Outremont elected officials acted in a discriminatory manner when they expelled a volunteer member of the local planning advisory committee (CCU) for his political beliefs, concluded the Human Rights Tribunal, which condemns the City of Montreal to pay $7,000 to Alexandre Lussier, former candidate in the 2017 elections.
A resident of Outremont and a lawyer by profession, Mr. Lussier was appointed in 2014 as a member of the borough’s CCU, a committee responsible for examining construction projects and requests for exemptions from urban planning regulations in the area. This committee is made up of elected officials and volunteer members, including urban planning experts and citizens. In the spring of 2017, Mr. Lussier was promoted to the position of vice-president of the CCU.
As the November elections approached, Alexandre Lussier ran as an independent candidate for mayor of Outremont against the representative of Projet Montréal, Philipe Tomlinson, who ultimately won the election.
A month and a half later, in December 2017, the borough council revoked Mr. Lussier’s mandate, a year before its scheduled end. Mr. Tomlinson then alleged that the appointment of Mr. Lussier as vice-president of the CCU had been “political”.
Discriminatory decision
Alexandre Lussier learned of his dismissal during the live webcast of the municipal council meeting. Deeming himself aggrieved, he seized the Human Rights Commission, which took the case to the Human Rights Tribunal.
“The evidence shows […] that Mr. Lussier was excluded from the CCU because of the expression of political convictions, namely his decision to run for mayor of Outremont,” concluded Judge Luc Huppé in a decision handed down on Tuesday. “The borough council’s decision sends a clear message to members of the CCU as well as to members of other committees over which its authority extends: if you choose to exercise your right to stand as a candidate in a municipal election for the duration of your duties, you risk losing your job. Such a position is inconsistent with the Charter [des droits et libertés de la personne]. »
Following the exclusion of Mr. Lussier, the members of the CCU had adopted a resolution which praised his expertise and asked for his reinstatement within the committee, which the elected officials did not follow up on.
Asked about the expulsion of Mr. Lussier at a subsequent borough council meeting, Philipe Tomlinson had criticized his former opponent for having used his duties as vice-president of the CCU to boost his electoral campaign.
Immunity of elected officials
“The moral damage suffered by Mr. Lussier due to the revocation of his mandate at the CCU goes beyond the disappointment, frustration and anger felt at having been excluded from this function in a discriminatory manner by a borough council now controlled by an adversary politician and his team,” said Judge Huppé, pointing out that Mr. Lussier was deprived of a form of civic involvement for a year. The borough council had proposed to Alexandre Lussier to participate in other committees, which he refused.
The Court therefore ordered the City to pay $7,000 to Alexandre Lussier in moral damages. However, he rejected the claim for punitive damages of $1,000 filed against former mayor Philipe Tomlinson, as well as those of $500 against Fanny Magini, Valérie Patreau and Mindy Pollak, judging that elected municipal officials should benefit from a certain immunity to be able to carry out their duties “serenely”.
Alexandre Lussier and the City of Montreal did not want to comment on the file on Thursday.