by Lorraine Carpenter, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

SPVM Chief Fady Dagher has announced that the Montreal police force will ban the controversial “thin blue line” badges on uniforms. The badges have been associated with white supremacist and other racist groups in recent years, and were adopted by a number of police forces across North America in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a closed-door presentation to the Public Safety Commission, Dagher also introduced a replacement badge to honour officers killed in the line of duty.

The SPVM’s ban — which will reportedly not be enforced with “disciplinary sanctions” — will come into effect in the fall. The thin blue line badges have already been banned by police forces in other Canadian cities. Earlier this year, Québec Solidaire advocated for a province-wide ban of the badge for police, a request that was rejected by the CAQ.