If elected, the candidate for mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre promises to reveal the list of his clients to an ethics counselor from the City of Montreal, who can identify potential conflicts of interest with his role as mayor.
Five days before the elections, the former mayor was again beset with questions about his activities as a consultant, which brought him several hundred thousand dollars between 2017 and 2021.
Mr. Coderre refuses to disclose the complete list of his clients, arguing that he has signed confidentiality agreements with several of them.
“After our election, as mayor, I will speak to the ethics counselor, who is Mr. Nadeau. He’s a lawyer, so I’ll be able to get all the pedigree out and we’ll be able to answer his questions, ”said the mayoral candidate. “There is no hiding place. There is just respect for the agreements with those I have advised, ”he insisted.
Earlier this week, on Monday, he said he would reveal his clients “in due course.” He confirmed that he earned “at least twice as much” as the salary of the mayor of Montreal (which was around $ 198,000 in 2020) per year from his work as a consultant. “I made a lot of money. I was happy, ”said Denis Coderre. “So I confirm to you that I am not coming back [en politique] for a matter of money, I come back because I love Montreal. ”
On Tuesday, Mr. Coderre compared his situation to that of a doctor or a lawyer who would run for politics. “Is a lawyer going to give away all his clients?” For me it’s the same, ”he said. “I answered all the questions,” repeated Mr. Coderre, visibly exasperated by the insistence of the media.
Plante makes a link with Formula E
At a press conference Tuesday, Valérie Plante, she again attacked the lack of transparency of Denis Coderre.
“In 2017, he refused to reveal the number of tickets he had sold for Formula E. There, we are in 2021 and it’s the same thing,” she said, drawing a parallel with the controversy surrounding the Formula E Grand Prix that plagued the former mayor’s campaign four years ago
Recall that the Formula E race took place in 2017 in the streets of downtown Montreal, under the leadership of the administration of the former mayor Denis Coderre, who was widely criticized for this event not having not achieved the expected popularity. Valérie Plante announced shortly after arriving at City Hall that she was breaking the contract, which provided for two other editions of the controversial race, citing “a great financial fiasco”.
More generally, “Montrealers are disappointed, they expect transparency,” pleaded Mr.me Plant. “It’s part of the tradition, whether we worked in the private sector or not. Many other candidates who have followed the same path as him have yet revealed their income, ”she insisted.