City of Terrebonne facing $205K lawsuit for alleged systemic discrimination

The Quebec Human Rights Commission has taken the unusual step of filing a civil suit in Quebec Superior Court against the City of Terrebonne over claims of racial profiling against its Black population.

Pierre-Marcel Monsanto says he was pulled over by police more than 37 times in the four years he's lived Terrebonne, an off-island suburb of Montreal, after moving to Quebec from Alberta. The Haiti-born accountant says police systematically question him about the ownership of his car, which is registered under his wife’s name.

"They say, 'Are you allowed to drive this vehicle? Can you call this person to make sure you're allowed to do this?'" Monsanto recalled during a news conference at the office of the civil rights organization Center for Research-Action on Race-Relations (CRAAR)

Monsanto learned the hard way never to argue with police. He's collected 18 tickets out of his 37 traffic stops. The human rights commission, in its own investigation, discovered Monsanto's licence plate was verified 83 times by police. 

Last month, the commission found Terrebonne police violated his rights on 13 occasions, which is why it's suing the city for damages on his behalf. Monsanto is demanding $205,000.

"What we hope is that this case will end this biased police practice of stopping Black male drivers on the basis of the fact that they do drive a car registered to a woman who can be a spouse, a sister, or their mother," said CRAAR's executive director, Fo Niemi.

The Police Ethics Commissioner agreed there's something wrong. It has authorized eight complaints filed by Monsanto against Terrebonne police. Rulings have yet to be rendered in those cases.

Monsanto isn't alone. Hally Seme also filed complaints after he was pulled over 10 times with no apparent motive. He now records every interaction he has with police in Terrebonne.

Last summer, the Quebec Human Rights Commission awarded a third man, Jonathan Woodley, $13,000 for routinely being questioned as to why he was driving a car registered to his wife.

The City of Terrebonne is appealing the judgement. Monsanto says he's not surprised.

"Ask any Black man on the street if they're used to being pulled over because they're Black, and they'll confirm that's the way it is," he said.

The City of Terrebonne did not respond to a request for comment before publication time.