Surete du Quebec police officers reject agreement in principle

Quebec Provincial Police headquarters is seen on April 17, 2019 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Nearly two out of three Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police officers have rejected the agreement in principle reached earlier this summer between their union and the Quebec government, which included wage increases of 21 per cent over five years.

Over the past week, the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec (APPQ) conducted a province-wide tour to explain the agreement.

An electronic vote in which 90.08 per cent of union members took part resulted in a 59.38 per cent rejection of the agreement.

"One of the reasons for the members' rejection was the context of inflation and rising interest rates. Yet we had repeatedly stressed to the government during the negotiations that our members' expectations were high. Perhaps they will finally believe us this time," said APPQ President Jacques Painchaud in a press release.

The APPQ is reserving further comment for the time being, but said that it would respect the democratic process and the vote expressed by its members. The union said it will resume bargaining once the government "is prepared to resume talks."

For its part, Finance Minister Eric Girard's office, which oversaw the negotiations, told The Canadian Press it learned of the agreement's rejection "with astonishment and disappointment." No further comment will be made at this time.

The employment contract for SQ police officers expires on March 31, 2022.

The APPQ represents 5,700 SQ police officers and investigators.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 16, 2023.