A year after his hiring, which had sparked controversy among Montreal patrol officers, former police officer Alain Babineau is no longer employed by the Commissioner for the Fight against Racism and Systemic Discrimination of Montreal. He regrets having been limited in his functions.
Posted at 4:50 p.m.
“The role of the position was above all to work with the Montreal police. And according to the recommendations of the report of the Office of Public Consultation (OCPM), we were supposed to have a person stationed at headquarters. But they never wanted to have me there, ”denounces the main interested party, who spent his last day with the office of Commissioner Bochra Manaï, on April 30.
Over the year, Mr. Babineau says he conducted a “reflection” on the relevance of his role, noting in particular that he did not have enough space to work.
“It was a position to make accelerated changes. However, sometimes, there are organizational cultures with which no matter the person, it is unchangeable. We are therefore making very cosmetic changes, ”he castigates, speaking of the SPVM, in which his presence has “always bothered”, according to him.
Often quoted in the media on racial profiling, Alain Babineau – a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) police officer who worked for the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) – is however pleased with the progress that he was able to do during his tenure. “I did a lot of work with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), for example, on agent training, on policies. For me, that is indicative of an organization that wants to move forward. Now I’m moving on to another call,” he says.
Strong tensions
As soon as his hiring was announced in May 2021, the Brotherhood of Montreal Police Officers was indignant at the arrival of a “militant […] one of whose specialties is to accuse police officers of racial profiling. “It is obvious that an activist pleading in the media against the police and police is in no position to generate support. A minimum of the appearance of impartiality would have been necessary for this position, ”the Fraternity had then hammered in an email sent to all its members.
By email, the president of the Brotherhood, Yves Francœur, remained succinct in his comments on Monday, simply indicating that his group is “not surprised” by the departure of Mr. Babineau.
At the City of Montreal, we also remain cautious. “Employee records are confidential. As such, the City will not make any specific comment to this effect, ”simply replied the spokesperson, Gabrielle Fontaine-Giroux. Valérie Plante’s cabinet also declined to comment on Monday, citing “administrative processes” beyond its reach.
As for her, Bochra Manaï remains commissioner at the Office against racism and systemic discrimination at the City of Montreal. The recruitment of M.me Manaï by the Plante administration had also caused controversy in the winter of 2021, because it had called Quebec “a benchmark for supremacists and extremists around the world” in the wake of the adoption of Bill 21. In Quebec, Prime Minister François Legault had criticized his appointment.
With Daniel Renaud, The Press