Riot breaks out at Montreal jail as tension rises over earlier curfew

The Bordeaux jail is shown in Montreal, Sunday, February 7, 2021. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Tensions appear to be rising at Quebec’s largest provincial jail amid new rules imposed on inmates.

A riot broke out earlier this week at the Bordeaux jail in Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, Noovo Info reported.

A new rule requires inmates to return to their cells by 9 p.m., an hour earlier than before, which is not sitting well with the jail population.

Laura said she was on the phone with her partner, who is detained at Bordeaux, when the conflict broke out. An excerpt of the call provided to Noovo Info suggested there was an argument among several people.

“The inmates decided to stage a non-violent sit-in and refused to return to their cells,” said Laura, who asked that her last name be withheld. “There were only two guards on the floor. We’re talking about 180 or more inmates for two guards. They called for more guards.”

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The riot lasted several hours, with correctional officers deploying tear gas and flash bangs during the operation, according to Noovo Info. No injuries were reported.

Laura’s partner hung up the phone during the incident and she hasn’t heard from him since.

“My partner kept saying to me, ‘I have to go, I have to go. I have to go. It’s like Guantanamo, and we’re in Quebec,’” she recalled.

Curfew needed to avoid overtime: minister

Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière said the provincial government made the decision to impose a curfew “to allow correctional officers to avoid mandatory overtime.”

Lafrenière said he wasn’t surprised when he was informed of the altercation between officers and inmates at Bordeaux.

“We’re dealing with people who are in a prison environment because they refused to follow certain rules, so the new rule didn’t go over well,” he said.

“I understand that people aren’t happy, but I’ll remind you, this is a prison environment.”

However, a civil liberties group denounced the new measure. The Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL), an independent, non-partisan non-profit organization, said staff shortages is not a valid argument.

“That cannot be an excuse or a justification for trampling on rights. It fuels tensions and is harmful to everyone,” the LDL’s policy analyst, Lynda Khelil, told Noovo Info, adding that the government should instead consider lowering the jail’s population by reducing the use of incarceration.

“We also forget the loved ones who suffer the impacts of incarceration,” Khelil said.

A prison guard speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly stated that the measure was intended to apply to a certain portion of the prison population.

“The fact that inmates disagree with such measures and express their opposition through acts of violence should not scare us,” he said.

The union representing correctional officers in Quebec, the SAPSCQ-CSN, did not respond to a request for comment.

With files from Noovo Info