Last week, the Assizes of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) took place in Gatineau, on the theme of the essential local government. On the spot, we felt the excitement and the pleasure that the elected officials and the representatives of the municipal administrations had to meet and discuss urbanity. Several conferences and workshops were on the program to discuss the different challenges facing these different Quebec cities, in particular adaptation to the climate crisis.
Since the last municipal elections in 2021, we have felt a wind of renewal within the Quebec municipal political class. When I was first elected in 2009, the political parties and elected officials who proposed significant ecological transition measures were few in number and often described as dogmatic and ideologues. We have to admit that today, we are under a new sign in this matter.
Formerly marginal, urban projects that take into account the environment, biodiversity or even sustainable mobility in the development of cities are now the norm in the municipal world. Fortunately, there seems to be inspiring leadership within local governments, which completely changes the political dynamic in Quebec.
Too often, we have relegated the cities of Quebec to the simple role of delivering basic services, such as waste collection, street maintenance or even the issuance of building permits. The number of times I was told: before making cycle paths, start by plugging potholes, that’s why I pay taxes!
It would be naïve to believe that this type of commentary has disappeared. They are still often encountered on the various social media platforms or in public debate. It is safe to say that they are now marginal. It is difficult today to maintain such a discourse in the face of the evidence of urban transformations caused by global warming. Diehard conservatives, however, continue to propagate the dogma of inertia in a parallel world increasingly disconnected from reality.
Since I left politics, I feel a sort of saving feeling of deliverance. In the first months after my last mandate, every morning, while having my coffee and reading the newspaper, I had a funny feeling of emptiness. I didn’t immediately grasp what I was going through. Then, I understood what really inhabited me. The adrenaline that rushed in the morning when I looked on social media for who might have attacked me, if there were any articles castigating our actions, was gone. Political daily life is just that: being on the alert every second.
This is where the whole paradox of action at the municipal level lies. You work concretely to change the daily lives of the citizens of the territory you represent. However, everyday life can become a magnificent vector of inertia. By getting too stuck on what is happening now, we forget to take a step back and put it all in perspective. However, to make our territories more resilient in the face of the immense challenges facing local governments, we need hindsight and perspective. The climate emergency shows us that we are not ready to adapt to these transformations. Everyday life too often succeeds in making us lose sight of our collective long-term goals.
Go further ; planning for the future is planning for the long term. However, we are caught in a democratic system which provides for municipal elections on fixed dates every four years. The pace is too fast. When you take power, you have to adopt the budget of a previous administration. You waste a year reviewing everything. Then you have two years to fulfill your commitments before you get to the election year. It’s too short to make deep changes that will have a direct impact on our ability to adapt.
In France, political mandates at the municipal level are six years. This gives time to put in place the necessary measures in urban areas before having to face the electorate. At the Assises de l’UMQ, there was talk of reviewing the funding of local governments and many other topics on the need to review the dynamic between the Quebec state and cities. We also have to think about time. Because time is seriously lacking in the face of climate challenges, and it is time to act that local governments need.
The political cycle generates a vicious circle that prevents the implementation of transformative projects that need to be experienced in order to promote social acceptability. In redefining the role of local governments, why not give serious thought to the idea of drawing inspiration from France? Why not give public decision-makers the ability to fully achieve collective objectives within timeframes consistent with an issue that will affect us for generations? Because the short term that dictates the political program is no longer adapted to our urban reality.
CEO of the Institute for Urban Resilience and Innovation, professor and associate researcher, François William Croteau was mayor of the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie.