2021: The good, the bad and the ugly!

The good: On January 13, Bochra Manai was officially confirmed by the city's executive council as the city's first Commissioner for the Fight Against Racism and Systemic Discrimination. This appointment was the first of its kind in this country! As it was expected, upon her nomination Manai had to immediately endure vicious and racist attacks from all sides . The Commissioner remained poised and professional.

"I don't have the experience of a Black woman, but as a racialized person, I can only be in solidarity with the experience of the Black community." Bochra Manai

Arguing that only a "Black woman" could lead the fight against systemic racial discrimination, some pseudo activists and social influencers showed the same type of racist reasoning they are supposed to be against! I could go on much more about it but I have a duty of discretion! The creation of the Bureau for the Fight Against Racism and Systemic Discrimination was the best news of the year in the battle against racial and social profiling in this province. A systemic problem requires a systemic solution! While I might be bias here, a year later I can attest that Montreal could not have picked a better person for the job of Commissioner!

The bad: Early on Saturday, Nov. 27, SPVQ officers were caught on video violently striking and kicking snow in the face of 18-year-old Pacifique Niyokwizara while he was being restrained on the ground. At around the same time, in a related incident, police were recorded dragging a young Black woman through the snow and at one point an officer can be seen grabbing her by her hair.

The response from the "institutions' came swiftly. Shortly after the incident, Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault asked Quebec Police Ethics Commissioner to look into the event.?Quebec City police Chief immediately announced that that the SPVQ had identified the officers involved and was investigating what role each of them played to determine whether they should face disciplinary actions. However, the SPVQ soon announced that the two young Black youth were "resisting arrest" and investigations into how police handled the situation are still ongoing. Three days after the incident, the SPVQ confirmed that in light of an ongoing investigation into the violent arrests of the Black teenagers, five police officers have been suspended. The SPVQ also said it is has launched a second internal investigation into the intervention of these same officers at a local restaurant which involved the violent arrest of White patron . Asked about allegations of racial profiling by SPVQ, the Director didn't want to get into a discussion about the definition of the term. This is not good!

Mamadou Kalilou Barry, of the friends of Niyokwizara, who was with him that night recorded the incident. He also told the media that they were waiting for a friend to pick them up outside the nightclub when the police approached them probably thinking they were up to no good even though they were acting peacefully. Unfortunately, this young man's credibility might be in question here! Less than a week following the incident, Barry was arrested along with two other people as part of an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of two minors in early August. His two alleged accomplices were also arrested but heir identity is subject to a publication ban as they were minors at the time of the alleged incidents. To make matters worse, a media investigation found a post from Barry on his social networks in which we see him "rapping" while pointing a gun at the camera!

According to the Quebec City section of the Ligue des droits et libertés , the SPVQ has two separate but interrelated problems: "systemic racism and a disregard for the rights of citizens who don't obey officers during interventions." However, I believe the problem is a bit more convoluted than this!

The attitude underlying racial profiling is one that may be consciously or unconsciously held. That is, the police officer need not be an overt racist. His or her conduct may be based on subconscious racial stereotyping. Acknowledgement must come first. I agree! The SPVQ must substantively acknowledging the reality of racial profiling, including the impact it has on individual and community well-being and trust in law enforcement, and recognizing the specific impact on Indigenous peoples and racialized communities and individuals. Then the SPVQ along with the affected communities must work at addressing the problem by all necessary means. All hands on deck as equal partners!

At the same time, I strongly believe that some of the behaviour displayed by young Blacks, such as the one Barry displayed on social media, only serve to exacerbate the problem. I also strongly believe that "Gangster rap " produces collateral victims of racial profiling not only in Quebec but throughout this country.

“Hip-hop is popular among teens,” he says. “They listen to lyrics more than to anything you can tell them. A lot of kids join gangs to live the experiences they hear about in gangster rap. ” Général

I strongly believe that most of those "gangster" music videos are contributing to the problem by reinforcing the stereotypes that long hindered Blacks, and by teaching young Black males that a thuggish adversarial stance is the properly “authentic” response to a presumptively racist society. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy! I believe that racial profiling today is essentially a matter of implicit bias and the use of acquired stereotypes about race and crime, often unconsciously, affecting police decision-making.? As a police officer I myself racially profiled people based on those stereotypes, and I have also two sons who have been victims of those stereotypes afflicting young Black males. They were "collateral victims" of that destructive popular subculture!

The ugly: On January 28 , Mamadi III Fara Camara is arrested for attacking an SPVM officer. On February 3, he was released from police custody after the charges were abruptly stayed by the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), based on "new information" received. On February 9 Quebec’s public security minister announced that Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne will probe whether the SPVM acted properly in towards Camara, to determine why he was wrongfully arrested, charged and detained for almost a week. In late March , a different Black man was arrested in connection with the case. On September 3, Justice Dionne's report into Camara's wrongful arrest concluded that he was not the victim of racial profiling and that prosecutors and police officers acted reasonably.

Let's be clear here, in spite of demands from various spheres of Quebec society, Justice Dionne's mandate did not include whether or not this was a case of racial profiling! However, although this question was not specifically part of his mandate, Justice Dionne felt that it was incontrovertible to address the issue of racial profiling in his report. In light of the information gathered during his investigation, case law on the subject and the allegations that surfaced in the media about the possibility that race played a role in the case, Justice Dionne felt necessary to analyse the issue. From his analysis of the events that led to Camara's arrest, detention and prosecution, racial profiling was not at play and he Camara would have received a similar treatment had he been a caucasian.

I respectfully disagree with Justice Dionne's analysis. A true systemic racial profiling evaluation based on R v Le would have required a much more deeper analysis of the reasons behind actions taken by the various actors in this case. In other words, when conducting a systemic racial profiling analysis, the focus is on institutional policies, practices and procedures, and the resulting outcomes and effects. This was not really done here.

In Le, the Supreme Court of Canada said:

“members of racial minorities have disproportionate levels of contact with the police.” R. v. Le

Overall, systemic racial profiling means that over-scrutiny and different treatment of Indigenous and racialized groups become an established and accepted part of the way an organization operates. In other words, it becomes part of the “normal” way of doing things. In all fairness to Justice Dionne, had he been given the mandate, the conducting of a systemic racial profiling investigation would have required a rare level of expertise which very few members of the judiciary possess. Other non legal experts could have also been helpful in such endeavour. But no such mandate existed.

On the positive side, the SPVM accepted the report and vowed to analyze the recommendations and implement the necessary corrective measures regarding certain practices called into question by Justice Dionne.

What's in store for 2022? On December 9th, Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault tabled an omnibus bill tabled which touches on several aspects of the Police Act police work with the goal of “regaining public trust ”. The Bill implements about 40 of the 138 recommendations of the Comite sur la realite policiere's report presented in May. From my perspective, some of the main aspects of the omnibus Bill are that the Police Act will now stipulates that Public Security Minister's specific guidelines on racial profiling for example, will have to be followed and failure to do so will be subject to stricter disciplinary measures. The Bill also gives more powers to the Police Ethics Commissioner to conduct systematic investigations which adds a prevention mandate to the agency. This is extremely good news! Let's not forget that the purpose of a police ethics complaint process is not to punish, but to avoid the repetition of conduct detrimental to the proper functioning, credibility and integrity of the institution of policing in this province. "Regaining public trust" is at the core of any policing reforms.