Mohammed Nehar-Belaid, 64, had lived in Canada for 17 years, having come here from his native Algeria with his wife and four children. He worked as a taxi driver since his arrival in Canada. Mr. Nehair-Belaid went missing on the night of Sunday, November 29, 2009. On Tuesday evening his 2005 Ford Taurus was found parked near the intersection of Clanranald Avenue and David Lewis Street. Late Wednesday morning passersby found Mr. Nehar-Belaid's body in Lasalle at the corner of Jean-Milot and Quinlan. He was lying face down at the foot of a tree and was concealed under a pile of debris and an old carpet. He apparently died of stab wounds. Security video from a gas station showed a man filling the taxi's tank on Sunday night. Police were able to identify the man and subsequently arrested him for Mr. Nehar-Belaid's murder. Police statistics showed that Montréal taxi drivers were victims of about 60 robberies with violence every year. In February, 2009, two taxi drivers were savagely attacked, with one left in a coma after being stabbed in the neck. Another driver was stabbed by a passenger in June. Mr. Nehar-Belaid had been working for Taxi Champlain since April, 2009. The company issued black flags to drivers to fly from their cabs as a sign of solidarity.

Mohammed Nehar-Belaid. (Source: La Presse.ca, December 3, 2009.)