Appeal of ban on random police stops in Quebec headed to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a case about whether it's constitutional for police to make a random traffic stop without reasonable suspicion the driver has committed an offence.
Canada's highest court announced Thursday it has granted the Quebec government leave to appeal a lower court decision that said random stops lead to racial profiling.
The case involves Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a Montrealer of Haitian descent who said he had been stopped by police nearly a dozen times without reason, including several times when he was behind the wheel. None of the stops resulted in a ticket.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Yergeau sided with Luamba in October 2022, saying that racial profiling exists and that it's a reality that weighs heavily on Black people.
"The preponderant evidence shows that over time, the arbitrary power granted to the police to carry out roadside stops without cause has become for some of them a vector, even a safe conduit for racial profiling against the Black community," Yergeau said.
"The rule of law thus becomes a breach through which this sneaky form of racism rushes in."
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association intervened on Luamba's behalf, arguing that random stops by police violate equality rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and create opportunities for racial profiling.
Yergeau's decision was greeted by civil rights groups as a victory against racial profiling.
The Quebec government appealed the ruling, arguing that it deprived police of an important tool to stop crime, but the Court of Appeal upheld Yergeau's decision last year and gave the provincial government six months to make the necessary changes to the Highway Safety Code.
The Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on whether stopping drivers with no apparent reason violates the Charter, and whether the Quebec judges made an error when they overturned a 1990 Supreme Court decision that upheld the practice of random stops.
The high court ruled in the R. v. Ladouceur decision that random stops were the only way to determine whether drivers are properly licensed, whether a vehicle's seatbelts work and whether a driver is impaired. But Yergeau wrote it was time for the justice system to declare that the power to stop vehicles at random violates certain constitutional rights, and is obsolete and inoperable.
The lower court rulings do not affect structured police operations, such as roadside checkpoints aimed at stopping drunk drivers.
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Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
4 years after Haiti's president was killed, the investigation drags on
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Not one suspect imprisoned in Haiti has faced trial after being charged in the killing of President Jovenel Moïse, who was gunned down at his home in the nation's capital nearly four years ago. Gang violence, death threats and a crumbling judicial system have stalled an ongoing investigation defined by outbursts and tense exchanges between suspects and judges. 'You failed in your mission. And you are not ashamed to declare yourself innocent,' Judge Claude Jean said in a booming voice as he stood and faced a Haitian policeman responsible for protecting the president, who was shot 12 times in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Jean is one of six Haitian judges investigating whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial for the 20 suspects held in the troubled Caribbean country. Authorities said some of the suspects envisioned a coup, not an assassination, leading to lucrative contracts under a new administration. The suspects include 17 former soldiers from Colombia and three Haitian officials: an ex-mayor, a former policeman and a former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee who worked on an anti-corruption unit. Missing are several key Haitian suspects who escaped last year after a powerful gang federation raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, including Dimitri Hérard, ex-head of security at Haiti's National Palace. Three other suspects, all Colombians, were killed hours after Moïse was slain, while a key suspect in the case, Haitian Superior Court Judge Windelle Coq Thélot, died in January while still a fugitive. Courthouse under siege The investigation was repeatedly halted by the resignation of judges who feared for their lives. Defense attorneys then appealed after the court ruled there was sufficient evidence for trial. Jean and five other judges are now tasked with restarting the inquiry. But determining complicity among 51 suspects is only one of numerous challenges. Last year, powerful gangs seized control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse where the judges were interrogating suspects. The hearings were suspended until the government rented a home in Pacot, a neighborhood once considered safe enough for the French embassy. But gangs controlling 85% of Haiti's capital recently attacked and forced the government to move again. The hearings restarted in May, this time in a private home in Pétion-Ville, a community trying to defend itself from gangs seeking full control of Port-au-Prince. 'Nothing we could do' As a fan swirled lazily in the background, Judge Phemond Damicy grilled Ronald Guerrier in late May. One of several police officers tasked with protecting the president, Guerrier insisted he never entered Moïse's home and couldn't fight the intruders because he was dazed by a stun grenade. 'The attackers were dressed all in black. They wore balaclavas and blinded us with their flashlights. I couldn't identify anyone,' Guerrier testified, adding they used a megaphone to claim they were U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. 'The attackers operated as if they were entering their own home. It seemed they knew the place perfectly.' Damicy asked if they shot at drones that Guerrier said were buzzing above the president's home. 'The attackers covered the entire area with their fire,' Guerrier replied. 'There was nothing we could do.' Damicy grew exasperated. 'Under no circumstances should an enemy cross you with impunity to commit his crime,' he said. 'In your place, I would fire on the enemy. I would even die, if necessary.' 'I don't know' Inside the investigation's heavily guarded, stone-and-concrete headquarters in a leafy residential community, raised voices have dominated tense interrogations. One judge stood and thundered a question about a gun: 'On the day of the death of President Jovenel Moïse, were you in possession of a Galil?' In another outburst in March, a judge repeatedly pressed Joseph Badio, the former Ministry of Justice official who spent two years on the run, about his call to former Prime Minister Ariel Henry after the assassination. At the time, Henry had only been nominated as prime minister by Moïse. 'You can say whatever you want with your mouth,' Badio told the judge, who ordered him to sit as he rose while speaking. 'There is no prohibition for me to communicate with anyone I want.' The tension has carried over into interrogations of the Colombian suspects, who maintain they were hired by a Miami-based security firm to provide security for power and water treatment plants and diplomatic officials, as well as train Haitian police and soldiers. The Colombians have denied involvement, while their attorney, Nathalie Delisca, said there has been no presumption of innocence during the interrogations. 'The treatment inflicted on the detainees was inhumane,' she said, alleging mistreatment by authorities after their arrest. The former soldiers said they were beaten, threatened with death, forced to sign documents in a language they don't understand and barred from communicating with their lawyers and families for long stretches. 'I have been subjected to degrading treatment. I have been subjected to physical and psychological torture,' Jheyner Alberto Carmona Flores said during a recent hearing. He spoke Spanish in a clear and loud voice, sometimes correcting an interpreter translating his testimony into French. 'I have no involvement because I don't know when or where the president was assassinated,' Carmona Flores said, claiming he was summoned to provide security at the perimeter of Moïse's house and did not know the president had been fatally shot. Working under threat While the case in Haiti has stalled, the U.S. has charged 11 extradited suspects, with five already pleading guilty to conspiring to kill Moïse. Five other suspects are awaiting trial, which is now scheduled for March 2026. They include Anthony 'Tony' Intriago, owner of Miami-based CTU Security, and Haitian-Americans James Solages, a key suspect, and Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor, doctor and failed businessman who envisioned himself as Haiti's new leader. Moïse's widow, Martine Moïse, is expected to testify in the U.S. case. She was injured in the attack and accused by a Haitian judge of complicity and criminal association, which her attorneys deny. Court documents say the plan was to detain Jovenel Moïse and whisk him away, but changed after the suspects failed to find a plane or sufficient weapons. A day before Moïse died, Solages falsely told other suspects it was a CIA operation and the mission was to kill the president, the documents allege. Bruner Ulysse, a lawyer and history professor in Haiti, lamented how the local investigation has highlighted what he called 'profound challenges' in Haiti's judicial system. 'While international efforts have yielded some results, the quest for justice in Haiti remains elusive,' Ulysse said. 'Judges, prosecutors and lawyers operate under constant threat.' ___ Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Province
12 hours ago
- The Province
Supreme Court of Canada quashes B.C. sex conviction, extends 'rape shield' law
High court rules 'rape shield' law that prevents defence lawyers from bringing up sexual past also applies to prosecutors The Supreme Court of Canada quashed a sexual-assault conviction against a B.C. man in a precedent-setting decision that strengthened the 'rape shield' law, ruling that even a complainant's lack of a sexual past can't be brought up in court. Photo by Corgarashu / Fotolia The Supreme Court of Canada quashed a sexual-assault conviction against a B.C. man in a precedent-setting decision that strengthened the 'rape shield' law, ruling that even a complainant's lack of a sexual past can't be brought up in court. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors In a 9-0 unanimous decision released Friday, the court overturned a decision by B.C.'s Appeal Court in which Dustin Kinamore was found guilty of one count of sexual assault. The top court ordered a new trial. The B.C. Prosecution Service is reviewing the decision before deciding if it will be retried, said spokeswoman Damienne Darby in an email. 'The decision brings needed guidance,' including that such evidence needs to be approved by a judge before it is introduced at a trial, she said, adding such evidence can, if it meets certain criteria, still be included at trial. The decision would affect any current trials but she wasn't aware of any in jeopardy because of the ruling, she said. The B.C. Supreme Court and the Appeal Court had both allowed prosecutors to introduce the complainant's texts, which were sexual in nature but also told Kinamore that she did not want to have sex with him. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Section 276 of Canada's Criminal Code, known as the rape shield law, limits the defence's use of evidence about a complainant's sexual history in court. The trial and appeal court judges had ruled that the prosecution's use of the complainant's sexts, which included that she was a virgin, weren't subject to Section 276 because they weren't about sexual activity but about sexual inactivity. The Supreme Court of Canada disagreed, concluding prosecution 'applications are subject to the same substantive admissibility and procedural requirements that apply to defence-led evidence,' law, wrote Chief Justice Richard Wagner. It said a complainant's sexual inactivity can 'evoke distinct myths and stereotypes that these rules seek to eliminate.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kinamore's lawyer, Matt Nathanson, said in a text that he was pleased with the ruling and that its significance goes far beyond his case and has 'broken new ground' on sexual assault law that promotes 'consistency and fairness' for both parties because the prosecution has to apply to introduce that evidence in the same way that the defence does. He said Section 276 has long recognized that myths and stereotypes about complainants shouldn't be used to attack their credibility and now, 'for the first time,' the court says 'inverse' myths and stereotypes shouldn't be used to 'unfairly enhance their credibility either.' It is wrong to suggest complainants are more likely to have consented because of sexual history, and 'it is now wrong to suggest that a lack of previous sexual activity means they are less likely to have consented,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kinamore, then 22, met the complainant, then 16, in May 2020 and texted each other for months, up to Aug. 3, 2020, when they met at his apartment, according to the decision. She said he sexually assaulted her, and he said the sexual activity was consensual and didn't go as far she said it did because he stopped when she said to stop, it said. At trial, the prosecution introduced text exchanges, some explicitly sexual, without having a hearing known as a voir dire to test their admissibility. In many of them, she made it clear she wasn't interested in a sexual relationship with the accused and some referred to her virginity, and both the prosecution and the defence relied on the evidence, Wagner's judgment said. The Appeal Court ruled the texts were admissible because the complainant's messages expressing she wasn't interested in sex 'fell outside the exclusionary rule governing a complainant's sexual history,' according to Wagner's decision. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In dismissing that, Wagner wrote that inadmissible evidence was used by the trial judge in her reasons to assess the credibility of the accused and the complainant and she 'relied heavily on this evidence in her reasons for finding Mr. Kinamore guilty.' A new trial was needed because 'her error was not harmless,' Wagner wrote. Relying on a complainant's past sexual inactivity 'remains grounded in false assumptions' that 'undermine the fairness of a trial by distorting its truth-seeking function,' he said. Screening evidence protects the complainant's dignity and privacy, he said. He also said the 'increasing complexity of sexual offence trials' add to the overburdened system and his ruling would will 'assist in minimizing unnecessary cost and delay.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Hilla Kerner of the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter said it's unfortunate in this case because the conviction was overturned, but she welcomed the guidance from the higher court to speed up long trials. Consent is at the core of any sexual assault case, Dalya Israel of the Salal Sexual Violence Support Group, formerly Women against Violence Against Women, said in a text. 'When courts focus on context over consent, even well-meaning approaches, including those led by the Crown, can unintentionally reinforce the very myths the legal system is meant to reject,' she said. Read More Vancouver Canucks Sports Sports Vancouver Canucks News
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Political violence is threaded through recent US history. The motives and justifications vary
The assassination of one Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife at their homes, is just the latest addition to a long and unsettling roll call of political violence in the United States. The list, in the past two months alone: the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. The firebombing of a Colorado march calling for the release of Israeli hostages, and the firebombing of the official residence of Pennsylvania's governor — on a Jewish holiday while he and his family were inside. And here's just a sampling of some other disturbing attacks before that — the assassination of a health care executive on the streets of New York City late last year, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in small-town Pennsylvania during his presidential campaign last year, the 2022 attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by a believer in right-wing conspiracy theories, and the 2017 shooting by a liberal gunman at a GOP practice for the congressional softball game. 'We've entered into this especially scary time in the country where it feels the sort of norms and rhetoric and rules that would tamp down on violence have been lifted,' said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at Georgetown University who studies extremism. 'A lot of people are receiving signals from the culture.' Politics behind both individual shootings and massacres Politics have also driven large-scale massacres. Gunmen who killed 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, 23 shoppers at a heavily Latino Walmart in El Paso in 2019 and 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery store in 2022 each cited the conspiracy theory that a secret cabal of Jews were trying to replace white people with people of color. That has become a staple on parts of the right that support Trump's push to limit immigration. The Anti-Defamation League found that from 2022 through 2024, all of the 61 political killings in the United States were committed by right-wing extremists. That changed on the first day of 2025, when a Texas man flying the flag of the Islamic State group killed 14 people by driving his truck through a crowded New Orleans street before being fatally shot by police. 'You're seeing acts of violence from all different ideologies,' said Jacob Ware, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who researches terrorism. 'It feels more random and chaotic and more frequent.' The United States has a long and grim history of political violence, from presidential assassinations dating back to the killing of President Abraham Lincoln to lynchings and violence aimed at Black people in the South to the 1954 shooting inside Congress by four Puerto Rican nationalists. Experts say the past few years, however, have likely reached a level not seen since the tumultuous days of the 1960s and 1970s, when icons like Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Ware noted that the most recent surge comes after the new Trump administration has shuttered units that focus on investigating white supremacist extremism and pushed federal law enforcement to spend less time on anti-terrorism and more on detaining people who are in the country illegally. 'We're at the point, after these six weeks, where we have to ask about how effectively the Trump administration is combating terrorism,' Ware said. Of course, one of Trump's first acts in office was to pardon those involved in the largest act of domestic political violence this century — the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, intended to prevent Congress from certifying Trump's 2020 election loss. Those pardons broadcast a signal to would-be extremists on either side of the political debate, Dallek said: 'They sent a very strong message that violence, as long as you're a Trump supporter, will be permitted and may be rewarded.' Ideologies aren't always aligned — or coherent Often, those who engage in political violence don't have clearly defined ideologies that easily map onto the country's partisan divides. A man who died after he detonated a car bomb outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic last month left writings urging people not to procreate and expressed what the FBI called 'nihilistic ideations.' But, like clockwork, each political attack seems to inspire partisans to find evidence the attacker is on the other side. Little was known about the man police identified as a suspect in the Minnesota attacks, 57-year-old Vance Boelter. Authorities say they found a list of other apparent targets that included other Democratic officials, abortion clinics and abortion rights advocates, as well as fliers for the day's anti-Trump parades. Conservatives online seized on the fliers — and the fact that Boetler had apparently once been appointed to a state workforce development board by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — to claim the suspect must be a liberal. 'The far left is murderously violent,' billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media site, X. It was reminiscent of the fallout from the attack on Paul Pelosi, the former House speaker's then-82-year-old husband, who was seriously injured by a man wielding a hammer. Right-wing figures theorized the assailant was a secret lover rather than what authorities said he was: a believer in pro-Trump conspiracy theories who broke into the Pelosi home echoing Jan. 6 rioters who broke into the Capitol by saying: 'Where is Nancy?!' On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi posted a statement on X decrying the Minnesota attack. 'All of us must remember that it's not only the act of violence, but also the reaction to it, that can normalize it,' she wrote. Trump had mocked the Pelosis after the 2022 attack, but on Saturday he joined in the official bipartisan condemnation of the Minnesota shootings, calling them 'horrific violence.' The president has, however, consistently broken new ground with his bellicose rhetoric towards his political opponents, who he routinely calls 'sick' and 'evil,' and has talked repeatedly about how violence is needed to quell protests. The Minnesota attack occurred after Trump took the extraordinary step of mobilizing the military to try to control protests against his administration's immigration operations in Los Angeles during the past week, when he pledged to 'HIT' disrespectful protesters and warned of a 'migrant invasion' of the city. Dallek said Trump has been 'both a victim and an accelerant' of the charged, dehumanizing political rhetoric that is flooding the country. 'It feels as if the extremists are in the saddle,' he said, 'and the extremists are the ones driving our rhetoric and politics.'
