I’m going to tell you a secret: things are going well in Longueuil. I am happy in my role as mayor. I have a fantastic team around me, trusted loved ones who I can count on, day after day. This is what I answer to the many people who kindly call on me to ask for news since my election, in November 2021. Because we hear that everything is going wrong, all the time.
This is the voice that I want to express from the outset, today. Politics is a difficult world, certainly (as are many other professional environments, moreover), but above all it is a powerful tool for social change, noble and stimulating, which gives meaning to the action of those and those who practice it.
Are angry comments pleasant to receive on social media? Of course not. Is it difficult to face threats from aggressive citizens? Yes of course. Under police protection since September, I am well placed to talk about it.
That being said, the solidarity and concern shown by the vast majority of the population goes far beyond these deplorable behaviors and unacceptable attitudes. I consider myself personally privileged to receive so much recognition through my work. I am aware that not being in the public eye, most people are not so lucky, no matter how hard they work, or make a difference, too often in the shadows.
Last week, my counterpart in Gatineau, France Bélisle, announced her resignation. I will not refer to her particular case, as she has chosen to withdraw from the political arena. His decision nevertheless inspires respect in me. I have enormous empathy for her, as well as for the approximately 800 other municipal elected officials who have taken the same path since the last elections. Each departure is a loss for the public service and the sum of them should indeed require collective reflection.
I agree with France when she says that the environment in which politics takes place must change. First and foremost, it is ourselves, the elected officials, who should embody these changes.
Before looking elsewhere, it is important to set an example. It is not normal to see the toxic climate of intimidation that can reign in city halls… and in our parliaments.
The question that needs to be asked is: how are these escalations fueled?
Looking at the critical state of several municipal councils across Quebec where independents sit exclusively, excessive partisanship is clearly not unique to political parties. And, conversely, we can very well work within a party without working to demonize those opposite us. We are demonstrating it in Longueuil.
From the election campaign, my team and I wanted to have a resolutely positive approach. No criticism, no attack, because I am convinced that fundamentally, that should be what politics is: proposing an exciting vision and focusing on what we have to offer, without diminishing that of others. Trust collective intelligence.
Since the election, although the situation is quite exceptional with only one advisor officially sitting in opposition, we have adopted the same collaborative posture. Concretely, for example, we have made all court documents available in a transparent manner, promoting access and circulation of information for all councilors democratically elected by the population.
We also work openly on the agglomeration council, within which Longueuil, as a central city, is systematically in the minority among the related cities.
Beyond the necessary change in political culture, let us recognize that clearer guidelines and unified processes among municipalities would be more than welcome in conflict situations, whether with citizens, with the administration or even between elected officials.
Already, we have made progress thanks to the steps taken by the municipal unions such as the Union of Municipalities of Quebec and the Fédération québécoise des municipalities, which have obtained legal assurance for elected officials and which are in the process of obtaining from the government of Quebec expanded access to a psychological support program within cities, a program generally already accessible to employees, but which still too often excludes elected officials. This was also one of the demands of the former mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, during her own resignation.
A fund allowing mediation between parties could also be part of the solutions considered. What’s more, it is necessary to urgently regulate the appeals before the Quebec Municipal Commission, which are regularly exploited by elected officials wanting to harm their adversaries (which is reminiscent of the appeals brought before the ethics commissioner of the National Assembly, on a few occasions…).
Ultimately, I believe that reflection must go beyond the political world to reach the media sphere. The text “Generation Charbonneau”1 published by Yves Boisvert last week was consistent with a reflection that has been on my mind for several years now: the disproportion of treatment faced by certain human and sometimes quite harmless mistakes (in the register of prudishness). , said Boisvert), committed by elected officials, directly or indirectly, through accountability.
The right to make mistakes has disappeared in favor of the war on clicks.
Without falling into complacency, let us at least admit that more equitable coverage is necessary. Let’s take the recent case of Dominique Ollivier and the oyster dinner in Paris at the time when she directed the Montreal Public Consultation Office. Was the media treatment of this affair proportional to the error committed… and admitted? If this principle prevails in law, it should also be able to serve as a source of introspection within the journalistic community.
Dear France, I am deeply convinced that women and men in politics can be models of vulnerability and authenticity. I even believe that it is by taking full responsibility in this way that things can really change.
1. Read Yves Boisvert’s column
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