According to the sources of To have to, it was for “national security” reasons that the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) fired, in the summer of 2021, an emergency communications worker (911). The former employee, who says she was never made aware of this reason and who has no criminal record, has since been fighting in court to shed light on the circumstances of her dismissal, described as “surreal” by the Superior Court of Quebec.
In April 2020, Miriam Ikhlef, then 23 years old, was hired by the SPVM as an emergency communications worker. Dreaming of becoming a police officer, the young Quebecer of Algerian origin applied in January 2021 as part of the SPVM’s Conventional Police Program, which aims to facilitate the recruitment to this position of people of Aboriginal origin or from visible minorities.
Thus, on January 19, 2021, Miriam Ikhlef, who had already obtained a bachelor’s degree in security and police studies from the University of Montreal, was informed by her employer, the SPVM, that she met all the criteria to present their application for this program. In the following months, she will succeed in the various stages of the hiring process to become a police officer, until going, in April, to that of the security accreditation investigation.
The candidate is therefore hopeful that she will complete this step without any problem, since she had already obtained security accreditation in order to be able to work at the SPVM’s 911 Central from April 2020.
Fired without reason
However, on June 16, 2021, the young woman learned that she had not passed the security accreditation investigation, without ever being informed of the reasons justifying this decision. The young woman, who saw her security accreditation revoked, lost her job a few days later as an emergency communications worker. “Never in my life would I have thought I would live in such a situation,” Ms.me Ikhlef, interviewed at To have to.
The young woman then turned to the Superior Court to try to obtain reinstatement to her position at the SPVM as well as moral and punitive damages totaling $20,000, as part of a lawsuit against the SPVM and the City of Montreal.
It’s a tough fight with no answers, but it’s an important fight
“The Court understands that, until now, the plaintiff is still unaware of the exact reasons that led to the immediate withdrawal of her security accreditation and, by extension, the end of her employment with the SPVM,” mentioned the judge of the Superior Court. Michel A. Pinsonnault, in a decision rendered on December 29, 2022 on the jurisdiction of this court to deal with this file, which was contested by the SPVM and the City of Montreal. The judge then criticized the “nebulous” and “surreal” circumstances of this dismissal.
However, since the Union of Municipal Officials of Montreal had already filed a grievance in July 2021 aimed at achieving the same objectives as those set out in this lawsuit, Judge Pinsonnault agreed with the SPVM and the City, recognizing that the Superior Court “ has no jurisdiction” to hear this request. Rather, it will have to be the subject of arbitration managed by the union, ruled the judge. Arbitration is scheduled for October 2023, the union confirmed to the To have to.
Miriam Ikhlef, now 25 years old, will however continue to lead her fight in parallel before the Superior Court, which this time will be called upon to clarify precisely the reasons for the rejection of her candidacy for the SPVM Conventional Police Program, a question that does not come under union arbitration.
“We want to know the reasons for which she was refused in this program and, then, we will be able to ask for an injunction, damages or something like that”, explains in an interview the lawyer Daniel Rochefort, who represents Mme Ikhlef. The latter has already spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees because of this affair.
“It’s a difficult fight and without answers, but it’s an important fight,” notes Miriam Ikhlef, who intends to fight until the end to obtain answers to her questions.
Joined by The dutythe SPVM and the City of Montreal refrained from commenting on this case due to the ongoing legal process.
national security
According to our information, the SPVM invoked “national security” grounds to revoke Miriam Ikhlef’s security accreditation, as confirmed by her lawyer. “But what is national security? We need to be given facts, reasons,” said Ms.e Rochefort. “Is it because of his uncle?” We don’t know,” he added.
In an interview, Miriam Ikhlef confirmed the identity of her father, Nabil Ikhlef. The latter is the brother of Mourad Ikhlef, who lived in Montreal for ten years before being expelled in 2003 to his country of origin, Algeria, following a decision by the Commission of the immigration and refugee status.
Mourad Ikhlef’s asylum application was then refused because the Commission had “reasonable grounds” to believe that he was an active member of a terrorist organization. He is also said to have collaborated with the terrorist Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested at the Canada-US border on December 14, 1999 at the wheel of a car filled with explosives. Mr. Ressam was heading for Los Angeles.
Miriam Ikhlef hardly knew her uncle, whom she would have seen for the last time at a very young age. However, her father, Nabil Ikhlef, with whom she lived in Vancouver, had come to Montreal to support her brother Mourad in his attempt to obtain asylum in Canada. Nabil Ikhlef also testified in the trial of Ahmed Ressam, held in March 2001. He subsequently lived in Montreal. His daughter says today that she cannot say if her father still lives in the metropolis.
Due to the ongoing legal process and the confidentiality of employee files, the SPVM did not want to indicate whether Miriam Ikhlef’s family ties contributed to the revocation of her security accreditation. “The reasons, as I tell you, to this day, I do not know them. I know that I have nothing to reproach myself for,” says Miriam Ikhlef.
The young woman still wants to become a police officer in Montreal.