The Peel Regional Police, north of Toronto, has not recruited Quebec police officers affected by Bill 21 in the past two years, despite taking steps to this effect in the summer of 2019, according to what has been learned. The duty.
In the days following the passage of the Secularism Act, banning the wearing of religious symbols by state employees, in June 2019, the Peel Police Services Board — the regional police board — has passed a motion encouraging people working as police officers, as well as those studying to become one, to join the police force. A grandfather clause protects the wearing of religious symbols for police officers if they had one when the bill was introduced on March 27, 2019, provided that the person “performs the same function within the same organization ” according to the law.
No police officer, however, responded to the call of the board of directors, confirmed Charles Payette, the assistant to the chief of police. A police spokesperson, Akhil Mooken, said only one Quebec police officer had been hired since 2019. But his departure is not linked to Bill 21.
The absence of candidates could be in question: according to Antoine Tousignant, spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, between November 2018 and January 2019, all Quebec police forces were contacted by the Ministry of Public Security and the data show “that no peace officer wears a visible religious symbol while on duty”. However, some police forces were unable to respond.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal says it has no police affected by the law, as does the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau, while the Sûreté du Québec says it does not have the information. Sondos Lamrhari, the first veiled student at the École nationale de police du Québec (ENPQ), declined to share her career plans when contacted by The duty. The Montrealer graduated from the ENPQ in February. According to Law 21, she cannot be hired in any of the police forces in Quebec.
Alain Normand, former manager of emergency measures for the city of Brampton, is not surprised by the lack of recruitment. “I’m pretty sure that decision was made without consultation with hiring managers,” he says. According to the new retiree, the recruitment of police officers is governed by strict standards and collective agreements which greatly limit the arrival of new recruits who do not have a background in Ontario.
Advertising campaign
The Peel Regional Police had nevertheless launched an advertising campaign in Quebec between August 7, 2019 and September 16, 2019 inviting police officers to settle in the region, which mainly represents the cities of Brampton and Mississauga. The police department spent $1,500 on digital advertising and says it reached 85,000 people through the ad campaign.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, then a council member, said he was “proud to support the motion” on social networks. In December 2021, City of Brampton City Council passed a motion allowing the use of public funds for the legal fight against Bill 21. Since then, Mayor Brown has successfully rallied several Canadian cities, including Toronto, London and Calgary. He did not respond to Le Devoir’s numerous requests for comment.
city recruitment
Five days after the police board’s motion was passed, in June 2019, Brampton City Council and its mayor encouraged Quebec city workers affected by the secularism law to join the city. This includes the fire services, which are under the governance of the municipality.
By email, a city spokesperson said he couldn’t say if any employees have been hired since the motion was passed. But according to Paul Lecompte, president of Section 1068 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which represents Brampton firefighters, no Quebecers have joined the team since June 26, 2019. Alain Normand says he is “certain” that no Quebec firefighter was hired between 2019 and April 2021, when he retired.
Fabio Gazzola, the president of Local 831 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says for his part that to his knowledge, no municipal employee has been recruited since June 2019. “We are one of the cities the most multicultural in Ontario and perhaps even in Canada, so it’s weird to say that we’re going to hire Quebecers,” he says.
As the regional police did, the municipality paid $5,000 in 2019 for advertising on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram social networks. At the time the motion was passed, one of Brampton’s councillors, Gurpreet Dhillon, had criticized the measure, describing it as a “publicity stunt”. “Is it reasonable to buy advertising in Quebec instead of doing it in our local ethnic media? he had wondered.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.