(Rivière-du-Loup) Faced with the heartfelt cry of several mayors and councilors of Quebec cities, Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest announced on Wednesday new psychological assistance services for elected officials and their families.
Quebec will pay more than 2 million to the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) and the Fédération québécoise des municipalities (FQM) to deliver these services.
“Municipal elected officials, unlike city employees, had no access to this type of service, so we had to act quickly,” declared M.me Laforest at a press conference Wednesday morning in Rivière-du-Loup.
A helpline is available now, according to the minister.
Minister Laforest also announced that in the first months after the elections, elected officials will be offered mandatory training on the subject “to equip them well.”
Resignations and difficulties
Quebec’s announcement comes days after the resounding resignation of Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle, who received a wave of support and encouragement from mayors of other cities.
When announcing his resignation, Mr.me Bélisle had invited the Quebec government to reflect “on this exodus of municipal elected officials, but also on all elections by acclamation”.
“I think we should all be concerned about a public service that is no longer popular,” she then underlined.
Before her, the young mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, who had distinguished herself in the fight against forest fires in her region, had also thrown in the towel in November.
In October, the mayor of Sherbrooke, Évelyne Beaudin, announced her temporary withdrawal for health reasons, on the advice of her doctor. At the beginning of February, she also spoke of tensions in the municipal council and the work of undermining the opposition.
In addition, in January 2023, the mayor of Trois-Rivières, Jean Lamarche, also took a break for a few weeks due to an “unhealthy work climate” at city hall. He even considered resigning.
No less than 741 of the 8,000 municipal elected officials have left their positions since 2021.
In an open letter, the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier called for a change in “political culture”.
Targeted by aggressive comments on social networks and placed under police protection since September, she maintained that elected officials must themselves set an example and that “it is not normal to see the toxic climates of intimidation which can reign in city halls… and in our parliaments.”
Parliamentary commission requested
Friday, the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) asked that a parliamentary commission look into the issue of threats and incivility targeting elected officials, particularly in municipalities.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, avoided commenting on Friday on the relevance of a parliamentary commission to urgently study the issue.
Upon the resignation of Mr.me Bélisle, however, she maintained that the government “does its part to support elected officials in their functions”.
On the X network, however, she added that “it is important that certain changes take place from within the councils with a sincere desire and for the benefit of citizens”.