Denis Coderre's bold defence of a police chief under fire

Thesurveillance of journalists by Quebec police has drawn concern from corners both near and far, with everyone from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to NSA whisteblowerEdward Snowden offering their thoughts on the issue.

With every new revelation last week during which it emerged that notone but ninejournalists werespied upon a consensusbroadened among politicians that police may have overstepped their boundaries.

There was, however, one politician willing to buck this trend: Montreal Mayor DenisCoderre.

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A 'public lynching'

The mayor threw down a gauntletwith typical flourish on Sunday, describing criticism of his city'spolice chief as a "public lynching."

The pressure on ChiefPhilippePichethas grown particularly intense following the latest revelation in the spying scandal.

It emerged Saturday that Montreal police had not only sought to collect metadata from the phone of one La Presse journalist, but in fact wanted to listen to the conversations thattwo journalists were having with police officers who were under investigation.

• Police sought access to 'oral communications and telecommunications' of two La Presse journalists

That appeared to contradict what Pichet told journalists earlier in the week, when he made no mention of the second journalist or of seeking to listen to the conversations of journalists.

One of the journalists named in the warrant outright called Pichet a "liar." Parti QubcoisLeader Jean-Franois Lise called for his suspension, as did the city hall Opposition, Projet Montral.

With this in the air, Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteuxissued a tweet on Saturday thaturgedCoderre and Pichetto take action to restore public trust in their institutions.

But Coderre, pugnacious as ever, came to the defence of his police chief.

"If you have the chief of police saying he didn't do it [listen to journalists' conversation] ... that's significant," Coderretold reporters on Sunday.

• Coderre stands by Montreal police chief, won't have 'public lynching'

He was referring to a carefully worded statement thatPichetreleased onSaturday, which denied the journalistswereexplicit targets of electronic surveillance.

The statement, however, didn't rule out the possibility the journalists could have had some of their conversations listened to by investigators.

Nor did it mention that thenames of the journalists were included in a sworn statement, seen by CBC News, that police submitted to a Quebec Court judge as part of anapplication for a warrant to conduct electronic surveillance on two fellow officers.

Stand by your man

That Coderre has chosen to stand by Pichet is not surprising. Coderre hand-picked Pichetto lead the force last year, so his suspension (or worse) would reflect poorly on the mayor.

With the municipal election roughly a year away, Coderre can ill-afford major missteps.

He is already attempting to recover from the fiasco that was his administration's attempt to regulate pit bulls.

The city's proposed bylaw, unveiled earlier this fall, met with protests and is now mired in legal challenges. It fed perceptions the mayor prefers thefreestyle, rather than the studied, approach to policy.

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His reaction, so far, to the media spying scandal suggests a more calculatedstrategy.

No impulsive response this time; the mayor has instead called for reports, two,to get the facts straight. Rushing to judgment, he seemed to imply, would beuncivilized.

In doing so, Coderre signaled to Pichet's critics that the police chief is not going anywhere, at least for the time being.

Montreal's charter gives Coderre that prerogative. As much as Lise may want the Liberal government to get involved, Pichet can'tbe removed without a recommendation from city council andthe public safety committee two bodies controlled by Coderre'sparty.

"Give him two arms to cling to," Tammy Wynettesings inStand by your man.Coderrehas just done that for Pichet.

But that means if the police chief falls, he may take the mayor down with him.

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