Montreal police to get public's input on next police chief
Montreal police (SPVM) will hold public consultations ahead of picking its new chief –- a novel approach for the force, which was encouraged to include community input during a recent forum on armed violence.
The process to find a new chief of police began on March 25 with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante saying consultations will take into account the views of police employees, young people and community groups.
Montreal’s executive committee and the public security commission have already recommended the candidacy of Sophie Roy as interim chief.
Roy will become the first woman to hold the position in the history of the Montreal police. It is rare that an interim chief becomes the permanent top cop.
Retired inspector André Durocher said last week this fact may hamper Roy's ability to tackle major concerns in the city, such as gun violence.
"It's very hard for an interim chief to proceed to major revamping or anything because out of respect for the next chief, you don't want to stir things up too much," he said. "Right now in Montreal, there are a lot of concerns regarding racial profiling, there are concerns regarding the numerous shootings and violence, so there's a lot of challenges out there."
Durocher notes if anyone can work on these and other issues, it's Roy.
"She's got great inside knowledge of the SPVM," he said.
Current chief Sylvain Caron announced last month that he plans to leave office next Friday -- well before the end of his five-year mandate, which was to end in 2023.
Caron says he is stepping away for personal reasons and is retiring after more than 40 years on the force.
-- This report was first published by The Canadian Press in French with files from CTV News’ Daniel J. Rowe on April 19, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.