“I’m not political.” Hearing these words spread around campus frustrates me. How can you “not be political” when politics inherently concerns humanity? It doesn’t make sense. During nightly family dinners growing up, conversations would start with “How was your day?” but quickly turn into political discussions about current events. My[Read More…]
Tag: SPVM
Anti-Black racism permeates Quebec’s journalism and legal system
Content Warning: Mentions of anti-Black racism and violence. Last month, an incident in Longueuil—a 20-minute drive from Montreal—shocked me tremendously. On Oct. 2, a 46-year-old woman by the name of Stéphanie Borel threw boiling water at a 10-year-old Black boy, leaving him with second-degree burns on his face, head, torso,[Read More…]
McGill must confront its reliance on SPVM’s racist policing
Historically, police units have been known to target unhoused, queer, transgender, disabled, mentally ill, lower-income, Indigenous, Black, and other marginalized communities. Unhoused individuals sleeping on a park bench in Montreal can get fined up to $1000 CAD. Atif Siddiqi, who is transgender, alleged that the police laughed at them when[Read More…]
McGill restricted access to campus after dismantling the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, some say it was unwarranted
McGill closed its downtown campus to public use as the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officers and private security firm, SIRCO, dismantled the 75-day Palestine solidarity encampment in the early hours of July 10. Beginning the same day, all buildings were closed to students, courses were[Read More…]
Protestors rally for poet and boxer Nicous D’Andre Spring after unlawful killing at Bordeaux prison
Content warning: Description of police violence Nicous D’Andre Spring, a 21-year-old rapper, poet, and boxer, was illegally detained in Montreal’s Bordeaux prison when a physical intervention by guards led to his death on Dec. 24, 2022. Guards placed a spit hood on his head and pepper-sprayed him twice, but other[Read More…]
Stabbing outside McGill’s Roddick Gates leaves one dead
Content warning: violence and death At approximately 1:45 a.m. on Sept. 18, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) responded to a call about an assault on Sherbrooke Street, not far from McGill’s Roddick Gates. The SPVM reported that two men, of 20 and 23 years of[Read More…]
The social politics of municipal retrenchment
Montreal’s bustle is returning after months of rigid COVID-19 restrictions, yet the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) ridership remains remarkably low. As a result, in August, the regional transit board asked the STM to cut $276-million from its budget over the next three years. Recently, the STM proposed cutting[Read More…]
The long arm of the law
This November, Montrealers will head to the polls to vote for the next mayor of the city––and perhaps the future of its police. This year more than ever, a key issue on the ballot will be the role and budget of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal[Read More…]
Montreal advocates call attention to curfew’s impact on migrant workers
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) released a statement on Feb. 12 condemning the impact of the province-wide 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew on unhoused and migrant populations. As housing advocates have continued to push for more resources following Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Masse’s order to exempt[Read More…]
Protestors remember victims of police violence and call for SPVM budget cuts
Over 200 protesters gathered to call for the defunding of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) on Oct. 24 in a demonstration organized by the Defund the Police Coalition and Justice for Victims of Police Killings. This demonstration marks the 11th annual Justice for Victims of[Read More…]
