An elected official in the Plante administration met with staff at the Office de Consultation Publique de Montréal (OCPM) the day after his commission. The opposition is “stunned” and denounces a violation of the organization’s principle of independence, while the elected official assures that all the rules have been respected.
Posted at 5:28 p.m.
The independence of the organization, which must freely respond to proposals from the municipality, is protected by the City of Montreal’s statutes. The OCPM was placed under supervision by the council last week. The city’s general manager now oversees operations. All expenses – except rent and salaries – will be frozen.
It was the head of urban planning on the Executive Committee, Robert Beaudry, who met the OCPM teams on November 22nd. “I got to know all the employees personally [du directeur général Guy] Grenier, in the presence of the treasurer, in the presence of the Controller General of the City of Montreal to explain the situation to them,” he explained in a telephone interview. “It was actually about informing them, but also to reassure them. » The meeting took place outside the OCPM offices.
The official opposition sees it differently.
“We are shocked to learn that an elected official in the Plante administration secretly summoned the organization’s employees,” Outremont Mayor Laurent Desbois said in a written statement. “It is unacceptable that the Plante administration guarantees its neutrality in public and then sends one of its elected officials to speak to office employees at the first opportunity. »
“The management of the OCPM should have been entrusted to an external and independent organization and not to the general manager of the city in order to avoid the risk and appearance of interference and conflicts of interest,” the statement continued. “The independence of the OCPM is crucial, but Projet Montréal does not seem to take seriously the population’s crisis of trust in our institutions. »
Robert Beaudry emphasized that the OCPM must be completely independent in its advisory work, but that it is normal for a representative of the local council to come and explain a decision made by elected officials. “It was really factual information to reassure them, answer their questions and let them know that they were eligible for the city of Montreal’s psychological support program,” he said.
He added that sacked President Isabelle Beaulieu “did not show up” at the meeting held the same day at which she was supposed to have been informed of her dismissal. He assured that she had been adequately notified. “We sent him a letter explaining our decision,” he reported.
“We want to quickly find an interim presidency,” he added.