Lise Thériault off duty for 6 weeks following Val-d'Or abuse crisis
Pierre Moreau to step in for Quebec's public security minister during leave of absence
Quebec Public Security Minister Lise Thériault will be off-duty for at least the next six weeks for health reasons.
Earlier this week, the provincial government announced Thériault — the minister who has been front-and-centre during the Val-d'Or aboriginal abuse crisis — would be taking a leave of absence for an undetermined amount of time.
Over the weekend, the government said that she has since been given a six-week bed-rest order by her doctor.
Municipal Affairs Minister Pierre Moreau is replacing Thériault while she is out of commission.
Thériault has been in the spotlight and on the defensive since news broke last week that several native women in the town of Val-d'Or, about 525 kilometres northwest of Montreal, accused provincial police officers of physical and sexual abuse going back several years.
The Opposition has called for the minister's resignation over what they call her mismanagement of the investigation into the abuse allegations.
Last week, in a rare public showing of emotion, Thériault cried during a news conference in which she said the allegations in Val-d'Or were "troubling and shocking."
Several women had told Radio-Canada's investigative journalism program Enquête that police officers routinely picked up women who appeared to be intoxicated, drove them out of town and left them to walk home in the cold. Some allege they were physically assaulted or made to perform sex acts.
More on Val-d'Or
- Abuse allegations in Val-d'Or stemmed from Sindy Ruperthouse disappearance
- Aboriginal women's claims of police sex abuse under investigation
- Val-d'Or police allegations: First Nations chiefs outline demands
- Philippe Couillard to meet with First Nations on Val-d'Or abuse allegations
- ANALYSIS | Not just aboriginal women should be scared of Quebec's police