It's time to take a long, hard look at racism within Quebec City police, advocates say

protagonism groups in quebec urban center City ar calling on city manager Bruno Marchand to officially acknowledge the existence of racial profiling within the city’s police force.

This comes nearly two weeks after Montreal's police chief announced an investigation into allegations of co-ordinated racist behaviour by 16 police officers at Montréal-Nord's Station 39. 

Quebec City human rights advocates are warning its mayor that the city's police force is not immune to the kinds of racist and hateful acts allegedly committed against Black and Arab people in Montreal.

A letter, sent to Marchand, calls on him to acknowledge the existence of racial profiling within the city's police force and order an independent investigation on racial profiling in the region, to identify and measure the problem. 

“For years, testimony from racialized people denouncing racial profiling and police violence has multiplied in Quebec City, yet has been met with denial by political authorities,” reads the letter. 

“Continuing to deny reality locks us into a dialogue of the deaf.”

It was signed by the Quebec City section of the Ligue des droits et libertés, and representatives for both the Collectif de lutte et d’action contre le racisme and RÉPAC 03-12 — a group of several community organizations focused on social issues. 

The groups are also asking Marchand to ban the controversial thin blue line patch worn by some officers in the city.

“While several police forces, including Montreal’s, have formally banned [the patch] out of respect for its duty of neutrality, its tolerance in Quebec City is a major political mistake,” reads the letter. 

Protesters gather outside Montréal-Nord police station at centre of racism allegations

For some, the patch, which shows a thin blue line running through a Canadian flag, has been seen as a way to remember fallen officers. But the symbol has also become associated with white supremacy.

The patch has been spotted at gatherings such as the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. It was also present at the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

The symbol became a point of contention in Canada after police officers began wearing it in response to the Black Lives Matter movement that took off in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

In 2024, Montreal police unveiled an 'inclusive' patch to replace the banned blue line patch on uniforms. 

At the time, police Chief Fady Dagher said the new badge is a way for officers to commemorate those killed on the job without alienating anyone.

Josyanne Proteau, co-ordinator of the Ligue des droits et libertés in the Quebec City section, says banning the symbol is a first and “simple” step.

“We cannot continue to tolerate that symbol,” she said, in an interview with Radio-Canada. 

She says allegations of racial profiling and racist behaviour by police have been documented in Quebec City for years.

“As long as the problem isn’t acknowledged, we can’t take action to ensure it gets corrected," she said.

16 Montreal police officers face probe for alleged racist conduct

Instead of approaching the police department, Proteau says organizations have made its demands to the city because “cities have a clear power — power and responsibilities — to protect the rights and freedoms of their citizens.”

In an emailed statement, the Quebec City police, or SPVQ, said racial profiling in no way corresponds to any of the values that guide its organization. 

“Quebec City police officers commit themselves every day to preserving a strong bond of trust with the population, notably by avoiding any form of judgment or differential treatment,” reads the statement.  

It says the SPVQ organizes several cultural activities and, since 2008, several obligatory training courses have been offered to its personnel in order to better equip them “in the face of challenges related to profiling and diversity.”

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