2016 Suppressed News: November 18, 2016 Guatemala Quebec Canada Burundi South Sudan Russia South Africa U.S.

26.11.16

2016 Suppressed News: Val-d’Or, Quebec: 37 files of allegations by Indigenous women against sexual abuse by the Provincial police of Quebec, have been turned over to Crown prosecutors by Montreal Police with a UN-experienced independent observer (Prof. Fannie Lafontaine of Laval University) who were assigned to investigate the women's claims. The Crown decided not to press charges, except in two instances against officers not in Val-d'Or living in remote areas. Several of the claims were initially aired in a report by Radio Canada which was subsequently sued for 2.3 million dollars by 41 police officers in protest. The 37 files concerned only complaints made before April 4, 2016. The Parti Québécois has asked for a government inquiry. So have Aboriginal women. The sequence suggests some of the difficulties in assuring human rights to Aboriginal women and the poor. Background.     Partial sources online: "No charges against Quebec police for alleged abuse of indigenous women," The Canadian Press, Nov. 15, 2016, MacLean's; "No charges against Quebec provincial police in Val-d'Or abuse scandal," Brennan Neill, Nov. 15, 2016,CBC News, "PQ wants independent probe into SQ abuse allegations in Val-d'Or," Caroline Plante & Christopher Curtis, Nov. 16, 2016, Montreal Gazette; "Crown in Val-d'Or abuse scandal explains why only 2 of 37 files resulted in charges," Jonathan Montpetit, Stephen Smith, Nov. 18, 2016, CBC News.