The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has called its officers to order after some of them wore Saint-Michel badges on their uniforms, in violation of the State Secularism Act and the prohibition of the wearing of religious symbols by its representatives.
Last weekend, photos circulated on social networks showing police officers in uniforms sewn with a badge of Saint-Michel, the “boss of police officers”, as the SPVM recalls.
By email, the police department confirmed that it had been informed that some of its members were wearing such badges.
However, the Legault government’s Law on State Secularism, adopted in 2019 by the National Assembly, prohibits the wearing of “religious symbols” by state representatives, a provision regularly criticized by several parties in society. civil.
“This broad definition means any object that is worn in connection with a religious conviction or belief or that is reasonably considered to refer to a religious affiliation. It has therefore been requested that any crest symbolizing or referring to Saint Michael be removed from the uniform in order to comply with the requirements of the Act,” said the SPVM’s Communications and Media Relations Division on Wednesday.
A full overhaul awaited
In general, the SPVM points out that it has entrusted an ethics committee with the mandate to examine the complete review of “the procedure for keeping and maintaining”. No date has been specified as to when this committee could deliver its conclusions, its work having started in the fall of 2021.
“Management will issue a position in this regard once the committee has completed its work and presented its recommendations,” it says.
The decision to carry out this revision was taken by the SPVM in the wake of another controversy over the wearing, by Montreal police officers, of badges adorned with a maple leaf crossed out with a thin blue line also known as the of “Thin Blue Line”.
This symbol of support for law enforcement is banned by some Canadian police forces, including the RCMP and the Ontario police. He is criticized by left-wing activists, in particular.