Threat of more violence in Montreal this spring is real, councillors warn
The opposition called on Mayor Valérie Plante to consult the public before choosing a new police chief and equip officers with body cameras sooner.
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City councillors warned Monday that Montreal could face a violent spring, after three people were seriously injured in stabbings Sunday, including a 25-year-old woman in Westmount.
On Friday, two men were shot and a third was stabbed in three separate attacks in east-end districts.
The recent rise in violent crime is “really alarming,” said veteran councillor Richard Deschamps of Équipe LaSalle at the monthly council meeting.
“I think that we really have to act, and I ask the person in charge of public security … to really see it as a priority because … while I don’t want to be alarmist, I have fears for the coming months,” he said.
“I am asking you to be extremely vigilant because it would be a shame if what we have been through for the past year and what we have been through all weekend is repeated in the next few weeks and months,” Deschamps added.
With reports of sagging morale and a wave of departures from Montreal police, “the next police chief will have their work cut out for them,” warned interim opposition leader Aref Salem.
Last week, police Chief Sylvain Caron announced he was retiring 20 months before the end of his five-year contract. He acknowledged there has been “a lack of communication at certain points” with the city administration.
Salem called on Mayor Valérie Plante to require finalists vying for the job of top cop to appear before Montreal’s public security committee at a meeting where members of the public would be able to ask them questions. The requirement was among the recommendations of a June 2020 report by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) on systemic racism and discrimination within the city and police force.
Ensemble Montréal house leader Chantal Rossi hammered Plante over a “troubling” wave of departures from the force, saying that many officers don’t feel supported by the city administration. She also demanded that the city equip police officers with body cameras, accusing the administration of trying to buy time on its promise to do so by implementing a pilot project.
La Presse reported last week that 21 officers have quit the 6,000-employee force so far this year, and 40 left in 2021, according to the Montreal Police Brotherhood.
Plante sidestepped Salem’s question on having candidates appear before the public security committee, noting that the selection process for police chief is confidential.
Alain Vaillancourt, the executive committee member responsible for public security, defended the administration’s relationship with Caron and its actions to curb the rise in violence.
“We’re not standing by with our arms crossed,” he said.
The administration has “very good communication” with the police chief and has worked hand-in-hand with him on initiatives like the ELTA squad to crack down on gun violence and a forum on armed violence that will develop a “Montreal model” for addressing the issue, he said.
Vaillancourt added that the city will deploy body cameras in a pilot project starting this year.
Despite a rise in violence over the past year, Montreal is still a relatively safe city, he said. But he acknowledged that Deschamps’s fears were well-founded.
“You’re right, we must remain very vigilant,” Vaillancourt said.
With the elimination of COVID-19 restrictions, “people will be back in the parks, etc., so we expect a potential upsurge (in violence),” he said.
“But we’re ready. We’re working with Montreal police, we are acting quickly and we are actively working on the file,” he said.
Vaillancourt said Montreal is combatting the problem on two fronts: by empowering police to crack down on gang violence and funding community groups that help prevent youth from being drawn into gangs and address mental health issues.
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