City of Montreal has 'poor understanding' of public safety issues, says police brotherhood
With the municipal election just months away, Montreal's police brotherhood says it is concerned about the lack of manpower in fighting gun violence on the island.
In an internal letter sent to members by brotherhood president Yves Francoeur, the group insists it would not be aligning itself with any of the mayoral candidates.
However, Francoeur writes the current municipal government has a "poor understanding of public safety and has only supported police officers since it became an election issue."
The letter comes after two Montreal police officers were allegedly targeted in a possible shooting attempt outside the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
It happened at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in what Montreal police chief Sylvain Caron called a "purely gratuitous" attack.
"This vicious attack on the justice system feeds insecurities surrounding the shootings, all in a context of pandemic fatigue," Francoeur notes, adding many "exhausted police officers" are being forced to do overtime in order to continue covering the territory.
In his letter, Francoeur advised members of the brotherhood to keep an eye on the "glaring" lack of staff, the shortage of equipment due to "a lack of funding," neglected training for personnel, as well as public disengagement "fuelled by untimely and free accusations of racism."
"We have been through a lot and we will certainly go through more," he notes, asking officers to increase their level of vigilance on the streets.
CLASHING CANDIDATES
Due to the recent rash of gun violence in the Greater Montreal area, the metropolis' four mayoral candidates have spoken out about whether or not to defund the police, argued about body cameras and discussed racial profiling.
“I'm against defunding or disarming [the police], like [Mayor Valérie Plante's party] Projet Montréal,” Coderre said, adding he would make body cameras mandatory for police officers. “Police are not the problem, they are the solution.”
This is something Plante has said she also wants, though her administration was initially opposed to the idea of body cameras, following a pilot project in 2016 and 2017.
The mayor has since stated she plans to work with the Quebec government on a province-wide initiative starting next year.
Movement Montréal candidate Balarama Holness has stated he wants to divert money away from the police to support social services.
“Right now, Denis Coderre wants better funding for police and we think that's going in the wrong direction,” he said. “Body cameras are not a solution. Solutions are better housing, more support for infrastructure and green spaces.”
Meantime, candidate Marc-Antoine Desjardins has accused both Plante and Coderre of trying to "reassure the population with a nice, sugary speech in the face of an outbreak of gun violence because of their respective negligence."
He goes on to say the "cycle of gun violence must stop with concrete short and medium-term measures," but does not elaborate on what those are.
The Montreal municipal election is set to take place on Nov. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.