Criticized for excessive spending when she headed the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM), Dominique Ollivier assured Wednesday that she will offer her collaboration to the city’s general auditor who must look into the management of the organism plunged into turmoil.
During the weekly meeting of the executive committee that she chairs, Dominique Ollivier recognized that the confidence of Montrealers had been shaken by the revelations on the use of public funds at the OCPM. “Your trust in the City of Montreal and all the organizations that represent you is essential and I know, in view of the various reports in recent days, that it is affected,” Ms. Ollivier immediately recognized.
The members of the executive committee were preparing to grant a mandate to the City’s general auditor to conduct a specific audit on the practices and supervisory measures of the OCPM, a measure announced by Mayor Plante on Monday in the wake of the investigation of Montreal Journal.
The OCPM is now 20 years old, but its operating rules have never been reviewed, recalled Ms. Ollivier. “Just because spending is legal and permitted does not mean it is acceptable. I particularly regret that certain expenditures affect the population’s feeling of confidence. I am the first to say that things must change within the OCPM,” indicated Dominique Ollivier.
The examination carried out by the Auditor General will not be limited to the mandate of the current president of the OCPM, Isabelle Beaulieu, added the elected official. “I offer my full cooperation to the Auditor General so that she can look at the expenditures and practices that took place under my presidency so that they can examine them and make appropriate recommendations to us,” said Dominique Ollivier. .
Ms. Ollivier chaired the OCPM from 2014 to 2021, before making the leap into politics with Projet Montréal. In recent days, Quebecor reports have notably reported spending of $27,353 on restaurant expenses over seven years for Ms. Ollivier, including a $347 oyster meal in Paris to mark the birthday of a collaborator and former business partner, Guy Grenier. There were also reports of trips abroad, the benefits of which remain unclear and poorly documented.