Sylvain Caron chosen as Montreal’s new police chief
Montrealers will have chance to ask questions at Friday committee meeting
A day removed from a report that stressed the importance of choosing a candidate that could steady its police force’s “fragile” work climate, the city of Montreal announced its choice for new police chief on Wednesday. Sylvain Caron, a former assistant director of the Sûreté du Québec, has been chosen by the city’s selection committee in charge of finding a replacement for interim chief Martin Prud’homme. Prud’homme, who had taken the helm last December in a oneyear effort to reform the troubled force, had urged the city to bypass the usual application process. In order to ensure a smooth transition, he instead recommended two replacements for his position, including Caron. In a statement released Wednesday, the city said it met both candidates on Tuesday — the other being retired RCMP deputy commissioner Line Carbonneau — and came to its decision soon after. The announcement came the day after the provincial government released Prud’homme’s report on his efforts to reshape the force and improve its image. Prud’homme was given the mandate last December after a damning report by lawyer Michel Bouchard revealed deep-seated problems within the force and led to then-chief Philippe Pichet’s suspension. In his report released Tuesday, Prud’homme recommended the new chief be one of the two deputies from outside the SPVM who worked with him on cleaning up the force — either Caron or Carbonneau — instead of opening up the position to internal candidates. He warned the city should “act with caution” in making its decision and choose someone who could answer the SPVM’s “current need for stability and continuity in the organization.” It appears the city believes Caron is the one for the job. Retired from the SQ this year to join Prud’homme’s efforts, Caron has 36 years of police experience, including 20 in management. He served with the police department in Sorel-Tracy for 21 years, the last 15 as police chief. On its website, the SPVM describes him as an “excellent communicator” and an “innovative manager” who contributed to a restructuring of the SQ’s criminal investigations unit and oversaw a reorganization of its police districts. He’s also credited with improving the force’s relations with Indigenous communities in Quebec. Caron’s nomination will still need to pass through several steps before he officially takes over the force, including being approved by the city of Montreal’s public security committee and city council. The choice will ultimately need to be sealed by Quebec’s public security minister. On Tuesday, municipal opposition leader Lionel Perez had questioned whether the city was moving too fast. “Why limit ourselves to only two candidates?” he asked. “There’s no reason to act in a fast-track fashion.” Caron will be before the city’s public security committee on Friday afternoon. In what it described as an “exceptional” measure, the city has made the session open to the public at city hall to allow Montrealers to ask him questions directly. Prud’homme, who will now return to head the SQ at the end of December, will also be present to address his report.