Courthouse security: After stabbing, Quebec offers partial response to workers' demands

Longueuil police (SPAL) are at the courthouse on Montreal's South Shore after an armed assault on Jan. 9, 2024. SOURCE: SPAL/Facebook

Quebec announced Thursday it will fast-track the training of special constables on the same day that representatives of courthouse employees joined chief justices in calling for improved security in the buildings.

The announcement by Public Security Minister François Bonnardel, however, responds to only part of the demands made on Thursday by a group of a dozen associations representing Crown prosecutors, defence and legal aid lawyers, special constables and support staff.

The group, an unprecedented common front of almost all categories of employees working in courthouses, is also calling for the installation of metal detector arches at the entrances to all courthouses in Quebec.

"When we do our job, do we feel safe? The answer is no," said Guillaume Michaud, president of the Association des procureurs aux poursuites criminelles et pénales, one of 11 groups that signed a letter sent Thursday to Premier François Legault, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette and Bonnardel.

"I once did a trial where the defendant next to me had an exacto knife on him. I had to stop the trial to ask the constables to come and remove it," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Earlier this week, Superior Court and Court of Quebec Chief Justices Marie-Anne Paquette and Henri Richard signed a letter calling for security arches and additional special constables.

The increasingly pressing demands come in the wake of last week's armed assault on a court interpreter at the Longueuil courthouse. A 44-year-old suspect was arrested for attempted murder in the case, and security measures have been stepped up at the Longueuil courthouse.

WHY ONLY IN MONTREAL?

"Only one courthouse is equipped with security arches to detect metal and X-ray machines to check the contents of bags -- in Montreal -- and that's been the case since the summer of 2016. We're asking for arches everywhere. It's not true that it's less dangerous in one courthouse than another," said Michaud. "Why shouldn't we have them in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières or Sept-Îles?"

In a letter sent to The Canadian Press, Minister Jolin-Barrette's office stated that "analyses are already underway to add security arches to certain courthouses, notably the one in Longueuil."

It added, "This is something we were already looking at, and work is continuing in collaboration with the Ministère de la Sécurité publique."

PUTTING MONEY 'BEFORE SAFETY'

In Montreal, members of Michaud's association say they feel "more secure than in other courthouses." The problem is that the installation cost $25.6 million at the time. There are 45 courthouses across the province, and while none of them would require as many arches as Montreal, the expense would be considerable, and that's where Michaud takes exception: "They give us two reasons for not installing arches: it's expensive and nothing much happens."

Last week's knife attack in Longueuil, he says, demolishes the second part of this argument. As for the first, he doesn't mince words about the government: "The last few years have shown us that money has been put before safety."

"Every time we negotiate, we talk about it. Fifteen or 20 years ago, we were talking about it. We've been talking about it for years, and unfortunately, the message isn't getting through. We go to shows at the Centre Vidéotron, the Bell Centre, and we get searched more than when we walk into a courthouse. It just doesn't make sense," he said.

QUARTER OF SPECIAL CONSTABLE POSITIONS UNFILLED

Quebec City's announcement, amid staff departures in courthouses and three days after the chief justices' letter, aims to tackle the shortage of special constables. There is currently a shortfall of 110 positions, or around a quarter of the total workforce.

The fast-tracking in hiring will involve opening four training cohorts instead of one at the École nationale de police du Québec in March, which will allow 144 constables to be trained by spring 2025 -- enough to fill the vacant positions.

Prior to Quebec's announcement on Thursday, Michaud said many courthouses are turning to makeshift means. "There are courthouses where there are no special constables, and we have to hire security guards -- who are unarmed -- to do the job, rather than special constables," he said.

Will filling the positions be enough?

Michaud asks the same question: "Are there enough constables? When a prosecutor leaves his office and goes into the courtroom with a ton of files, he can get through victims and defendants. You never know whether you're going to be attacked or not," he said.

Special constables represent the last bastion of security in courthouse corridors.

Ultimately, Michaud believes that the unfortunate assault in Longueuil should serve as a wake-up call.

"For many years, we've been banking on the fact that nothing extremely serious happened. That is no longer the case. I hope this will change things."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 28, 2024.