Translating the printemps érable

By Charles Faribault | TVA News    12 June 2012 

Original French Text: http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/national/archives/2012/06/20120612-175641.html

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (ACLCL) is preparing a damning report on the use of excessive police forcethat has occurredsince the beginning of the student strike in Quebec. The organization, which had severely criticized the conduct of Toronto police during the G20 summit, recognizes similar abuses in the current conflict.

Student Demonstration against tuition hikes in front of the National Assembly of Quebec, Thursday, March 1^st, 2012. (Archives, Journal de Québec)

Mass arrests, violations of fundamental rights, police misconduct, excessive force, preventive questioning, restriction of civil liberties, no, this isn’t Montréal 2012, but Toronto 2010. After Toronto, the ACLCL had produced a devastating report on the conduct of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the RCMP. The organization is now concerned by what it sees as a repetition of the same excesses on the part of the Montreal police (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

“What we are witnessing is the replay of the same police techniques. We’re talking about so-called preventative arrests, where people who haven’t done anything are being arrested just because police think they could be dangerous. It’s very troubling. This conduct is excessive and illegal,” explains Nathalie Desrosiers of the ACLCL.

According to the association, what’s happening in Quebec is dangerous for democracy and risks undermining police authority in the long term. The consequences could have a domino effect and important social ramifications. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has even taken up the case.

“An increasing number of surveys reveal that Toronto’s citizens have less and less confidence in the police. There are legal and financial consequences,” added the association’s representative.

The organization is compiling a series of witness reports and facts about police conduct that is expected to be published in a scathing report and once again tarnish Canadian police forces’ international image.