🚨 Crime & Public Safety
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Chief Fady Dagher says Montreal police feel "shame" as racism probe continues. Dagher told councillors at a special City Hall meeting Tuesday that the force is responding to allegations of racism, discrimination and harassment tied to a Montréal‑Nord unit; police dismantled a 16‑member patrol unit in June and suspended two officers in relation to that incident. Dagher also confirmed a third officer was suspended for an unrelated matter and said rebuilding trust will take time. ↗
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Dagher admits he racially profiled people in the 1990s and later changed his approach. In an interview he said the experience came while working with the anti‑gang squad and that a conversation with a street‑gang member prompted the change; Dagher, born in Ivory Coast to Lebanese parents, also said he experienced profiling after Sept. 11 and is the first racialized Montreal police chief. The admissions came a day after a public meeting about misconduct at the Montréal‑Nord station. ↗
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Radio‑Canada reports Montreal police never fired on a civilian during a deadly daytime shooting. The report says officers did not discharge their weapons at a civilian during the incident; Radio‑Canada is the source for that finding. (Article: Radio‑Canada coverage.) ↗
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A Quebec man serving life for six murders died Aug. 7 at Saskatoon’s Regional Psychiatric Centre. Correctional Service Canada identified the inmate as Steeve Racine, 62, who had been serving a life sentence since Aug. 30, 1991, and was recently denied parole after a late‑2025 terminal cancer diagnosis; CSC said next‑of‑kin were notified and that police and the coroner will be notified per policy. ↗
💼 Economy & Business
- Montreal tourism is on pace for a record 12.5 million visitors in 2026. Tourisme Montréal forecasts 12.5 million visitors for 2026, topping the 2019 record of more than 11 million; hotel reservations rose 14% in July year‑over‑year with an 86% occupancy rate and business tourism reached 35,000 visitors in July versus 19,300 last year. ↗
🏛️ Government & Politics
- Quebec Liberal leader Charles Milliard dismisses PQ leader’s letter to anglophones as unlikely to persuade. Milliard called Paul St‑Pierre Plamondon’s National Post letter a “nice try” and said anglophones remember decades without outreach from the Parti Québécois; political analyst Karim Boulos said the PQ must reduce the “boogeyman effect” while applauding the attempt but doubted it would change many minds. ↗
📰 Also Today
- Montreal's former anti‑racism commissioner sues a Jewish advocacy group. ↗
- Evenko reverses transparent‑bag rule ahead of LASSO festival. ↗
- 16‑year‑old boy stabbed in downtown Montreal. ↗
- Montreal police chief outlines plan to rebuild trust after racism scandal. ↗
- Quebecers weigh in on what "Quebec identity" means. ↗