Elected officials are calling on the government to temporarily arm security guards at schools and public gathering places in response to attacks on Jewish institutions in Montreal.
“It is a recommendation because there is violence and threats, because there have been shootings that have affected several schools and public establishments where children are present,” argues the mayor of the city of Mont-Royal, Peter Malouf.
He is among the politicians who have signed an action plan “to combat hatred of Jews in Canada and particularly in Quebec.” In his opinion, we must not repeat the mistakes of the Middle East here.
For this reason, he supported this recommendation to the Quebec government to allow “trained” security guards present in community facilities, schools and other places where the public gathers to be armed “during this period of 'emergency.' “. Mayor Malouf clarifies that this permission should only be temporary.
“What do you do if you are in a school with your children and suddenly bullets fall on the school? [Faut-il] Do you have someone from security who has no means to fight this? This is not something I want […] But does the government have a better solution?
Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi also wants armed guards or off-duty police officers to be allowed to secure community facilities, schools and places of worship. “The rise in anti-Semitism is unprecedented. All members of the council, the residents of Hampstead and the entire Jewish community of Montreal aspire to this,” he argues.
Agents armed with dogs
In Quebec, only couriers transporting money are allowed to carry a firearm. Under the Anastasia Law, carrying firearms in public places, including schools, is prohibited.
Last fall, several Jewish schools in the metropolis hired private companies to ensure their security. This is particularly true for facilities in Côte-Saint-Luc, Hampstead, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district of Montreal.
Although the officers did not have firearms, some were equipped with a very effective tool: dogs specially trained for security operations and whose role is similar to police animals.
Intervention with the dog Kyla, a Malinois shepherdess, following a threat against the Jewish community in Hampstead, October 2023. Free photo
“The dog has a deterrent effect. “Anyone who wants to attack a school will think twice if they see the presence of a dog,” explains the head of a security agency, who wishes to remain anonymous for strategic reasons.
These Malinois shepherds receive a year and a half of training that can cost up to $12,000. “You can sense the presence of someone who is not in their normal state or who might have a weapon on them,” he adds.
The PLQ distances itself
The city councilors of the Côte-des-Neiges–NDG district of the city of Montreal, Stéphanie Valenzuela and Sonny Moroz, also support the idea of arming security forces. The latter agreed to agree to this proposal on the condition that this permission would only be granted to security officers who were already trained in the use of weapons.
If they are also signatories of the document, the Liberal MPs Élizabeth Prass and Michelle Setlakwe wanted to distance themselves from the measure to arm security forces. “These rules are not consistent with the regulations in force in Quebec,” the member for D'Arcy-McGee said in an email.
Signatories also include federal Liberal MP for Mount Royal, Anthony Housefather, and Côte-Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein. On Monday they tried to get everyone to reach a consensus. “The wording of this recommendation appears to be confusing. We will therefore work with all signatories to reformulate the recommendation, emphasized a spokesman in the evening. The aim was to ask the government to allow off-duty police officers to work as private security guards, something currently not allowed in Quebec.
More than a hundred acts of violence were recorded in Montreal
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, there has been an increase in vandalism or hate crimes against Jewish and Arab Muslim communities worldwide.
In Montreal, a total of 164 hate crimes and incidents were reported by the two municipalities between October 7 and December 19, 2023.
Places of worship, community centers and schools were targets of violence.
November 9, 2023: On the night of November 9th to 10th, two Jewish schools in the Côte-des-Neiges district of Montreal were targeted by gunfire. Staff found bullet holes outside the entrance to the first school, while bullet casings were found at the site of the second incident, as the two facilities were just a few kilometers apart.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
November 12, 2023: Three days later, the first of the two schools was again the target of gunfire. This time, witnesses saw a person leaving the scene after firing their firearm into the building.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
November 26, 2023: A school in the Saint-Laurent district of Montreal is destroyed. Graffiti describing the State of Israel as “terrorists” was painted in front of the entrance to the parking lot.
November 27, 2023: The Montreal Jewish Community Council is the target of a Molotov cocktail thrown at the front of the building. No one was injured and the building sustained minor damage, including a broken window.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) reports that between October 7 and December 19, 2023, 38 hate crimes and incidents were recorded against Arab-Muslim communities and 126 against Jewish communities.
– In collaboration with Jean-Louis Fortin and Marianne Langlois
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