Quebec government ‘not ruling out’ banning demonstrations related to Israel-Hamas war

The CAQ government considers the shots fired at two Jewish schools in Montreal Thursday to be a form of terrorism.

The Montreal police have not yet reached this conclusion, however, and continued their investigation Thursday afternoon.

In a call for calm, Premiere François Legault did not rule out banning demonstrations linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The incidents occurred on Thursday night and the political class vigorously condemned these crimes. Staff members discovered bullet holes outside Talmud Torah Elementary School and Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal when they arrived Thursday morning.

“This is a form of terrorism,” declared the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, in a press conference Thursday morning in parliament. However, for the Montreal police force (SPVM), this is still a normal criminal investigation.

“We are still at the analysis stage, it is still a complex file, it requires more in-depth analysis and work with our various partners. It is too early to qualify the event as terrorism,” rather argued the deputy director of the SPVM, Vincent Richer, at a press conference.

The police have increased their presence near schools to be clearly visible and reassure citizens.

“Our hearts go out to the Jewish community,” said Drainville.

He said he is worried about the “rise in antisemitism”, as is his colleague, Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry.

“We have to take this seriously,” she commented during the press conference. “Bullet holes in schools are unacceptable, I am extremely disturbed by this.”

“We have to stop this,” said Legault at a press conference in Longueuil.

As for whether the authorities could go so far as to ban demonstrations in order to reduce tension, he is considering all options.
“There is nothing excluded at this time,” Legault said.

In addition, several ministers denounced the acts of violence that were committed at Concordia University also in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A 22-year-old woman was arrested and three people were injured, according to some media reports.

The government calls on victims of discrimination and hatred to act and denounce their attackers.

“If there are people who want to file a complaint because they feel they have been victimized, the police are here, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions is here, and we do not have to be afraid in Quebec,” declared the minister responsible for the fight against racism, Christopher Skeete, a former Concordia student himself.

Déry also appealed for calm and contacted the rector of Concordia.

The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, described the situations as “shocking and disturbing.” However, he refused to speak in this case of anti-Semitic acts.

“We are on a line that is very, very thin, very, very thin. We have to be careful about what we say, what we do.”

The SPVM is also continuing its analysis of the statements of a controversial imam, Adil Charkaoui.

At a demonstration in support of the Palestinians, he called on God to take care of the “aggressor Zionists” and leave none behind. Legault believed that it was an “incitement to hatred, to violence”, and called on the police to intervene.

“It’s certain that this concerns the SPVM,” said Richer. “We take it seriously. That’s why we’re working on it currently.”

Born in Morocco, Adil Charkaoui was arrested in 2003 under Canada’s security certificate system. Authorities then alleged that he was a terrorist and that he had been trained in a camp in Afghanistan.

His movements were monitored for nine years, but he was never charged with anything.

—This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.