Montreal mayor, police chief say masks will delay arrests after violent protest

By The Canadian Press on November 25, 2024.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante speaks at a press conference in Montreal on November 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Montreal’s mayor and police chief both say it will take time to arrest everyone who smashed windows and burned cars during a demonstration outside a NATO conference on Friday evening, since most of them had their faces covered.

Police have so far arrested three people in connection with Friday’s protest, and police Chief Fady Dagher says there will be more arrests.

In a radio interview on Monday, Dagher said police used to be able to intercept masked protesters before they could do any damage, thanks to a bylaw that prohibited the use of masks during demonstrations.

But that bylaw was repealed in 2019 after a Quebec Superior Court found the ban was unconstitutional, and Dagher says police now have to wait to intervene until a person commits a crime.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, whose administration repealed the bylaw, says she sympathizes with police officers who are having trouble identifying the protesters.

But Benoît Allard, a spokesperson for one of the groups that organized Friday’s demonstration, says peaceful protesters often wear masks to protect themselves from being targeted by police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024.