The shortage of special constables is greatly disrupting the activities of the Montreal courthouse this week. Lawyers, defendants and victims still stumbled Wednesday morning at closed doors in front of several courtrooms. The union evokes a “haemorrhage” of personnel.
“Lack of constables. Firearms files referred to room 3.02. »
“Lack of constables. Lawyers in Teams only. Thank you for your collaboration. »
“Lack of constables. Role of 6.06 referred in room 5.06. »
PHOTO THE PRESS
These sheets were placed on the door of a courtroom at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday morning.
These messages written on sheets glued with adhesive tape sat on Wednesday morning on the door of room 5.06 of the Montreal courthouse. From the outside, you could see a judge of the Court of Quebec on the bench. However, the room was closed to the public for lack of special constables. An almost unprecedented situation.
A little further on, still on the fifth floor of the courthouse, citizens were pacing or staring at their phones, leaning against the wall, waiting for a special constable to show up to open their courtroom. Constables were so scarce on Wednesday that prosecutors rejoiced at the sight of such a peace officer.
According to a list posted by the Court of Quebec, three courtrooms were closed Wednesday morning for lack of constables, while activities in five other rooms were suspended or disrupted.
At the start of the evening, the Ministry of Justice came to clarify that five courtrooms had “started late” on Wednesday due to the lack of special constables, compared to six rooms on Tuesday. “The hearings scheduled in the other rooms affected were able to start on time due to the measures put in place, for example videoconferencing and the merger of roles,” said spokeswoman Isabelle Boily.
La Presse was able to observe, for example, that a judge exceptionally decided to allow a trial to be held without the presence of a constable in the courtroom.
On Tuesday, a preliminary investigation into a pimping case could not proceed in the absence of a constable, forcing the complainant and the witnesses to wait a long time, in vain. They will have to return later to the courthouse to testify at this trying stage.
“There is a break in service”
“We are hitting a wall. There is a break in service. We are no longer able to maintain the safety of citizens and court personnel because of the lack of constables. It worries us a lot, ”says Franck Perales, president of the Syndicate of Special Constables of the Government of Quebec, in an interview.
Special constables should not be confused with simple security guards. Constables are peace officers, like police officers, and are trained at the National Police School of Quebec in Nicolet. They have a firearm and can make arrests. Despite everything, they are paid $59,000 a year, a salary much lower than in the police services.
“We are the lowest paid constables in Canada and in Quebec. It’s the hemorrhage. Since December, 11 constables have left. In such a short time, it’s huge. There have been 200 departures since 2018 among the constables, but we can’t get the upper hand. The government hired 200 recruits and was unable to keep them. They left for better skies,” explains Franck Perales.
Negotiations have been at an impasse for three years now, despairs the president of the union. “We’re not asking for the moon, just being competitive. But we are faced with a government that does not seem to be listening. If we hit a wall, it’s not because we haven’t sounded the alarm,” he concludes.