A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT
Integrity and transparency are at the heart of our relationship with readers. There are many sources of information available to you. We want you to come to us because you believe that we are trying, to the greatest degree possible, to be fair, balanced and objective.
That is why I am writing to you today.
The upcoming municipal election poses a potential conflict of interest for one of our key team members, editorial page editor Edie Austin. As a result, she is stepping aside from her decision-making role on the editorial page until after the Nov. 7 municipal vote.
I wrote an editor's notebook about this situation in October 2020. Austin is the mother of Annalisa Harris, former chief of staff of Côte-des-neiges—nôtredame-de-grâce Mayor Sue Montgomery.
Montgomery had a highly public falling out with Mayor Valérie Plante and was expelled from Projet Montréal in January 2020. One of the issues in her expulsion was Montgomery's refusal to fire Harris when ordered to do so by Plante.
What columnist Allison Hanes has called the “dysfunction and chaos” in the borough has been one of the most significant stories in Montreal municipal politics over the last couple of years. The editorial page editor does not assign stories or direct news coverage, nor is she responsible for news columnists like Hanes.
But she does select letters to the editor and op-ed articles that appear on our editorial page. Because of that, from the time that Harris became chief of staff to Montgomery in mid-2019, Austin has recused herself from making decisions about any letters or commentary related to borough politics. Since her daughter has been in the news, this has included all aspects of that story as well as any commentary about Projet Montréal and Plante.
That system has been awkward but workable until recently. But in May, Harris announced that she would be running for council in the Loyola district. And late last month, the Quebec Municipal Commission suspended Montgomery for ethical breaches, a ruling that Montgomery successfully had stayed until a hearing on her legal challenge on Oct. 5.
So there have been major news developments, and with the municipal election only three months away, many commentators and letter-writers are weighing in on the C.D.N.—N.D.G. situation and on the election in general.
In the interests of the credibility of the Montreal Gazette and in fairness to all involved, from the political parties and politicians to Austin herself, I believe it is best that Austin be removed entirely from all decision-making on the editorial page.
Therefore, between now and Nov. 12, the week after the municipal election, she will be working as a copy editor on the news desk, avoiding stories that involve the upcoming vote. Veteran editor and former editorial writer Walter Buchignani is now the acting editorial page editor.
Avoiding conflicts of interest is a key part of almost every journalistic code of ethics, including that of the Montreal Gazette. It's clear that Austin is in a potential conflict of interest around her daughter's political life. On the other hand, it is not fair or practical to fire excellent longtime employees like Austin because their children are involved in civic affairs.
Hence the changes I have described, which you will see reflected on the masthead at the top of the editorial page. It's important to me that you understand what we are doing and why we are doing it as we head into this important and doubtless divisive election.