Nearly two out of three Sûreté du Québec police officers rejected the agreement in principle reached earlier this summer between their union and the Quebec government, which notably included salary increases of 21% over five years.
Over the past week, the Association of Quebec Provincial Police Officers (APPQ) led a provincial tour to explain the agreement.
An electronic vote in which 90.08% of union members took part resulted in a rejection of the agreement in a proportion of 59.38%.
“This refusal by members is explained, among other things, by an inflationary context and rising interest rates. However, we had stressed to the government, on numerous occasions during the negotiations, that the expectations of our members were high. Perhaps he will finally want to believe us this time,” mentioned the president of the APPQ, Jacques Painchaud, in a press release.
The APPQ indicated that it would reserve any further comments for the moment, but indicated that it would respect the democratic process and the vote expressed by its members. She said she was ready to resume negotiating work as soon as the government “is willing to resume talks.”
For its part, the office of Minister Eric Girard, who oversaw the negotiations, said it learned “with astonishment and disappointment” of the rejection of the agreement, The Canadian Press was told. No further comments will be made at this time.
The employment contract for SQ police officers expired on March 31, 2022.
The APPQ represents 5,700 police officers and investigators from the Sûreté du Québec.
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