Terrebonne won't accept racial profiling decision from Quebec Human Rights Commission
Terrebonne says it isn't going to accept recommendations made by the Quebec Human Rights Commission after it passed a racial profiling decision against the municipality.
The man at the centre of the dispute, Jonathan Woodley, said he can’t count how many times he has been racially profiled by the police.
"Every single time I’m about to get pulled over by the police I call my wife to let her know I’m about to be pulled over by police officers yet again," he said Wednesday.
In the early morning hours on July 7, 2019, he said two Terrebonne police officers pulled him over on the allegation he was driving a car registered to a woman — something the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) says is gender-based discrimination, and a tactic the police use.
"Police say because you’re driving a car registered to a woman’s name, it’s grounds for a stop," said Fo Niemi, the executive director of CRARR. "It’s gender-based discrimination intersected with race because it’s very rare we hear white male drivers stopped because he’s driving a car with a woman’s name. But with black male drivers, it's very common."
In a video provided to CTV News by Woodley from the morning of the incident, Woodley is heard telling the officer he did a u-turn in order to run his licence plate and therefore couldn’t have known who the car’s owner was prior to tailing him.
When he was free to go, Woodley can be heard in the video asking for the police officer's badge number. "I’d like your badge number, please. He won’t even give me his badge number” he said in the video.
If it weren’t for his cell phone and dash cam videos, he said he wouldn’t have been able to bring his case before the Human Rights Commission — the first step in a human rights complaint.
"I just want it to stop," Woodley said "I just want to be able to get in the car, pick up food for my kids, and not have to worry about a police officer pulling me over."
The commission recently decided that the police did racially profile Woodley and is asking the Municipality of Terrebonne and two police officers to pay him $13,000 in damages. It's also calling for the police to commit to more training.
But the municipality said it rejects the decision and the recommendations it came with as it takes issue with the facts that have been presented. It has contested the decision and will have to be heard in the Human Rights Tribunal. A date has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, one of the officers in question, Jean-Philippe Girard, is scheduled to appear before the Police Ethics Committee on September 20.
Woodley said racial profiling in Terrebonne happens too often and he hopes his story will inspire other Black people to file human rights complaints against the police force when they are racially profiled.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA
The pro-Palestinian demonstration that paralyzed Columbia University ended in dramatic fashion, with police carrying riot shields bursting into a building that protesters took over the previous night and making dozens of arrests. On the other side of the country, clashes broke out early Wednesday between duelling groups at the University of California, Los Angeles.
National strategy must recognize caregivers as 'backbone' of society: centre
Canadians need help looking after family members who are aging, sick or have disabilities, and many caregivers are seniors who need help themselves, says a new report calling for a national strategy that recognizes the mental and financial toll of the job.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
WATCH Moose strolls through Fredericton
A Fredericton woman is awe-struck after seeing a moose stroll down a city street on Tuesday.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.