The mayor of Quebec assures that the additional powers he grants to his chief of police will not cause abuses; “We’re not in a police state!” says Bruno Marchand.
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In a press briefing on Thursday morning, Mayor Marchand returned to the fears expressed the day before by Limoilou councilor Jackie Smith, who had expressed concern about the “possible abuses” linked to the granting of new powers to the chief of police. of Quebec. In anticipation of the demonstrations, the chief will indeed be able to make all decisions on traffic, parking and street closures, in order to better manage the event.
“Bruno Marchand has announced that he will give permanent additional powers to the SPVQ in response to the demonstrations planned for the weekend. I am worried about the possible deviations of this measure, ”wrote Mme Smith on Twitter.
The councilor takes the “bit in her teeth”, replied the mayor. “Mme Smith has a completely different view of policing. We have seen him in the campaign with a preoccupation above all with subtracting funding from the police. We are not there at all. […] The additions we have made to the powers of the police department, there is no possible drift. All the police chief can do is play with traffic, parking, and street access. We’re not living in a police state because we just allowed that.”
He also claimed that it would be “easy to go back” if it became problematic.
The Leader of the Opposition, Claude Villeneuve, did not object to the granting of these powers, but he believes that they should not last over time. “I think it should be temporary.”
Hells under surveillance
The presence of supporters of the outlaw motorcycle gang of the Hells in the organization of the demonstration, as revealed on Thursday The newspaper, is closely watched in Quebec. “It all depends on their intentions,” said the mayor. Claude Villeneuve is worried about it. “The demonstration is instrumentalized by a bunch of groups who do not wish our good.”
No permanent installations
In anticipation of the weekend’s demonstrations, the mayor confirmed that the municipality had still not received a request for a permit to hold a festive event. The day before, he had recalled that the holding of music and entertainment shows were prohibited without administrative authorization from the City.
“We are in constant discussion with the organizers and the subject [des spectacles] has been addressed. We are currently trying to find a way to organize everything, ”said the Quebec City Police Service.
In addition, spas, or any other permanent or semi-permanent installation, will not be authorized in Quebec, he recalled, in reference to what happened in Ottawa.
– With the collaboration of Pierre-Paul Biron