MONTGOMERY WINS IN COURT
Judge sides with C.D.N.-N.D.G. mayor in fight with city
A Quebec Superior Court judge has sided with Côte-des-neiges—notre-dame-de-grâce borough mayor Sue Montgomery in her legal fight against the city of Montreal.
The decision, issued Friday, is the latest step in what Justice Bernard Synnott described as a conflict marked by two sides unwilling to give an inch.
Synnott ruled Montgomery's chief of staff should no longer be barred from communicating with civil servants and called the measure, ordered by the city's comptroller general last year, both draconian and unreasonable.
Montgomery welcomed the ruling at a news conference Friday, describing it as a victory for democracy and the borough.
“I am accountable to the people of Côte-des-neiges—notreDame-de- Grâce. They elected me,” Montgomery said. “I answer to them and to them alone, not the comptroller general.”
The conflict between Montgomery and the city stems from a report issued by Montreal comptroller-general Alain Bond last year.
The report found that Montgomery's chief of staff, Annalisa Harris, had psychologically harassed the borough's manager and a second employee.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante ordered Montgomery to fire Harris over the findings, but Montgomery refused, arguing she would not do so without seeing the full report into the harassment allegations.
In what the city would claim was retaliation, Montgomery suspended borough manager Stéphane Plante four times in the last year, actions overturned by borough council each time.
Both Montgomery and the city turned to the courts to settle the matter. In his judgment Friday, Synnott ruled in Montgomery's favour.
Synnott said the directive to ban Harris from meetings was unjustified and too severe, given the harassment allegations involved only two people. He ordered the city to cancel the directive.
He also found it was unreasonable to ask Montgomery to fire Harris without her seeing the report or knowing the specifics of the harassment allegations.
While addressing reporters Friday, Montgomery once more defended Harris and said she has no intention of disciplining her.
Harris, for her part, said she was relieved by the judge's findings after a difficult year.
“It's not easy to be a young woman in politics, and I'm grateful to have a mayor that supports me,” said Harris, 28.
“All of this could have been avoided if only Mayor Plante had taken the time to read the report,” she added, “and considered it before placing me in a difficult situation.”
Though he ruled in Montgomery's favour overall, Synnott said as borough mayor, she should have shown more restraint throughout the conflict.
“The directives created a climate of confrontation in which no one wanted to give an inch,” the judgment says. “This led to other decisions that were also unreasonable on Montgomery's part.”
In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for Mayor Valérie Plante's office said the city was reviewing the decision to decide what steps to take next.
“(The judgment) confirms the existence of an unhealthy work climate in the borough, and the role of Mrs. Montgomery in establishing it,” the statement said.
“Our priority remains to ensure a functional borough,” it continued, “that gives the citizens of C.D.N.-N.D.G. the quality services they have the right to expect.”
Local councillors have spoken out against Montgomery in the last year, saying the conflict has cast a shadow over the borough, led to a challenging work environment and made it difficult to get anything done.
In an email one councillor said illustrates the problem, Montgomery sent the judgment to the borough's other elected officials Friday morning and called on them to apologize to Harris.
“(I) hope you are all ashamed of yourselves for the way you turned your backs on her,” Montgomery wrote. “Please let me know how you like your crow cooked. It will be served with pleasure.”
Asked Friday if she has any regrets in how she has handled the file, Montgomery said she does not. She has learned a lot over the last year, she added, and believes she still has a good working relationship with her colleagues.
“I acted correctly, within my rights and within the law, and I can't say the same for the city,” she answered. “If there is a toxic workplace or bureaucrats that aren't happy, I would say it's on (Valérie Plante).”
Elected in 2017, Montgomery was expelled from Plante's Projet Montréal party over the conflict earlier this year.
In a separate case, the Quebec Municipal Commission has charged Montgomery with 28 ethics violations, including harassment, lack of respect and failure to maintain a harassment-free work environment.
Montgomery is contesting the charges.