Lobby group seeks public inquiry in Montreal man's jail death
CTV
An anti-racism lobby group is calling on the Quebec government to launch an independent public inquiry into the jail death of an illegally detained Black man in Montreal following an altercation with jail guards just before Christmas.
An anti-racism lobby group made a call Saturday for the Quebec government to launch an independent, coroner-led public inquiry into the jail death of an illegally detained Black man in Montreal following an altercation with correctional staff just before Christmas.
Nicous D'Andre Spring, 21, was unlawfully held at Montreal's Bordeaux jail on Dec. 24 when guards fitted his head with a spit hood and pepper-sprayed him twice. He died later in hospital.
A judge had ordered Spring released from the detention centre the day before, but he and two other inmates were still in custody when the altercation occurred.
The Red Coalition, a non-profit lobbying organization assisting Spring's relatives, told reporters Saturday they are advocating for an independent coroner's inquiry and the release of any relevant detention centre video footage to the family if it exists.
The group is also seeking an independent autopsy and the creation of a citizen oversight board for the province's correctional facilities.
"The idea here is a question of trust," said Alain Babineau, a former RCMP officer and director of racial profiling with the Red Coalition. "When the community has lost faith in government institutions, including those that work for the government institutions, they don't believe anything that comes out of government."
Babineau said having an independent probe and autopsy will "give some reprieve and solace to the family, that finally we're getting the right answer to our questions."
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal crash on Highway 404 this morning.
Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Ottawa, with the air quality at 10+ "very high risk" at 6 a.m.
The entire town of Chibougamau, in central Quebec, was told to evacuate Tuesday evening as wildfires prompted officials to declare a state of emergency.
An out-of-control wildfire on Vancouver Island surged in size Tuesday, covering more than a square kilometre and forcing intermittent closures of the only highway to Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.
The trial for the man accused of his brother’s death resumed on Tuesday morning, with the accused appearing in court by video.
Some students at an elementary school in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division will be receiving 30 minutes of religious teaching next year after the board of trustees passed a bylaw Tuesday evening.
Tuesday night, councillors debated a proposal that could have seen their numbers grow by as many as six before the end of the decade.
The officials tasked with preparing for and responding to natural disasters in the province are bracing for widespread evacuations of B.C. communities amid tinder-dry conditions that are already prompting dire wildfire predictions.
A haze is lingering in the air and there’s a faint smell of smoke in areas across southwestern Ontario as wildfires continue to burn in Quebec and northern Ontario.
A record-size wildfire in Shelburne County, N.S., isn’t likely to move if conditions don't change, officials say.
A dog has been shot dead by police after three people were attacked in Burlington Tuesday afternoon, police say.