Follow me
info@mikecohen.ca

Our former Police Commander shows his “historian” side

It was most interesting to watch the recent French-language documentary called Le Berceau des Anges le documentaire) about the Montreal Black Market baby ring of the 1940's and '50's. Montreal West resident and former Montreal Police Department photographer Harold Rosenberg brought it to my attention.

"I was sold to my parents by the same people who operated the ring," Harold explains.

I was delighted to see former Police Station 9 Commander Sylvain Bissonnette interviewed and identified as a "historian."  This is something I did not know about Sylvain, a true gentleman who ran police operations out of the Kildare and Cavendish headquarters for seven years until August 2013.  He is now the commander at Station 8 in Lachine.

Bissonnette

Here I am with Commander Bissonnette shortly before his departure.
"Sylvain and I volunteer together at the Montreal Police Museum.," Rosenberg explained. "Neither of us realized at the time that we were both participating in the same documentary project. He's a very smart guy. He's the historian for the Police Museum, while I'm a researcher."
 
Rosenberg spoke French while most of the others did so in English with sub-titles. "It was very well done, and really shows the way things were with the Jewish and Catholic communities in those years in Montreal," Rosenberg notes.
 
The 45-minute  film aired last week on the Historia specialty channel. It's now available for free viewing.  Here is the link: 

 
The documentary was produced as accompaniment to a five-part drama series (Le Berceau des Anges) that aired on SeriePlus.
 
As for Commander Bissonnette, he shared this information with me.

"When I was doing my BA, I met a chief inspector who was an history buff," he explained. " I decided then to do a Master's Degree in history on the subject of the amalgation of police forces on the Island of Montreal.During my second year, he proposed that I join the force, which I did. I completed my Master`s  part-time and established  with him the Police Museum. He became my first boss. We are still very good friends and speak on a weekly basis, and we are both members of the museum with Harold. His name is Robert Côté. We also did a project with The Montreal History Center. Another boss told me that management studies would also be important for the future and that's what I did after. I'm also a lecturer at the dept of Criminology at the Université de Montréal  in crime prevention and  I participated in a number  of documentairies about the police."

 
 
 
 

Related

New trail in Ashkelon Woods now connects Veterans Park to Ashkelon Gardens

I am pleased to report that the city is...

District 2 Walk: Taking the Pulse of the Community

On Monday, June 8, I conducted a formal District...

Community stalwart Edna Janco made an impact as my constituent/En mémoire d’Edna Janco

I was wondering in recent weeks  why one of...

Antisemitic and racist vandalism hits Côte Saint-Luc apartment building

The Equinoxe Rental Condos on Marc Chagall Avenue, located...

Newsletter

Don't miss

Mike Cohen
Mike Cohenhttps://mikecohen.ca
Mike Cohen, born and raised in Côte Saint-Luc, has long been active in the community as a volunteer, journalist, and consultant. He attended local schools and was first elected as City Councillor for District 2 in 2005. Since then, he has been re-elected in each municipal election, most recently in 2025. Mike Cohen, né et élevé à Côte Saint-Luc, est depuis longtemps actif au sein de la communauté en tant que bénévole, journaliste et consultant. Il a fréquenté les écoles locales et a été élu pour la première fois conseiller municipal du district 2 en 2005. Depuis lors, il a été réélu à chaque élection municipale, la dernière fois en 2025.

CSL EMS veteran promotes special Hatzoloh campaign/Un vétéran des services médicaux d’urgence fait la promotion d’une campagne spéciale de Hatzoloh

Sheldon Goldberg, a longtime volunteer for the Côte Saint-Luc Emergency Medical Services (EMS), is promoting a campaign September 13 to 20, between Rosh Hashanah...

Côte Saint-Luc businessman steps up for an employee in deep financial distress/Un homme d’affaires de Côte Saint-Luc vient en aide à un employé en...

Rouzbeh Ghasemi  is the owner of  Réhabital at the Quartier Cavendish. It brings osteopaths, massage therapists, naturopaths and aesthetic specialists together — so your...

Game and Grub: The Alouettes, Bijou Resto Bar, Le Roseline and Ispahan

Game : The Alouettes offer outstanding entertainment at Percival Molson Stadium I have been  a fan of The Montreal Alouettes football team dating back to...