For white reactionaries, Montreal is always on the verge of becoming an American city or Paris - depending on the most significant anti-racist/imperialist struggle of the time. Black resistance? We're becoming Chicago. Palestinian and Arab resistance? Paris.

The SPVM released its new plan to fight systemic racism, and it's the same plan they've had since 1985. The rub is that the *solution* to racism is increasing the presence of the police in the lives of racialized people - to attack them but also to promote "mutual understanding."

"Montreal Police Pressured Community Leaders not to Attend Vigil for Abisay Cruz." Great reporting on the latest example of the police trying to turn community members against each other after a high-profile police killing. therover.ca/montreal-pol...

Montreal Police Pressured Community Leaders not to Attend Vigil for Abisay Cruz – The Rover

Sources say that while police spoke of listening to community after the killing of Cruz, they took a much harsher line behind the scenes.

therover.ca

he police are continuing to terrorize the friends of Nooran Rezayi, the 15 year-old the Longueuil police killed last fall. Today, the Montreal police raided several addresses in the south shore suburb as part of their investigation of the youth who were on the street that day.

Montreal transit cop (constable special) charged with assaulting and pepper spraying a Cree man a year ago. You know you messed up when *TVA* points out that giving transit cops pepper spray in 2023 was supposed to deescalate situations.

Great reporting from The Link on the increasingly reckless use of tear gas by Montreal police. They report tear gas was used 41 times in 2023 and 97 times in 2024. Police have gassed people sitting on patios and people trapped in areas with no exit. thelinknewspaper.ca/article/spvm...

SPVM increase in chemical irritant usage sparks outcry | News

Aggressive and indiscriminate deployment of chemical irritants has Montrealers injured and experts worried.

thelinknewspaper.ca

Montreal police paid $1.8 million to purchase AI video analysis software last year, but refused to name the specific software or company. A student newspaper, The Concordian, did the digging. It's iMotion ROC, a product with scary capabilities.

«On nous vend l’idée que la police combat la pègre, mais la réalité est plus complexe. Dans les faits, une véritable petite armée de crapules travaille main dans la main avec les flics.» Un autre excellent texte d'Alex Popovic. pivot.quebec/2026/02/16/c...

Corruption policière : des ripoux à la pelletée

Les pommes pourries ne tombent jamais loin de l’arbre.

pivot.quebec

he US-Israeli design for the "Gaza First Planned Community" in Rafah. It's like they asked AI for a generic "neighbourhood unit" drawn from the archive of colonial planning and counter-insurgency.

Alors que la mairesse de Montréal pousse pour que le SPVM s'équipe de caméras corporelles, cette entrevue met les pendules à l'heure: From George Floyd to Alex Pretti: “Copaganda” Author on Myths About Immigration, Crime & Policing www.democracynow.org/2026/1/27/al... cc @tedrutland.bsky.social

A group that supposedly combats racial profiling is once again calling for Montreal to introduce body cameras - a technology that does NOT reduce racial profiling or hold police accountable. montreal.citynews.ca/2026/01/23/c...

Coalition presses Montreal to fast-track police body cameras without Quebec funding

A coalition of 23 organizations and 35 individuals is urging Montreal’s Ensemble Montréal administration to begin implementing body-worn cameras for police officers this year, regardless of whether th...

montreal.citynews.ca

It's wild to watch Projet Montreal complain that the new administration killed off "participatory budgeting." During a pre-budget survey in 2020, 73% of Montrealers called for defunding the police. Projet ignored the result and removed the question from the next year's survey.

« Je ne peux pas contrôler ce qui se passe à travers la planète et qui peut avoir des répercussions sur le budget », avance le chef de police." 🙄

Citizens lodged an official complaint last year, after media outlets falsely reported that activists set cars on fire during the anti-NATO protests. The result? The Conseil de presse rejected the complaint b/c the false information came from the police. Victory for copaganda!

« Le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal a dépensé 60 millions$ plus que prévu l’an passé et demande une augmentation substantielle de son budget pour 2026. Une pratique qui est devenue coutume dans la métropole québécoise». Merci @pivot.quebec pivot.quebec/2026/01/22/l...

Le SPVM a dépassé son budget de 60 millions $ en 2025

Le service de police de Montréal a, encore l’an dernier, dépensé beaucoup plus d’argent que ce que la Ville lui avait accordé.

pivot.quebec

I'm proud of this one. Aaliyah and I trace how urban planning and policing evolved together from the 1970s to the present in North End Halifax, enabling racial violence and displacement through urban design, an increasingly aggressive war on drugs, and "community policing."

The most ridiculous and deceitful part of the 2026 Montreal budget is the suggestion that police body cameras will be introduced at a capital cost of $40M. The SPVM's own study estimated that using cameras would require hiring 200 more cops and civilian staff - $200M/year.

Montreal's ridiculous police force is expected to go over budget in 2025 by $60M. This happens *every* year. Since 2020, the SPVM has gone over budget by an average of $43M per year. No other police force in Canada goes over budget by more than $1M.

A snapshot of changing priorities at the STM, Montreal's public transit authority. Fewer metro/bus drivers, more security agents ("inspecteurs") and managers.

La guerre contre les itinérants n'est jamais assez agressive pour les personnalités de Quebecor, pour qui le fait de *voir* deux personnes consommer de la drogue est si traumatisant qu'elles implorent l'aide de Dieu.

It's incredible that you can publish a long story, which is mostly about what the Longueuil police are doing to stop youth violence, and not mention Nooran Rezayi and the wave of police surveillance and repression against racialized youth that led to his killing.

The SPVM concealed that it recently purchased an AI program that allows it to surveil citizens in public spaces. Alex helpfully places this move in a longer history in which the SPVM refuses to tell the public - and elected officials - what tech it uses. pivot.quebec/2025/12/08/i...

IA au SPVM : la technologie intrusive au service d’une surveillance policière illimitée – Pivot

Chaque fois que la société civile veut en savoir plus, on la traite comme un témoin gênant qu’il faut tenir à distance.

pivot.quebec

It's copadandize the children season. For the second year in a row, the SWAT team rappelled down the face of the Montreal Children's Hospital and then went inside to distribute gifts. Many hospital staff have criticized this training/PR exercise, but they've been ignored.

It's really frustrating to see Red Coalition, a group that opposes racial profiling, call for police body cameras and claim they increase "the chances of [victims] getting justice." They simply don't. globalnews.ca/news/1155854...

Montreal mayor revives debate over police body-worn cameras - Montreal | Globalnews.ca

New mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada says her team is working with the police department and the Quebec government to equip frontline officers — with well-established guidelines.

globalnews.ca

Just in time for debates about 2026 police budgets: a CBC article that turns a *decline* in violent crime on public transit in 2024 into a headline about *rising* violence across Canada. The graphs are from the article itself.

The scandal is that we're asking cops to teach youth about consent in the first place. Like why???

The Guardian reports "the US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a 'green zone' under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a 'red zone' to be left in ruins." It's "strategic hamlets" (Vietnam war) all over again.

If we needed more evidence that Projet Montréal isn't a left-wing party, this tweet captures it. Mamdani has never emphasized equity or inclusion (liberal concepts), but the redistribution of wealth and power from the wealthy to the working class (in all its diversity).

The ability of police to present themselves as victims is incredible. The SPVM was a mess under Pichet, the city decided it couldn't fire him, so he was paid $400K/year to do nothing. He now won a case against the city, where the "harassment" is being paid to do nothing.

A breakdown of the preliminary results of the election.