Quebec police officers still want to wear camouflage pants

QUEBEC – Montreal police officers are not giving up their fight to be allowed to wear camouflage pants.

Their union says it is one of its only effective pressure tactics.

Union officials testified Wednesday at legislative hearings into Bill 133, which if passed would force officers to wear their regulation uniforms.

The government tabled the legislation after Montreal police officers wore clown pants for a few years to protest changes to their pension plans.

Union officials call the bill totalitarian, while Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux argues it is a balanced piece of legislation that is necessary so the public can have confidence in the officers.

The bill would also prevent police officers from having a second job.

That debate surfaced earlier this year when a senior Quebec provincial police officer was busy working elsewhere as a blinding snowstorm caused havoc on a Montreal highway.