QUEBEC — Ignoring advice from Quebec’s Ombudsman and its human rights commission, Quebec will maintain the practice of naming a second police force to investigate deaths at the hands of the police.

Bill 46, presented in the National Assembly Friday by Public Security Minister Robert Dutil, will create an independent bureau to observe police investigations of the police, which continue.

The Ombudsman and the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse both recommended that Quebec follow the example of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, a civilian body that looks into the death of people killed or seriously injured by the police.

Premier Jean Charest explained Friday that Dutil was unconvinced by the Ontario model.

“The minister examined the Ontario formula and found from the experience that he saw in Ontario that (Quebec’s) body of surveillance could very well do the job,” the premier said.

Asked about the public perception that the police take care of their own, Charest said he understand that view.

“We believe the body of surveillance will be able to address that issue and will give citizens an added assurance that the investigations are done correctly,” he said. “We are confident that that will be the case.”

Charest said Dutil’s approach would ensure oversight, while “allowing police to do their work.”

Dutil has been working on the issue since February 2010, when Ombudsman Raymonde Saint-Germain called for an end to police investigating the police, saying there was a problem of “the perception of impartiality.”

In a statement Friday, Saint-Germain recalled her position that “the status quo is unacceptable,” but said she would reserve her comments on Bill 46 for assembly hearings on the bill.

Gaétan Cousineau, president of Quebec’s human rights commission, said in a news release, “One could ask how the creation of a this civilian surveillance bureau could raise the level of confidence of the public in the system since the police will still investigate the police.”

Cousineau recalled that in its report on racial profiling last May, the Commission recommended creation of an independent investigation body “to ensure transparency, independence and accountability” and he wrote Dutil on June 15 insisting such a body also reflect Quebec’s ethnocultural diversity.

Stéphane Bergeron, of the Parti Québécois, called Bill 46 “a step in the right direction,” but said the approach “does not respond to the recommendations by the ombudsman.”

Bill 46, presented by Dutil on Friday, proposes the creation of an eight-member civilian bureau to oversee police investigations of incidents involving another force.

One bureau member would be designated to observe the work of one of about 30 such investigations a year in Quebec and would have the power to point out to the minister “irregularities” compromising the impartiality of the investigation.

The minister could then designate a different police force to handle the investigation.

Since 1999, there have been 339 such investigations in Quebec.

But only in three cases did police officers subsequently face charges.

The bureau would have a director and an assistant director would be a retired judge or a lawyer with more than 10 years experience. The remaining six members could have no experience as peace officers or in police work.

The bill also calls for financial aid, up to $15,000, so the family of the victim can pay for legal counsel during the inquiry.

kdougherty@montrealgazette.com

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