Shot at the palais de justice de Maniwaki: predictable, the union says the special constable

Photo courtesy VINCENT LARIN

Kathleen Frenette

Thursday, 1 February 2018 17:03

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Thursday, 1 February 2018 17:03

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The sad events that occurred at the palace of justice in Maniwaki, so that a special constable has used his service weapon to the against a young defendant were foreseeable, according to the Union of the special constables who sounds the alarm for a long time.

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In June 2016, the Union of the special constables of the government of Quebec filed a request for declaratory judgment in the superior Court to try to force the attorney general of Quebec to increase the number of officers in the palace of justice of the province.

In the document filed with the court, the union alleges, among other things, that “the use of security agents, in lieu of constables, mine safety in the palace of justice” and that this “is a departure from the courts of justice Act”.

A “use” that is intended to do, according to the union, “of economies on the back of the safety in entrusting tasks reserved for special constables, regularly, to security agents by lack of numbers flagrant special constables.”

To support its position, the union has identified fifteen incidents which occurred at Longueuil, Mont-Laurier, Rouyn-Noranda, and Valleyfield, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Ville-Marie. And that of Maniwaki will necessarily, on Monday next, to the list drawn up by the union, since the case must be heard by the judge Jean-François Émond.

In response to these arguments, the attorney general of Quebec, in its “statement of defence” in which The Journal has obtained a copy, alleges that they are “the ministers of public Safety and Justice,” which are responsible for the “safety of buildings” and that they are “the ministers”, which establish the security controls “after consultation with certain groups, of which the plaintiffs are not a party”.

According to it, it also returns “to the judges present in the courtroom to assess if the safety conditions are met”.

Finally, she reminds us that “the collective agreement between the union, the government of Québec provides that the employer may subcontract certain activities related to the security of the palace of justice”.

Recall that on Tuesday, the events that took place in the palace of justice of Maniwaki were filmed by a witness shows the special constable trying to control the suspect while the security officers observe the scene, intervening only in rare occasions.

A few dates

• October 2015. In Mont-Laurier, a judge of the Court of Québec has asked the manager of the palace that a special constable be present in his room, otherwise he refused to continue to sit.
• November 2015. In Rouyn-Noranda, a special constable is obliged to entrust an agent to binding of the SQ the supervision of an inmate wanted on warrant so that he himself provides only surveillance of the palace of justice.
• April 2016. In Valleyfield, in the Room of the youth, while a security officer was assigned, the father of a child approached the judge, fearing for his safety, he immediately left the room. The security agent remained seated, without moving.