The Department of Investigations and Prosecutions in Municipal Integrity (DEPIM) believes that the three councilors have violated their code of ethics with statements made in recent months.
In order to close the case and avoid a hearing, DEPIM proposed a sanction. Alain Lafontaine confirmed that he intends to pay the fine. It could not be announced Saturday whether Councilmen Tremblay and Dober will challenge the recommendation to suspend DEPIM. In this case, they can argue their case before an administrative judge of the Quebec Municipal Commission.
In the cases of MM. Lafontaine and Dober, the DEPIM would criticize them for the statements they made during the demonstration against the expansion of Carrefour 40-55 during the municipal meeting on June 20th.
We will recall that at this meeting two protesters paraded very close to the elected officials with a banner that read “Not another acre,” in reference to the destruction of wetlands to expand the industrial park. Citizens stood in the hall and chanted: “No more hectares.” The meeting was interrupted and police officers were called for backup.
During the commotion, Councilman Richard W. Dober turned to the officers sitting behind him. According to employees, he made threatening comments. Officials also said they were shocked after these events. Mr. Dober defended himself by saying that these were not threats and that he had made a comment about the importance of environmental protection.
As for Mr. Lafontaine, even during this fracas he called city councilor Pierre-Luc Fortin an asshole. The latter had just made a loud plea for wetland protection, which sparked cheers from the crowd. The Forges district councilor admitted he had lost his temper and said he had “unfortunately let his emotions get the best of him”. He also apologized immediately after the incident.
Mr Lafontaine was contacted on Saturday and confirmed he had been fined. He preferred not to reveal the amount he had to pay. It seems that the lawyers of the investigation department would have preferred a different sanction, but they gave in to the Forges district council’s proposal to pay a fine. “I made an ethical mistake. My words surpassed my thoughts. I admitted it. I have made my statements [à la Commission municipale du Québec]. I will pay a certain amount and that will be the end of it.”
As for Mr. Tremblay, the complaint concerns a statement he made during an interview with Radio-Canada Mauricie. When asked to comment on the formal notice received by citizen Joan Hamel for criticizing the work of an official on Facebook, he explained: “Who is the innocent person who decided to send a formal notice like “Does this belong to a citizen?” to send?
As two clans bicker within the council, the Quebec Municipal Commission has received several complaints from both sides in recent months. She is known to have conducted audits at least twice. In November 2022, it concluded that no “misogynistic, racist or violent” statements had been made to the Trois-Rivières municipal council. This investigation was conducted following a complaint from Councilor Pascale Albernhe-Lahaie.
Last April, the Action Trois-Rivières party filed a complaint against Forges district councilor Alain Lafontaine, who had paid his wife a salary for assistant and secretarial work. After review, the commission decided not to conduct an investigation.
This is therefore the first time this has happened, although the problems within the Council are not new. In addition, Councilor Tremblay regretted the formal communication to Joan Hamel and the way in which the Carrefour 40-55 expansion was approved, even calling for the intervention of Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest in August last year.