Philippe Pichet: 5 things to know about Montreal's new police chief

Montreal will have a new police chief today. Philippe Pichet is set to be sworn in at city hall at 2:30 p.m., taking over from outgoing top cop Marc Parent.

Here are five things to know about the new chief and the challenges he's expected to face in the post.

1. Key figure during the student protests

Philippe Pichet has been with Montreal police since the early 90s.

In 2005, he joined the force's administration. Since then, he has held positions in operation planning and worked with the counter-terrorism unit. 

Pichet was in charge of coordinating the police response to the months of tumultuous student protests in 2012.

2. Chosen by Mayor Denis Coderre

After announcing his choice in July, Coderre said Pichet was "someone who is very professional." 

Coderre said a total of six people came forward for the job but he felt Pichet was the right choice.

"He's shown me he's ready for another challenge," Coderre said. 

Public Security Minister Lise Thériault later approved the decision.

3. Replacing Marc Parent

Pichet replaces Marc Parent, decided to step down at the end of his five-year term for personal reasons. After 31 years as a police officer and five years as head of the department, Parent said the time had come to move on.

"It's a personal decision," he told CBC earlier this year. 

"I'm convinced that inside the organization we have the people to take charge, so it's a good time for me to do that."

4. Long list of challenges

The new police chief has a lot of challenges on his plate, including strained community relations, shrinking budgets and poor labour relations.

Officers have been wearing camouflage pants and red baseball caps instead of their formal uniform since 2014 as a way to protest against the province's pension reform bill.

Former provincial police officer Paul Laurier, who worked with Pichet during the student protests, said the "main challenge is the budget and retain the people because of the pension plan laws."

The city's stated fight against radicalisation and cybercrime will likely also be two other major priorities for Pichet.

​5. Calls for improved transparency and outreach

Will Prosper, a community activist in Montreal North, is among those who would like to see greater transparency and improved community outreach on the force.

"I think it has to show not only through his members but through the community and population that he serves and that's not what we've seen in the past," Prosper said. 

"And he has to be someone who is able to bring people together from all different sorts of life whether it's politics, police, or citizens. So that's something we have not seen in the past."

Others say racial profiling continues to be a major problem in Montreal. 

Parent was the service's first chief to admit there was a racial profiling problem among its ranks, and promised to start to address the issue through better training.​