A dozen Montreal community organizations came forward in support of Montreal police (SPVM) chief Fady Dagher after he fired seven officers over allegations of racist behaviour and other misconduct, calling the dismissals an important step toward rebuilding trust. The groups, which represent Black, Asian and other multicultural communities, as well as civil rights and community organizations, said the allegations involving officers at two Montreal police stations were disturbing and unacceptable. They welcomed Dagher’s decision but stressed that meaningful change would require more than disciplinary action. Among them was Kris Bennett, vice-president of Barbados House Montreal, who cautioned that rebuilding trust wouldn’t happen overnight. “This is not a process that’s going to be easy, and it’s not a process that’s going to be quick,” Bennett said. “But it has to be shown that there is some process that we’re going to follow through on and that there’s going to be transparency and accountability.” Seven officers dismissed The dismissals, announced Monday, involved five officers from station 39 in Montreal North and two from station 21 downtown. The allegations included an officer at station 39 cutting the hair of racialized citizens to keep as “trophies,” while an officer at station 21 was accused of urinating on a homeless person while in uniform. While none of the seven officers have been charged with a criminal offence, Dagher said several bodies were assessing the allegations. Further ongoing investigations include a Quebec-appointed independent observer tasked with ensuring the integrity and impartiality of the SPVM’s investigations, the Police Ethics Commissioner and, in some cases, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions. “We are waiting to see when and if charges are pressed against those police officers,” Dagher said Monday. The Montreal police union, meanwhile, signalled it would challenge the dismissals. In a memo to its members, union president Yves Francoeur said the allegations, if proven true, went against the values of the police brotherhood and Montreal police officers. However, he argued the administrative dismissals raised fundamental legal questions and could set a precedent for future labour relations. “The law governing the employment relationship cannot be rewritten unilaterally by the employer based on what it considers appropriate in given circumstances,” Francoeur wrote. The union declined CTV News’ request for an interview. Calls for structural change For community leaders, the allegations have also highlighted the need to rebuild relationships between police and the people they serve. Manh Tien Nguyen, co-founder of the Alliance of Montreal Asians for Prosperity and Inclusion, said that relationship needed to extend beyond officers’ traditional duties. “It’s not just about policing the streets, and, and traffic control whatnot, but actually getting to know the communities,” Nguyen said. That also means creating opportunities for officers from marginalized communities to contribute to changes within the force, said Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR). “Without resorting to tokenism, because those Black or Arab officers don’t want to be tokens,” Niemi said. “They want to say that they are police officers with solutions and with ideas on how to do things differently — on how to engage with the communities.” In Montreal North, where tensions between residents and police have persisted for years, Sheilla Fortuné, executive director of Maison des jeunes L’Ouverture, said her organization wants to see the work initiated by Dagher continue. “We want to establish a sustainable framework to address the issues within the organization that he himself has highlighted, namely the culture of silence,” said Fortuné. “We want all citizens to be treated fairly, regardless of their origin or skin color.” Sharon Nelson, of the Jamaica Association of Montreal, described the dismissals as one of the most historic developments the community had witnessed, pointing to the fact that complaints had been heard and action had followed. “Every citizen has the right to live in peace in Montreal and to feel protected — [the firings] are a good first step in creating trust within the community and many different communities that have had situations where they weren’t taken seriously,” she said. The recent allegations also shook public confidence in the police, noted the president of the Chan Family Association. “That has brought a fear for many citizens in Montreal who are losing faith with the police culture,” he said. “That culture has to be changed to build that faith again.” Rights group says more is needed Not all organizations believe the dismissals go far enough. The Ligue des droits et libertés said the decision was necessary to protect the public, but warned the cases represented only a small part of a much deeper problem. The civil liberties organization argued that police racism, racial and social profiling, and violations of Montrealers’ rights could not be reduced to the actions of a handful of officers. In a statement, it pointed to more than four decades of concerns about discriminatory policing at the SPVM and called for broader changes to the force’s organizational culture, practices and strategies. The group also criticized the SPVM for not publishing annual statistics on police street checks, which it said disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black and Arab Montrealers. It called on the City of Montreal to end arbitrary police street checks and repeal municipal regulations that contribute to racial and social profiling. Meanwhile, the 12 community organizations that backed Dagher also expressed their willingness to work with the police service and other stakeholders to help bring about meaningful change. Their message was that the seven dismissals should mark the beginning of a broader effort — not the end of the conversation.
