Quebec human rights commission opens inquiry into two 'infanticide' cases near Montreal

Quebec's youth and human rights commission has opened independent investigations into two recent homicides involving children in Montreal.

"According to information reported by the media, the children died in the contexts of infanticide," read a Wednesday press release from the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse.

SOUTH SHORE

On Sept. 26, emergency services were called to the scene of a high-rise apartment fire on St-Laurent Blvd. near St-Charles St.

Three victims, a 38-year-old woman, a five-year-old and a two-year-old, were brought to hospital. There, the woman was confirmed dead. The children succumbed to their injuries a few hours later.

A man was taken in for questioning by police after the fire, and police confirmed they were investigating the case as a triple homicide.

A woman and two children are dead following an apartment fire in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore, on Sept. 25, 2022. (CTV Montreal/Touria Izri)

LAVAL

More recently, on Monday evening, police were called to a home in Laval's Ste-Dorothée district, north of Montreal. There, they discovered an 11-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl in critical condition. The children were transported to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Their 45-year-old father, Kamaljit Arora, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. His arraignment, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed twice for medical reasons. 

Arora was also charged with one count of assault for allegedly strangling his wife.

The Crown and defence told the court he has been unable to communicate since his arrest.

The human rights commission's investigation will be closed to the public and will seek to determine whether, and which of, the child victims' rights were violated. 

When the investigation is complete, the commission may make recommendations to avoid similar situations in the future.