Quebec provincial police officers are being offered significant raises after their union and the provincial government signed an agreement in principle on Friday morning. They have been without a contract since March 2022.
The tentative deal that was signed by the Sûreté du Québec officers’ association and the provincial government on Friday morning includes raises between 26 and 32.9 per cent, according to a document presented to its members on Sunday which was reviewed by Radio-Canada.
This new, six-year deal was comes almost a year after 59 per cent of members rejected another tentative deal with the province.
The first one included a 21 per cent salary increase over five years, according to the Association des policiers provinciaux du Québec (APPQ).
SQ officers have been without a contract since March 2022.
The SQ union’s latest deal, which was signed by the APPQ bargaining committee on Friday, will be presented to the 5,700 provincial police officers.
They will be asked to vote in the coming weeks.
“This agreement will improve [officers’] working conditions, while allowing greater flexibility in the organization of services. We will now let the members vote on this agreement,” said Éric Girard, the province’s finance minister.
In an internal communication consulted by Radio-Canada, union president Jacques Painchaud wrote the agreement would “enhance and better recognize the unique national police status” of SQ officers.
Neither the general management of the SQ nor the union president would comment on the agreement in principle.
The office of François Bonnardel, Quebec’s public security minister, also said it wants to wait for the outcome of the vote before commenting.
The latest agreement improves on several elements of the first tentative deal, according to Radio-Canada.