JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Île Bizard residents will not see the benefits of significant increases in spending for the Montreal police service in 2025, says the borough’s mayor.

Spending to bolster public security, including police and fire emergency services, will jump 18 per cent next year, according to Montreal’s 2025 $7.28-billion budget approved last week. That will see spending for the police force hit $824 million, an increase of $3 million.

However, residents of Île Bizard will see little improvement in police service despite the increase in spending, said Mayor Doug Hurley.

“Police on the island here are relatively rare,” Hurley said.

A former police commander who is also the program coordinator of John Abbott College’s police technology department, Hurley said that he supports the city providing added support for emergency services. But he does not expect to see any improvement in service in Île Bizard.

The island is served by Station 3 of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal. Located in Pierrefonds, the station is responsible for serving the boroughs of Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève and Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Having to cover two boroughs can sometimes be a challenge for the police department, Hurley explained.

The Service de sécurité publique de L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève was created “so that we can give our citizens an immediate response” to minor issues, he said. The service is tasked with such duties as enforcing municipal bylaws, managing traffic and monitoring streets on the island.

That has meant added cost for residents.

“Basically, we’re paying for police services, and we have to pay for public security for something that should have been (included) in our taxes before,” Hurley said.

Hurley added that he will be bringing this issue up with the City of Montreal in the coming months.