Latest news with #FadyDagher
CBC
10-06-2025
- CBC
Montreal police clamp down on vehicle thefts, but assaults and robberies are up
During the SPVM's annual review, police Chief Fady Dagher updated Montrealers on the SPVM's hiring goals, what types of crimes are down and which ones are proving more challenging to fight against.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
The price of extortion: Montreal bar and restaurant owners face escalating threats
An SPVM police shoulder patch is seen on an officer in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Police fanned out in several Montreal neighbourhoods in a major operation cracking down on extortion. Police say 13 suspects were arrested after 150 officers conducted the raids on Wednesday. They also seized guns and cash. They allege they are going after groups orchestrating attacks on bars and restaurants, part of extortion schemes that have raised alarm in recent weeks. Last month, the head of the Union of Quebec Bar Owners Peter Sergakis sent a letter to Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Montreal Chief of Police Fady Dagher calling for authorities to do more to combat extortion and organized crime. 'Extortion was always there,' said Sergakis. 'But not like this, not this violent.' Montreal gangs are using a modus operandi criminals the world over have used for generations. They demand protection money from owners, and if the owners refuse to pay up, criminals threaten, firebomb, or shoot at their businesses. Montreal Police have mounted a campaign to warn owners against handing over money. They have visited 800 businesses over the last few months urging them to report all extortion attempts. 'They think they are buying peace,' said the head of the Montreal Police organized crime unit Francis Renaud. 'But trust me, they are not buying the peace. They are going to make you pay until the end.' In recent weeks, a wave of attacks has hit restaurants and bars in the city. Surveillance video showed six suspects carrying what appear to be gas cans near the door of a small café in Old Montreal. They smash the window, go in and seconds later smoke starts to emerge from the scene. At least one of the suspects is seen running away on fire. Police later arrested a man who showed up in hospital with burns. They are continuing their investigation but suspect the attackers got the wrong address, that the resto-bar next door may have been the intended target. 'This is the stuff you see in Italy,' said the owner who did not want to be identified. 'Pay or we will blow it up.' Experts say extortion threats aimed at business owners happen in many Canadian cities. In Montreal, the reason for the escalating violence is not clear, though police have considered whether it is linked to the changing landscape in the city's underworld. For decades, biker gangs and Italian crime groups controlled a large share of organized crime activities. In recent years, several street gangs have entered the scene and are fighting for a share of extortion money. 'Violence occurs even before threats,' said Renaud. But police also say the major operation they conducted on Wednesday shows that when acts of intimidation are brought to their attention, they can deliver effective blows against those responsible.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
The price of extortion: Montreal bar and restaurant owners face escalating threats
An SPVM police shoulder patch is seen on an officer in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Police fanned out in several Montreal neighbourhoods in a major operation cracking down on extortion. Police say 13 suspects were arrested after 150 officers conducted the raids on Wednesday. They also seized guns and cash. They allege they are going after groups orchestrating attacks on bars and restaurants, part of extortion schemes that have raised alarm in recent weeks. Last month, the head of the Union of Quebec Bar Owners Peter Sergakis sent a letter to Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Montreal Chief of Police Fady Dagher calling for authorities to do more to combat extortion and organized crime. 'Extortion was always there,' said Sergakis. 'But not like this, not this violent.' Montreal gangs are using a modus operandi criminal the world over have used for generations. They demand protection money from owners, and if the owners refuse to pay up, criminals threaten, firebomb, or shoot at their businesses. Montreal Police have mounted a campaign to warn owners against handing over money. They have visited 800 businesses over the last few months urging them to report all extortion attempts. 'They think they are buying peace,' said the head of the Montreal Police organized crime unit Francis Renaud. 'But trust me, they are not buying the peace. They are going to make you pay until the end.' In recent weeks, a wave of attacks has hit restaurants and bars in the city. Surveillance video showed six suspects carrying what appear to be gas cans near the door of a small café in Old Montreal. They smash the window, go in and seconds later smoke starts to emerge from the scene. At least one of the suspects is seen running away on fire. Police later arrested a man who showed up in hospital with burns. They are continuing their investigation but suspect the attackers got the wrong address, that the resto-bar next door may have been the intended target. 'This is the stuff you see in Italy,' said the owner who did not want to be identified. 'Pay or we will blow it up.' Experts say extortion threats aimed at business owners happen in many Canadian cities. In Montreal, the reason for the escalating is not clear, though police have considered whether it is linked to the changing landscape in the city's underworld. For decades, biker gangs and Italian crime groups controlled a large share of organized crime activities. In recent years, several street gangs have entered the scene and are fighting for a share of extortion money. 'Violence occurs even before threats,' said Renaud. But police also say the major operation they conducted on Wednesday shows that when acts of intimidation are brought to their attention, they can deliver effective blows against those responsible.
Montreal Gazette
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letter of the day: Random street checks by police have no place in a free society
The random police street check is a routine practice — in totalitarian states. Random street checks have no place in a free society committed to constitutionally protected human rights. Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms guarantees everyone in Canada the right to be left alone, to be able to walk, jog and cycle in the streets of Montreal free from police interference unless they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that you have engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity. Our courts routinely affirm these principles but the Montreal police seem to believe they know better and can engage in wilful blindness of court rulings. Police Chief Fady Dagher justifies his 'law and order' rhetoric by asserting that 'the overwhelming majority of the public wants police to have discretion to stop and question people in suspicious circumstances, even if officers don't have the legal grounds to detain them,' according to The Gazette. No evidence was cited to support his assertion that is in any event irrelevant. Even if there is some 'public' support for random checks, court-mandated human rights cannot be overridden by public opinion. Also not to be overlooked, as noted by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, is that 'police services collect and retain a wide range of information about the people they come in contact with including records of contact, allegations, withdrawn charges, acquittals and mental health apprehensions, just to name a few.' These records are stored in what is euphemistically called a 'non-conviction database.' They are not criminal convictions — and yet, 'this does not mean, however, that they will never be released by the police in a background check,' the association warns. In my work as a criminal defence lawyer, I have come across reports of people with no criminal convictions applying for security-sensitive jobs and not being hired — and later recalling having been stopped by police and given their identification. Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against police forces, including the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, over random interceptions. Such legal actions remain the only recourse for citizens as long as governments fail to rein in their police forces. But let's not forget: While Mayor Valérie Plante's administration says it's ready to pay compensation to those targeted by the interventions, it's taxpayers who pick up the cost of legal fees to defend against these lawsuits — and of the eventual payouts when damages are awarded. In a city whose infrastructure is crumbling, among other serious problems, it is nothing short of scandalous to be spending taxpayer dollars to finance police stopping innocent people in the streets of Montreal. The solution is simple: Random street checks, which overwhelmingly target racialized persons, are discriminatory and they must stop. Right now. Ralph Mastromonaco, St-Laurent Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
New Montreal street check policy includes reason for stop, right to end stop, police chief says
Montreal's police chief has asked his officers to change how they behave when they stop people on the street, the latest effort by the police to frame street checks amid calls to have them banned altogether. 'We made a commitment to update the policy to better define the practice and improve communication with citizens,' police chief Fady Dagher told reporters during a news conference on Monday, adding the new policy on street checks takes effect immediately. The policy would require officers to inform citizens why they are being stopped and to make it clear they're free to leave at any time. 'We want to make sure that you don't have any perception that you're being detained,' Dagher said. Police officers will have to document the details of the stop, and that data will be analyzed by authorities, Dagher said. That part will go into effect in the fall once computer upgrades are complete. Without the data, Dagher said they would have a hard time knowing how officers are behaving in the field. The police force said it is hopeful the measures will also improve communication between officers and the person stopped. It said street checks remain an important tool for police. Montreal police chief rejects street check moratorium despite racial profiling data Some advocacy groups like the Black Coalition of Quebec and Ligue des droits et libertés, a local human rights organization, say the new policy comes after years of complaints and doesn't go far enough. The league described the latest policy change as a 'half-measure' that came about because of heavy pressure from groups, but adds 'there is a world of difference between a policy on paper and the reality on the street.' Lynda Khelil, a spokeswoman for the league, said police should go further and explicitly tell those who are stopped 'that they have no legal obligation to identify themselves and answer questions.' The league said more than 100 community organizations signed a letter in 2023 calling for a ban on street checks instead of trying to regulate them. Fo Niemi, director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, said there's a delicate balance between valid grounds for a stop – reasonable suspicions – with the right to protect ordinary and innocent citizens from being stopped without legal justifications. 'The success of this policy will depend on what kind of clear, if not mandatory, training to all officers about how to better communicate with ordinary people, people of different backgrounds, different capacity of understanding, even language barriers,' Niemi said 'And communicate in such a way that (the interaction) will not result in something worse, and that's always a challenge.' The Black Coalition of Quebec said the new policy was a step in the right direction, but isn't the same as a law or a rule that has a 'normative and coercive value.' It called for a provincial law that would apply to all police forces outlawing systemic racism – an entrenched practice that François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec has refused to acknowledge. Authorities had pledged to address public concerns about street checks after an independent 2019 report revealed Indigenous people, Black Montrealers and people of Arab descent were more likely to be randomly stopped by police. In 2020, Montreal police developed a new policy that banned street checks 'based on discriminatory criteria' and required officers to explain their reasons for stopping citizens, among other measures aimed at reducing racial disparities. The province followed with guidelines that mirrored Montreal police policy: that the practice of stopping citizens to collect and record their personal information shouldn't be random, unfounded or discriminatory. Black and Arab people overrepresented in Laval police stops, data show, reflecting broader Quebec pattern The provincial guidelines say that while stops are essential for public safety, they must be based on observable facts or information that gives police reasonable grounds to intervene. A report released in 2023, using data from 2021, showed little had changed: Indigenous Montrealers were six times more likely to be stopped than were white people in the city. The report called for a moratorium on street checks, which Dagher refused, saying any such action would be symbolic. The data also demonstrated that Black people were three-and-a-half times more likely to be stopped than white people and Arabs were two-and-a-half times more likely to be stopped. The new policy change will be presented to the city's public security commission on Wednesday night, when citizens will have a chance to raise questions.
