Lawyers challenge Montreal bylaw banning insults against city employees

5:33 Municipal Matters: Does Montreal’s new bylaw infringe on constitutional rights?

A group of lawyers has filed a legal challenge of a new Montreal bylaw banning insults against city employees, including police.

The Saint-Michel legal clinic and an association for progressive jurists argue the bylaw is unconstitutional and infringes on freedom of expression.

Lawyer Fernando Belton says the challenge was filed at the Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday.

The bylaw was adopted by city council on Sept. 22.

It bans insults, harassment, threats, abuse and intimidation, as well as offensive and aggressive behaviour.

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The opposition at City Hall voted against the bylaw.

Opposition councillors criticized the administration for not providing clear definitions and a lack of public consultations.

Before the city council meeting, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said the bylaw would not apply to people “flipping the bird” at police officers, but later walked back that comment.

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The bylaw was adopted while the city’s police force is mired in scandal after dismantling a patrol unit in a multicultural neighbourhood in June due to racist misconduct.

The city is also involved in legal proceedings over police stops after a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled its police force has a systemic racism problem.

In the news release, lawyer Fernando Belton said the courts have already recognized that “granting overly broad powers” to police leads to abuse and racial profiling.

He added that the city should seek to rebuild public trust “when all the evidence suggests that this (bylaw) will lead to abuses” against racialized and marginalized people.

“We believe that this regulation infringes on freedom of expression and risks creating further tensions and repression,” added Béatrice Allard of the progressive jurist association in the news release. “The adoption of regulations must not become a means of silencing the public.”