Évelyne Beaudin wants Valoris documents available to all member municipalities

Sherbrooke Citoyen leader Évelyne Beaudin will visit Bury on Thursday for a public meeting of the Valoris Board of Directors to plead for the release of Valoris' documentation to all elected officials whose municipalities are members of the régie.

Beaudin is inviting colleagues and the elected members of the other municipalities of the MRC of Haut-saintfrançois to attend the meeting as well.

"In June, I asked Mayor Lussier to submit my application to the Valoris Board of Directors. Next Thursday, I'll make sure the issue is discussed. What I am proposing is that the documents made

available to members of the Valoris Board of Directors should also be made available to the elected members of the member municipalities. It's a simple question of transparency," Beaudin stated in a recent press release.

Currently, the elected officials of the Ville de Sherbrooke only have access to minutes of meetings of the intermunicipal board. "Since I made the request last year, the minutes of the régie are tabled in the city council. It is a step in the right direction, but given the catastrophic situation of Valoris revealed by the Auditor General before the holidays, more needs to be done. If we made the documents available to everyone at the same time, we would have more heads to analyze them, ask questions and hopefully - get answers," the Sherbrooke Citoyen leader commented.

Beaudin expressed concerns about the recent cancellation of a meeting between Valoris President Steve Lussier and Cookshire-eaton Mayor Sylvie Lapointe.

"What worried me the most about Mayor Lussier's justification was that before sharing anything with the member municipalities, it had to be presented to the members of the board of directors, the same board of directors that he chaired and which led us to the catastrophic situation that we know. Member municipalities, and their elected representatives, are entitled to request information, as many of them will have to raise taxes to finance Valoris' deficits and debt, "said Beaudin.

Sherbrooke Citizen published a blog post published earlier this week retracing the failings of the Board of Directors uncovered by the Auditor General. According to Ms. Beaudin the deficiencies justify the board of directors showing humility and accepting the assistance being offered. "The idea is not to throw accusations left and right, but rather to find a way to solve this problem, because we are all in the same boat. We must use every opportunity available so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. "