By leaving Mayor Bruno Marchand Jean-François Gosselin, who has made the fight against trams one of his main motivations in local politics, on the executive committee, he is committing a misjudgment that could cost him dearly.
This incoherent political decision, which sows discord in the council, results in the first being the expulsion of a Quebec City councilwoman, Véronique Dallaire, from the executive committee.
The party to which Ms Dallaire belongs nonetheless had the most councilors elected by the opposition.
Québec d’abord has also supported the mayor’s plan to build the tram from the start.
anti-tram
On the contrary, Councilor Gosselin has been misrepresenting the largest project in Quebec’s history for years. He has made his opposition to the tram the “project of his life”, as opposition leader Claude Villeneuve put it yesterday.
The latter is angry at this way of doing “old man politics”, like a boys’ club. The mayor, he recalled, said he wanted to do politics differently.
One of Quebec 21’s candidates in the 2021 election, Jean-Pierre Du Sault, is even the origin of the group hoping to block the streetcar project in court.
Apparently, we never heard Mr. Gosselin comment on this group, whose action is already weighing on Quebec City taxpayers.
folder problem
The Mayor of Quebec denies making a decision on a question of personality or contribution, underscoring Ms. Dallaire’s quality work. Rather, a matter of record guided his choice.
Responsible for leisure and sports, Mr. Gosselin works hard and has many contacts in this environment. We can think that the mayor also sees it as a way to silence him. The latter has also been more discreet about the tram while he is in charge of the Quebec 21 files.
In turn, the main opposition party, which saw itself as the mayor’s partner on the tram, will now be on the alert and could leave the steering committee.
However, the mayor needs every possible support. His bet is risky.
