The Quebec Human Rights Commission has made 90 recommendations to try and remove all forms of racial profiling from the province's institutions, including the education system and police forces.
"If there's a need to fight gangs, and there might be, then it should be done without any biases," said the commission's Gaetan Cousineau.
Some of the commission's key recommendations include having visible minorities at all levels of government, initiate anti-poverty programs and conducting racial sensitivity training for future teachers and police officers.
It also suggests creating an independent body to investigate police shootings to replace the current practice of handing it over to another police force.
"If you want to have a job of authority in society, you should be trained accordingly to the challenges you're facing," Cousineau said.
The Montreal police says it has a zero-tolerance policy to racial profiling.
"We are doing training, and we want to sensitize our police officers on the street," said chief of police Marc Parent.
The commission and its supporting groups admit there's a long way to go, and they need some key figures to step up.
"If Jean Charest doesn't mention the word racial profiling as a statement, then nothing will be done really," said Fo Niemi, executive director of the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations.
The Quebec Human Rights Commission notes that Quebec isn't necessarily more racist than any other spot in Canada, but that Montreal especially is very diverse.
It says community groups are doing a lot of the groundwork, but it's hoping to see some serious structural changes in our key institutions.
