Housefather, two mayors demand Plante do more to combat antisemitism in Montreal

MP Anthony Housefather and two local mayors have called on Mayor Valérie Plante to force the police to take more action against antisemitism.

The politicians say in a letter addressed to Plante that the Montreal police service (SPVM) has "failed" to enforce existing criminal laws and trespass regulations, adding that the current approach of "de-escalation" is not working and "undermines the rights of Jewish community members, other residents living in the area of the demonstrations and businesses operating in those areas to feel safe in their communities and emboldens those who engage in hateful speech and intimidation."

The letter was signed by Housefather, the MP for Mount Royal, Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, and Christina Smith, the mayor of Westmount. It was dated Dec. 18, the same day a West Island synagogue was hit by an alleged arsonist for the second time in the past 13 months.

Montreal police have responded to about 400 protests since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and made more than 100 arrests. The signatories of the letter say they are grateful for the work of local police officers but criticize the current approach is "flawed" for multiple reasons, citing what they describe as the "overreliance on non-enforcement as a form of de-escalation" that has "emboldened protestors and demonstrators to engage in intimidating, violent acts and unequivocal hate speech, and thus, ultimately, has not successfully addressed the unsafe and toxic situation in our city."

Housefather and the two mayors point to recent Montreal protests that turned violent, including the pro-Palestinian and anti-NATO demonstrations on Nov. 22 outside the Palais des congrès and the damage caused at Concordia University's Hall building on Nov. 21, as well as "intimidation exhibited by demonstrators outside of the Shaar Hashamayim building on November 5 despite the existence of judicial injunctive relief," and "the activities outside of Westmount Square and 1 Wood involving clear violations of, among other things, municipal bylaws."

The trio acknowledges they can't direct day-to-day police operations, but add: "However, we can address deficiencies in policy and strategic guidance that have emboldened hate activists to regularly violate the law, without consequence. We are asking you, as the Mayor and chief of staff to ensure, through policy direction, that there is zero tolerance for antisemitic crime activity in our city, and that as a matter of policy and strategic guidance, the police robustly use the criminal law tools and municipal bylaws available to them to protect the public."

Mayors can't tell police what to do, Plante says

Brownstein addressed the letter during an agglomeration council meeting Thursday afternoon, telling Mayor Plante that the police need to take a "stronger tone" and that without more arrests, the violence will continue.

Plante responded by saying she said she understands the concerns the Jewish community has been expressing, but stressed the police service doesn't take orders from her because of the separation of powers in a democracy.

"The separation between politics and the police is extremely important because in other countries, when politics interferes with the forces of law and order, everything goes wrong. That's what democracy is all about," she said. "Those who carry out public security operations cannot be influenced."

Turning to Brownstein in the meeting she added: "Please don't ask me to get involved in this and just say, 'Madame Plante, go and tell the police what to do.' I'll always refuse. They have the expertise. I'm not the police. What I can say is no to antisemitism."

In an interview with CTV News Thursday evening, Brownstein said the letter contains a number of recommendations for the mayor to help the police "do their job better."

"Letting the police know they need to be able to identify the perpetrators and make arrests. If they're not going to make arrests, we're not going to have deterrence and this is going to continue to get worse," Brownstein said. "It's really bad."

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher was among those copied on the letter. CTV News requested an interview with the police chief on Friday but it was refused.

In a brief email, the SPVM said it "does not wish to interfere in this exchange between elected officials."

"The SPVM deploys all the necessary efforts and resources to ensure the safety of all populations," the email said. "It has all the expertise required based on best operational practices and the legal framework in force."

With files from CTV News Montreal's Matt Gilmour