The Mouvement Montréal party declared a deficit of $7,400 in its 2021 financial statements filed three weeks after the scheduled date, thereby ending the ineligibility status of its leader, Balarama Holness.
An acknowledgment of receipt from Elections Quebec indicates that the documents were filed on April 25, while the deadline was set for April 1er previous April.
The Elections Act stipulates that the leader of a party is ineligible for any municipal election until his party’s financial statements have been filed. Its provisions also provide for a fine of $50 per day late for the official agent of a party who has not respected the deadline.
A spokeswoman for Elections Quebec said that the ineligibility sanction was lifted once the situation was regularized. “The leader of a party becomes eligible to stand as a candidate once the financial report is filed,” said Julie St-Arnaud Drolet.
It was not possible to learn more about the fine that will be reserved for the official agent of Mouvement Montréal.
“Once the person concerned has been informed, the statement of offense becomes public,” said Ms.me St-Arnaud Drolet. However, the fine requested is confidential, since if the person pleads not guilty or if he pleads guilty while challenging the sentence, it will be up to the court to rule on the person’s guilt and set the fine, if applicable. »
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Holness assured that his municipal party had absorbed the deficit of $ 7,388 declared in the most recent financial statements, which present the situation as of December 31, 2021.
“Movement Montreal spent more than $100,000 during the election,” he said. There were vendors payable at the end of the year and those vendors were paid in early 2022.”
These new details of the financial situation of Mouvement Montréal will appear when the political party presents its next financial statements for the current year.
No image problem
When he launched Mouvement Québec two weeks ago, which must notably compete with the Liberal Party of Quebec in anticipation of the October elections, Mr. Holness had to explain himself about the delay of the other party he leads. on the municipal scene and for which he was the headliner in the ballot last fall.
On Monday, Mr. Holness felt that this situation did not harm his image or those of the two formations of which he is the head. He reiterated that his temporary ineligibility is only limited to the municipal scene, where there will be no election until 2025.
“I think the majority of people, Montrealers, don’t care about criticism and people who try to damage the image of people who are trying to do the best for their metropolis,” he said. said.
The leader of Mouvement Montréal minimized his party’s deficit. “If the City’s finances had been managed as I managed the finances of Mouvement Montréal, the City would be in a better shape “, he said.
He also pointed out that his former opponent Denis Coderre left behind a much larger debt of $481,000 to Ensemble Montreal, the party he led in the last election.
“Can having a debt of $400,000 harm a party’s image? I think so,” he said.
Mr. Holness reiterated that his delay in filing his most recent financial statements was related to a change in official agent, which caused delays thereafter.