It's the end for the Montreal City Police Service's Community Consultation and Reconciliation Team (ECCR). The $7.4 million grant, which expires March 31 after three years, will not be renewed by the Ministry of Public Safety, Radio-Canada has learned.
It was founded in September 2021 and was the SPVM's first mixed team. It consisted of stakeholders and police officers and was so far the only one that only carried out patrols on foot in the metropolis.
The news, shared Wednesday morning with members of the team consisting of 33 police officers, five civilian community development counselors and four sergeants, had the effect of a cold shower.
This policing model has often been cited by politicians as an example for the future of policing to get closer to citizens and community partners.
The ECCR has done exceptional work over the last three years. The SPVM would also like to express its respect to the police and civilian staff of this team and inform them that their role and expertise will remain at the heart of their policing operations. Consultation, explained the communications department of the SPVM.
The government and the city of Montreal represent the citizens. They decide how to use public money or not. The task of the SPVM is to make the best possible use of the resources made available to it and to make politicians aware of the extent of their needs.
According to our information, the Department of Public Security had not communicated its intentions to the City of Montreal. Like the SPVM, the Plante administration was surprised by this decision.
We note the withdrawal of the Ministry of Public Security. At this point we will analyze the situation and its implications, which will certainly have an impact.
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In just three years, police officers from the Community Consultation and Reconciliation Team have gained the trust of several homeless people in the Ville-Marie district.
Photo: Radio-Canada
The dissolution of the Community Consultation and Rallying Team (ECCR) of the City of Montreal Police Department, which nevertheless embodied the innovative model of community policing that our metropolis seeks to promote, was nonsense, responded Abdelhaq Sari, spokesman for the officer, sharply opposed to public safety.
The end of this team is all the more concerning because it comes in the midst of the homelessness crisis. Knowing that, among other things, it was mandated to intervene with vulnerable people, we fear that the latter will end up at the bottom of the list of intervention priorities and will be even more left to fend for themselves.
According to the Brotherhood of Police, this is also a deviation
The president of the Brotherhood of Police Officers, Yves Francoeur, calls this financial withdrawal an aberration because it affects community programs.
This makes us wonder: Have we experienced liberal austerity and are we now heading towards CAQ austerity? What is the Quebec government doing to help police officers? Cuts! That couldn't work, said the union leader.
For three years, ECCR police officers have been completely exempted from responding to emergency calls in order to develop community policing with vulnerable people or those living on the margins of society.
Our police officers work closely with community groups helping battered women, young people in distress and the homeless. If cuts occur, SPVM management will have no choice, they will have to cut services to citizens and that will have an impact on the safety of Montrealers.
The contracts of the five civilian consultants will be terminated in one month. As for other police officers, the SPVM encourages them to remain in their posts until the fall to see if a new version of the ECCR can maintain their expertise in neighborhood watch.
The SPVM had ECCR police officers in 15 stations across its territory. They were particularly located in the metro and village sectors.
We are in winter and cannot regain control to reassure traders and the population. It makes no sense, argues Mr. Francoeur.
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Five civilian community development advisors, members of the ECCR, will lose their jobs on March 31.
Photo: Radio-Canada
However, we know that the SPVM is keen not to lose the expertise acquired over the last three years.
There are currently hundreds of vacancies that cannot be filled despite a record number of candidates as the Quebec National Police Academy is already at capacity. After another year of officers working overtime at the risk of burnout, the SPVM must, in the short term, review the range of services it can reasonably deliver, the SPVM's communications department said.
The responsibility lies with local authorities, says the MSP
Finance Minister Éric Girard's next budget is expected on March 12th. Minister Bonnardel's office does not wish to comment openly on the matter “given the current pre-budget process”.
She recalled that the Government of Quebec finances programs to address urgent social problems on an ad hoc basis.
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The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel
It is local governments that make and are responsible for the budgetary decisions to fund their police forces. The MSP can fund one-off initiatives, but these have a beginning and an end that will be agreed upon with municipalities once that funding is granted, Quebec's public security minister's office said.
Outcry among the opposition in Quebec
The CAQ government's decision to align a community program with the SPVM sparked an outcry from opposition parties in Quebec.
I'm very angry to hear this today. For almost a year and a half, I sat on a committee against the sexual exploitation of minors. We submitted our report in 2020. And under number 44 it said that we have to form mixed squads. It is a unanimous recommendation from the four parties: QS, PLQ, PQ CAQ, responded Alexandre Leduc at Québec Solidaire.
All together – we said – we need such a mixed force of police officers and stakeholders to take a new approach to marginalized people who lack trust in institutions. Following this recommendation, the government initiated this financing. And then Badaboum, we learned to ride in the middle of two weeks. We can't even ask the minister questions [Bonnardel]. The CAQ needs to explain itself and back down.
The Parti Québécois speaks of a lack of consideration for the Quebec metropolis.
The city of Montreal is surprised to learn this. The Quebec government has not announced its intention. It is a bit symptomatic of this government that there is a lack of planning. This project is considered a project that works. This is neither the right time nor the right way to announce the end of funding so abruptly, explained Pascal Paradis, MP for Jean-Talon and spokesman for public security for the 2nd opposition.
The PLQ also supported the outrage of its opponents in the National Assembly.
The government is terminating a team it put together itself. These police officers offer specific expertise to a specific clientele. While homelessness and mental health-related violence are increasing like never before, how can we explain stopping funding this team?! said Liberal public safety spokesperson Jennifer Maccarone.
The minister must reverse his decision and provide Montreal with the necessary resources to maintain and perpetuate this team.