“Too little, too late. » This is how the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, described the aid provided by Quebec to deal with armed violence.
Mr. Boyer made these strong criticisms in front of the media and the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, who had just announced the investment of 20 million dollars to help the municipality.
The amount aims to help Laval add 20 resources to its police service to combat the increase in armed violence.
The number of homicides is increasing in Laval, and Mayor Boyer pleaded at a press conference that the situation in his city was comparable to that of the city of Montreal, in proportion to its population.
In 2022, the ratio of murders per 100,000 inhabitants was 2.73 in Laval and 2.32 in Montreal, recalled the mayor. Mr. Boyer therefore estimates that Quebec should have paid around $60 million to be fair with Montreal.
“So to announce a year later a sum three times less, it is too little, too late and above all, unfair for our citizens. The life of a Laval resident is not worth less than that of a Montrealer,” lamented the mayor.
Lowered targets
According to him, it is the municipality which will have to cover the missing sums to pursue objectives revised downwards, he says, due to lack of resources.
“I know how a political party works, I know that you are not alone in making decisions,” he said to Mr. Bonnardel and his colleague, Christopher Skeete, minister responsible for the Laval region. , who was also present.
“I am well aware that you will not like this public outing, know that I have no pleasure in doing it. […] But if I decide to do it today, it is because for a year already, my team and I have been trying to correct the injustice in private. »
In a press release, Minister Bonnardel argued that the aid to the municipality will “deploy concrete solutions so that the City of Laval succeeds in countering the organized crime that exists on its territory and in restoring the feeling of security of its residents. citizens “.
The press release specifies that the amount of 20 million dollars is added to the more than 4.6 million over four years paid to the City so that it can develop urban security and crime prevention plans.