Friday, at IBureau of Investigation journalist Richard Olivier told us that almost 750 local elected officials have resigned from their positions since the last elections in 2021.
“A number unprecedented in history,” said Daniel Côté, mayor of Gaspé and president of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec.
The main reasons for this wave of resignations?
Intimidation, harassment and verbal and physical violence against mayors.
“The harassment is reaching levels we have never seen before,” said Bruno Côté, mayor of Potton, in Estrie.
- Listen to the live broadcast of the Martineau – Dutrizac meeting every day at 11:35 am. above QUB radio :
Mayor’s Day
Small consolation: the phenomenon doesn’t just affect Quebec.
In France too things are dropping like flies.
Since 2020, 1,300 mayors have resigned and almost 70% of them say they have been victims of verbal and physical violence.
The climate is such that on July 3, the mayors of France were invited to gather the residents of their city in front of their town hall to demand a return to civil peace.
“We refuse to stand idly by and watch town halls burn,” wrote the Association of Mayors of France. Mayors are threatened, insulted or beaten, municipal buildings are looted and libraries and schools are destroyed.”
“It is the heart of our democracy that we are attacking.”
To better help mayors, this association has even created a watchdog for attacks on elected officials!
In short, running a city or village has become a dangerous profession on both sides of the Atlantic…
What do you want? Not only are the mayors on the front lines, but they are also easily accessible.
When we have a problem, they are the ones we go to.
And when we’re frustrated, they’re the ones we yell at.
They are like the referees in a softball game.
“Heille, Jean-Guy, Tabarnac, are you blind? It was a catch, not a ball!”
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The great equalizer
Every community has its cracks.
The hysterical guy who freaks out because the city won’t let him put up a 20-foot frost fence to stop the neighbor’s dog from pooping on his property.
These fools are known throughout the village and they claim the microphone in every local council.
But recently the tone has increased.
The Crinqués are no longer content with screaming into the microphone; they harass mayors and city councilors when they meet them in front of the grocery store.
In fact, these fools threaten anyone who seems to enjoy even a modicum of authority: teachers, journalists, elected officials, celebrities.
With social media there is no hierarchy anymore, everyone has equal rights.
Joe Blow, who was content to scream at the world in the tavern, now has a platform and followers! And his bullshit theories are just as popular as the analyzes of the greatest specialists.
This is democracy now.
You can upset anyone.
No wonder we are missing teachers, police officers, referees and mayors!
Who wants to represent authority in such a context?
