In the program “Tout le monde en parole”, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said that she did not foresee the abolition of the Office de Consultation Publique de Montréal (OCPM), which she still considers “important”, and reiterated His support for this was the former president of the office, Dominique Ollivier.
Valérie Plante recognized that the relationship of trust with the population had broken down.
However, the mayor does not expect the OCPM to be abolished because the organization’s mission is still relevant and important, she emphasized. You shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The OCPM, which organizes public consultations to gather citizens’ opinions on various city projects, has come under fire several times in recent weeks after questionable spending by certain executives was exposed in the Journal de Montréal.
The mayor has since announced that the office will be placed under supervision. She will also recommend the resignation of OCPM President Isabelle Beaulieu.
In defense of Dominique Ollivier
Valérie Plante also used her appearance on the show to reiterate her support for Dominique Ollivier, who remains a member of the Projet Montréal caucus to this day, and maintaining her position as city councilor in the Rosemont-La Petiteborough area
You still have my trust, assured the mayor. [Depuis les révélations]She faced the music and never hid.
[Dominique Ollivier] no longer has the trust of citizens in her mandate to manage finances, but she remains a great Montrealer who shows great rigor.
Ms. Ollivier, who served as OCPM president from 2014 to 2021, has recently been in the spotlight for dinner and travel expenses claimed by bureau leaders during her time at the helm.
A few days after the scandal broke, she resigned from her position as president of the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal.
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Dominique Ollivier was President of the OCPM from 2014 to 2021. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
In an opinion letter published on Sunday in the newspaper La Presse, she writes that she is the target of the court of public opinion and that she has been the subject of anger from outraged citizens for two weeks.
“I didn’t break any rules, I didn’t steal anything, I didn’t embezzle any funds, I didn’t give any gifts to friends,” she defends herself.
She believes it took just 22 minutes to destroy a credibility patiently built over 20 years and the public’s perception of it based on an incomplete and decontextualized reading.