The union that represents Montreal’s police officers will fight the dismissal of seven of its members, five of them from the Montréal-Nord station at the center of this year’s racism scandal. It is the first test of whether the firings, which Chief Fady Dagher called “exceptional measures,” will last.
Yves Francoeur, president of the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, told members in a memo Tuesday that the way the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) removed the officers raises “fundamental questions of law.” He told Radio-Canada the process is “arbitraire” and does not respect the rules of natural justice.
The mechanism is what the union objects to. The SPVM did not run the usual disciplinary process. After administrative investigations, it withdrew the officers’ accreditations, which ended their employment automatically. Dagher has said officers must keep “good morals and reputation” to hold that accreditation. Francoeur says the method is unprecedented in labor relations and that the officers were never given a chance to answer before they were out.
The union does not dispute that the allegations are serious. The Fraternité acknowledged that if they are true, they “would profoundly contravene” the values of Montreal officers. Five of the dismissed worked at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord, a borough with a large Black population. The allegations there include cutting the hair of racialized residents and keeping it as trophies. Two officers came from Station 21 downtown, where allegations include mistreating unhoused people. Others involve mocking arrested people in humiliating photos and concealing evidence of domestic violence. These remain allegations: no one has been charged.
All seven cases have been sent to the Crown prosecutor’s office, the DPCP. Dagher has said criminal charges are “a strong possibility.” He told reporters that a police officer is judged “by the way they treat those who cannot defend themselves.”
The chief has also said what happens if a tribunal sends the officers back: the SPVM would move to discipline them right away. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the dismissals an unprecedented step toward rebuilding public trust. Opposition leader Ericka Alneus said they are only a baseline and that far more reform is needed.
The union has an argument the city will have to answer. A fast, untested process invites a reversal on procedure, and a reversal would hand the officers a win without anyone ever ruling on what they are accused of doing.
That is why the stakes fall on Black Montrealers. The officers who reported this conduct broke a wall of silence to do it. If the dismissals are undone on a technicality, the next officer who considers speaking up will see what it bought. The city has to defend these firings in front of a tribunal, press the DPCP to decide quickly on charges, and make sure the evidence is tested in public.
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