Ex SPVM cop named to indigenous affairs
Dissatisfied with the performance of Sylvie d’Amours as his indigenous affairs minister, François Legault has named to the post a man who’ll be familiar to anyone who’s followed Montreal news over the last decade – Ian Lafrenière, who had a high profile for a police inspector by handling PR for the SPVM.
Is François Legault completely conscious of what he’s telegraphing by appointing a cop to a sensitive position like this? Maybe he isn’t. Legault’s a man with serious blind spots.
Ian 09:16 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
It’s insanely tone deaf. The SPVM were specifically called out in the report.
“Lafrenière, elected in 2018, is the former head of communications at Montreal police, an organization that has had its own problems with racial profiling and discrimination.
A report from three independent researchers released last year found systemic bias in street checks done by Montreal police.
According to that report, Indigenous women were particularly overrepresented and were 11 times more likely to be stopped by police than white women.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/former-montreal-police-ian-lafreni%C3%A8re-named-indigenous-affairs-minister-1.5756570
steph 09:21 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
Clearly Legault believes he simply has to shout “we don’t have systematic racism in Quebec” until everyone is convinced.
Kate 10:36 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
Christopher Curtis tweets it well: “Appointing a former police commander as Indigenous affairs minister is almost too perfect a metaphor for the CAQ’s grasp of this particular issue.”
Tim S. 10:46 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
On the surface it looks bad, but you would think someone who lasted so long as a police spokesperson must have some tact. Maybe?
Ian 10:48 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
As another commentator responded on Twitter, “His skills in whitewashing police brutality will come in handy in his new role.”
walkerp 11:09 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
Absolutely gobsmacked by this choice. It’s not just a question of optics. Lafreniere has been the face of whitewashing police brutality and authoritarian tactics in protests. They are basically saying f*** you to the First Nations people in Quebec.
GC 12:56 on 2020-10-09 Permalink
Yeah, I’m with walkerp. It goes beyond “tone deaf” into middle-finger territory.
Even if Legault is this clueless, himself, certainly someone around him suggested it was a bad idea?