Montreal executive committee chairperson"Smokescreen; a dog and pony show"City of Longueuil, Que. gets postponement of contempt of court charges
May
Pearson Board denies allegations of systemic racism, assaultAllegations of discrimination and racism at Montreal-area elementary schoolPlea to integrate permanent residents into Quebec police forcesPlaidoyer pour intégrer des résidents permanents au sein des corps policiers québécoisPolicier au Québec: un métier encore fermé aux résidents permanents
July
Red Coalition to SPVM: amend random stops policyLa Coalition rouge presse le SPVM de «réviser» sa Politique d’interpellationRed Coalition demanding Montreal police review street checks policyUn groupe de pression veut recenser l’ethnicité des personnes interpelléesAnti-racism group wants Montreal police to review street check policy'Unusual time to be driving': Anti-racism group calls on Montreal police to modify street checksKirkland resident says he was pulled over in NDG for being BlackLaval police handcuff, illegally search Black military man’s home after street check: Red CoalitionLaval man accuses police of racial profiling, intends to file human rights complaintMilitary aerospace engineer says he was racially profiled by Laval policeCanadian Forces’ member out for run ‘mocked,’ alleges racial profiling by policeMan alleges random police stop in South Shore led to illegal search, fine for contraband cigarettesMontreal man to file human rights complaint over traffic stop by Roussillon police‘Gross incompetence:’ Man ticketed for contraband cigarettes says he was racially profiled
2022
January
February
April
Quebec study exposes dramatic increase in police fundingNew initiative asks Montreal, Ottawa residents to film police interventionsMontrealers to have a say in hiring next police chief'We need to humanize the police': Que. police association aims to improve public image with new campaignVideo shows Montreal police officer pushing homeless man into concrete block; SPVM investigatingSPVM investigation follows video appearing to show abuse by two Montreal police officers
Categories
no categories