Hiring of police officers: “22 days to break the first promise”

The official opposition in Montreal accuses Mayor Valérie Plante of misleading citizens after she promised to hire 250 additional police officers during the election campaign.

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“I do not understand how in just 22 days, we already have a broken promise,” denounced Aref Salem, head of Ensemble Montreal.

During the election campaign, Denis Coderre, who was then leader of the party, had promised to hire 250 police officers to fill the workforce of the Police Department of the City of Montreal (SPVM). Currently, the provincial government authorizes the SPVM to have 4,802 police officers. However, its current workforce is currently below this limit. It is this gap that Mr. Coderre promised to fill.

At the beginning of November, Ms. Plante, who was then a candidate for her own re-election, had in turn promised to hire 250 additional police officers at the SPVM.

However, a Radio-Canada survey indicates that these promised new staff will mainly fill retirements, and that the net addition of police officers will be limited.

Mme Plante denies having lied. “I don’t want to leave these figures vague. For me, it has always been clear that between today and December 2022, there would be 250 police officers who would be hired, and that would include retirements, ”she justified.

An explanation that leaves the official opposition unmoved.

“I believe she willfully misled people. Today, we are playing with the numbers, but the reality is that there is already a broken promise, ”reiterated Mr. Salem.

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