Mock beheading of Quebec labour minister at May Day protest draws outrage

Quebec’s major unions have apologized after a May Day protest in Montreal featured a mock beheading of provincial labour minister Jean Boulet. A video shared widely on social media shows demonstrators using what appeared to be a guillotine to cut the head off a papiermâché effigy of Boulet. The display took place on Saturday and drew criticism from Quebec political leaders, including Premier Christine Fréchette. The group behind the performance, Alliance Ouvrière, said in an email to The Canadian Press that the act was meant as a symbolic protest against political and economic elites. The unions that organized the march said they were not involved and apologized for the incident. Montreal police had not said whether any arrests had been made.