Four days after the events, consternation continues to be felt on social networks following remarks deemed “deplorable” and “unacceptable” made on Tuesday by the mayor of Anjou towards a 15-year-old young man. who had come to oppose the implementation of a ban on the practice of free soccer on some fields in the Montreal borough.
The meetings of the Borough Council of Anjou, like those of the other boroughs of the metropolis, are generally not viewed online. But the broadcast of the session held on Tuesday evening, which caused an outcry in the last few days after being widely shared, has so far accumulated more than 6,500 views, a number that continues to increase.
During the question period of this monthly meeting of elected officials from the northeast borough of Montreal, a young man, Hocine Ouendi, came to the microphone. Calmly, he told the mayor of Anjou, Luis Miranda, of his disappointment with the ban put in place at the end of August by the borough to practice free soccer on some synthetic fields in the borough.
This decision was taken following “incivility” committed by “young people”, the mayor first replied to him. In particular, electric scooters and bicycles circulated on these grounds and elderly people were allegedly encouraged to leave the premises after being victims of “aggressive” behavior by certain people, argued Mr. Miranda, aged 67. . Politely, Mr. Ouendi reminded him that it is a “minority” of people who act. “It’s the majority”, replied the mayor of Anjou, who considers “unacceptable that people act in the same way”.
“And if you’re a parent, talk to your young ones, educate your kids. Because there are many who are poorly educated. And don’t say it’s still someone else’s child, ”added the mayor, visibly irritated by the young man’s questions. The mayor could not be reached by The duty Friday and Saturday.
“Unacceptable” remarks
Keeping his cool, Hocine Ouendi calmly told him that he was actually 15 years old. “What I don’t understand is that you are approaching the subject in a really aggressive way, it is as if it annoys you that I am talking to you about this”, underlined the young man, who simply wanted to emphasize to the mayor that, according to him, the decisions he made in this file “were not good”.
“I find it special. First, I, at 15, would not have come to confront the mayor like you did. I don’t know why it’s you. It should have been your father or your mother who should have been there, ”said the mayor of Anjou afterwards, raising several negative reactions in the council room, in particular from the mother of the young man, who reminded that his son has the right to ask questions during borough council meetings.
“Unacceptable behavior by the mayor of Anjou. We should encourage young people to participate in municipal democracy rather than bullying it, ”responded on Twitter the borough councilor for the district of Saint-Jacques, Robert Beaudry. “Young people deserve to be listened to and not to be greeted with contempt,” also noted the mayor of the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Caroline Bourgeois, like many other Internet users.
Unacceptable behavior of the mayor of Anjou. Youth should be encouraged to participate in municipal democracy rather than bullying it #polmtl https://t.co/Xx3r6ZEbaI
—Robert Beaudry (@RobertBeaudry) October 7, 2022
Mayor Miranda’s remarks are all the more “deplorable” as they occur in a context where it is difficult to interest young people in municipal politics, judges the professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at UQAM , Danielle Pilette. The participation rate of voters aged 18 to 35, for example, fell to 24.7% in the municipal elections of 2021, in the metropolis, a finding considered worrying by Elections Montreal. The Conseil jeunesse de Montréal is campaigning for young people to be able to vote from the age of 16.
“It’s as if the mayor, in a first reflex, tried to limit the questions to voters and since this young man is not old enough to vote, he was excluded”, notes Ms. Pilette. However, she insists, a meeting of the borough council “must be public and accessible to all”. “The exercise should not be discretionary and should not be limited to a single type of guest”, adds the expert, who believes that Mayor Luis Miranda committed a “serious” fault by implying that a teenager does not have the right to ask questions during a borough council meeting.
“The mayor should be careful in his words,” concludes Ms. Pilette.