Defund the Police says Montreal Police were "Rewarded" after Overspending Budget

Montreal's police force is receiving the second highest budget increase in history, with an additional $45 million provided to the SPVM in the 2022 Budget. This means the SPVM will receive a total of $724 million in 2022.

Rain Hye, volunteer at Defund the Police, says Montreal has the largest police force per capita and the lowest support for policing most Montrealers support defunding the police.

Following Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the summer of 2020, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said she would be open to looking into defunding the police. 

Montreal residents were asked if they wanted the police budget to be decreased, with 73% responding yes, however, the city ended up increasing the police budget by $14 million in the fall of 2020. The SPVM’s budget has increased every year since. 

Hye thinks the increase in the SPVM‘s budget is disappointing, stating that elected officials are harming marginalized communities. "Our safety is not a priority", said Hye.

Last month, the SPVM revealed it went over budget by $51 million. The city of Montreal has agreed to pay this, but what will stop them from doing this in 2022?

Hye says the SPVM are intimidating elected officials by overspending $51 million in 2021. He says the SPVM was then rewarded with $45 million in 2022 following their overspending.

Montreal police say they still experience budgetary challenges, and as a result, have proposed to close neighbourhood police stations, known as Poste de Quartier or PDQs. 

Hye says the SPVM are threatening to close PDQs, which are seen by elected officials as community safety, adding that he believes the SPVM is overspending without being held accountable.

Hye says that Plante and other officials are doing what they can to keep the PDQs open.

This interview will be used in an upcoming episode of Local 514.

Make sure to follow Local 514 & CUTV on social media to stay up to date with new episode and more content:

Follow Local 514 & CUTV Montreal on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

Watch all our previous episodes here.