Denis Coderre refused to reveal the complete list of clients who allowed him to earn several hundred thousand dollars a year between 2017 and 2021, Monday, six days before the municipal elections.
In addition to his already known mandates, the mayoral candidate confirmed at a press briefing that he had obtained contracts from other companies, but argued that he had undertaken not to reveal their content.
“I had other warrants and these warrants, I will release them in due course. I have confidentiality agreements, ”he said. “There is a question of competitiveness and there is an institutional question. So I will respect that. ”
When will it publish the full list of its clients? Mr. Coderre has argued that he will obey the law and complete a declaration of interest if elected on November 7. “I’m going to table all of this and there will be no conflict of interest,” he said. “There will be no hiding places. ”
After his defeat in 2017, the former mayor accepted various mandates: he worked in particular for the company Stingray, for the International Automobile Federation (FIA), for the Foundation of the Jewish General Hospital, for the studio of Félix and Paul special effects and as representative of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) on the board of Eurostar. These contracts were already known when he returned to politics. It is the other mandates that remain unclear.
On Monday, 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. ”
Last month, Press revealed that Denis Coderre created a “management and advisory company”, 9377-4750 Québec inc., when he obtained a mandate from the Stingray company in 2018. The big boss of Stingray, Eric Boyko, is one of the main promoters of the return of baseball to Montreal.
In the same article, Mr. Coderre pledged not to return the lift to his ex-clients if he was elected. He reiterated this commitment on Monday.
Graffiti cleaned in 24 hours
Denis Coderre had organized his press briefing on Monday morning to address the issue of the cleanliness of the streets of Montreal. He said in particular that his administration would commit to cleaning up every graffiti in Montreal within 24 hours of reporting it to 311.
“Cleanliness is everyone’s business. We want to give ourselves the tools so that this city regains some of its splendor, ”he said. “If we want to receive visitors, we have to clean up. ”