The Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall is urging the Plante administration to include two “independent” members of civil society on the Commission de la sécurité publique, one of the recommendations taken from the Office of Montreal Public Consultation (OCPM) on Systemic Racism.
Posted at 12:19 p.m.
“Giving a voice to citizens within this commission would ensure that we cover all angles upstream rather than in reaction,” said Wednesday the spokesperson for Ensemble Montreal in terms of public security, Abdelhaq Sari, in sidelines of a press conference.
He believes that the members chosen will have to “have very broad expertise” in public security, which would concern “not only the police”, but which would touch on several areas of public security. But first and foremost, “these people must be apolitical, and therefore have no connection with any political party”, warns the adviser.
His party regrets that the Plante administration has taken a considerable “delay” in this file. In its report, the OCPM recommended to the City that “by October 2021, it make representations to the Government of Quebec to amend section 72 of the Charter of the City of Montreal and to change from nine to eleven the number of members serving on the Public Security Commission, to include two independent members representing civil society”.
In total, “only 10 of the 38 recommendations on systemic racism and discrimination have been implemented in two years”, deplores the opposition, which is calling for steps to be taken in this direction to be accelerated.
A motion should also be tabled at the municipal council on April 25 “to obtain a formal commitment from the Plante administration”. The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), which supports the opposition’s approach, should support it.