Montreal defends its record and outlines plans to fight racism and antisemitism

With at least three court justices ruling recently that systemic racism and racial profiling are indeed a problem in Montreal (and for the province), the City of Montreal took the opportunity to defend its own record fighting both.

The administration held public hearings last October 29 where they took questions from the public on systemic racism and racial profiling. Prior to the hearings, Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, also the Executive Committee Member responsible for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination, met with reporters.

Katahwa pointed out that Mayor Plante recognized the existence of systemic discrimination in 2020, and has been taking steps at City Hall, such as creating the Office of the Commissioner for the fight against systemic racism and discrimination. The sessions came along with a report, said to to be a progress update in response to a 2020 report tabled by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) that was highly critical of the city’s record on racial profiling.

The administration had a vested interest in holding these sessions, given a recent court case on racial profiling in the police department. The judgement laid the responsibility for the problem directly at the city’s feet.

Katahwa highlighted the change in culture in both the police and fire departments, and pointed out that “25% of the management positions at the City of Montreal are people that come from the diversity of Montreal.”

During the public sessions there were questions about École Bedford, about police brutality at pro-Palestinian protests, and about antisemitism; the new plan contains zero references to antisemitism or to the Jewish community. That’s despite the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes, particularly in the year following the October 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel.

Katahwa said twice that the omission does not mean that the Plante administration doesn’t care about antisemitism. “For me, it’s important to say to Montrealers of Jewish origin that this does not mean that antisemitism is acceptable. It is absolutely unacceptable. We have taken action and we will continue to take action to ensure the members of the Jewish community are safe and will always be safe in Montreal.” She added, as mayor of the CDN-NDG borough, that the police are “present and mobilized to be sure to protect the Jewish community.”

She then turned things over to Benoit Dagenais, City of Montreal Director-General, who acknowledged the omission, adding that “antisemitism is a scourge,” and that the fight against it must be made a priority, especially “in the context of the conflict in the Middle-East.” He added the goal is to fight antisemitism, “and all other forms of discrimination and racism.” Bochra Manaï, the city’s commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination, sat silently beside Dagenais while he said – presumably on her behalf – that she is engaged in fighting all discrimination, and will work hard, “if there are any groups who lack confidence in the commissioner,” he said, mentioning specifically the Jewish community, to restore that trust. Sources at City Hall say that Manaï has been instructed to refer questions on the file to Katahwa. The commissioner did not respond to calls, texts, or emails from The Suburban.

In an email to The Suburban, Katahwa reiterated her statement, saying “Anti-semitism has no place in Montréal, just like all other forms of discrimination. That's why one of our commitments is to ensure the efficiency of mechanisms to act on hate crimes and incidents, including antisemitism. We are also listening to our partners in the Jewish community, who would like the report to clearly indicate those actions to fight antisemitism in the report. We will be looking into ways to answer that need in the coming weeks.”

With at least three court justices ruling recently that systemic racism and racial profiling are indeed a problem in Montreal (and for the province), the City of Montreal took the opportunity to defend its own record fighting both.

The administration held public hearings last October 29th where they took questions from the public on systemic racism and racial profiling. Prior to the hearings, Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, also the Executive Committee Member responsible for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination, met with reporters.

Katahwa pointed out that Mayor Plante recognized the existence of systemic discrimination in 2020, and has been taking steps at City Hall, such as creating the Office of the Commissioner for the fight against systemic racism and discrimination. The sessions came along with a report, said to be a progress update in response to a 2020 report tabled by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) that was highly critical of the city’s record on racial profiling.

The administration had a vested interest in holding these sessions, given a recent court case on racial profiling in the police department. The judgement laid the responsibility for the problem directly at the city’s feet.

Katahwa highlighted the change in culture in both the police and fire departments, and pointed out that “25% of the management positions at the City of Montreal are people that come from the diversity of Montreal.”

During the public sessions there were questions about École Bedford, about police brutality at pro-Palestinian protests, and about antisemitism; the new plan contains zero references to antisemitism or to the Jewish community. That’s despite the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes, particularly in the year following the October 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel.

Katahwa said twice that the omission does not mean that the Plante administration doesn’t care about antisemitism. “For me, it’s important to say to Montrealers of Jewish origin that this does not mean that antisemitism is acceptable. It is absolutely unacceptable. We have taken action and we will continue to take action to ensure the members of the Jewish community are safe and will always be safe in Montreal.” She added, as mayor of the CDN-NDG borough, that the police are “present and mobilized to be sure to protect the Jewish community.”

She then turned things over to Benoit Dagenais, City of Montreal Director-General, who acknowledged the omission, adding that “antisemitism is a scourge,” and that the fight against it must be made a priority, especially “in the context of the conflict in the Middle-East.” He added the goal is to fight antisemitism, “and all other forms of discrimination and racism.” Bochra Manaï, the city’s commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination, sat silently beside Dagenais while he said – presumably on her behalf – that she is engaged in fighting all discrimination, and will work hard, “if there are any groups who lack confidence in the commissioner,” he said, mentioning specifically the Jewish community, to restore that trust. Sources at City Hall say that Manaï has been instructed to refer questions on the file to Katahwa. The commissioner did not respond to calls, texts, or emails from The Suburban.

In an email to The Suburban, Katahwa reiterated her statement, saying “Antisemitism has no place in Montréal, just like all other forms of discrimination. That's why one of our commitments is to ensure the efficiency of mechanisms to act on hate crimes and incidents, including antisemitism. We are also listening to our partners in the Jewish community, who would like the report to clearly indicate those actions to fight antisemitism in the report. We will be looking into ways to answer that need in the coming weeks.”