Racial profiling a real problem in Quebec

An article on the CBC this morning about racial profiling being a real problem in Quebec, especially in the more ethnic neighborhoods of Montreal.  Just because someone is a visible minority does not make them more likely to break the law. 

For instance, just because we have Mafia elements in Montreal, doesn't mean that ALL ITALIANS should be seen as being part of the Mafia or being related to someone in the mafia. I mean I grew up in Montreal-North and Riviere-des-Prairies which had large numbers of people from Italian background and I didn't know anyone who was in the mafia. 

I know that Montreal cops have it in for some visible minorities. If you are dark skinned and are walking home with purchases you just made, you can be stopped by the police. They would never do that to a white person carrying the same merchandise.

I also know having dated a Mohawk that the police have it in for Native Americans. I've probably blogged about it before but I will blog about it again.  As a white French-Quebecois woman, the only times I've been stopped by police has been for traffic violations. It's happened maybe 5 times in about 20 years. Generally for what is called an "American stop".  

When in the car with my Mohawk ex with him driving, we have been stopped multiple times for verification. We hadn't commited any infractions, but his long hair and appearance was sure to get us stopped. Because he is part Mohawk part white, and his last name is a common Quebecois last name, usually once the police see his drivers license, they back off. Most of the time they ask him if he's related to the police chief with the same last name, and he is!

I had the same problems being stopped for verification when dating a Native Rights activist, who is also technically native having been adopted into the Dene tribe by his wife's grand-mother as a youth. After one of our visits to Kahnawake, we got stopped for verification and the cops were absolute assholes. At the time I didn't have a drivers license, the cop was an ass about that.

One of the suggestions to help eliminate racial profiling is adding racial profiling to Quebec's Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a violation of a person's rights and I'm all for it. 

As I recently blogged before, all humans should be allowed the same rights, regardless of their skin color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or country of origin. Canada prides itself for being a mosaic, where people who immigrate to Canada become part of their new society but retain some of their cultural background. It is one of the things that makes Canada great. I don't want that eroded by some racial profiling yahoos!