Civil Liberties Groups Raise Concerns About New Quebec Curfew

Province trusts police judgement in enforcing curfew measures, public security minister says

A police officer checks the identification of a man in a park in Montreal on May 2, 2020, as police patrol the park to make sure people are observing physical distancing protocols amid the pandemic. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

The Quebec government says it trusts police judgement in enforcing the province’s new curfew measures announced on Jan. 7, but civil liberties groups are voicing concern about the move.

This week, Quebec became the first province in Canada to impose a pandemic-related curfew, with premier Francois Legault pointing to the province’s overburdened hospitals as justification for the four-week curfew, to begin Jan. 9.