A class-action lawsuit against the City of Montreal and Montreal's police department has been given the green-light.
The $4 million suit is over the controversial issue of racial profiling, and social activists say its main goal is to emphasize the serious effects of police targetting of youth.
Activist Jerry Alexander told CJAD 800 that when a teenage person doesn't have a criminal past and is targetted by authorities anyway, it can have dramatic psychological consequences.
"Yes, it's okay to do your job, but at the same time it's not okay to start targetting an entire community," he said.
The suit seeks $4 million in compensation for 500 people. That would amount to $8,000 per claimant.
At the same time, the police have unveiled a new strategy aimed at ending racial and social profiling. The plan calls for the hiring of three independent researchers to collect and analyze data on profiling.