The Liberal government gave no indication on Thursday that the behemoth 500-page report issued by the Mnard Commission, which was mandated to investigate the problems surrounding Quebecs Maple Spring, has any future other than on a shelf gathering dust.
Liberal officials made it clear they considered it a politically motivated investigation and felt no obligation to act on the dozens of recommendations in it.
This was a political order of the former government, said Yasmine Abdelfadel, a press aide to Higher Education Minister Yves Bolduc. Its unfortunate it focuses on the police intervention but not on the actions of protesters. Weve denounced it since the beginning and dont feel its necessary to respond.
Public Security Minister Lise Thriault also called the report politically motivated with a goal of blaming the Liberals for the student uprising.
The reaction isnt a surprise considering the Liberals immediately dismissed it when the special commission was announced last May, saying it was intended to probe the police or indict the Jean Charest Liberals.
However, PQ public security opposition critic Pascal Brub said the substantial report merited consideration.
Released just as the Canadiens were facing off with the Boston Bruins in the hotly-anticipated final game of their series, the report issued two years after Montreals streets became a battleground for riot police and protesters promises to be a non-starter.
Authored by former PQ cabinet minister Serge Mnard, the report blames both student groups and the Charest Liberal government for not initiating peace talks sooner and said much of the conflict could have been mitigated if the two sides had negotiated in good faith.
The commission recommended that police stop using plastic-coated bullets, and limit the use of batons and pepper spray for crowd control, and that a law recognizing students right to strike be adopted, but that strike votes should only be taken by secret ballot.
Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal police Brotherhood, immediately called the report unrealistic and totally lacking impartiality, saying officers did their work professionally under very difficult circumstances while managing 600 protests in 180 days.
Go here to read the rest:
Liberals likely to shelve Maple Spring report