Canadian Police Use Tear Gas Against Anti-Racism Protesters in Montreal, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Police in Montreal, the largest city in the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting police violence and racism, the Montreal Gazette reported.

According to the news outlet, the protests in Montreal were relatively peaceful. However, law enforcement officers resorted to tear gas to disperse those unwilling to depart after the event had ended. The police have confirmed using "chemical irritants" after people started throwing objects at officers. One person has been arrested over issuing death threats.

#manifencours #MontrealProtest almost everyone masked, decent distancing, sanitizer available. pic.twitter.com/OvZzwi5pPl

— non-Black woc rooting for everybody Black (@mini_mia) June 8, 2020

​Thousands of people took to the streets of Quebec's cities on Sunday to protest against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in the US.

The demonstration was prompted by the 25 May death of African American man George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A video of the arrest showed a white police officer pressing his knee onto Floyd's neck for at least eight minutes while the detainee was kept handcuffed on his stomach, repeatedly saying he could not breathe.

The incident has sparked protests against police violence and racism in various cities across the US and in other countries.