I'm describing the circumstances to you. I was questioned for some time. I obviously didn't know the time and was therefore unable to verify how much time had elapsed. The interrogation was very respectful at first. It was subsequently, when the police officers seemed dissatisfied by my answers, that they started to raise their voices and to insult me. One thing I would like to mention is that I was also called a “fucking foreigner” and that was very hurtful. I'm Canadian, I was born in Canada, and I don't at all accept the fact that I was called a “foreigner”. Even though I wasn't born in the same province as they were, we all belong to the same country. I was also told that if I had to break objects, I should go back to my city, to Montreal, and do it there. That's it.
The two inspectors left the premises and slammed the door with a degree of frustration. When they came back—it took some time for them to come back—one of them entered the room, left the door open and told me I was lucky because his colleague believed me, but that, if it had just been up to him, I would have had to stay there for a very long time. Then he told me that I would be released and that the charges would be dropped. I was left in the room for some time to do the paperwork, and they came back to...
I apologize for going backward, but I simply want to point out that, when I was searched, they put me in metal handcuffs, and when I entered the room where I was interrogated, they removed them from me and never put them back on. I was able to recover my personal property. They did a second audio and video recording of me so that they could tell me that the charges were dropped. I never had to sign anything and I was able to leave.
I had no idea where I was. I was in pyjamas and my telephone batteries were low. I had little money on me and no one offered to let me use the telephone or to call anyone. So I left, I found myself—I don't really know how, but on foot—on the campus, and I was not allowed to go in and pick up my personal property. During all that time, I really thought that all the people in the gymnasium had experienced the same series of events. It was only afterwards that I learned they had been imprisoned in the temporary detention centre.
So I would like to emphasize that. To a certain degree, I was lucky to have experienced that situation. I had the opportunity to answer questions, which was not afforded to my friends or all those who were in the gymnasium. My friends were incarcerated for 62 hours before being released and actually acquitted on October 14, whereas we had spent all our time together during the events. I believe it would be very important to conduct an investigation so that my experience can show how disorganized things were and especially that no one went to meet these people in order to ask them questions, and that is something fundamental. In any democracy, I believe everyone has a right to speak and must be allowed a chance to do so before being incarcerated in a cage like animals.
Thank you very much.