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Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s Storm Troopers

Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s S/t/o/r/m Troopers

By N Oji Mzilikazi

March 8, 2012

(Originally published in the Montreal Community Contact Volume 22, Number 04)

On February 27, I was on the 165 Bus heading south – rush hour – shortly after 17h30, when it was stopped, boarded by three STM (La Société de transport de Montréal) inspectors; two males and a female. After barking out of instructions, they preceded to verify the electronic correspondence of all its commuters.

I’ve exited quite a few metro trains during rush hour and along with fellow travellers, confronted by a phalanx of inspectors verifying the correspondence of all debarking passengers. It’s no fun encountering inspectors blocking entrances and exits for fare and in some cases ID inspection, when running late or hustling to catch a bus…

 

 

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Montreal Police Racial Profiling Farce

Montreal Police Racial Profiling Farce

By N Oji Mzilikazi

March 3, 2012

(Remixed from Black History Month: Effective Leadership)

In January 2012, Mayor Gerald Tremblay, Montreal Police Chief Marc Parent, and La Société de transport de Montréal (STM) chief Michel Labrecque announced new policy to tackle racial profiling. For all the applause, no one took them up on their hypocrisy and B.S., given how many times we’ve been down that road.

Mayor Tremblay/City Hall has consistently fought racial profiling cases. As Gaétan Cousineau, president of Quebec’s Human Rights Commission publicly expressed, “systematically blocking complaints of racial profiling against the police force.”

Media houses have been supportive and complicit. Case in point: January 21, 2008, Montreal Gazette Editorial: “Thin evidence of profiling.”…