The Sureté du Québec (SQ) is backtracking and will accept white candidates for training for future police officers.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Élizabeth* enrolled in the Attestation of Collegial Studies (AEC) Police Diversity program last fall, in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer. However, in the middle of the several-month process, the admission criteria changed, and the training was instead reserved for people of Aboriginal origin and members of visible or ethnic minorities, as revealed by The Press last April. Elizabeth’s candidacy was therefore rejected.
Two weeks ago, however, the woman received a new call from the SQ recruitment team. “The person explained to me that the ministry [de la Sécurité publique] had revised its rules. I was told that we were ready to reactivate the files of candidates who had been refused on condition that they were ready to work in a remote region,” explains Élizabeth, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of being again exclude from the program.
” I accepted. My desire to join the police is quite strong, ”she underlines, judging however that the process lacks a little seriousness.
The Sûreté du Québec confirms that it has recontacted 48 candidates: 38 agreed to continue the selection process, 10 withdrew. “We took the time to redo an in-depth analysis of the criteria with the Ministry of Public Security. This allowed us to see that there was a misunderstanding regarding the eligibility criteria that had been sent to us concerning remote regions. We clarified the situation and, subsequently, we contacted the candidates again,” explains Ann Mathieu, lieutenant and spokesperson for the SQ.
The Department says the criteria were never changed along the way. Persons from visible or ethnic minorities were eligible, as were applications from police forces serving regions far from major centres. “These criteria have not changed since they were established by the committee, and have been communicated to all police forces,” said Camille Simard, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security.
Women also underrepresented
The Police Diversity AEC is a college program for civilians who work in police services. The nine-month accelerated training aims to increase diversity within the profession. Once they have their certificate in hand, students must still enter the École nationale de police du Québec (ENPQ).
The article of The Press on the rejection of white candidates provoked many reactions last April, because women are also under-represented in the police forces of the province.
In Quebec, only one in three police officers is a woman, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security. The ENPQ maintains that from 25.5% to 34% of recruits were women between 2010 and 2021.
The numbers are even more disturbing when looking at the number of people from ethnic minorities. Less than 6 in 100 police officers were from “visible and ethnic minorities” in 2020, men and women combined, according to the Ministry.
*fictitious name
With Lila Dussault, The Press