Montreal’s police chief says he has “never felt as much stress” as the city’s Jewish and Muslim communities are currently experiencing amid tensions in the Middle East.
Posted at 2:06 p.m.
Fady Dagher stressed that protecting places linked to these communities “costs a fortune” for his ministry, but he has no plans to let his guard down.
“We want to bring calm to the community,” Mr. Dagher said at a presentation at Montreal City Hall, less than 12 hours after a Molotov cocktail attack on a Jewish association. “In both communities, these are people I have known for more than 20 to 25 years, and I have never felt so much excitement and so much stress in these communities. And for a good reason. »
The head of the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) said that since the Hamas attack on October 7, he has already invested 1.7 million in overtime to ensure the protection of sensitive locations.
“Our workforce is extremely tired,” he said. “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Maybe it will get worse, we don’t know. » However, he added that the humanitarian ceasefire, which has been ongoing for several days, has had an impact on the ground.
Mr Dagher confirmed that he had recently intervened in community media to reassure his fellow citizens.
“I saw that they began to change their behavior” by reducing attendance at places of worship or hiding certain religious symbols, he reported. “It worried us a lot. That’s why we sent them a message in their local media: don’t change your habits, despite the fear, despite the fear, and most importantly: don’t change your habits. »