Quebec to hold public inquiries into fatal Old Montreal fire and police officer's death

The Quebec government will hold two public inquiries, one into a fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people and another into the stabbing death of a provincial police officer near the city of Trois Rivières.

Public Security Minister François Bonnardel made the announcement on Tuesday at the National Assembly.

"Quebec has seen two terrible tragedies in the past two weeks," Bonnardel told reporters. "This morning I asked the chief coroner to begin a public inquiry to shine a light on the death of Sgt. Breau, to make recommendations that will improve our procedures in the future and also to begin an investigation into the fire in Montreal."

Both incidents have sparked calls for broader examinations of what happened and why.

The fire erupted inside an Old Montreal heritage building on March 16 and killed seven people, many of whom were staying in short-term rentals. 

Randy Sears, the father of one of the victims, has applied to launch a class-action lawsuit against the building's owner, the operators of the short-term rental units and Airbnb. 

Sears claims there was a lack of safety equipment in the building and the units did not meet municipal safety standards. His claims have not been tested in court. 

Montreal police have not yet completed their investigation.  In the days following the fire, a coroner was also assigned to the case.

On Monday, the opposition at Montreal city hall called for a public inquiry into the fire, citing the need for greater understanding of whether the building was compliant with municipal regulations.

Sears' lawyer, Annette Lefebvre, said "a public inquiry would be a perfect forum to gather the information properly and accurately that would be helpful for our class action." 

Police officer death

Sgt. Maureen Breau, a provincial police officer with more than 20 years of experience, was stabbed by a suspect on March 27 while trying to carry out an arrest at a residence in Louiseville, Que., which is about 40 kilometres away from Trois-Rivières.

Isaac Brouillard Lessard, the suspect, was shot and killed on the scene by other officers. Lessard has an extensive history with the criminal justice system. 

In the last decade, he was charged with uttering threats and assault multiple times.

In three separate court proceedings, he was found not criminally responsible for his actions. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to assault and he was released on conditional discharge, given two years of probation and assigned to 200 hours of community service.

Yvon Deshaies, the mayor of Louiseville, said on Tuesday he hoped the investigation would shed light on the treatment Lessard received after he was found criminally responsible.

"Who treated him, who didn't treat him?" Lessard asked. "That's what we want to know. Who didn't do their job? We want to speak to those people."