The city of Montreal has considered police body cameras for years. This vest was photographed during a Montreal pilot project in 2016. Photo by Marie-France Coallier /Marie-France CoallierArticle content
Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher says he’s in favour of equipping officers with body cameras but can’t say when the measure could finally be implemented, despite a renewed push from city hall.
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Speaking at a public review of Montreal’s 2026 budget Tuesday evening, Dagher said the police department is still waiting for the Quebec government to decide whether the cameras should be deployed.
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The City of Montreal set aside $40 million for the cameras in its 2025-2034 capital works program, tabled along with the budget last week.
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“I don’t have a timeline,” Dagher told reporters after the hearings. “I know that stakeholders are sitting down together, collaborating, trying to find solutions, but I can’t predict how long it will take.”
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The City of Montreal and the police department have said in recent years they need Quebec’s justice and public security departments to green-light the use of the cameras.
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Among other details, the provincial government has said it’s working to establish the necessary legal framework around the cameras, including ensuring the footage is admissible as evidence in court.
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While he reiterated Tuesday that he doesn’t see body cameras as a catch-all solution, Dagher said he’s long been in favour of the idea and does see their potential benefits.
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“It’s one of the solutions that will likely improve the trust between police officers and citizens,” he added. “But it takes all the actors together, and I don’t know when (the decision) could come — it could be in two months, in several months, I don’t know exactly.”
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The City of Montreal has considered the idea for years.
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After studying the possibility in a pilot project, the police department concluded in 2019 that the technology needed to equip officers with the cameras and manage the data behind them was too expensive.
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Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who campaigned on the idea during last fall’s municipal election campaign, has said she believes improved technology could allow them to be deployed at a lesser cost.
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Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough mayor Dimitrios (Jim) Beis, the executive committee member in charge of security and prevention, said the $40 million was set aside in the capital works program because “you need to start somewhere.”
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He said the Ensemble Montréal administration hopes to see the cameras deployed within the next four years.
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“How many? How? Where? We can’t say yet, because there are other steps needed first,” he added.
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Chief vows to limit expenses, cut down overtime
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The budget allocated for the police department this year is $860.29 million, up from $824.07 million last year. Roughly $23.8 million of that increase is attributed to salaries.