Dear Soreloises and Sorelois, I take this opportunity to address you for one last time, as the former mayor of Sorel-Tracy and a citizen of our magnificent city.
Posted yesterday at 8:40 a.m.
As you know, on June 8, the Superior Court of Québec rendered a judgment that was in line with the recommendation of the Commission municipale du Québec. Thus, I lost the privilege of sitting as an elected official and representing you as mayor. In the minutes following this judgment, which I accepted and chose to respect, the administration of Sorel-Tracy withdrew my possibility of communicating directly with you, for one last time. Out of respect for my constituents who elected me democratically in the last two elections, 85% in 2017 and 75% in 2021, here I am.
During the past eight years, you have offered me the privilege of leading this city and I have put all the heart and energy it needed to propel the influence, economy and well-being of Sorel. -Tracy throughout Quebec. I focused on so many issues that you surely remember and I got involved whenever you needed my support.
In addition to my duties as mayor, I successfully chaired the Pierre-De Saurel wind farm, the first 100% community wind farm, the Pierre-De Saurel collective transport company and served as a director on numerous boards of directors. .
I am also proud of the many accomplishments that will mark my time in addition to sound financial management and my involvement in community and economic development organizations. I am thinking in particular of the development of the Catherine-Legardeur wharf, the extension of the Regard-sur-le-fleuve park, Statera and the complete renovation of the Marché des arts Desjardins, the creation of the new Sorel-Tracy port complex, the arrival of the head office of the Center des Arts contemporains du Québec at quai Richelieu, to name a few.
I have also been seen regularly fighting and defending the rights of my citizens to maintain at our hospital the health care to which they are entitled to receive locally.
I loved my job, I am proud of my political career, I will continue to love my city and, over the next few months, I will take on new professional projects.
For the past few weeks, we have spoken daily about transparency at City Hall. I wanted to conduct an internal investigation that directly involves the public administration in order to defend and protect the integrity and interests of the citizens of Sorel-Tracy. I risked my career to shed light on an internal situation that seemed major and very concerning to me, I expressed these same concerns internally and they turned a blind eye.
As soon as the Commission municipale du Québec commented on the way in which I conducted this internal investigation, I agreed to recognize this mistake in good faith. I shouldn’t have gone about it that way, but this choice of audio recording seemed to me the only one available to me, in the circumstances, in order to gather reliable, authentic and irrefutable proof that was not based solely on my testimony.
Today, what saddens me is to realize that the content of my investigation report as well as the two legal opinions that I tabled with the council at a public meeting on May 2, will never be made public and that the citizens will never know the other side of the coin. I leave my duties with my head held high, but remain concerned about the style of management that will henceforth reign within the administration of Sorel-Tracy.
You do me a lot of good
I have received thousands of emails, calls, texts and comments on social media expressing your support for me, despite the circumstances. Know that I am extremely grateful to you. I have had the privilege of serving you during these eight years and hope that I have been able, in my own way, to make your living environment better, fairer, greener and more egalitarian.
I will spend the next few weeks with my family and loved ones and I will continue to devote my energies to volunteering and doing my part as a citizen of Sorel-Tracy. My political career is ending like this, but I would like to sincerely thank you for the trust, courage and love that you offer me. I look forward to seeing you again, differently, but always with the same energy.
There are many ways to love your city and contribute to it. For the future, we want transparency, leadership and the audacity to build projects bigger than ourselves.