(Montreal) The Rimouski municipal council meeting was suspended after about ten minutes, Monday evening, when activists loudly disrupted the session and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) had to be called in for reinforcements.
According to the mayor of Rimouski, Guy Caron, this event is not isolated, while disturbances of this type have taken place in recent years.
Monday evening, elected officials were focusing on adopting resolutions when the sounds of bird calls began to be heard in the council room. These sounds then became louder and louder, says Mr. Caron.
The mayor asked the half-dozen activists present at the scene to stop broadcasting, but one of them instead began reciting a monologue from his seat, while another decided to hold up banners. The group opposed the development of a residential neighborhood in a wooded area in the Pointe-au-Père district of Rimouski.
As the protesters did not obey the mayor’s instructions to respect decorum, the council meeting was suspended to await the arrival of the police. Certain individuals have been identified and will receive a visit from the SQ, who will give them a $100 ticket. In the event of a repeat offense, protesters face a fine of $200.
“We want to hear people well, we don’t necessarily want people to always agree with us, but there is a way of doing things, a way of expressing opposition,” maintains Mayor Caron, in interview, emphasizing that a question period allows citizens to express their disagreement during council meetings.
Mr. Caron believes that the action taken by these activists is undemocratic, not only because it harms the proper functioning of the council’s activities, but also because it discourages citizens from showing up at the sessions.
“It’s one of the phenomena that causes the population to lose interest in coming to the municipal council. And we have had testimonies from people who felt harassed or intimidated by the presence of these activists,” underlines Mr. Caron.
This is not the first time that the Rimouski municipal council has been disrupted by a group of activists. In 2022, comedian Fred Dubé encouraged a group of people to appear hooded at the municipal council, and they interrupted the meeting, illustrates the mayor.
“We refuse the municipal council to allow itself to be intimidated and to allow our conduct to be dictated by a handful of individuals,” summarizes Mayor Caron.
This event occurs while tensions in the field of municipal politics are denounced by some of its actors. The mayor of Gatineau, France Bélisle, announced her resignation last week, saying she wanted to preserve her health. She indicated that her work as mayor took place in an “often hostile” context.
Mme Bélisle also cited the resignation of the mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, and the temporary withdrawal of the mayor of Sherbrooke, Évelyne Beaudin, for health reasons.
With information from Vicky Fragasso-Marquis, The Canadian Press