Excluded from the Projet Montréal caucus in October 2020, a Lachine borough councilor has just filed a lawsuit against the party of mayor Valérie Plante for “defamation and false allegations aimed at damaging and tarnishing its reputation”.
“It was a toxic climate. Over time, I have never succeeded in having the listening that seemed minimal to me in order to be able to claim respect ”, insists Julie-Pascale Provost, in an interview with Press. On Saturday, the outgoing Canal District councilor posted a redacted version of her lawsuit on her website. This was officially filed Thursday in the Superior Court of Quebec.
A full version of the document, which Radio-Canada unveiled earlier on Monday, reveals that Mr.me Provost is claiming $ 80,000 in moral and punitive damages from Projet Montréal as well as from the mayor of Lachine, Maja Vodanovic, councilor Craig Sauvé and the director of the party, Raphaëlle Rinfret-Pilon. The City’s Respect for Persons Division is also implicated.
Mme Provost accuses the parties of having “lied knowingly” in several cases “. She shoots more particularly with red balls on Mayor Vodanovic, whom she accuses of having “ordered a smear campaign in November-December 2019”, during a door-to-door activity.
I hope things will improve in Lachine. This is not politics. It should be to represent the citizens, to seek the best for the majority, to bring people together.
Julie-pascale provost
In October 2020, a few days after his exclusion from the party, Mr.me Provost alleges that Projet Montréal also sent an email “containing false and defamatory remarks about itself” to “a large number of citizens of Lachine”.
On her website, Julie-Pascale Provost adds that her working relationship with Mayor Vodanovic “has always been difficult”. “Anyone who dared to contradict her” was also confronted with the same reality, insists the main interested party. “However, the role of adviser is to vote against certain decisions which would not be in the objective of the collective good of the citizens”, she adds again.
From Plante to Coderre
Called to react, the close guard of Valérie Plante was cautious, simply indicating that given “the judicial nature of the case, Projet Montreal will not comment on the allegations”. “All party members have the needs of Montrealers at heart. They are making it a priority and all are currently working to improve the quality of life of the population for the years to come, ”said press officer Marikym Gaudreault only.
Last year, Julie-Pascale Provost was excluded from the party because of strained relations with her colleagues. “It has been three years since relations between Mme Provost and the other elected officials of Lachine, but also of the caucus in general, are extremely difficult at all levels, ”had supported the director of communications of the party, Julien Acosta.
Butme Provost had instead made a direct link with the transformation of the Lachine marina, which she had opposed despite the party’s desire to go ahead. “Since taking a stand, relations have deteriorated. I have two colleagues I was close to who no longer speak to me, ”she hammered.
More recently, last September, Mr.me Provost had withdrawn from the party of Denis Coderre – with whom she had tried to make the jump to the mayoralty of Lachine – for personal and family reasons. According to our information, she was shown the door because she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. She will be leaving politics in a few days to devote herself to teaching.