Liberal government dismisses report on student unrest as a political attack

QUEBEC – The Liberal government is dismissing a report into 2012 Quebec student unrest as politically oriented.

The report looked at the province’s so-called Maple Spring, when a dispute over proposed tuition hikes morphed into a student uprising that lasted several months.

It was released late Wednesday and was critical of Jean Charest’s Liberal government for avoiding mediation with the students.

The report blasted the work of police for mass arrests and treatment of protesters and pegged policing costs at $26 million.

It was commissioned by the minority Parti Quebecois government in May 2013 and former PQ minister Serge Menard headed the public inquiry that led to the report.

Reacting today, Liberal Public Security Minister Lise Theriault dismissed the document as a politically oriented document.

“It was clearly stated that they wanted to put the (Liberal) government on trial,” Theriault said. “The report speaks for itself.”

The 450-page report was released just minutes before the beginning of the Montreal Canadiens’ Game 7 playoff tilt against the Boston Bruins.