Montreal must pay victims of 'systemic' racial profiling by police. How much? That's unclear

Racial profiling is a "systemic" issue within Montreal's police force and the City of Montreal should be held accountable for it, according to a ruling from a Quebec Superior Court judge released on Tuesday.

The ruling pertains to a $171-million class-action lawsuit filed by the Black Coalition of Quebec and Alexandre Lamontagne, a Black man who had a late-night altercation with Montreal police after leaving a bar in 2017.

The ruling is complex and doesn't clearly spell out how much money the city will have to dole out.

What's clear is that it amounts to at least a partial financial victory for the plaintiffs. 

Regardless of the amount of money, their lawyer says the ruling is significant.

"The judge arrived at the conclusion that, yes, there is discrimination, there is a racial profiling in the police of Montreal," lawyer Mike Diomande said. "This is, for us, the main thing, the most important thing."

Here's a breakdown of the 99-page decision.

Who gets money and why?

The total of $171 million sought by the lawsuit amounts to about $5,000 per person who said they were racially profiled by officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) while being stopped, arrested or detained between August 2017 and January 2019.

It includes both people who suffered physical injuries during the process and those who did not.

In her ruling, Justice Dominique Poulin only partially granted this request. First, she narrowed the time frame for eligible cases. She also outlined more specific categories of people and what level of compensation they were eligible for:

• The lead plaintiff, Alexandre Lamontagne, will receive $5,000. 
• Each person who was racially profiled, stopped and had their personal information recorded by Montreal police between July 11, 2018, and Jan. 11, 2019, will also receive $5,000 through a class-action payout. These people cannot include those who were approached by the SPVM's Éclipse unit or after a 911 call.

The judge also outlined the following compensation guidelines:

• People with similar experiences of being racially profiled who were approached by the Éclipse unit or after 911 call, and whose personal information was recorded, are eligible for $5,000 in compensation but only through individual claims, not the class action.
• Each person who was racially profiled and stopped by Montreal police without their personal information recorded can get $2,500, but also through individual claims.

The judge did not set an amount of compensation for people who were unjustifiably arrested or detained by Montreal police, saying they would each have to prove the merit of their cases on an individual basis.

She encourages both parties to agree on how the money for the class action can be distributed, and how to go about the process of gathering individual claims. 

Who is to blame?

In her ruling, Poulin wrote "the SPVM institution creates discriminatory effects on racialized people."

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante testified during the court proceedings.

The city acknowledged the existence of systemic racism, but its legal team argued that it should not be held accountable for the actions of Montreal police officers, given that it has made considerable attempts to rein in the practice.

The judge disagreed, saying the city contributes to racial profiling by allowing police to randomly stop people.

"It can't put the blame exclusively on its police officers," the judge wrote.

A spokesperson for the Montreal mayor's office said it is analyzing the ruling and would continue to put forth "unprecedented efforts to combat racial profiling."

"As the first municipal administration to recognize the existence of systemic racism, we will continue to work with all of our partners and public organizations to make sure each citizen feels safe and enjoys the same rights," the statement read.

Data dispute

The judge said the number of people eligible for compensation can be estimated with a fair level of accuracy, given the data that's available.

In 2019, a group of researchers found that Indigenous people and Black people were four to five times more likely than white people to be stopped by police.

Lawyers for the city argued the methodology in the research — which it commissioned — had flaws that made it difficult to estimate a fair lump sum for the city to pay. Ultimately, the judge found the researchers' data was reliable enough.

The sum of $5,000 and the extent to which people who are Black, Maghrebi, Arab, Indigenous and Latino are overly represented in police stops will help establish the final amount the city will need to pay.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.