Why should Montreal’s minority communities trust the city’s police force?
It’s the question hanging over both the SPVM and city hall after allegations of racism inside a Montreal police unit triggered one of the force’s most serious scandals in recent years.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada paused for nearly five seconds before responding when asked that question Saturday morning.
“We need to be working together in order to change an institution that is there to protect all of us,” she said.
It came less than 12 hours after Montreal police chief Fady Dagher announced that two officers from a patrol team based at Station 39 in Montreal North had been suspended and 14 others reassigned or relocated pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Dagher said the force launched the probe in March after receiving information about what Dagher described as “unacceptable behaviour” involving members of the unit.
Now investigators are examining allegations that Black residents and people of Arab origin were disproportionately targeted in the district’s diverse neighbourhoods. Some officers are accused of making racist remarks. Members of the group also allegedly collected pieces of locs cut from apprehended men and kept the hair as trophies, according to reports by La Presse and Radio-Canada.
Dagher declined Friday night to confirm or deny the allegation, saying it was part of the ongoing investigation.
The mayor acknowledged Saturday that trust had been damaged.
“What we saw last night is totally unacceptable,” she said. “The trust between police officers and citizens has been jeopardized.”
“I want to give you my assurance that I will ask all the tough questions,” she added.
Montreal mayor Soraya Ferrada Martinez prepares notes with attachée de presse Joanna Kanga moments before addressing the media on Saturday, June 13, 2026. (Allen McInnis / MONTREAL GAZETTE) Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
On Saturday, however, she provided few answers. She instead urged for calm but noted backlash is expected.
“I’m calling on all Montrealers to act responsibly. Montrealers deserve to know the whole truth about what happened. That’s precisely what I want this investigation to do. It goes without saying that I’m going to ask all the necessary questions because, once again, the citizens deserve to know what happened.”
She added: “I understand the anger of being in a situation where racialized people in the city don’t feel safe with the people who are supposed to protect them. And I understand the anger.
“But being angry and being frustrated in the streets will not resolve this issue.”
On the issue of systemic racism, she noted that the allegations should not be viewed in isolation.
“We live in a society where systemic racism exists,” she said. “I am a racialized woman. I am in a relationship with a Black man. I can talk to you about profiling. We live it personally.”
Montreal police-commissioned studies in 2019 and 2023 found that Black and Indigenous people were several times more likely than white people to be stopped. There was no improvement after the force adopted a street-check policy in 2020.
In 2024, a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled racial profiling a systemic problem in the force and held the city responsible for profiling by its officers.
The mayor also faced questions about how officers accused of such conduct were hired in the first place.
“There are questions to ask about recruitment, about training,” she said.
Still, she stopped short of blaming the entire force.
“Let’s not put everyone in the same basket,” she said, noting that officers themselves had reported the alleged misconduct.
“It is extremely important,” she said. “The only way to change an organizational culture is for the people inside the organization to also reject gestures like those we have seen.”
The whistleblowers have become a central part of the response from both city and provincial officials.
Dagher praised the officers who came forward with information that triggered the investigation, while Quebec Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière said it was reassuring that police themselves had reported the allegations.
Les gestes allégués sont complètement inacceptables et choquants. Les policiers sont là pour protéger et servir les citoyens. J’ai parlé avec la mairesse @SorayaMartinezF et le directeur du @SPVM ce soir, et j’ai offert notre soutien.
Ce qui me rassure, c’est que ce sont des…
— Ian Lafrenière (@IanLafreniere) June 13, 2026
Martinez Ferrada said their actions could help rebuild confidence.
“It is also a way to re-establish trust between the people who experience this discrimination and the people who must protect them,” she said.
The scandal has also renewed pressure to equip Montreal police officers with body cameras, an issue that has been debated for years. Martinez Ferrada pledged body-cameras are “absolutely” needed, adding that the city has already earmarked $40 million for the project.
The mayor said she spoke Friday with Quebec’s public security minister and hopes the latest crisis will accelerate implementation.
“Sometimes you need crises in life to accelerate a couple of things,” she said. “I think this one will be one of them.”
“We must trust the independent investigation,” she said.
But she acknowledged that many residents, particularly those from minority communities, will need more than promises before confidence is restored.
“We have to do better.”
Do you have a story tip with the police? Write to me at hnorth@postmedia.com