After a court interpreter was stabbed on the job and left in critical condition in January, the Legault government is tightening security at some of the busiest courthouses in the province.
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette and Public Security Minister François Bonnardel announced Monday morning that Quebec will fund the installation of metal detectors in nine locations between now and September 2025.
The courthouses in Longueuil, Laval and Joliette will be the first to be equipped. Metal detectors will also be installed in Quebec City next fall.
The courthouses in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Saint-Jérôme, Gatineau and Chicoutimi will follow in the spring of 2025. Sherbrooke’s courthouse will be updated the following fall.
These additions are estimated by the government to cost $7.6 million.
Other courthouses could be equipped with metal detectors after the fall of 2025, said Jolin-Barrette, indicating that Monday’s announcement is just the beginning of what will be a broader deployment.
Currently, only Montreal’s courthouses are protected by permanent metal detectors.
Portable metal detectors were, however, provided to special constables at the Longueuil courthouse after the attack on court interpreter Hai Thach in January.
He was 68 years old at the time of the attack and has since returned to work, while his attacker, Alexandre Garcés, is facing attempted murder and a range of other charges.
In court on Monday, Thach spoke to reporters about the incident, saying it was an unfortunate journey, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He translates for those who speak only Vietnamese, Mandarin or other Chinese dialects.
“As someone who has been working for 35 years, it is my belief that courthouses are safe in every way,” said Thach. “But an event happened, and it’s just as well that it triggered the reaction and action of the government.”
He said the decision to beef up security will reassure the public and those working in courthouses
Jolin-Barrette and Bonnardel also announced Monday a sum of $23.4 million for the training and hiring of special constables, for a total investment of $31 million.