Only two candidates remain in the race for the direction of the police of Montreal, the outcome of which will be known this Thursday, learned our Bureau of investigation.
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After seven months of interim and after several internal tensions at the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM), the name of the person who will lead the organization for the next few years should be announced on November 24.
It is during a public meeting of the Commission de la sécurité publique that the name of the person who will be chosen to fill the position left vacant by the former leader, Sylvain Caron, will be announced.
As of this writing, two candidates are still in the running for the top chair of the province’s largest municipal police department, our sources tell us.
This is the interim chef Sophie Roy, considered internally as the favorite.
Its deputy director Vincent Richer is also on the short list of the selection committee.
Tensions
At least three other people had applied:
- The former assistant director at the SPVM and current Inspector at Via Rail, Jean-Ernest Célestin who subsequently withdrew it;
- Inspector Patrick Lavallée of the SPVM, whose candidacy was not accepted because he had no experience in a management committee;
- Chief Inspector Brigitte Barabé of the SPVM, who was not selected for the same reasons.
However, several police sources who are not authorized to speak to the media tell us that the elimination of the latter two has created a stir within the ranks:
“Chief Inspector Brigitte Barabé is on the eligibility list [pour devenir directrice adjointe] for almost two years and has still not been promoted. This hurt her because she was unable to develop the management experience required,” says one of our sources.
Meanwhile, in 2021, an acting deputy director was appointed despite not having a bachelor’s degree, which is a requirement for the position.
This adds to the tensions, indicates another source well aware of the internal management at the SPVM.
We tried to collect Brigitte Barabé and other candidates’ version of the facts, but no one returned our calls.
After the announcement by the Commission de la sécurité publique, the Executive Committee will have to ratify the choice of the successful candidate, followed by the Council of Ministers in Quebec.