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Policing the police Two years and $20 million after it began, the Poitras Commission--the provincial government inquiry into the practices of the Sûreté du Québec--finally released its long-awaited report last week. From Yves Manseau's perspective, the Poitras report basically says the same things he's been saying all along. But he's been doing it for free. Manseau, director of Mouvement Action Justice (MAJ) and former spokesperson for the COBP (both police-watchdog groups), has spent years calling for an end to the practice of police officers investigating other police officers. Now, as he points out, 37 of the Poitras Commission's 175 recommendations call for more effective civilian input and control over police activity. "It's a good report, but in all humility, there's not much in there that the MAJ and the COBP haven't already recommended," Manseau says. Manseau is calling for Public Security Minister Serge Ménard to act fast on the recommendations, though he holds out little hope that Ménard will actually do so. And he has one more recommendation to make: dedicate 1 per cent of all police budgets towards civil surveillance of police forces across the province. "That money would finance the Police Ethics Commission and it could also provide funding for groups like the MAJ," Manseau says. That may seem self-serving, Manseau admits, but by his calculations the MAJ could have saved the government a big wad of money. --Philip Preville
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