Article content

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has promised sanctions against the 100 or so SPVM officers who called in sick on Saturday morning.

All officers who called in absent will lose a sick day, Coderre said, adding the bill to pay for the overtime hours needed to fill the gap would be sent to Montreal’s police union.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Montreal mayor says union must pay overtime costs after 100 police call in sick to protest pension changes Back to video

“They can yell at me, they can boo me, they can talk against issues — that’s democracy, we can have some discussion,” he said. “But if they’re using tactics that will have a direct impact on the citizen, there will be consequences.”

About 100 police officers called in sick Saturday morning, the mayor said, even after the city called Quebec’s Commission de Relations de Travail (CRT) for a late-night meeting between the Montreal Police Brotherhood and city management.

They can yell at me, they can boo me, they can talk against issues — that’s democracy, we can have some discussion

The city called the board 10 p.m. Friday night, alleging half of the union workers scheduled for the 6 a.m. shift on Saturday would call in sick.