Plante taps opposition councillor for sports and youth portfolio
Mayor Valérie Plante has poached up-and-coming opposition councillor Hadrien Parizeau as an associate member of the executive committee responsible for sports, recreation and youth.
Parizeau, 27, will remain a member of Ensemble Montréal while taking over part of the responsibilities of Villeray councillor Rosannie Filato, the executive-committee member responsible for social and community development and the condition of women.
Parizeau, the grandson of the late premier Jacques Parizeau, announced in August that he was entering municipal politics to run for former mayor Denis Coderre’s party in the St-Sulpice district in Ahuntsic.
He said at a press conference with Plante on Monday that he has wanted to go into politics since age 10.
After Jacques Parizeau’s death in 2015, Hadrien Parizeau paid tribute to his grandfather for teaching him.
“The advice he gave me during unforgettable times with him will continue to guide me forever,” he said at the time.
Parizeau was initially reluctant to speak in English to journalists on Monday, but then relented and said a few words in the language. He said the reason was just nervousness and had nothing to do with politics, even though he seemed to speak English fluently.
Plante said that she had always had the intention of adding some extra members to the executive committee, which has 12 fullfledged members and now six associate councillors.
Filato’s responsibilities were too much for one person, she said.
“We realized she needed some support,” Plante said.
Plante’s administration has been criticized for a lack of cultural diversity, but she defended the choice of a young, francophone man by saying she had to work with whoever got elected and “fill the gaps based on ability.”
Filato is in charge of consultations starting Wednesday on the city’s action plan for seniors, which have been criticized by seniors’ organizations for lack of inclusiveness.
On Monday, seniors’ organizations held a press conference in Notre-Dame-de- Grâce calling on the city to prolong the consultations beyond the end of February since many elders, particularly anglophones and members of cultural communities, were not given sufficient notice and have trouble getting around in winter.
Filato, who also attended the press conference at city hall to announce Parizeau’s nomination, said she would look into whether it’s possible to extend the consultations. She said a meeting is planned in Pierrefonds-Roxboro and that adding others is not out of the question.
Opposition leader Lionel Perez said the Ensemble Montréal party wishes Parizeau well in his new role. Since Parizeau has chosen to remain in the party, “it doesn’t change anything,” he said.
“Obviously, we respect the decision of Mr. Parizeau,” he said.
In November, Plante named opposition councillor Cathy Wong as speaker of city council, becoming the first woman to hold the post, as well as the first member of an opposition party to be selected.