Montreal police say they\u2019re investigating a mock decapitation in effigy of Quebec\u2019s labour minister at a Saturday protest.<\/p>\n
A widely circulating video shows a crowd at\u00a0a workers\u2019 march<\/a>\u00a0cheering as a demonstrator decapitates an effigy of Jean Boulet with a makeshift guillotine.<\/p>\n The incident sparked outrage across the political class.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just seen the images and I\u2019m as disgusted as I am shocked,\u201d Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon wrote on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThis gesture is unacceptable!\u201d Ian Lafreni\u00e8re, Quebec\u2019s deputy premier and domestic security minister, said in his own post.<\/p>\n \u201cThis type of action has no place in our society,\u201d Quebec Liberal Party Leader Charles Milliard said.<\/p>\n Montreal police spokesperson Samantha Velandia declined to provide further details on the investigation, saying it would risk undermining police efforts.<\/p>\n Demonstrators defended the action.<\/p>\n \u201cThis carnivalesque performance evoked a historic symbol of public anger against disconnected elites,\u201d\u00a0Alliance Ouvri\u00e8re, the activist group behind the action, said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real threat for democracy isn\u2019t papier\u00a0m\u00e2ch\u00e9\u00a0puppets, but measures that first serve the interest of elites,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CAQ government presents bill after bill attacking workers\u2019 rights and fundamental freedoms,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThe working class is done apologizing!\u201d<\/p>\n The union organizations behind the protest \u2014 the CSD, CSN, CSQ and FTQ \u2014 said in a statement that they \u201cdissociate entirely from this isolated action.\u201d<\/p>\n The protest \u201cmarked International Workers\u2019 Day, uniting thousands of protesters from all the union organizations, from community groups, from citizen organizations and student associations, who marched peacefully through the streets of Montreal from beginning to end,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnions had the responsibility to denounce the actions undertaken at the protest, which they did quickly,\u201d Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette said on social media. \u201cI\u2019m convinced that it\u2019s possible to make progress constructively, without violence or threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Boulet said only: \u201cWe\u2019re evaluating the situation and aren\u2019t ruling out any possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n The labour minister has been criticized in recent months by Quebec\u2019s unions, which have called his recent legislation an attempt at \u201cmuzzling\u201d<\/a> them.<\/p>\n Bill 3, which passed into law in April, restricts unions\u2019 ability to fund court challenges and political activities.<\/p>\n The Barreau du Qu\u00e9bec, which represents the province\u2019s lawyers, has also spoken out against the legislation, warning that it risks undermining democratic rights.<\/p>\n