{"id":497190,"date":"2026-06-17T10:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497190\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T10:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:53:12","slug":"is-it-time-quebecs-police-watchdog-make-its-reports-public-like-the-rest-of-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497190\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it time Quebec’s police watchdog make its reports public \u2014 like the rest of Canada?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tracy Wing is not the same person she was eight years ago, before her 17-year-old son was fatally shot by Quebec provincial police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the many things that\u2019s changed is her confidence \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 in public institutions and those established to keep them in check.<\/p>\n

She doesn’t trust Quebec’s police watchdog. Wing says the Bureau des enqu\u00eates ind\u00e9pendantes (BEI) neither supported nor gave her prompt answers about the shooting after her son died.<\/p>\n

No charges were laid<\/a> against the officer who shot her son Riley Fairholm.<\/p>\n

Wing felt kept in the dark \u2014 and now she is among those saying the BEI’s final reports should be made public.<\/p>\n

“I always believed that there would be some more information that I received,” said Wing, describing the gruelling process of the investigation that ensued. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the public is a lot like I was when my son was killed. They just [don’t] know. It\u2019s like everything. You don\u2019t understand the subject matter until you\u2019re really in it.”<\/p>\n

\"ATracy Wing is among those calling for BEI reports to be made public, exactly 10 years since the organization first began its operations. She argues civilians have the right to know how the police interact with the public. (Etienne Gosselin\/CBC)Teen’s death in 2025 puts BEI history under scrutiny<\/p>\n

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of Quebec’s police watchdog.<\/p>\n

Quebec is the only province in Canada with a watchdog that doesn’t publicly release its final reports following an investigation. <\/p>\n

While the BEI is mandated to submit its reports to the prosecutor\u2019s office, the public never sees them, regardless of whether charges are laid.<\/p>\n

Riley Fairholm was 17 when police fatally shot him. A coroner said the 911 call from the teen leading to his shooting was the last in a long list of cries for help that weren’t handled properly. (Sarah Leavitt\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The equivalent oversight bodies in other provinces \u2014 notably in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba \u2014\u00a0 mandate certain levels of disclosure to the public when an officer isn\u2019t charged.<\/p>\n

In March, Ian Lafreni\u00e8re, Quebec’s Domestic Security Minister, said he was open to making reports by the province’s watchdog public,<\/a> but said doing so would raise other issues \u2014 including how reports would likely be significantly redacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His statement came the day after Quebec\u2019s watchdog submitted its report to the prosecutor\u2019s office about the police shooting of 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi last September on Montreal’s South Shore<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The teen’s death sparked public outrage<\/a> and put the BEI\u2019s track record under scrutiny<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AEvents were held in memory of 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi after he was shot and killed by Longueuil police. (Paula Dayan-Perez\/CBC)Why the delay in Quebec?<\/p>\n

The BEI investigates whenever a civilian is seriously injured or killed during a police intervention.<\/p>\n

Since 2016, some 491 independent investigations have been initiated<\/a> by the BEI in the province. Only three have resulted in charges.<\/p>\n

And unless charges are laid, few details are released.<\/p>\n

Alexandre Popovic, spokesperson for the Coalition Against Police Repression and Abuse, also known as La CRAP, says families and advocates shouldn\u2019t have to fight for public access.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Some advocates, families argue the BEI’s final reports should be made public:\"\"<\/p>\n

Is it time to change how Quebec’s police watchdog works? Some want more transparency<\/p>\n

A decade since Quebec\u2019s police watchdog, the BEI, began its operations, families and advocates are pushing for changes, including greater transparency. Critics are also calling for more accountability of the agency that’s investigated hundreds of police interventions and other incidents that have caused serious injury or death, only a few of which have led to charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be common sense that \u2026 \u00a0 most information [is] available to the public, especially since, you know, they’ve been branding themselves as being transparent,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says if the government \u201ctruly, gives a damn about the duty of transparency,\u201d the best way to go is to have a coroner’s inquest each time there is a violent death at the hands of the police.<\/p>\n

But an inquest into every death will not happen due to being too resource-intensive, says Ian Scott, the former director of Ontario\u2019s police watchdog, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) between 2008 and 2013.<\/p>\n

\"TextOntario announced the province would move forward with the public release of past and future investigation reports of the SIU in 2017. (CBC)<\/p>\n

He says public discourse is focused on accountability when there are no charges laid following a use of force.<\/p>\n

There used to be virtually none in Ontario, he says.<\/p>\n

But in 2017, things changed after Justice Michael Tulloch\u2019s 129 recommendations to make police watchdogs more transparent as part of his Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review<\/a>.\u00a0That year, Ontario\u2019s attorney general <\/a> announced the province would move forward with the public release of past and future investigation reports of the SIU, as recommended in the police review.<\/p>\n

\"AJustice Michael Tulloch\u2019s Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review resulted in Ontario moving forward with the public release of past and future investigation reports of the SIU. (Tijana Martin\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Providing a public report following an investigation is an evolution for watchdogs, says Scott and shows a \u201ckind of ripening of the agency.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like the time has come,\u201d he said, referring to Quebec\u2019s watchdog.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said making watchdog reports public can also help public perception of police.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re the only agents in a civil society that we allow to use non-consensual force,\u201d said Scott, who is now a lawyer based in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are we going to give the public confidence that the force was not excessive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Montreal police chief says he\u2019s for transparency<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of making BEI reports public, Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher said he is in favour of more transparentcy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-five years in the police, I can tell you one thing, it\u2019s a lot about communication, all about transparency. To be honest, even sometimes if it hurts,\u201d he told CBC\u2019s Radio Noon at the end of May.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But he says the move does not guarantee more trust in police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FadyMontreal police Chief Fady Dagher says communication is an important element linked to trust. (Charles Contant\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Once the BEI is involved in a case, by law, police cannot contact the family, he notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGod knows I sometimes want to. But I\u2019m not allowed,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is really hurting the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Presence of former police in the BEI<\/p>\n

As of April, the BEI employed 45 investigators, 22 of which were former police officers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

They are not allowed to lead investigations on files involving their former employers, but their presence \u2014 and potential influence in investigations \u2014 is a concern for some families, including Cesur Celik.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThis is justice?\u201d he questioned, wagging his finger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delusional if we expect justice from such investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GraduationKoray Kevin Celik was 28 years old when he died after a police intervention at his family’s home in \u00cele-Bizard. (CBC)<\/p>\n

His distrust of the BEI is such that he believes its work is biased, and making its report public would actually do more damage.<\/p>\n

His son, Koray Celik died nine years ago after a police intervention. The 28-year-old was in crisis, reportedly having mixed alcohol with medication he was prescribed for dental pain and was intent on getting behind the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Celik says the family needed help, but says instead, officers \u2014 who arrived on scene at the family\u2019s \u00cele-Bizard home off the island of Montreal \u2014 used excessive force on their son.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before making all reports public, the BEI has to investigate the incident in a neutral way, says Celik. For him, that means having more civilian, independent investigators.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ACesur Celik says the family needed help, but instead, officers used excessive force on their son. (Etienne Gosselin\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public doesn\u2019t deserve to know the lies of [the] BEI, the public deserves to know the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the Celik family was awarded $30,000 in damages in a civil suit <\/a>against the BEI, with a judge saying the agency favoured officers\u2019 version of events in their investigation of Koray\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

BEI working for transparency, but is limited, says director<\/p>\n

In an emailed statement, the director of the BEI, Brigitte Bishop, said she is very sensitive to the concerns from families and the need for transparency. She noted that once a file is concluded, the BEI meets with families to explain the gathered evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that our communications intended for the general public may seem restrictive. However, the current state of our constitutive act does not allow us to be more transparent,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the organization is currently working with Quebec’s Domestic Security Ministry to \u201ccorrect the situation through legislative changes designed to increase the transparency of our interventions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in May, the BEI said it is committed to responding to the public’s wishes while balancing its actions to \u201cpreserve impartiality and respect for the various legal obligations,\u201d which include the protection of evidence and third-party personal information. <\/p>\n

The office of Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafreni\u00e8re did not respond to CBC\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Why these families are banding together:\"\"<\/p>\n

Their loved ones were killed or injured in police interventions. Here\u2019s why they\u2019ve come together<\/p>\n

Some family members of Quebecers killed or seriously injured during police interventions are banding together, calling for changes to how the province’s police watchdog, the BEI, carries out its investigations.<\/p>\n

In March, Celik and Wing were among the families that signed a joint letter requesting an administrative inquiry into what they consider to be systemic problems surrounding BEI investigations.<\/p>\n

For them, it comes back to accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say accountability, it doesn\u2019t mean I’m looking to blame somebody,\u201d said Wing.<\/p>\n

For a watchdog that\u2019s been running for a decade, she said it ought to be able to get over its \u201cgrowing pains.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tracy Wing is not the same person she was eight years ago, before her 17-year-old son was fatally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-497190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}