Montreal police arrest at least 30 at protest against northern development plan

MONTREAL – Montreal police say they have arrested at least 30 people at a protest against Quebec’s northern development plan.

For the second day in a row, demonstrators gathered outside a job fair at the city’s convention centre promoting opportunities in the natural resources sector.

Police spokesman Ian Lafreniere says at least one window was smashed and a flare gun was fired inside the building.

Authorities declared the gathering illegal as soon as it began because no protest route had been given beforehand.

Lafreniere says most of the arrests were for unlawful assembly.

Protesters, many of them wearing the familiar red square from last spring’s student demonstrations, say they are opposed to plans to extract resources in northern Quebec.