The Government of Quebec will launch an awareness campaign on Wednesday aimed at denouncing the intimidation suffered by elected municipal officials, who are more and more likely to leave politics for this reason.
In a ten-second video that will soon be circulating on the Web, we can see the children of elected municipal officials from all over Quebec reading comments – respectful – that their parents would have received from citizens. However, “these comments were invented”, since “the real ones did not show themselves to children”. “Let’s treat elected municipal officials like the world”, concludes the video, which The duty was able to consult on Monday.
This awareness-raising effort, which will also take shape in several newspapers in the province, will continue until May 23 and will be announced at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Quebec City by the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest. She will be accompanied for the occasion by the presidents of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) and the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM), Daniel Côté and Jacques Demers.
A growing phenomenon
In recent months, many elected municipal officials have slammed the door citing the intimidation they have suffered from citizens, especially online. The case of Wickham, in Centre-du-Québec, particularly marked the spirits. Last month, former mayor Ian Lacharité resigned after his family faced intimidation and threats. Three weeks later, his successor, deputy mayor Charles-Antoine Fauteux, also threw in the towel, saying he was the victim of harassment and a smear campaign.
“Such behavior causes enormous damage, both to the people targeted and to their colleagues, family, children and those around them. Society and democracy also suffer,” said Minister Laforest in a press release to be released on Tuesday.
“People should be aware that the elected municipal official is a human like any other, that he did not become an elected official to do wrong,” says Daniel Côté in an interview with THE Duty.
The president of the UMQ, who is also mayor of Gaspé, is worried: two mayors out of the five municipalities in his MRC left their functions last month. They are the former mayor of Petite-Vallée, Mélanie Clavet, and Pierre Martin, former mayor of Cloridorme, whose general manager, Dominique Tremblay, also slammed the door. “At some point, where does it end? asks Mr. Côté.
“It really seems to have grown,” also said the president of the FQM, Jacques Demers, in reference to the resignations of elected municipal officials who were victims of the discontent of some of their citizens. A situation that he attributes in particular to the increased presence of elected officials on social networks, where they are the target of threats and derogatory comments from residents.
Impunity
Last Tuesday, Quebec Liberal Party MNA Virginie Dufour, who represents the riding of Mille-Îles, questioned Minister Laforest at the Salon Bleu on the large number of elected officials from a multitude of municipalities in Quebec who have left office. in recent months because of the harassment or intimidation they claim to have experienced. The Minister then mentioned that an announcement would be made soon with the UMQ and the FQM to take stock of the issue.
“In some small towns, sometimes it’s not just online, it’s in person, and that’s worrying. When you live in a village of 500 people, it’s hard not to meet the people who do this [de l’intimidation]so it’s a lot of pressure for elected officials, “says Mme Dufour, in interview with THE Duty.
The former municipal councilor in Laval, who claims to have herself been bullied at the time, welcomes the awareness campaign set up by Quebec. “But people still need to know that there are consequences for those who intimidate,” adds the elected official, who notes that too often people continue to harass elected officials with complete impunity, even when complaints are made to the police.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing recalls for its part in its press release that Quebec has recently released financial assistance of $ 2 million which has been divided equally between the FQM and the UMQ. The amount gives these organizations the means to financially support municipalities that have taken legal action or are planning to do so in order to force a citizen to stop intimidating or harassing an elected official or municipal employee.
Preparing for 2025
The numerous resignations of elected municipal officials in recent months have also raised concerns about the ability of municipalities to recruit enough candidates for the municipal elections of 2025. because this toxic climate there, it is not attractive, ”argues Virginie Dufour.
Especially since the salaries of elected municipal officials are not very good. In several villages in Quebec, many mayors and municipal councilors pocket only a few thousand dollars a year, recalls Daniel Côté. “If in addition you spend your time being intimidated, are you going to want to play politics? No,” he blurts out.
With Isabelle Porter