(Rivière-du-Loup) Faced with the heartfelt cry of several mayors and councilors, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, is not ruling out punitive measures against citizens who attack elected officials.
She announced on Wednesday the entry into force of psychological assistance for elected officials and their families and at the same time, she mentioned future legislative measures.
No less than 741 of the 8,000 municipal elected officials have left their positions since 2021 and the resignation last week of the mayor of Gatineau, France Bélisle, created a shock wave, which added to the difficulties expressed by the mayors of large cities at the over the last few years.
At a press conference in Rivière-du-Loup, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, the minister affirmed that she is not ruling out punitive measures against people who behave in an unacceptable manner with councilors and mayors.
Present at the press conference, the mayor of Rimouski, Guy Caron, who himself faces aggressive protesters in his municipal council, welcomed the minister’s openness.
“We hope for legislative measures,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
For example, he noted that he cannot prohibit citizens from attending municipal council meetings unless they go to court.
At Monday’s session, Mr. Caron had to request the intervention of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) against activists.
The issue of threats and harassment is regulated by the Criminal Code, which falls under federal jurisdiction, and the police can then intervene, but Mme Laforest therefore does not close the door to criminal or other sanctions.
“We are going to really encompass everything” with future legislative measures, she suggested. She recalled that the Quebec Municipal Commission (CMQ) already had tools to fight against “quarrelsome citizens”.
No less than 74% of municipal elected officials say they experience harassment and intimidation, according to a survey by the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) cited by the mayor of Granby, Julie Bourdon, who represented the UMQ at the Wednesday announcement.
Mme Laforest attributed this surge in incivility targeting elected officials to the pandemic: many people then adopted derogatory behaviors behind their computer screen, but continued them afterwards.
Advisors and their loved ones are thus harassed at the bank, at the supermarket, or even at home.
Psychological help
The minister announced that Quebec will pay more than 2 million to the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) and the Fédération québécoise des municipalities (FQM), in particular to offer a telephone help service, in conjunction with a psychologist.
“Municipal elected officials, unlike city employees, had no access to this type of service, so we had to act quickly,” declared M.me Laforest.
The minister also announced that in the first months after the elections, elected officials will be offered compulsory training on the subject “to equip them well”.
Resignations and difficulties
Quebec’s announcement comes days after the resounding resignation of Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle, who received a wave of support and encouragement from mayors of other cities.
When announcing his resignation, Mr.me Bélisle had invited the Quebec government to reflect “on this exodus of municipal elected officials, but also on all elections by acclamation”.
“I think we should all be concerned about a public service that is no longer popular,” she then underlined.
Before her, the young mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, who had distinguished herself in the fight against forest fires in her region, had also thrown in the towel in November.
In October, the mayor of Sherbrooke, Évelyne Beaudin, announced her temporary withdrawal for health reasons, on the advice of her doctor. At the beginning of February, she also spoke of tensions in the municipal council and the work of undermining the opposition.
In addition, in January 2023, the mayor of Trois-Rivières, Jean Lamarche, also took a break for a few weeks due to an “unhealthy work climate” at city hall. He even considered resigning.
In an open letter, the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, called for a change in “political culture”.
Targeted by aggressive comments on social networks and placed under police protection since September, she maintained that elected officials must themselves set an example and that “it is not normal to see the toxic climates of intimidation which can reign in city halls… and in our parliaments.”
Parliamentary commission requested
Friday, the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) requested that a parliamentary commission look into the issue of threats and incivility targeting elected officials, particularly in municipalities.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, avoided commenting on Friday on the relevance of a parliamentary commission to urgently study the issue.
Upon the resignation of Mr.me Bélisle, however, she maintained that the government “does its part to support elected officials in their functions”.
On the X network, however, she added that “it is important that certain changes take place from within the councils with a sincere desire and for the benefit of citizens”.
reference: www.lapresse.ca