Val-d'Or police officer, who says he was defamed, wants $3 million from Radio-Canada

Police officers from the Sûreté du Québec in Val-d’Or say they have experienced “social humiliation” following a report on the show. Investigation He should receive nearly $3 million in damages from Radio-Canada for defamation, his lawyer said Monday, while the state-owned company believes it did everything “according to bill.”

“We have 42 police officers who have suffered harm, they have been subjected to humiliation, their reputations have been destroyed. They have all experienced social stigma within the indigenous community and the community in general,” M said.^I Marco Gagino, this Monday at the Montreal courthouse.

Right after this, M^I Geneviève Gagnon of Radio-Canada fully defended a public interest report that “contributed to liberating people to speak out about certain police officers” who were corrupting relations between police officers and Indigenous peoples. .

It is in this context that a $2.9 million civil defamation lawsuit began this morning between 42 Sûreté du Québec police officers and Radio-Canada regarding the report “SQ abuse: Women break silence” broadcast in 2015 on the show. Investigation,

Two darshan

Thus the journalist Josie Dupuis gave voice to the indigenous women of Val-d’Or in Abitibi, who claimed to have been victims of physical and sexual violence by police officers.

The report caused a shock wave, forcing the government to create the Viens Commission on relations between tribal people and public services.

Montreal police were assigned an investigation, but the Crown did not press charges due to lack of sufficient evidence to obtain a criminal conviction.

“The public interest is unquestionable, (journalistic) investigations conducted in accordance with the rules of the art led to positive changes in our society,” Sri said.^I Gagnon rejected any idea of ​​defamation, especially since no police officers were named in the report.

The 42 Sûreté du Québec police officers at the core of the lawsuit, who are seeking a few tens of thousands of dollars each, do not see things the same way, however, confirming that several pieces of information were not previously verified by journalist Josie Dupuis. Did publish them.

“We can’t just trust one person, we have to verify what they say,” M said.^I Gagino recalls that freedom of speech was not absolute.

Examination under magnifying glass

Thus he cited as an example a claim in the report, which concerned a cross-country ski chalet where incidents of a sexual nature allegedly occurred between police officers and indigenous women. However, according to the lawyer, the information disseminated was not confirmed.

“This is the type of evidence that will be presented (during the trial),” the lawyer said. He suggested that the report be examined by the courts.

However, she took pains to emphasize that the procedures were not intended to “restrict freedom of expression”, and the whole thing should not be seen as a prosecution against indigenous women.

However, Radio-Canada’s lawyer confirmed that what emerged from the police questioning was that they did not believe the Indigenous women in the report.

In total, the civil trial before Quebec Superior Court Judge Babak Barin is scheduled to last three months.