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Châteauguay police are donning a special uniform to highlight what they say is their special punishment doled out by the government’s proposed change to the pension plans of municipal employees.

The Garth Brooks look-a-like costume is their response to the continuing pressure tactics against Bill 3 that changes the rules for pension fund contributions.

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Police in other municipalities have been wearing camouflage pants, but the South Shore city took things one step farther. They’ll be donning cowboy hats and sheriff’s badges indefinitely, and they’ll be sporting cowboy-style work boots until the first snow falls, said union president Constable François Lemay. The police officers will wear their regular uniforms from waist to chin, but they will affix badge-type stars to their chests.

He said the Châteauguay force is penalized more than others because although the law calls for workers to pay half the cost of pension deficits, a decade ago police officers contributed the equivalent of one year’s salary to erase a deficit.