About thirty demonstrators who claim to have been victims of political profiling by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) during demonstrations are calling for financial compensation of $ 419,000 and the creation of training for police officers in order to put an end to practices they deem discriminatory.
As of Monday, 29 people who say they have been unjustly arrested, handcuffed and in some cases injured by SPVM agents during three demonstrations in 2013 and 2015 will see their case be brought before the Human Rights Tribunal as part of the process. ‘a lawsuit against the police force and the City. It will stretch until March 16 at the Montreal courthouse.
These demonstrators are represented by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) and receive the support of three complainant organizations, including the League of Rights and Freedoms (LDL) and the Quebec Network of Ecological Groups (RQGE) . The latter voluntarily supports 20 demonstrators who claim a total of $ 240,000, saying they were unjustly arrested on the basis of their political convictions on October 10, 2013 during an environmental demonstration in downtown Montreal.
“We are convinced that there has been a differential treatment [des manifestants], that there was profiling ”, launches without hesitation the general coordinator of the RQGE, Chantal Levert.
That day, between 200 and 300 protesters gathered in Victoria Square while the National Energy Board hearings on an Enbridge pipeline project took place at the Convention Center. Since no itinerary had been provided to the police, this demonstration was quickly declared illegal under the old by-law P-6 of the City, which was abolished in 2019.
“The police force deployed was considerable, in particular the urban brigade, the bicycle squad, the anti-riot squad, the cavalry and the helicopter of the Sûreté du Québec”, recalls the CDPDJ in a brief written in anticipation of this trial, of which The duty got copy.
Dozens of demonstrators were surrounded by police as part of this peaceful demonstration. The alleged victims were then “kept in the mousetrap for between one and two hours on average, without water or food, without access to toilets and without being able to leave the perimeter”, adds the CDPDJ, which reports “intimidating behavior ”And“ violence ”against the complainants. One of the demonstrators also allegedly suffered a broken wrist during his arrest.
Political aspect
The other two events relate to protests against police brutality, both on March 15, 2013 and 2015, in which hundreds of police were deployed to end it. In addition, almost all the demonstrators represented by the CDPDJ received tickets during these demonstrations, sometimes exceeding $ 630 for having taken part in these events. Charges which all fell subsequently by order of the court.
The Commission nonetheless identifies around thirty demonstrations that took place between 2012 and 2014 that the SPVM then “tolerated” even if no itinerary had been provided to it beforehand. These concerned in particular the right to housing and the regularization of people without legal status. The CDPDJ argues that the demonstrators it represents were targeted by the police because of their political beliefs.
In addition to claiming $ 419,000 for the moral and punitive damages suffered by these 29 demonstrators in the context of these three events, the CDPDJ hopes to be able to force the SPVM to offer training on political profiling to its leaders and its police officers. It also calls for the creation of a data collection system on the interventions carried out by police officers during demonstrations in Montreal in order to distinguish cases of political profiling.
The City and the SPVM refused to comment on this file because of the upcoming trial. Protesters joined by The duty also refused to give their testimony, on the recommendation of their lawyers. Among the plaintiffs are the president of the Central Council of Metropolitan Montreal of the CSN, Dominique Daigneault, and the spokesperson for the LDL, Lynda Khelil.
Last month, The duty revealed that the City intended to hand over $ 6 million to demonstrators to put an end to 16 class actions against the SPVM.