'It was done through a method that is totally unknown in our history of labour relations'
The union representing Montreal police officers says it will challenge the dismissal of seven members of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Yves Francoeur, president of the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, announced the challenge in a communiqué to members, according to Radio-Canada. Francoeur wrote the dismissals raise “fundamental questions of law.”
SPVM chief Fady Dagher announced the firings a day earlier over allegations of discriminatory and racist conduct and harm to vulnerable people.
In an administrative dismissal, an employer ends employment because a worker no longer meets a condition of the job, rather than penalizing misconduct through discipline. Dagher said SPVM officers must be of good moral character and reputation to keep their accreditation, a standard the seven no longer met, Radio-Canada reported.
That requirement mirrors Section 115 of Quebec’s Police Act, which lists good moral character among the minimum conditions for hiring an officer.
After consulting City of Montreal lawyers, the SPVM revoked their accreditations, which triggered automatic dismissal, Radio-Canada and Journal Métro reported. Dagher, who called the measure a first for the force, acknowledged the officers could seek reinstatement. He said the force would then refer them to its disciplinary committee, the Canadian Press (CP) reported.
Union says labour law cannot be rewritten
In the memo, as translated by CBC News, Francoeur wrote: “It was done through a method that is totally unknown in our history of labour relations.”
The memo also states that labour laws “cannot be unilaterally rewritten” by the SPVM. It reiterated that the alleged acts, if true, would violate police values.
On 98.5 FM on Nov. 4, 2026, Francoeur said the union would challenge the procedure, which he called arbitrary, rather than the firings themselves, because it lacks the evidence.
Community groups want more than firings
The allegations date to June 2026, when 16 Station 39 officers were accused of racist acts during police stops, CBC News reported. Community advocates welcomed the dismissals but say they fall short. Beverly Jacques, director of Coalition Pozé in Montreal, called the firings a good start but questioned whether criminal charges will follow, CTV News reported.
Ricardo Lamour, a Montreal social worker and artist, wants the officers named. “We need the police of Montreal to be accountable to the population,” Lamour said, in a report published by Yahoo News Canada.
At city hall, opposition party Projet Montréal said firing seven officers is the bare minimum and fails to solve the core issue, CBC News reported. Some groups want an independent public inquiry. Quebec’s domestic security minister, Guy Lapointe Jr., is not yet ready to take that step, CTV News reported.
The case tests whether losing a job requirement can replace discipline under a collective agreement. Arbitrators typically assess conduct-based terminations through just cause, as in an Alberta case where a worker’s jail time provided just cause.
Overlapping forums can also complicate matters, as when an Alberta tribunal dismissed a Calgary police officer’s discrimination complaint already before an arbitrator. The same scrutiny applied to an ambulance attendant fired for being a Hells Angels member.
