Quebec Expands Police Powers and Protest Limits

Summary#

This Quebec bill aims to improve public safety and people’s sense of safety. It creates two new laws and updates several others related to policing, privacy, and corrections.

• Sets up a committee to decide when to publicly share limited information about certain high-risk sex offenders when they are released, for up to three years.
• Bans protests within 50 meters of the home of a provincial MNA (member of the National Assembly), a municipal elected official, or an elected prefect. Fines apply.
• Forbids carrying or throwing certain objects or substances at protests (like knives, air guns, paving stones, billiard balls, smoke or gas devices, or fireworks). Police can search and seize without a warrant if they reasonably believe someone has such items.
• Makes it illegal to publicly display the names or symbols of listed criminal groups (like gang patches), with narrow exceptions for journalism, education, art, court, or clear public interest. The Public Security Minister manages the list with police input and reviews it at least every five years. Groups can ask to be removed.
• Lets Indigenous communities create joint police boards to run a common Indigenous police force under an agreement with the government.
• Allows police to share certain information with victims and a designated support agency in specific cases. Adjusts governance for the private security regulator and lets victims read their written statements at some parole hearings.

What it means for you#

• Workers and protesters

  • You cannot protest within 50 meters of an elected official’s home. Fines for people are about $250 to $1,250.
  • At protests, you cannot carry or throw objects that could hurt people or damage property, or bring fireworks or smoke/gas devices without permission. Fines for people are about $500 to $5,000.
  • Police can search you and your immediate area and seize banned items if they have reasonable grounds to believe you have them.

• Residents and neighbors

  • Protests near the homes of MNAs, municipal officials, and elected prefects are banned within 50 meters. You may see police directing protests to other spots.

• Victims and survivors

  • If the committee considers a case, it may invite a known victim to send written comments.
  • Police can share an accused person’s release conditions with a victim, when needed for the victim’s safety, if the alleged crime involves harm to someone’s physical or mental safety.
  • After a police call for suspected domestic violence, police may share needed information with a designated support group to contact the person involved.

• People convicted of certain sexual offenses (high risk of reoffending)

  • A committee can decide to publish your name, photo, description, area of residence, offense details, release conditions, and general traits of past victims (without identifying them). The Sûreté du Québec will post this with a clear warning against vigilante action.
  • Publication can last up to three years, can be updated, and can be reviewed. You can appeal the decision to the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec within 60 days.

• Indigenous communities and leaders

  • You can form a joint police board with other communities to create or maintain a common Indigenous police force. Board meetings are public, and the agreement sets rules for funding, voting, and dispute resolution.

• Municipalities

  • You may prosecute offenses under this new public order law that occur on your territory in municipal court, and you keep the fines.

• Media, schools, artists, and businesses

  • It is illegal to show, sell, or display items with the names or symbols of listed criminal groups. There are limited, good‑faith exceptions for journalism, education, art/culture (when necessary), courts, or clear public interest. Check the Minister’s list before using such images or names.

• Police organizations and private security

  • Police services can share some functions, with minister approval. Police also gain clear powers to enforce protest rules and the symbol-display ban.
  • The private security regulator’s board terms are standardized (three years), with updated rules for appointments.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents’ View#

• Helps people protect themselves by warning the public about certain high‑risk sex offenders after release.
• Reduces intimidation and recruitment by criminal groups by banning public display of their symbols and names.
• Keeps protests safer by limiting dangerous items and giving police tools to prevent violence.
• Protects elected officials and their families at home, while still allowing protests elsewhere.
• Supports Indigenous-led policing through a clear framework for joint police boards.
• Improves victim safety by sharing key release conditions and enabling early support after domestic violence calls.

Opponents’ View#

• Raises free‑expression and assembly concerns: a protest buffer around homes and a ban on displaying certain symbols could chill speech, even with exceptions.
• Allows warrantless searches at protests, which civil liberties groups may see as too broad or open to profiling.
• Publicly naming high‑risk sex offenders may fuel harassment, harm rehabilitation, and lead to mistakes in risk judgments; appeal rights exist, but access to some materials is limited.
• The criminal-entity listing process may lack transparency and could be politicized; reviews every five years may be too slow to fix errors.
• New duties for police and cities could add costs and workload without clear funding details.