An elected official from the Plante administration met with employees of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) the day after it was placed under supervision. The opposition says it is “stunned” and denounces a violation of the principle of independence of the organization, while the elected official assures that all the rules have been respected.
The independence of the organization, which must freely take a position on proposals from the municipal administration, is protected by the Charter of the City of Montreal. The OCPM was placed under supervision at the municipal council last week. The city’s general manager now supervises its operation. All expenses — except rent and salaries — are frozen.
It was the head of town planning on the executive committee, Robert Beaudry, who went to meet the OCPM teams on November 22. “I met all the employees, in the presence [du directeur général Guy] Grenier, in the presence of the treasurer, in the presence of the controller general of the City of Montreal to explain the situation to them,” he explained in a telephone interview. “It was really to inform them, but also to reassure them. » The meeting took place outside the OCPM offices.
The official opposition does not hear it the same way.
“We are shocked to learn that an elected official from the Plante administration secretly summoned the organization’s employees,” said Laurent Desbois, mayor of Outremont, in a written statement. “It is unacceptable that the Plante administration ensures its neutrality in public, then at the first opportunity, it sends one of its elected officials to speak to employees of the Office. »
“The management of the OCPM should have been entrusted to an external and independent organization, rather than to the Director General of the City, in order to avoid the risks and appearances of interference and conflicts of interest,” continues the declaration . “The independence of the OCPM is crucial, but Projet Montréal does not seem to take seriously the population’s crisis of confidence in our institutions. »
Robert Beaudry stressed that the OCPM must be completely independent in its consultation work, but that it was normal for a representative of the municipal council to come and explain a decision by elected officials. “It was really factual information to reassure them, answer their questions and inform them that they had the right to the psychological support program from the City of Montreal,” he said.
He added that sacked president Isabelle Beaulieu “did not show up” at the meeting where she should have been informed of her dismissal, held the same day. He assured that she had received adequate notice. “We sent him a letter explaining our decision,” he reported.
“We want to quickly find an interim presidency,” he added.