Montreal city council has adopted a bylaw to ban people from insulting police officers and other municipal employees.
The debate over the rule lasted over half an hour, with the Official Opposition saying the proposed bylaw was “half-baked.” It was adopted with 35 voting in favour and 25 opposed.
“We are being asked to vote now and consult later,” said Marie Plourde, leader of the Official Opposition.
Under the bylaw, residents who insult city staff would face fines between $300 and $1,000 for a first offence. Subsequent offences could result in fines up to $2,000.
City officials have not said when they will implement the bylaw.
Yves Francœur, head of the police brotherhood, has said his union’s members have been pushing for such a bylaw for years. But lawyers and civil rights groups worry the bylaw could infringe on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Other municipalities in the province, including Quebec City, Laval, Longueuil and Sherbrooke, already have similar bylaws.
Police in Quebec municipalities issued thousands of fines for insulting officers
The Canadian Press reported in June that some of these municipalities have issued thousands of fines over the past six years.
“Giving the middle finger, it’s not what will give you a ticket,” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said before the council meeting.
“Let’s just be honest. There’s bigger issues in terms of the attitude of some citizens.”
The new Montreal bylaw would ban insults, harassment, threats, abuse and intimidation, as well as offensive and aggressive behaviour.
It also includes provisions saying city employees could refuse to provide services to someone who misbehaves. However, the bylaw doesn’t define what could be construed as an insult.
City councillor Carla Beauvais heavily criticized the administration for not providing clear definitions. She also questioned the lack of public consultations.
“A threat can be proven. An offensive word is felt. And how a person feels can vary from one person to another. So where does the offence begin? Where does permissible anger end? The text doesn’t say,” said Beauvais.
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.
Opposition councillor Martine Musau Muele added that council was asked to vote on the rule without adequate information. She said the documents councillors received did not provide statistics and reports to support the need for the 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.
“Citizens are extremely concerned. People do not understand the reasoning of the administration. What led you to decide that today, with everything going on, that this is the most optimal move?” Muele said. “This is a draft, not a proposal.”
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The two councillors also raised concerns around giving police more powers while public trust is fragile.
In June, Montreal police disbanded a night patrol unit in the multicultural neighbourhood of Montréal-Nord over allegations of racism and misconduct.
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.” She said the administration would make reports publicly available.
She said she “understands the concerns,” and “shares some of 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.
“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.
“The thousands of women and men who work every day to serve Montreal have the right to protection from their employer, which is us.”
She noted that women are most often the target of disrespectful behaviour and listed misogynistic insults she said employees commonly receive.
The debate around banning insults in Montreal resurfaced in March, after videos of a man insulting a police officer with misogynistic comments went viral. The man was charged in July with defamatory libel under the Criminal Code and had pleaded not guilty.
However, critics have said the bylaw could hinder de-escalation efforts and harm those who are victims of racial profiling, in crisis, or experiencing homelessness.
Four community organizations sent the mayor a letter on Sept. 17 expressing their concerns. These organizations include rights and freedom advocacy groups, a legal clinic and an anti-racism group based in the borough of Montréal-Nord, where the police patrol unit was disbanded.
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“The proposed regulation does not merely prohibit violent behaviour or conduct that threatens physical integrity, which is already prohibited by the Criminal Code,” the four organizations wrote in a joint letter. “It bans expressions that are not threatening simply because they are likely to cause discomfort, for example, ‘offensive’ behaviour.”
They also argued the rules could be applied arbitrarily because it would be left to police officers’ discretion to issue fines.
Another lawyer, Sibel Ataogul, has proposed offering free legal help to citizens contesting the bylaw.
