(Montreal) The City of Montreal will pay more than 3 million to hundreds of demonstrators whose rights had been violated by the Police Department of the City of Montreal.
The settlement will put an end to eight class actions brought against the City. The plaintiff alleged that the participants in six demonstrations had been illegally arrested or detained by the SPVM during an encirclement and had been unable to exercise certain fundamental rights.
The law firm Melançon, Marceau, Grenier et Cohen, which represents the participants in the class actions, indicated in a court-approved notice that the municipality will publish an apology on its website acknowledging that “certain actions” by the SPVM and the municipal administration had violated the fundamental rights of the demonstrators.
These demonstrations took place between June 2012 and March 2014. Some were aimed at denouncing police brutality and a municipal by-law limiting demonstrations. Another wanted to mark the first anniversary of the beginning of the student demonstrations against the increase in tuition fees during the “maple spring”.
The settlement agreement must be approved by the Superior Court of Quebec. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 21.
The City of Montreal has agreed to pay a total of $6 million to settle these eight class actions and eight other “files based on similar facts and issues”.