The Montreal City Council will have to vote on Monday on a statement aimed at blaming the mayor of Anjou, Luis Miranda, for his “discriminatory” remarks towards a 15-year-old teenager who came to question him during a borough council meeting nearly three weeks ago.
On October 4, the young Hocine Ouendi appeared at the microphone during the question period for citizens of the Anjou borough council to express his disappointment about the ban on playing free soccer on some soccer fields. the borough.
Mayor Miranda then explained that this decision had been taken following incivility committed by young people. To the teenager who told him that it was the work of a minority, the elected official replied that it was rather a “majority”.
Luis Miranda later lost his temper. “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.
Faced with the insistence of Hocine Ouendi who, calmly, had underlined his astonishment at the irritated reaction of the mayor, Luis Miranda had these words: “I find that particular. 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 […] If I had known you were 15, I wouldn’t have spoken to you.
The attitude of the mayor had raised an outcry. Mayor Valérie Plante called Luis Miranda’s remarks “disrespectful” and “offensive” and expressed the wish that he apologize to the young Hocine Ouendi. In an interview with TVA, Mr. MIranda apologized for the way he had responded to the teenager, while refraining from communicating with the young citizen.
Valérie Plante filed a statement that will be debated at the city council meeting on Monday afternoon. This declaration aims to “encourage the participation of young people in Montreal’s democratic life” and underlines a provision of the code of ethics and conduct for members of the City Council which advocates respect for citizens.
This declaration denounces the “discriminatory remarks” made by Mayor Miranda towards the teenager on October 4 and “demands an apology from him towards the young Hocine Ouendi as well as towards his family”.
Further details will follow.