![\"Jean](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0505-attic-que-mock-decaptiation_301811234.jpg\")
\u201cIn our society, we cannot accept events of this nature. When you are the person depicted, the one who is beheaded, it hurts,\u201d says Labour Minister Jean Boulet. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\nJean Boulet, Quebec\u2019s labour minister, is set to file a police complaint over a now-widely circulated video which showed protesters using a makeshift guillotine to behead a puppet bearing his likeness.<\/p>\n
Montreal police have already opened an investigation into the event which took place during a May Day demonstration Saturday in Montreal.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Boulet confirmed to reporters that he would personally file a complaint with the Montreal police, describing the act as deeply troubling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true that it made me extremely sensitive,\u201d he said at the start of the parliamentary session. \u201cI felt threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our society, we cannot accept events of this nature,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen you are the person depicted, the one who is beheaded, it hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands of demonstrators had come together to mark International Workers\u2019 Day, and most marched peacefully through the city. But the guillotine scene has since overshadowed the broader demonstration.<\/p>\n
The activist group behind the act, Alliance Ouvri\u00e8re, said the effigy was not meant to represent Boulet specifically, and instead framed the performance as a historical reference to popular anger against ruling classes, arguing that the real threat to democracy lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The union organizations behind the protest \u2014 the CSD, CSN, CSQ and FTQ \u2014 said in a statement that they \u201cdissociate entirely from this isolated action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our society, we cannot accept events of this nature. When you are the person depicted, the one who is beheaded, it hurts,\u201d says Labour Minister Jean Boulet. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\n
Boulet, however, dismissed the unions\u2019 statement. He said: \u201cMy understanding of things is this: dissociating oneself is not the same as denouncing someone. Dissociating oneself means: \u2018It wasn\u2019t me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
It also comes amid heightened tensions between the Quebec government and organized labour following Bill 3, which restricts unions\u2019 ability to fund legal challenges and political activities.<\/p>\n
Critics, including the Barreau du Qu\u00e9bec, have warned the legislation risks undermining democratic rights. The government has defended it as necessary reform.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette condemned the imagery, along with the leaders of the Quebec Liberal Party and Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois.<\/p>\n
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