The president of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM), Isabelle Beaulieu, was shown the door on Tuesday. The municipal council unanimously ratified his dismissal as well as the placing under supervision of the organization plunged into the heart of turmoil for more than two weeks.
“For us, this is a page that has been turned,” declared the head of the OCPM to the city’s executive committee, Robert Beaudry, a few minutes after the vote in the municipal council.
Montreal elected officials approved the dismissal of Mme Beaulieu, who was accused of excessive spending, including the purchase of $900 wireless headphones and office equipment. Travel and restaurant meal expenses revealed by a Quebecor media investigation were also criticized.
As the City accuses her of “serious misconduct”, she will not be entitled to any severance pay, as specified in her contract, confirmed Mr. Beaudry. “If there are sums to be paid to him for hours worked, they will be paid to him, but there will be no additional sums for serious misconduct. » A letter of dismissal will be sent to him on Wednesday, he added.
The Plante administration, however, is committed to ensuring that the OCPM’s mission continues despite the controversy of recent weeks. Moreover, the payment of expenses essential to the pursuit of the organization’s activities will be maintained, whether it concerns employee salaries or rent. “For employees currently working [à l’OCPM]there is no change, we will continue to pay salaries,” assured the elected official.
On the other hand, the rules governing the management of the organization will be tightened. The City’s general manager, Serge Lamontagne, will be entrusted with the management of the organization on a temporary basis until the appointment of a new president. “All expenses will have to be submitted to the director general of the City of Montreal, who will submit them to the municipal council for approval,” explained Robert Beaudry.
The municipal council also gave its approval to a mandate given to the general auditor, who will have to scrutinize the expenses authorized by the managers of the OCPM in recent years. The opposition obtained that the mandate be clarified so that all expenditures made between 2014 – the year Dominique Ollivier took office as president of the OCPM – and 2023 are examined by the auditor, who will have to make recommendations to the municipal Council.
Both the elected representatives of the opposition and the administration considered that the bond of trust between the population and the consultation body was broken. Ensemble Montréal is, however, more critical of Dominique Ollivier, who led the OCPM for seven years. The opposition believes that she should have left the Projet Montréal caucus. Last Friday, Isabelle Beaulieu said that when she took office in February 2022, she had noticed shortcomings in the management of Mme Ollivier as well as the theft of certain employees’ time. This rejected several allegations put forward by Mr.me Beaulieu.
Recall that Mme Ollivier resigned from the presidency of the executive committee on November 13. However, she retained her position as councilor in Vieux-Rosemont. Robert Beaudry came to his colleague’s defense. “He has not been criticized for anything as a city councilor and even as manager of the OCPM. She regretted certain actions and reimbursed certain expenses that she considered unacceptable, he said. We are very happy to be able to count on Mme Ollivier as city councilor in our team. »
The general secretary of the OCPM, Guy Grenier, also targeted by criticism regarding expenses, will however remain in office because the City does not have the power to dismiss him. It will be up to the future management of the OCPM to decide its fate.
Last week, the opposition suggested that an independent firm take over management of the OCPM on a temporary basis. Ensemble Montréal ultimately renounced this request, but demanded that the mandate given to the general director be limited in time and end on December 20.