Montreal police have opened an investigation after demonstrators staged a mock beheading of an effigy of Quebec’s labour minister during a May Day rally, drawing widespread condemnation from political leaders.
Video from the event shows protesters using a guillotine to cut the head off a papier-mâché figure of Jean Boulet before cheering and kicking it. The Montreal Police Service confirmed an investigation is underway, adding a “deep analysis” of the incident is being conducted.
Chantal Rouleau, Minister Responsible for Montreal, called the act unacceptable. “It’s terrible that people can do that,” she said, adding “those people must excuse themselves. We are not like that in Quebec.” Legal experts say the act could carry potential criminal consequences, with lawyer Eric Sutton noting, “I think there could be a potential charge for a death threat. A guillotine is associated with an execution.”
Major unions including the Confédération des syndicats démocratiques, Confédération des syndicats nationaux, Centrale des syndicats du Québec, and Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec distanced themselves, calling it an isolated incident. Premier François Legault said on social media that unions had a responsibility to denounce what happened and noted they did so quickly.
The group behind the performance, known as the Workers Alliance, defended its actions as a “carnival-style performance” evoking “a historic symbol of popular anger against out-of-touch elites.” The demonstration comes amid tensions following Amazon’s departure from Quebec, leading to the loss of over 4,000 jobs, which the group blamed on Boulet and the CAQ government.
Some Montrealers said the protest crossed a line. “You could agree or disagree with their politics, but it doesn’t have to turn into dragging their heads through the streets. That’s unbecoming of our democracy,” one person told Global News.