Sixteen metro stations were vandalized overnight, in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas. Posters bearing the slogan “Genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit” were plastered by the dozen on the metro entrances.
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) confirms having received several calls regarding these posters as early as 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, half an hour before the metro opened.
“We consider it to be mischief, but it is the hate crimes section which is taking charge of this investigation and which will determine whether it is hatred or not,” explains Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for the SPVM.
The signs all have QR codes that lead to websites supporting Palestine. Some present upcoming protests or petitions.
The panels are so sticky that employees of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) have difficulty removing them. They were affixed to the entrance doors and windows of metro stations. “What we are trying to do at the moment is to redact them or hide them because we have been told that they do not come off easily at all,” adds Mme Gauthier.
The STM, for its part, confirms that teams responsible for maintenance were deployed on the ground Tuesday morning to remove the posters. “Of course, we deplore this type of act of vandalism,” said Amélie Régis, spokesperson for the STM.
Affected stations
- Jean-Talon
- Villa-Maria
- Sherbrooke
- Jarry
- Mont Royal
- Beaubien
- Édouard-Montpetit
- Frontenac
- Pie-IX
- Viau
- Fabre
- Montreal university
- Of the park
- From Castelnau
- Acadia
- Prefontaine