Montreal transit constables should be better armed, says workplace safety board

MONTREAL - Quebec’s workplace health and safety board says special constables working in Montreal’s transit network are not equipped with the weapons needed to address potentially dangerous and violent passengers.

In a report delivered to the transit agency in June, the provincial board recommended an “urgent and more serious” reflection about the types of weapons the constables are allowed to carry. The report, obtained by The Canadian Press, was prompted by two union complaints. In both incidents, the union says the lives of the constables were placed in danger as they waited for backup.