“Is violence and intimidation the new normal or can Mayor Plante turn this around and give the police her full support so that they restore order?”
“We are at an inflection point in the history of the city of Montreal. The world is watching the streets of Montreal and is horrified by what they see,” Brownstein says in the video from his office in Côte-St-Luc. “Is violence and intimidation the new normal or can Mayor Plante turn this around and give the police her full support so that they restore order?”
Brownstein stopped short of criticizing the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM), but rather blamed Plante for setting the tone in how law enforcement has been handling the recent protests. Although Plante was unavailable for comment, one of her aides denied she is turning a blind eye to the rising antisemitism in the city.
“The safety of everyone is obviously important, and we have every confidence in the SPVM, which has all the necessary expertise to intervene when necessary,” Sylvain Charron said in a statement. “We remain in constant contact with the department to ensure that all the necessary resources are in place.”
Brownstein drew a distinction in how Longueuil police and the Sûreté du Québec have responded to violence at protests compared with the SPVM in Montreal. He noted that when Via Rail trains were delayed by pro-Palestinian protesters in June, the Longueuil police deployed its emergency intervention unit to clear the tracks. And when protesters blocked the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the provincial police rushed to reopen it.
“In Montreal, the tone at the top is wrong,” Brownstein continued in the Facebook video. “Mayor Plante must send a message to change the policing strategy of enforcement.”
In an interview, Brownstein elaborated on the feelings of acute and pervasive insecurity now that many Montreal Jews now suffer.
“A lot of parents and their children don’t feel comfortable going to university,” he said. “The younger kids are also now starting to feel it in their schools. There’s a lot of discomfort. … We all have to go out the back door now. That’s how it is for Jews.”