‘Major flaw’: Judge blames police security plan in 2012 Quebec election shooting

A Superior Court judge says the police security plan for Quebec’s 2012 election night had a “major flaw” that permitted a gunman to carry out a deadly attack.

Justice Philippe Bélanger has awarded a total of nearly $292,000 in damages to four stagehands who were working at a downtown Montreal venue where then-premier-elect Pauline Marois of the Parti Québécois was delivering a victory speech on Sept. 4, 2012.

A lone gunman shot dead one of their colleagues at the rear of the venue and seriously injured a second technician with the same bullet.

The four plaintiffs had testified they suffered from post-traumatic stress and other psychological damage due to the shooting.

They accused the Montreal police and Quebec provincial police of failing to properly evaluate the risks associated with the event and of not deploying officers to guard the back of the venue.

Bélanger ruled that the police security plan contained a “major flaw” because it didn’t include a security perimeter behind the Métropolis — the venue that has since been renamed to the MTELUS.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.