Surete du Quebec chief fired

Richard Deschenes was appointed head of the Surete du Quebec in 2008

The chief of the Surete du Quebec has been fired by the Parti Quebecois government.

Richard Deschesnes was appointed to lead the provincial police force in 2008, and was supposed to carry out a five-year contract.

At Wednesday's cabinet meeting ministers ratified Mario Laprise as the new director general of the SQ. He will leave his job as head of Hydro-Quebec's investigative security force next week to take over the role.

Laprise was an SQ officer for 25 years, leaving the force in 2005 to become chief of security at Hydro-Quebec. While with the SQ he was one of the directors of Operation Carcajou, the anti-motorcycle gang squad created in the '90s.