The provincial deputy for Abitibi-Est, Pierre Dufour, during his speech at the public meeting of the municipal council of Val -d'Or.
Abitibi-Est MP Pierre Dufour sharply criticized Mayor Céline Brindamour during the last Val-d'Or city council meeting on Monday evening.
Mr. Dufour was among the approximately 80 citizens who filled the council chamber to express to Ms. Brindamour and the councilors their anger at the increase in violence and delinquency in downtown Val-d'Or.
The government is there to provide financial assistance, if possible to create programs and things like that. When I hear you say: "We have no more means, put us under guardianship, the government will manage us", we have to be careful how we bring it, mentioned Pierre Dufour, interrupted by Mrs. Brindamour's protests.
I don't want the money, I want the police, Mayor Brindamour later retorted.
The issues of homelessness and delinquency in downtown Val-d'Or have caused a lot of reaction from citizens since the call for help launched by the Municipality to the Government of Quebec, last Thursday. A demonstration against violence in Val-d'Or was held last Friday evening, while the municipal administration tries to revive its downtown area.
MP Dufour said he was surprised by the public outing of the Municipality, which has been asking the government since Thursday to assume its responsibilities to reduce the problem of crime in the city center.
I think that we are no longer in management by tenderness, he added to the applause of citizens. Serious measures must be taken, such as repression. We have to find a way to lock up the famous core of 25-30 individuals who are the fear of everyone here right now.
The role of the police in ensuring security in downtown Val-d 'Or
ISSUE ICI PREMIÈRE • Golden mornings
City Councilor Benjamin Turcotte recalled that the City of Val-d'Or is not asking the government to manage the municipality, but to increase the number of police officers on duty , especially downtown.
I completely agree, on the repression side, we need help, he replied to Mr. Dufour. I think we want the same thing, you and me. You know the different fields of competence. Public security is not a jurisdiction of the City. It is a provincial jurisdiction in our case, because we do not have a municipal force.
The City of Val-d'Or is asking for help from Quebec, in particular for the opening of a day center for people experiencing homelessness. In the photo, Mayor Céline Brindamour and Councilor Benjamin Turcotte.
Pierre Dufour also took advantage of his presence at City Hall to reproach the City of Val-d&# x27; Or for having abandoned his police force in the wake of the report of Enquêtebroadcast in 2015 on the alleged abuses allegedly perpetrated by Sûreté du Québec agents on Indigenous women.
You have worked, since your arrival in this position, with shit that has been created especially since 2015 when there was the show Enquête, a show full of lies, which attacked very honest police officers. This report won awards, but on the other hand, it caused a split between the police force and the Municipality, which did not protect these police officers afterwards, said Mr. Dufour .
The CAQ member also pointed the finger at the Viens commission, which allegedly declared that the Val-d'Or police officers racized Aboriginal people by giving them more tickets. That too, once again, the Municipality did not defend the police force in this action. There is the title of policeman, but they are humans, and when these humans do not feel backed, they do their job at the bare minimum, he said. it advanced.
