From 1989 to 1993, as the HIV epidemic broke out in Quebec and around the world, 17 gay men were brutally murdered in the Gay Village in Montreal. In a new podcast available on OHdio, journalist Marie-Eve Tremblay sheds light on this deadly wave and its catalytic effect on the LGBTQ+ community’s struggle for fairer treatment, particularly from the police.
The seven stages of The Village: Murders, Fighting, Pride was created by Radio-Canada in partnership with CBC, which has already launched two seasons of a podcast titled The Village about other heinous crimes committed in Toronto’s gay village, including serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Through your research, [l’équipe de The Village] discovered with a similar story in Montreal, from the 1980s-1990s. So, we started working together, sharing information, research elements, and then each of our sides we developed our seriesexplanation by Marie-Eve Tremblay.
The English version of the podcast, The Village: The Montreal Murders (New window), is produced by CBC Podcasts and hosted by Francis Plourde.
Tight relationship between the police and the gay community
The first victim featured in the podcast was Joe Rose, a young HIV-positive gay activist who was stabbed in the back in 1989 on a bus in Montreal. He will be the first name on a list compiled by Michael Hendricks, another gay activist who over the years has noticed similarities between the victims and the Modus operandi of their attackers.
In Rose’s case, those who killed her can be found. They were three minors and Patrick Moïse, 19 years old. The other victims were less fortunate: 30 years later, about half of the 17 murders reported on the podcast are still unsolved.
At the time, the slowness of investigations was linked to the very difficult relationship between the LGBTQ + community and the Montreal police forces, which escalated aggressive raids on the Village’s bars.
The community has no trust in the police, so there is no need to cooperate with investigations. In fact, the police treat homosexuals very differentlysummarizes Marie-Eve Tremblay.
Often questionable motives – such as excessive obscenity or the release of pornographic films – are driven to end the party and recklessly arrest everyone at the bar. The July 15, 1990 assault on a secret Sex Garage party remains immortal as one of the worst confrontations between police and the LGBTQ+ community in Montreal.
Former police officer André Bergeron, right in the closet at the time, witnessed this discriminatory approach, which sometimes seemed to be guided by outright homophobia rather than crime suppression.
You know when you underestimate someone, that’s allhe recalls the third episode of the podcast. It is seen in the face, in actions, and sometimes in decisions […] Instead of giving you a chance, you don’t. You have to be homophobic, otherwise you are not in the gang.
A serial killer in the Village?
In the spring of 1991, three men – Gaétan Éthier, Robert Assaly and Normand Gareau – were found dead in nearly identical incidents within five months. A question began to emerge that no one dared to ask: was there a serial killer in Gay Village?
The answer will come a few years later, even for Gaétan Éthier and Robert Assaly, who are among the seven confirmed victims of Canadian serial killer Michael Wayne McGray, who were arrested in 1998.
Not likely to support
The killing spree would not end until 1993, after repeated efforts by activists from the LGBTQ+ community to request hearings with the Human Rights Commission.
Many unlikely supports will come to help reflect the injustices experienced by the community, starting with the then Minister of Justice, who has nevertheless been deaf for months (we will not disclose here what is convinced that act).
Further strong support came from the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Montreal, who was asked to testify to the Commission after one of his colleagues was also killed. Finally, the arrival of Jacques Duchesneau as police chief brought an air of change in the relationship between the community and the police.
It is important to tell this story, because many people do not know that it happened. And if there are achievements, it remains very fragile. We see this in abortion today […]we are always on the brink of recessiongraduation by Marie-Eve Tremblay.
The seven stages of The Village: Murders, Fighting, Pride is available on OHdio.
Source: Radio-Canada
