Valérie Plante refused to take responsibility for the suspension and departure of her former police chief Philippe Pichet, in a rare testimony at the City of Montreal courthouse
Accustomed to addressing the media, it was rather before three judges of the Court of Quebec that the mayor of Montreal had to explain herself, Thursday, at the request of Mr. Pichet. He is suing the City for “disguised dismissal”. He was suspended from his position in 2017 and left in 2018.
Sometimes hiding his impatience poorly, Mme Plante has repeatedly said that the fate of the Montreal police chief is largely in the hands of Quebec. She added that she does not get involved in human resources management.
“I’m not a manager, I don’t take care of human resources, I don’t take care of the day-to-day. Of course, it is under my supervision,” she said, questioned by Me Daniel Rochefort, Mr. Pichet’s lawyer. “I hire people who have these skills. »
Confronted with a statement made during the 2021 election campaign in which she indicated: “I had to change the police chief because the mess was in place”, Mme Plante regretted his comments. “To me, it doesn’t represent anything” reality, she said. “I should have not said it. »
Appointed during the mandate of Mayor Denis Coderre, Philippe Pichet left office in turmoil, after months of controversy over the spying of journalists and a major internal crisis of confidence. The amicable agreement he signed provided that he would occupy a position as chief inspector at the SPVM, but he would have been invited to stay at home without any real tasks.
Thursday, Mme Plante admitted that she had not read “at length” the Chamberland, Bouchard and Prud’homme reports, which all focused on the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) during the leadership era. of Philippe Pichet and which served as proof of his departure. She indicated that it is her team who is responsible for reading this type of document and presenting the broad outlines to her.
The mayor and her former police chief briefly greeted each other.