January 09, 2017 - 12:44 PM
MONTREAL - An arbitration tribunal has ruled that Montreal police officers must stop plastering their cruisers with labour-related stickers and also pay for the removal of current ones.
The stickers have been a staple on cars since July 2014 as a protest against a provincial law aimed at overhauling municipal pension plans.
The City of Montreal has removed many of them from police buildings but new ones have quickly replaced them.
It then went to the tribunal, arguing the officers' conduct amounted to expensive vandalism against its property.
The police brotherhood argued posting the stickers was a form of freedom of expression and that it did not affect how the officers did their jobs.
Arbitrator Nathalie Faucher ruled late last month there are limits to freedom of expression.
Some of the stickers say ''On a rien vole, nous'' ("We Haven't Stolen Anything") and "Contre la loi 3" ("Against Bill 3").
The police brotherhood said Monday there are still stickers out there but that no new ones have been plastered since Faucher's ruling came down.
It also said its lawyers are looking at the decision with regard to a possible challenge.
The ruling does not apply to stickers on bulletproof vests.
Bill 3 eventually became Law 15 when it passed in December 2014. It increased the financial contribution of municipal employees, in terms of percentage, to their pension plans.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017