Tag: mayor

Categories
News

Mayor Valérie Plante wins re-election

Plante enters her second mayoral term with majority support

Valérie Plante won a second term in Montreal’s mayoral race on Nov. 7, earning 52 per cent of the vote. The mayor surpassed her main opponent Denis Coderre by nearly 60,000 votes, and 11 out of 19 boroughs in Montreal will now be governed by Plante’s Projet Montréal party.

In the next four years, the returning mayor promises to improve housing affordability, increase funding for the SPVM, develop more cycling infrastructure and public transit, and also revitalize Montreal’s downtown core.

“We will put all the effort in the world to continue making Montreal a city that we are proud of, where we can raise our children, study, work, and live out our retirement in an active way,” said Plante with a smile during her victory speech.

It was a difficult loss for former mayor Denis Coderre and his Ensemble Montréal party. In late October, the two frontrunners were within one percentage point of each other in the polls, but there was a clear winner on election night as Coderre lost by a 14-point margin.

“The results are clear: you win some, you lose some. But I am very, very pleased I was pushing ideas,” said Coderre at the Ensemble Montréal event on election night. “[…] And I was focusing on the people, because I love the people, I love Montreal and that’s what’s most important — to bring people together!” he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Movement Montréal’s Balarama Holness, who promised to make Montreal an officially bilingual city-state, came in a distant third place with seven per cent of the vote.

Montrealers, however, did not have a strong showing at the polls, as the 2021 municipal election had a voter turnout of just 38 per cent. The participation rate was four per cent lower than in 2017, despite a larger number of polling stations, mail-in ballots, and the four-day advanced voting.

Michel Bissonnet, mayor of the Saint-Leonard borough, told The Concordian that voting was especially difficult for the elderly population.

“When you’re older and you have to go to vote and you have four [candidates] to vote for, they have four ballots at the same time. It’s easy when it’s a federal or provincial election, it’s one person. But when you get four people, you have to put a picture of the man they recognize — they can’t read, they are not happy,” explained Bissonnet, referencing the fact that voters need to pick the mayor of Montreal, their borough mayor, and city councillors separately.

Unlike the Plante-Coderre race, several boroughs had a very close election that resulted in premature celebrations and recount requests. In Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Ensemble Montréal’s Lionel Perez declared victory over Projet Montréal’s Gracia Kasoki Katahwa on Sunday night, as he was leading in the vote count on Nov. 7. The next morning, however, Katahwa stunned Perez by pulling nearly 200 votes ahead of her opponent by the time all votes had been counted.

In Quebec City, the mayoral race was even more controversial as media outlets made false projections and declared Marie-Josée Savard as the new mayor. Two hours after delivering a heartfelt speech thanking all of her supporters, Savard ended up losing to Bruno Marchand by just 834 votes. TVA Nouvelles and Radio-Canada have since apologized for their decision to call the election prematurely.

As for Montreal, the Plante administration promised its citizens a safer city in its second mayoral term. Projet Montréal is committed to investing an additional $110 million to reduce gun violence, increase the police force by 250 officers, and install body cameras on SPVM agents by 2022.

The mayor also plans to expand Montreal’s blue metro line towards Anjou and build a new line from Montreal-Nord to Lachine — though this promise dates back to Plante’s 2017 campaign and has yet to be fulfilled. Moreover, seniors may be able to ride the STM network free of charge in the coming years.

Other campaign promises include the creation of 60,000 new units of affordable housing, extended operating hours for downtown bars and restaurants, more green spaces, and free parking on evenings and weekends downtown to encourage commercial activities during the holiday season.

 

Photograph by Bogdan Lytvynenko

Categories
News

Municipal elections are coming up, but will students be heading to the polls?

Concordia students spoke with The Concordian about the upcoming municipal elections, and whether or not they will be casting their votes

With Montreal’s municipal elections right around the corner, some Concordia students say that casting their vote on Nov. 6 and 7 has never felt more critical.

In the past, first-year Concordia student Roxanne Tesar, 22, did not consider herself as someone interested in municipal politics. This year, she headed to the polls.

Tesar says that she wants to see change when it comes to municipal politicians’ priorities in Montreal.

Questions surrounding Bill 96 — a bill looking to recognize Quebec as a nation with French as its official language — and systemic racism in Montreal are issues that feature prominently on Tesar’s mind this election season. 

“I’m connected because I’m not bilingual, I’m anglophone and I’m a person of colour,” said Tesar. “Issues regarding racism and language affect me.”

Issues concerning language rights and inclusion, public safety, and systemic racism were among those tackled during Montreal’s English-language mayoral debate on Oct. 28.

While Tesar is participating in this year’s municipal elections, she says that she understands why some students may not feel as inclined to do so.

“It’s harder to get involved when you feel like you’re in the dark,” said Tesar. “If you think that it’s pointless and then stop becoming informed, you’re not going to want to be involved.”

Julia Lecompte-Robbins, 20, said that she does not feel invested in the upcoming elections. “I’m not very involved in it I guess,” she said. “I’m not very political, that’s pretty much it.”

Driving past vibrant posters of different councillors in her riding of Beaconsfield is the limit of her awareness of municipal politics this election season, she said. While Lecompte-Robbins voted in the recent federal elections in September, she felt that the scale of Montreal’s elections has impacted her willingness to vote.

“[The municipal election] is very small,” she said. “I don’t find that it has that big of an impact as it would if it was provincial or federal.”

For Lecompte-Robbins, encouraging young people in particular to vote in this election and being politically aware feels unnecessary.

“We’re young and it’s not like we own a house, most of us live with our parents,” said Lecompte-Robbins. “It’s mostly our parents that deal with the stuff that happens, so it’s not much of a concern for ourselves.”

Béatrice Soucy, 23, a political science and human relations student at Concordia, said that she feels discouraged by the low number of young voters in her age group.

“Our generation is the future,” said Soucy. “It’s sad to see young people losing faith in politics.”

Concordia graduate journalism student, Duncan Elliott, 25, believes that participating in the municipal elections is important now more than ever.

“The municipal decisions directly affect your street, your home, your community,” said Elliott. “I see that a lot of people don’t vote in their municipal elections, but I think it’s the one people should vote for the most.”

Municipalities are responsible for close to 60 per cent of Montreal’s public infrastructure. From bike paths and community centres to road signage and the police department, the City Hall plays a critical role in managing key services of everyday life. Municipal elections historically have low voter turnout. In 2017, only 43 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot. During Canada’s federal election later in September of this year, 62 per cent voted. 

“The fact that not a lot of people vote in [municipal elections], I think is where younger people can really have their voices heard in the community,” said Elliott. “A lot of people complain, but not a lot of people do anything about the complaints that they’re issuing. Now is the time to do something about it.”

Lack of voter participation among young people is nothing new to overall voting trends. There is a significant gap in voter turnout between younger and older age groups in Canada. Half of Montrealers aged 56 or older cast their ballot in the 2017 municipal elections, compared to only 29 per cent of those aged between 18 and 35.

According to the 2015 National Youth Survey from Elections Canada, a lack of motivation and access are the two key barriers preventing young people from voting.

“I think it’s because they don’t think they can effect change,” said Elliott. “Not only do I think that it’s important for people to have their voices heard, they should try to be more involved in the community so they can make more well-rounded decisions.”

 

Graphic by Madeline Schmidt

Categories
News

Political pariah finds a new party line

Former staffer Annalisa Harris resets her political career as Loyola’s newest candidate

Caught in a public scandal, Annalisa Harris, former chief of staff to Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough mayor, Sue Montgomery, emerges as a candidate in the Loyola riding for the upcoming Municipal elections on Nov. 7.

Harris was accused of workplace harassment in a report by Montreal’s comptroller general, Alain Bond. However, no formal complaints were ever filed, and the names were kept confidential. In his report, Bond urged for Harris’ immediate dismissal.

Despite pressure from her party, Projet Montréal, Montgomery refused to fire Harris without allowing her the chance to defend herself, claiming the accusations were unfounded. In retaliation, the city released a statement in January 2020 effectively ousting Montgomery for failing to fire Harris.

Harris expressed her disappointment in how Projet Montréal handled the allegations.

“The problem is that Valérie Plante chose to side with the bureaucracy instead of siding with, at the time, what was her own teammate, Sue Montgomery, and in protecting me as a worker,” said Harris.

By April 2020, the city launched an injunction against Montgomery, citing her refusal to obey the directives to cut Harris from her team.

As revealed in a report from the Quebec Municipal Commission (CMQ), Montgomery promptly wrote to long-time borough director, Stéphane Plante, informing him that she would allow Harris to continue her duties as chief of staff.

“In Canada we have the rule of law, where everyone has the right to a defense. My chief of staff has not had that,” said Montgomery during a borough council meeting in February 2020, defending her position to keep Harris on.

Mayor Plante expected Montgomery to fire Harris, in line with the comptroller general’s recommendation.  Unwilling to dismiss Harris, Montgomery stood by her second-in-command.  She defended that the report had been purposely withheld from her, and she had yet to see the accusations against Harris.

In December 2020, the initial verdict was overturned in Montgomery and Harris’ favour. The presiding Judge Synnott ruled that the comptroller general not only overstepped his bounds in demanding Harris’ dismissal, but also unnecessarily interfered with borough politics. The judge ultimately ordered Alain Bond to release the report to Sue Montgomery. 

Harris has since filed a lawsuit against Mayor Plante and the City of Montreal, seeking over $180,000 in defamatory damages.

Following this, Harris and Montgomery were strong in their conviction to continue in politics. Soon, the two hatched a plan to form their own political party— Courage – Équipe Sue Montgomery.

“Ultimately it strengthened my resolve to say the governance here is so broken. We have such a need for better leadership in the city of Montreal,” said Harris.

In deciding values and instilling a positive culture within their party, the two worked together to recruit four other candidates and released a broad and comprehensive platform focused on local governance, environmental action, and community support. This includes affordable social housing projects and the creation of unarmed service teams to work alongside the police.

Harris revealed that while she initially joined the team administratively, she soon realized she could translate her years of studying political science into a successful campaign in the Loyola district.

“I didn’t really think of running until probably six months after we founded the party. For me, it really was a vehicle for the neighbourhood, and I didn’t see myself running until January 2021,” said Harris.

While recognizing the many challenges she has faced over the past year and the emotional toll it has taken on her, Harris hopes to influence change in her riding.  “That’s been the biggest challenge, the toll it’s taken on me personally,” Harris admitted.

“Campaigning has actually been positive in a lot of ways, as someone who went through such a public scandal, because for me, it’s an opportunity to tell my story,” said Harris.

 

* Correction: October 26, 2021

This article has been updated to correct the details of legal proceedings. When it comes to Sue Montgomery’s actions, “Mayor Plante expected Montgomery to fire Harris, in line with the comptroller general’s recommendation.  Unwilling to dismiss Harris, Montgomery stood by her second-in-command.  She defended that the report had been purposely withheld from her, and she had yet to see the accusations against Harris.” Furthermore, it has been clarified that “the judge ultimately ordered Alain Bond to release the report to Sue Montgomery.”

 

Photograph courtesy of Annalisa Harris

Categories
News

“It’s about time”: Historic municipal debate takes place in Montreal’s Chinatown

On Saturday, municipal candidates go head-to-head in Montreal’s famous and neglected neighbourhood

This past Saturday, Montreal’s Chinese community had their voices heard in the first-ever municipal debate in Chinatown. With the municipal election coming up on Nov. 7, participants and candidates discussed solutions to protect the last Chinatown in Quebec.

On Oct. 16, the Progressive Chinese of Quebec (CPQ), Chinese Family Service of the Greater Montreal Area (CFS) and the Chinatown Working Group (CWG) hosted the debate in the Chinese Community & Cultural Centre of Montreal on Clark St. at 11:30 a.m. Almost 100 community members of all ages poured into the conference room, with media organizations interviewing them at every corner.

The goal of the debate was to hold the municipal government accountable for the responsibility of Chinatown. CWG member and event organizer May Chiu expressed her excitement for this historical debate. “We’re hoping that community members will come out and ask questions to the candidates and get them to commit to their promises,” she said.

Community members were overwhelmed with emotion as they felt recognized by the municipal government. “It’s about time,”* activist Janet Lumb told The Concordian. “We’ve been fighting for many years to have the recognition and acknowledgement [from the municipal government] of the fact there are some serious issues that need to be confronted and dealt with,” she explained.

Candidates who were present include Mouvement Montréal’s mayoral candidate Balarama Holness, Ensemble Montréal’s candidate councillor Aref Salem, Projet Montréal’s Robert Beaudry, and Action Montréal’s candidate councillor Robert Sévigny along with Jean-Christophe Trottier, who left the debate before it started, due to his refusal to comply with health safety guidelines.

Throughout the pandemic, Montreal’s Chinese and other Asian communities experienced a rise in hate crimes, ranging from vandalism, robbery and physical assaults. In addition, most of Chinatown’s properties are at risk of gentrification and businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Around 108,000 Montrealers claim Chinese ancestry, with many more a part of the general Asian community.

Last year, Mayor Valérie Plante proposed an action plan to help preserve and improve the cultural integrity of Chinatown by adding more green spaces in the area, increasing pedestrian access to the neighbourhood and building social and affordable housing units.

The debate began at 12 p.m. with words of appreciation by May Chiu and the Tiohtià:ke land acknowledgement in French and English, followed by the Mandarin and Cantonese translations.

The two-hour debate covered five topics:

  • Protecting Chinatown’s heritage
  • Social and racial justice
  • Arts and culture
  • Climate justice
  • Economic development

In Holness’ introduction speech, he discussed his familiarity with the neighbourhood and his appreciation of Chinese culture by retelling his memories of visiting Chinatown as a child and living in China. He also threw in a couple of words of Mandarin, which took the audience by surprise.

Holness said Movement Montréal would establish a registry in the neighbourhood where businesses receive wage subsidies and tax breaks for their rent to protect Chinatown’s roughly 150 businesses, emulating similar initiatives used in San Francisco for its Chinatown and other heritage sites, he argued. 

Ultimately, Holness concluded that the debate helps people “collectively improve the lives and livelihoods of Chinatown.”

Projet Montréal’s Beaudry said Valérie Plante’s party has close relations with arts and cultural organizations to help boost financing BIPOC art programs in the neighbourhood, as communities continue to face funding disparity from the provincial government. This initiative supports the cultural integrity of the neighbourhood.

He said the decisions made in Chinatown should go through the Chinese community first. “We want you to show us what you want to happen in Chinatown. It’s not a top-down situation, it’s a bottom-up situation.”

Salem said Ensemble Montréal will implement social housing for the homeless shelter near Chinatown, as well as provide social resource centres throughout the neighbourhood. “We need social housing [to] bring more people to this part of the city and we need to have some cultural events in the city so people can visit, and live, here in peace and harmony,” he added.

Action Montreal’s Sévigny mentioned protecting the environment, regarding the neighbourhood’s demand for green spaces in public and private areas. Before being required to leave the debate, Trottier said they will demand the provincial government to grant Chinatown as a heritage site, improve the infrastructure of Chinatown and impose stricter bylaws to prevent further construction, as well as creating a better dynamic with the Chinese community.

 

Photograph by Mohammed Khan

Categories
News

A bilingual city-state? Mayoral candidate proposes major language changes in Montreal

Balarama Holness aims to recognize English as the city’s second official language

Mouvement Montréal party leader Balarama Holness will recognize the city as officially bilingual, if elected mayor in the municipal election on Nov. 6 and 7. This proposal has emerged as Quebec prepares for Bill 96 to strengthen the role of French across the province.

Holness’ plan would ensure that all services on the island of Montreal are provided in both French and English. This includes the city’s commercial and tourism sectors, as well as official documentation from the municipality.

“When people arrive in Montreal, whether they’re speaking English or French, we want them to feel comfortable and don’t want them to struggle,” said Matthew Kerr, Mouvement Montréal’s mayoral candidate for the CDN/NDG borough.

Kerr added that his borough would benefit economically from recognized bilingualism. He expects the locals to open more businesses as it would be more convenient to acquire permits and deal with paperwork, as well as cater to a community that is already bilingual.

Fifty-five per cent of Montreal’s population speaks both English and French according to the 2016 census, with nearly 850,000 residents knowing at least three languages. Despite the city’s linguistic diversity, however, French remains the most dominant language in the city with two-thirds of Montrealers calling it their mother tongue.

Still, many francophone and Quebec-oriented organizations perceive bilingualism as a threat to Montreal’s cultural identity, fearing that French may become vulnerable if English gains the same legal status.

“French is already lacking protection at the legislative level,” said Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal (SSJB), in an interview with The Concordian. “We see the numbers, French is declining — and [Montrealers] can see this with their own eyes. When they shop downtown, half the time they will be served solely in English,” Alepin added.

To further solidify the role of French in the province, the Quebec National Assembly presented Bill 96 in May, which is set to affirm on a constitutional level that French is the only official language of the province.

Expected to become law by the end of 2021, Bill 96 will now require businesses with 25 to 49 employees to operate in French — a rule that only applies to companies with over 50 employees as of now. Government agencies will be required to use French exclusively in both oral and written communication, which also includes newly-arrived immigrants after the first six months of their stay in Quebec.

The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) is expected to gain more power, which already enforces the language law in Montreal’s food service and retail sectors. Earlier this year, two Montreal businesses were fined $1,500 for the lack of French on their websites, while a restaurant in Mile End received the same penalty in 2020 for having an English-only outdoor sign.

“But even the best law in the world won’t get around the fact that English is an appealing language, especially for the younger generation. […] With all the TV series and digital platforms, the interest for English is immense,” said Alepin.

The SSJB president specified that, while American culture is beautiful, it does not represent the culture of Quebec. As a solution to the linguistic challenge, Alepin proposes a mass investment in awareness campaigns as well as in French-language cultural projects and entertainment, which would make the language of Molière more attractive and competitive.

When it comes to investments, Holness argues that Montreal needs to gain a special city-state status as the city does not fully benefit from the revenue it generates.

“That $200 billion GDP has to come back to actually invest here in Montreal, whether it’s [in] infrastructure, small businesses and any other area of public life,” the candidate said in September after filing his application for the mayoral race.

With the annual municipal budget being just under $6.2 billion in 2021, Holness hopes to make use of taxation powers and create a more Montreal-oriented economy, following the example of Washington D.C. or Berlin.

In the municipal race, Holness currently stands in third place with 10 per cent of Montrealers supporting his candidacy, according to the most recent poll from Léger. The incumbent Valérie Plante of Projet Montréal is leading the race with 36 per cent of the vote, while Denis Coderre from Ensemble Montréal stays just one point behind.

 

Graphic by James Fay.

Categories
Opinions

Reducing homelessness in Montreal

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

We often see them on the metros, street corners and in alleyways. We usually ignore them to avoid guilt and perhaps uncomfortable conversations. According to a 2015 study commissioned by Mayor Denis Coderre’s administration, there are 3,016 homeless people in Montreal. Those are the same homeless people we see every day and, unfortunately, often ignore.

In 2014, city workers installed “anti-loitering” spikes that were meant to deter people from sitting in certain areas. They were removed after receiving backlash from Coderre, as he called the spikes “anti-homeless,” since many homeless people often sleep near those areas. The same mayor is now heavily focusing on homelessness in Montreal for his municipal election campaign. According to the Montreal Gazette, Coderre promised to sleep on the city’s streets to show he has the homeless in mind. And, more importantly, he is now considering implementing wet shelters in Montreal. Wet shelters allow homeless alcoholics to consume alcohol under supervision, with the goal of gradually lowering their dependence on the substance.

The Toronto Star reported such shelters already exist in Toronto and Ottawa, and work well in those cities. The wet shelters would be similar to safe injecting sites, where addicts can reduce harm when using substances. Along with the wet shelters, Coderre also has new initiatives to reduce homelessness in Montreal, according to CTV News. These include a second census of Montreal’s homeless population, 400 more spaces in rooming houses, and services aimed at youth, the LGBTQ+ community, women and Indigenous communities.

We at The Concordian think it’s great that Coderre wants to address homelessness in Montreal, and we hope his initiatives are carried out. It’s promising to see that he’s interested in improving the conditions for homeless people, but we hope he doesn’t get distracted by theatrics.

It’s also important to realize that, although Montreal’s mayor is now focusing on homelessness in the city, other community members have been doing so for a while—and have affected real change. Toe2Toe, for example, is a non-profit organization run by Chris Costello, a Montrealer. The initiative focuses on giving homeless people proper footwear, namely socks—a piece of clothing that’s often overlooked. According to their website, since 2014, the organization “has raised thousands of dollars and collected more than 15,000 pairs of socks for the homeless.” The organization also speaks to various community groups in order to raise awareness about homelessness and the importance of proper footwear.

Another community member, Gilles Chiasson, started a knitting group that aims to let homeless people know they aren’t ignored by the Montreal community. Chiasson has experienced homelessness, according to the Montreal Gazette, and he said he hopes to protect homeless people from cold weather with sweaters, leg warmers and hats. However, the knitting group’s main goal is to form a sense of connection between homeless people and the rest of the community. In the same article, Chiasson explained that homeless people often don’t feel connected to their families or community. He said he believes that if a homeless person receives something that was hand-knitted for them, it will make them feel like someone is attempting to connect with them, and that someone cares.

There was also the recent launch of the online tool 2000Solutions that illustrates data and information about homeless people in Montreal. The organization also aims to house 2,000 homeless people by the year 2020, and they want to prove it is possible to change a homeless person’s life.

Ultimately, it’s important to note that there have been efforts by community members in past years to eradicate homelessness, or at least raise awareness. Groups like Toe2Toe, Chiasson’s knitting group and 2000Solutions are just some of the ways Montrealers have tried to help fellow Montrealers. We at The Concordian strongly hope Coderre, if re-elected, follows through with his initiatives to improve the conditions of homelessness in our city.

We hope he sticks to his promises. A determined mayor can play a big role in helping us come together and help our fellow community members. And more importantly, we hope this editorial has made you wonder what more you can do to help the homeless.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin 

Categories
Opinions

Mayor Tremblay needs to take a hint

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan.
Graphic by Jennifer Kwan.

A famous American author by the name G. Edward Griffin once said that “to oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism.”

He was right. Why live in a society run by a corrupt leader? Why live in a society which wastes people’s money in hopes of being re-elected? Why put up with the antics of a leader such as Gerald Tremblay?

Mr. Tremblay, Montrealers have had enough. In the past few weeks, a chorus of people have put their voices together, screaming out corruption in City Hall and in the good old construction business. This came after allegations brought forth at the Charbonneau Commission when an expert witness showed and alluded to corruption “so deep, so systemic, that kickbacks to the Montreal mayor’s political party and payments to the Italian Mafia were handled by the same person,” wrote the Huffington Post.

The Charbonneau Commission was created by the Charest government in 2011. Its goal is to bring forth allegations of corruption in Quebec’s construction industry all while protecting witnesses and victims alike. It was set to run a two-year mandate and is being chaired by Judge France Charbonneau.

The expert witness was Lino Zambito, former construction boss, who further testified that the cost of construction was driven up by corruption and that for every contract, three per cent of it went to the mayor’s political party, Union Montreal. He continued, giving amazing details about how contracts were handled, and naming everyone who got a share of the cut. Major mafia strongholds in Montreal were mentioned more than once, such as Rizzuto, Accurso, and Nicolo Miloto.

“People knew about it at the city. The business people knew about it. The suppliers knew it… [It was] business as usual… There was wilful blindness. It was accepted,” said Zambito.

These recent allegations made by Zambito have turned many people against the Tremblay government. The most prominent name was Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood. He said that recent allegations have “tainted” his view of the Tremblay administration and has publicly asked the provincial government to come in and strip Tremblay of his power.

“It’s unbelievable in the circumstances that we always have to go to the Tremblay administration to have them approve our orientation, our budget, our priorities because all the corruption allegations that we heard lately are very severe,” he said.

Whether or not Tremblay is actually corrupt remains to be seen by the authenticity of Zambino’s testimony. Although he may not be accused of corruption yet, he’s definitely being accused of making major mistakes as mayor of Montreal.

Suzanne Decarie, city councillor for the Pointe-aux-Trembles district for Vision Montreal, said publicly that his behaviour is unacceptable.

“One cannot let himself be so naive as mayor of Montreal,” said Decarie. “Whether it was voluntary or involuntary, Mr. Tremblay was blind and laid his trust in too many people.”

There’s a serious problem in Montreal. The Charbonneau Commission is a step in the right direction, but it’s only the beginning. When substantial evidence is shown against the mayor of a city you’re trying to clean up, the mayor in question has no choice but to step down.

But not here. Not for Tremblay. Tremblay is so used to having it his own way that the recent allegations have him smiling and even considering running for another term.

“I will not comment on the everyday happenings of the Charbonneau commission,” said Tremblay in a press conference after Zambito’s testimony. “As far as the funding of our political party, Union Montreal, [Quebec’s chief electoral officer] verified on a regular basis our financial statements and found no wrongdoing.”

Corruption will always have a place in politics, whether we like it or not. However, when the majority of people know the details of just how the government is going about its dirty dealings, changes need to be made. A Leger Marketing survey for QMI Agency conducted over the internet on October 3, suggests that 62 per cent of Montrealers want the mayor to step down. According to the survey, 67 per cent believe corruption is built into Montreal’s political system.

My message to Montrealers: wake up! In any other city, a politician accused of this much corruption would’ve been long gone. We know what’s happening, and we can’t sit and watch while our city crumbles.

Exit mobile version