#Cedrika : Wanna guess why there’s all these unsolved murders in Quebec?
Hint: It’s not some mastermind serial killer who’s cunningly eluded law enforcement for the past forty years.
Alas, no… “these cops aren’t smart and dedicated like on television”!
Here’s the answer: There are all these unsolved murders because criminals know they can get away with it.
I was recently made aware of the book, Murder City: The Untold Story of Canada’s Serial Killer Capital, 1959-1984. No we’re not talking Montreal or Toronto. We’re speaking of London, Ontario. The book hypothesizes that there were a couple of serial killers wandering the streets of London and getting away with murder, and – because the police did not care, or did not have the skills to address the problem – that this inspired others.
This is your situation in Quebec, folks. I have no doubt at the executive level that the Surete du Quebec is professional, and has the best interests of the public in mind in attempting to solve criminal investigations. It is at the regional level where the entire concept of “law enforcement” breaks down. I need only cite a few examples (very few, please comment on any additions; they are legion) to demonstrate that this is a systemic problem that has spanned decades:
- Cedrika Provencher: Trois Rivieres law enforcement squanders the first 48 hours of her disappearance by refusing to believe she is missing. After 72 hours they finally notify the public that a child is missing.
- Cedrika Provencher: In the initial phase of investigation law enforcement search a site along highway 40 but fail to find the body of Provencher. Eight years later hunters find remains in the same location.
- There are now five documented cases where Quebec law enforcement disposed of physical evidence in unsolved murder cases. My sister’s case is the most well known, the other four will remain undisclosed for now, for reasons that are obvious.
- Today comes news from Longueuil that seven brothers were arrested for alleged decades-old sexual assaults for crimes that took place between 1964 and 1976 (and I’ll note that Sharon Prior’s body was found in Longueuil in 1975) which begs the question, what exactly has Longueuil law enforcement been doing for the past 40 years?
My point is not to punish law enforcement. Far from it. Train these people. Given them the investigative skills they – and the public – so desperately require and deserve.
Yesterday on a web posting I read a rather callous comment. It was in regards to the Provencher investigation, and someone remarked, “so are we going to have a public inquiry for the one white girl that turned up dead?”, an obvious swipe at the Highway of Tears inquiry.
To that commenter: No. We are going to have a public inquiry into ALL the the women in Quebec who have gone missing or turned up murdered. Because just like those aboriginal women in British Columbia, these women clearly didn’t matter to law enforcement or society. And investigative blunders were made.