Montreal opposition calling for independent investigation into alleged racism within the City of Montreal
Posted March 15, 2023 6:41 pm.
Members of the opposition at Montreal city hall are calling for an independent investigation into alleged racism within the City of Montreal.
Elected officials of Ensemble Montreal spoke to media Wednesday urging the city to review its processes of handling complaints and establish “A zero-tolerance policy.”
They say an in-depth examination into allegations of racism and discrimination in the workplace must take place and “Severe sanctions must follow”.
“There’s more clarity than when someone loses their job for doing something that is unacceptable to their employer. Once you send that message people will wake up and people will realize that their behaviour on the job and off the job in the context of systemic racism has to be there. You have to not only talk the talk you have to walk the walk,” said Alan DeSousa, mayor of Ville Saint-Laurent
Opposition party members said they were outraged by the revelations that came from an investigation by Le Devoir newspaper into the racism and discrimination experienced by some city employees, and how Montreal dealt with those complaints.
They also questioned the work of the commissioner hired two years ago by the City of Montreal to fight racism and systemic discrimination, saying they haven’t seen results quickly enough.
“Here we are in 2023 with still no results, no action plan, no measurable way of figuring out how we’re going to get ourselves out of this. It’s unacceptable,” said Stephanie Valenzuela, City councillor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Speaking to media Wednesday, Montreal mayor Valerie Plante rejected the idea of an independent investigation, saying it had already been done by the office of public consultations which published a report on racism and discrimination within the city of Montreal in 2020.
She said they have been acting on the recommendations from that report and act quickly when a complaint is made.
“We’re in action, we’re really moving forward. Do we have to go even stronger and faster? Yes. And that’s why as the mayor, I’m here, from the political point of view but also the director general of the city is here from the public service perspective of how important it is for us to move forward,” said Plante.
