Teens protest in Montreal to demand action on youth violence

Dozens of teens from the West-Island community came out to Jeanne-Mance Park on Saturday to demand funding for programs aimed at preventing youth violence in Montreal. 

They came out to support the family of Lucas Gaudet, who died in Sacré Coeur hospital on Feb. 10 after being stabbed in an altercation outside St. Thomas High School in Pointe-Claire.

The group gathered at Jeanne-Mance Park before heading south down Parc Avenue and making their way to City Hall. 

"There's a lot of violence happening in the streets lately with a lot of kids, and it's a genuine crisis," said Tyler Gallaher-Ryan, who connected with Gaudet's mother to help organize the protest. 

"It makes no sense that kids have guns and knives in their possession."

He wants to see all levels of government, the city in particular, to invest in programs that will help young people get engaged in fulfilling activities like sports or music. 

He mentioned the youth outreach program at Maison des jeunes de Pierrefonds as one program in particular that needs more support. 

It was a program Gaudet's mother Lynne Baudouy went to while growing up, that she says helped her stay out of trouble. 

"We need more funding for our kids because they feel left out, like they have nowhere to turn, no one to go to," she said while at Jeanne-Mance Park.

"I need my kids to go to school feeling safe. I need everyone's kids going to school to feel safe."

Gallaher-Ryan said he also wants to see more support for youth that have committed violent crimes, so they can get the help they need, adding that youth detention doesn't address the root cause of their problems. 

Gaudet's friends say they want to counter a culture on social media they're seeing that encourages violence. 

"People think it's cool. It's okay to just be violent and do these sorts of things at school, and bring knives and weapons… We want to show people it's not cool. It affects people around us," said Samuel Mariampillai-Gaudet, who considered Gaudet his best friend. 

Fights aren't being settled through arguing it out or even through fists; now it's common to hear about classmates bringing knives to school, he said.