Quebec to appeal ban on random police traffic stops to Supreme Court

Quebec will ask the Supreme Court of Canada to allow police officers to conduct random traffic stops after the province’s court of appeal found that the practice led to racial profiling and was unconstitutional.Traffic stops without prior infractions, variously described as random, arbitrary or discretionary, are conducted under s. 636 of Quebec’s Highway Safety Code. The Quebec Superior Court first invalidated this provision in a landmark 2022 racial-profiling case. The Court of Appeal confirmed the ruling in October and gave Quebec six months before s. 636 would become inoperative.Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette told reporters Thursday morning in Quebec City that the government would appeal the decision “because we consider that there are errors of law in the judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal.” He declined to elaborate on what these errors were.