Citing the broken bond of trust with citizens, the municipal council dismissed, on Tuesday, the president of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM), Isabelle Beaulieu, due to her excessive spending, which constitutes a “serious fault” , according to elected officials.
For this reason, the deposed president will not be able to receive the severance pay provided for in her contract, corresponding to one year’s salary, or approximately $160,000.
The municipal council also officially mandated the city’s general auditor to carry out a performance audit of the organization, concerning its administrative and financial practices and frameworks.
It is the city’s general manager, Serge Lamontagne, who will take charge for the next month, while he finds someone to chair the organization. Meanwhile, OCPM funding is frozen.
The elected officials of Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration, however, continued to defend the integrity of the former president of the executive committee, Dominique Ollivier, who led the organization between 2014 and 2021.
“Before damaging reputations, we must make sure to get to the bottom of things,” underlined municipal councilor Robert Beaudry, head of the OCPM. “I would like to thank Mr.me Ollivier who, on day one, faced the music and went to explain herself in front of the cameras. She made mistakes, she admitted them and paid the price. But she is a person who has done a lot for Montreal as president of the OCPM and who continues to work for Montreal as a Rosemont councilor. »
The opposition, for its part, still demands that Mme Ollivier is leaving the caucus of the ruling party, Projet Montréal, as well as the executive committee of the Montreal Metropolitan Community.
“It would be wise if Mme Ollivier withdraws, during the Auditor General’s investigation, from positions that are paid or from political participation in the Projet Montréal caucus,” requested opposition finance spokesperson Alan De Sousa.
Isabelle Beaulieu, who has chaired the organization since February 2022, increased the number of meetings in high-end restaurants and purchased $900 headphones at the City’s expense.
Dominique Ollivier’s expenses have also been criticized, notably for the numerous trips of OCPM leaders under his leadership, including a mission to Mozambique which cost Montreal taxpayers $23,000.
Mme Ollivier resigned from the presidency of the executive committee last week, in the wake of the revelations about these expenses.