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As Montreal grapples with a spate of seven homicides over the last two weeks, the Parti Québécois is calling on increased security and prevention measures before Quebec “loses its status as a peaceful society.”
Speaking to reporters near where three people were killed in a Tuesday evening brawl, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he’s concerned street violence is trending in the wrong direction.
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St-Pierre Plamondon urged governments to invest in more policing and better funding for community organizations that work in youth violence prevention.
“We should not take this as a normal thing. It’s really, really sad and we have a responsibility toward these young people,” St-Pierre Plamondon said on Thursday, speaking outside a local police station.
“If we don’t realize right now that we need … more police officers in the field and more budget for community organizations that work in prevention,” he added, “we might lose one of the most precious things we have in Quebec.”
St-Pierre Plamondon noted the Montreal police brotherhood recently said the police force is short roughly 170 officers and said a PQ government would increase capacity at the province’s police academy to ensure more officers graduate each year.
“It’s the first time we see such an important challenge in terms of security (in Montreal) and we need to take this seriously,” he added.
There have been seven homicides recorded in Montreal in the last two weeks, including the three fatal stabbings that took place during a brawl in a Plateau-Mont-Royal parking lot Tuesday evening.
One of the three victims in that case was a 15-year-old boy. The other two were 23 and 25 years old.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Montreal police Cmdr. Jean-Sébastien Caron told reporters the deaths are not related to organized crime or gangs, nor are they linked to the other recent homicides in the city.
Rather, he said the killings were the result of a “personal” conflict that deteriorated. Neighbours said they saw roughly 15 people arguing in the parking lot before the brawl broke out.
Caron said he understands seven homicides in such a short time is concerning, but noted the police force has made arrests in three of the other four cases.
“When compared with other Canadian or American cities, Montreal remains an extremely safe city with a very low homicide rate,” he said.
This story will be updated.
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