Quebec George Floyd protests teargassed
Protesters in Montreal were tear-gassed on Sunday as thousands gathered across Quebec to demonstrate against racism and police brutality in the French-speaking Canadian province.
Demonstrators marched peacefully in the centre of the city for the second time in a week as part of a global wave of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man killed in US police custody when a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
After the march ended, some of the protesters gathered near police headquarters where officers used teargas to disperse them, Radio Canada reported.
Last Sunday’s protest also ended in clashes in the evening.
During the march, protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter”, “No justice no peace”, “je ne peux pas respirer” (“I can’t breathe”) and “il faut que ca cesse” (“this has to stop”).
Organisers gave speeches before the start of the march, slamming Quebec’s Premier Francois Legault for claiming a few days prior that there was no “systemic racism” in the province.
Protester Madani Ba, a 28year-old musician and artist, said he once was subjected to two different identity checks in the span of five minutes on the same street.
“There’s a lot of racial profiling — ask anyone of colour and they will tell you the same thing.
“It’s unbelievable. And it has to change,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined thousands in Ottawa on Friday. He knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds.