QUÉBEC — The Quebec government tabled a wide-ranging public security bill Wednesday that would forbid criminal groups from displaying their colours, create a sex offender registry and forbid protests near the homes of elected officials. Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière said Bill 13 aims to foster a sense of security among the public. Premier François Legault gave the minister the mandate to do this during the government’s inaugural address to open the legislature earlier this fall. The new bill prohibits wearing or displaying any patches or symbols promoting a list of criminal entities established by the Public Security Department. “We know very well what the purpose (of the insignia) is: intimidation,” Lafrenière told a news conference. “Today, the message we are sending is that it’s over.” For example, Quebecers could face fines of up to $5,000 for wearing Hells Angels jackets in public and criminal gangs would no longer be allowed to fly their flags at their clubhouses. Lafrenière said the goal is to stop the “glorification of criminal groups” that currently act with impunity. The symbols and imagery would be listed on a public registry compiled by police. “Driving around with a truckload of junk to promote their criminal group would become illegal,” said Lafrenière, a former Montreal police officer. The bill also creates a registry of sex offenders who are released from prison and considered at high risk of reoffending. Such registries already exist in other provinces. Lafrenière notes locals could take precautions with such knowledge. But the bill specifies it’s important to avoid vigilante justice against offenders who have been released from prison. “Their sentence is over, there is no other (safety) net possible,” the minister said. “We are adding another net.” He estimated the annual cost of such a registry at $1.3 million and believes roughly 100 cases could end up in the registry after evaluation by a committee of five experts. The proposed law would also prohibit demonstrations within 50 metres of the personal residences of politicians. Additionally, the bill prohibits the possession or throwing of certain objects that could be used to injure, threaten or intimidate a person, or that could cause damage during a demonstration. For example, it would be forbidden to show up with “a tool, a billiard ball, a piece of paving stone, or a weapon, such as an air gun, a bow, a crossbow, a knife, or a chemical agent,” the legislation states. Police officers would have the right to search a person and “their immediate surroundings” without a warrant if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person is in possession of such an object. The idea is to “better equip police officers,” according to Lafrenière. “I don’t know many people who go to demonstrations with billiard balls because they have a passion for juggling,” he said. But he acknowledged that such discretionary searches are a “sensitive” issue and expects to hear feedback when the bill is parsed by a parliamentary committee. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2025. Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press
