The former mayor of Saint-Léonard-de-Portneuf, who believes he was wrongly convicted of breaching ethics, continues to make waves and embarrass the community by refusing to pay his fine.
• Also read: The former mayor of Saint-Léonard-de-Portneuf has been fined by the CMQ
Denis Langlois would have even said he was in principle willing to “go to jail” before paying the $4,000 fine imposed on him last April, we can read in an investigative report prepared by the Directorate of Community Integrity Investigations and law enforcement was created.
The man, who was in office for 26 years before leaving politics in 2021, has always denied the allegations made against him and, despite his guilty verdict, continues to protest his innocence over an apparent conflict of interest.
The Commission Municipale du Québec (CMQ) found him guilty of pressuring and directing the director-general of the municipality in hopes of overturning a municipal council decision that delayed the expansion of his pigsty, Porc Héden. “Get organized [pour] let it go to the council,” he had told him, according to the evidence summary.
“I have a clear conscience. I told the truth, but the judge didn’t believe me. In this case, I defended my business, but it seems we have no right to do so. Any business people involved in local politics are likely to face the same sanction if they do business with their community,” he lamented in an interview with Le Journal six months ago.
The ex-elect could have challenged his sanction in the Supreme Court, but he did not. He had 30 days to pay the $4,000 fine to the municipality – which is obligated to collect the fine – but to date no sum has been collected.
A hot potato in the village
The small commune of Saint-Léonard-de-Portneuf, which does not have unlimited financial resources, has announced that it will drop the court case, a controversial decision in the village. “It appears that court costs may be an element preventing the community from moving forward,” we learn in the investigative report.
The city’s Department of Integrity Investigations and Law Enforcement recommends that the municipality go ahead with the process to confirm the CMQ’s decision and compel Mr. Langlois to pay. “Otherwise, it is recommended to consider the advisability of initiating the necessary proceedings against the defendant,” we conclude. Saint-Léonard-de-Portneuf elected officials received the report on Wednesday and will analyze the file again today.
Another case among the Laurentians
The Brownsburg-Chatham community of the Laurentians is going through a similar situation. Former councilman Antoine Laurin, who was fined $2,000 by the CMQ in December 2021 for using information obtained in the course of his work to make an offer to purchase land, has still not paid his dues .
“No reason justifies an elected official or a former elected official not to respect a decision of a court and not to pay the fine imposed on him at the end of a final and final decision,” reads a second report by the city’s Department of Integrity Investigations and Law Enforcement , which was released yesterday. Investigators are also recommending that the municipality initiate proceedings to enforce the sentence.