Quebec provincial police don colourful pants as contract talks stall

Police officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) will wear camouflage pants or jeans during their working hours starting Thursday, as they remain dissatisfied with the progress in contract negotiations with the provincial government.

The 5,700 members of the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec (APPQ) rejected by nearly 60 per cent in September the agreement in principle that had been reached with the Treasury Board. This provided for salary increases of 21 per cent over five years.

In a press release issued in French, the union indicated that it met with the employer on Oct. 13 to inform it of its “necessary demands for a new agreement in principle.”

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The union said the response it received on Wednesday was not satisfactory.

“During this meeting, the government was not able to demonstrate to us its desire to reach an agreement by improving the first one that was refused by the members,” the union said.

“The requests made by the APPQ, following the rejection of the first agreement in principle, remain without a favourable response for the moment,” said Jacques Painchaud, president of the APPQ.

“Given the situation, we unfortunately have no other choice than to resort to a means of visibility which carries a message of dissatisfaction.”

Wearing colourful pants is a pressure tactic that has often been used by police officers during contract negotiations.

In 2017, the provincial government led by the Liberals at the time passed a law to ban the tactic. It was overturned by the Superior Court last summer.

The collective agreement for SQ police officers expired on March 31, 2022.