Montreal’s newest municipal party unveiled its plan to tackle hate in the city.
Futur Montréal’s proposed “Project Sentinel” is being billed by the party as a “comprehensive anti-hate action plan” to combat hate crimes and hate incidents.
The plan proposes to use AI-powered threat detection to lead to “rapid-response enforcement.”
“This is bold, practical, and ready for immediate implementation,” said party co-founder Joel DeBellefeuille. “It delivers real-time detection, instant action, and court-ready proof to tackle hate head-on.”
DeBellefeuille says his new party is the first in the city’s history to propose such a plan.
It includes hate crime rapid response officers equipped with secure smartphones for encrypted photo, video, and audio capture; a zero-tolerance bylaw banning hate symbols, hate graffiti, and public intimidation toward protected groups; and AI-powered monitoring of public spaces.
“If elected, Futur Montréal will launch Project Sentinel within our first 90 days in the boroughs hardest hit by hate,” said DeBellefeuille. “This is not a study or a promise for years down the road, it’s a detailed, action-ready plan to ensure hate has no safe space in our city.”
READ: Sex assaults, hate crimes increase in Montreal in 2024
Hate crimes were up in Montreal last year. Montrealers reported 375 hate crimes and 202 hate incidents in 2024, which represents a 6.2 per cent and 18.1 per cent rise, respectively.
Hate crimes and incidents involving a person’s ethnicity, national origin, skin colour and sex went up, while those targeting a person’s sexual orientation dropped.
