Montreal Civil Rights Groups Push for Bylaw Review

0:00Civil rights groups in Montreal are ramping up pressure on the new city hall to revive a review of bylaws they say fuel, racial, and social profiling. While hitting unhoused people hardest, rules like bans on sleeping on benches or loitering in parks top their list, and they've been fighting this for about a decade. The effort kicked off formally back in 2019 after a public consultation on profiling, zeroing in on around a dozen bylaws. The stall during the pandemic picked up again through 2024, then got axed early this year by the old mayor, who cited surging, homelessness, opioids, and mental health issues in public spots as roadblocks to consensus. Advocates feel straight up betrayed after years of collaboration, arguing these vague rules just push vulnerable folks around without fixing root. Problems like overticketing to clear streets, groups helping the unhoused call a pointless harassment that worsens tensions with police. Now they're gearing up to formally ask mayor Soraya Martinez-Ferrata to restart the

1:03process fast, and the police chief backs it, admitting some bylaws. Invite profiling and stressing cops shouldn't set or enforce them alone. Montreal's eyeing better ways for police and residents to connect, especially with the fresh report coming on unhoused police relations, could be real. Progress if they nail this review. From your city, powered by AI, this is Canada News Today.