Montreal city council has adopted a bylaw to ban people from insulting police officers and other municipal employees.
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council → adopt → officers
The debate over the rule lasted over half an hour, with the official opposition saying the proposed bylaw was “half-baked.”
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bylaw → last → hour
It was adopted with 35 voting in favour and 25 opposed.
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25 → adopt → favour
“We are being asked to vote now and consult later,” said Marie Plourde, leader of the official opposition.
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Plourde → ask → opposition
Under the bylaw, residents who insult city staff would face fines between $300 and $1,000 for a first offence.
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who → insult → offence
Subsequent offences could result in fines up to $2,000.
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offences → result → fines
City officials have not said when they will implement the bylaw.
Yves Francoeur, head of the police brotherhood, has said his union’s members have been pushing for such a bylaw for years.
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members → say → years
But lawyers and civil rights groups worry the bylaw could infringe on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
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bylaw → worry → expression
Other municipalities in the province, including Quebec City, Laval, Longueuil and Sherbrooke, already have similar bylaws.
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municipalities → include → bylaws
The Canadian Press reported in June that some of these municipalities have issued thousands of fines over the past six years.
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some → report → years
“Giving the middle finger, it’s not what will give you a ticket,” the mayor said before the council meeting.
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mayor → give → meeting
“Let’s just be honest.
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’s → let → ?
The new Montreal bylaw would ban insults, harassment, threats, abuse and intimidation, as well as offensive and aggressive behaviour.
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bylaw → ban → insults
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It also includes provisions saying city employees could refuse to provide services to someone who misbehaves.
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who → get → someone
However, the bylaw doesn’t define what could be construed as an insult.
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what → define → insult
City councillor Carla Beauvais heavily criticized the administration for not providing clear definitions.
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Beauvais → criticize → definitions
She also questioned the lack of public consultations.
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She → question → consultations
“A threat can be proven.
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threat → prove → ?
An offensive word is felt.
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word → feel → ?
And how a person feels can vary from one person to another.
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feels → feel → another
So where does the offence begin?
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offence → begin → ?
Where does permissible anger end?
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anger → end → ?
The text doesn’t say,” said Beauvais.
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Beauvais → say → ?
She cited various decisions from the Quebec City municipal court in which judges could not agree on what constitutes an insult, raising concerns that the rule will cause a backlog at the courthouse.
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rule → cite → courthouse
Opposition councillor Martine Musau Muele added that council was asked to vote on the rule without adequate information.
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council → add → information
She said the documents councillors received did not provide statistics and reports to support the need for the bylaw.
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councillors → say → bylaw
She also said the city did not conduct any risk assessment or prove that the measures under the Criminal Code are insufficient to deal with belligerent residents.
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measures → say → residents
People do not understand the reasoning of the administration.
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People → understand → administration
What led you to decide that today, with everything going on, that this is the most optimal move?” Muele said.
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Muele → lead → you
The two councillors also raised concerns around giving police more powers while public trust is fragile.
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trust → raise → powers
In June, Montreal police disbanded a night patrol unit in the multicultural neighbourhood of Montréal-Nord over allegations of racism and misconduct.
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police → disband → racism
During council, Martinez Ferrada acknowledged that “there will be more questions around this bylaw in the coming months” but insisted the administration “needed to act.”
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administration → acknowledge → months
She said the administration would make reports publicly available.
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reports → say → ?
She said she “understands the concerns,” and “shares some of them.”
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she → say → them
However, she said incidents of inappropriate behaviour have increased dramatically and are harming city employees, and making it more difficult to recruit new employees.
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it → say → employees
“We are simply saying that there is a line between challenging an institution and engaging in behaviour that is inappropriate toward the people who work for it,” said the mayor.
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mayor → say → it
“The thousands of women and men who work every day to serve Montreal have the right to protection from their employer, which is us.”
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which → work → employer
She noted that women are most often the target of disrespectful behaviour and listed misogynistic insults she said employees commonly receive.
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employees → note → insults
The debate around banning insults in Montreal resurfaced in March, after videos of a man insulting a police officer with misogynistic comments went viral.
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man → ban → comments
The man was charged in July with defamatory libel under the Criminal Code and had pleaded not guilty.
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man → charge → Code
…and 7 more, not listed.
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