CAQ’S Legault says mayors should quit
CAQ leader says they should think about resigning
François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, says Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt have have lost their moral authority and should think about resigning. Asked whether they should step down in the light of testimony before the Charbonneau Commission into corruption in Quebec’s construction industry, Legault told reporters: “I think they should think about it. I don’t think they have much credibility now. They should think about their future,” he added, saying he is glad Montreal and Laval will have municipal elections next year. Kevin
QUEBEC — François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, says Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt should think about resigning.
Asked whether they should step down in the light of damning testimony before the Charbonneau Commission into corruption in Quebec’s construction industry, Legault told reporters: “I think they should think about it.
“I don’t think they have much credibility now.”
The CAQ leader said the mayors of the two cities have lost their moral authority.
“They should think about their future,” he added, saying he is glad Montreal and Laval will have municipal elections next year.
Legault rejected the idea of putting the two cities under trusteeship, saying that “replacing a mayor will not solve the problem.”
Jacques Duchesneau, whose report alleging collusion to rig bids on Transport Quebec contracts pushed the government to name the Charbonneau Commission, now is the CAQ MNA for St-Jérôme riding, north of Montreal.
On his way into a Coali- tion caucus, Duchesneau recalled that he stepped down from his position as head of the anti-collusion task force in November 2010 until his name was cleared, suggesting the two mayors do the same.
Media reports at the time had suggested Duchesneau resorted to illegal financing practices in 1998 when he ran for mayor of Montreal. An investigation by Élections Québec found there was no basis in fact to those allegations.
Legault summoned reporters to say the Coalition will present a bill to create the position of budget director, similar to what is done federally. He pointed out that in Ottawa, budget director Kevin Page signalled out-ofcontrol budget overruns in the F-35 warplane acquisition, forcing the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to review that commitment.
Legault noted the Parti Québécois has also made this type of proposal, and called on the PQ government to support the CAQ bill.
He noted that outgoing Liberal finance minister Raymond Bachand identi- fied $800 million more in public spending this year than projected, while PQ Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau said the budget shortfall is $1.6 billion.
Legault said this is an old trick by new governments, to say the budget situation is worse than they thought and use that as an excuse to not go ahead with its commitments.
Responding to Legault’s invitation, Bernard Drainville, minister of democratic institutions and citizen participation, said the PQ is evaluating whether the auditor-general’s powers could be broadened to do the job of a budget director, examining the current state of government finances, as well as auditing past performance.
Drainville accused Legault of proposing an “easy way. You have a problem. You create a new structure.”
The PQ wants to “use the existing structure rather than adding a layer and increasing the tax burden,” the minister said, adding the Legault proposal “will cost money.”
Legault rejected the idea of enlarging the auditor-general’s mandate, explaining that auditing past performance and tracking current spending are two distinct functions, estimating the new body would cost between $500,000 to $600,000 a year. In its 2011 annual report, the office of Quebec’s auditor-general reported spending of $25 million.