Yeomans denounces agglo boycott

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER and

ANDY BLATCHFORD

editor@transcontinental.ca

Former Dorval mayor Peter Yeomans thinks West Island mayors from reconstituted municipalities are shirking their responsibilities by boycotting the agglomeration council, which is ruled by Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and oversees regional matters such as the environment and public security.

Beside the fact the mayors are paid to attend the Montreal agglomeration council meetings, they should use the occasion to present ideas and suggest improvements, Yeomans told The Chronicle last week.

“As a citizen now, I am discouraged (the mayors) are not taking part in the process and are not participating in the debate,” Yeomans said. “You know, good ideas rise to the top. It’s myopic to just walk away from the table.

“Whether or not they think it’s useful, at least bring things forward and ask questions,” he added. “I wonder if they are still taking their remuneration to the bank if they’re not going to (agglomeration) meetings.”

In 2007, each mayor of Montreal’s 15 de-merged cities will be paid $10,000 to take part in agglomeration and for every meeting missed members will be docked $100, according to a Montreal bylaw.

But with the meat of the work completed behind the scenes and in standing committees, regular agglo gatherings are a waste of time, according to mayors who eschew the meetings.

Still, Yeomans said boycotting the current agglo set-up actually hurts the mayors’ chances of convincing Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau to make changes. “Why should she make any changes since they are not trying to make the current system work?”

Yeomans, who sat on the executive committee of the Montreal mega-city after forced mergers, also defended Tremblay. “He’s not a bogeyman. I know him. There are ways to get a message across to him.”

Yeomans also doesn’t think much of the decisions of some mayors, such as those in Baie d’Urfé, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Senneville, to jump on Mario Dumont’s Action démocratique du Québec bandwagon in order to punish Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals. He thinks the move will backfire since the West Island Liberal incumbents will surely all be re-elected this year.

But Baie d’Urfé Mayor Maria Tutino, who has shunned agglo meetings since May, said none of the “action” happens at the gatherings.

“For every agglomeration meeting we boycott, we still do all the work with regards to the issues that are being addressed at the agglomeration,” she said. “We still go through the items (and) if there are things that we question or object to, we do it through another medium.

“We’re just not present at a meeting where our presence makes no difference.”

Montreal councillors hold 87 per cent of the agglo’s voting power, so most decisions are pushed through, she said.

Still, the mayors managed to convince Quebec last year that more than $41 million was unfairly dumped on the overburdened taxpayers of the reconstituted cities. However, Tutino said Montreal clawed the funds back into its 2007 budget after the mayors worked long hours to single out where they were overtaxed.

She said the boycott is an effective tool and is hopeful it will lead to change.

“The most success we’ve had is through the boycott because now it’s very clear to the whole world, and I think to the government, that the agglomeration structure does not work if you can still hold a meeting (without the mayors present)” she said. “It’s embarrassing to the government because it’s a clear message that it doesn’t work.”

Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau, who boycotted the January and February meetings, said Montreal’s executive committee makes all the agglomeration decisions.

Rouleau said the mayors’ stance has been worthwhile because it sparked talks with Quebec over agglomeration and a meeting with Charest is expected soon.

“If you ask me what we’re going to get out of all that, let’s put it this way, it can’t be worse than we had before,” he said. “(The Liberals) are interested in talking to us because everybody wants us to go back. It doesn’t look good when it’s empty on the other side of the room.”

The widespread boycott was started by Ste. Anne Mayor Bill Tierney in the winter. He said the mayors are “unwillingly” staying away from the meetings and want to return.

“We’re hoping to take a full part in the agglomeration as soon as possible,” he said. “I know we’re all waiting, hoping that the government’s going to give us a good reason for going back and trying again.”

Alan DeSousa, a member of the agglomeration council and Montreal’s executive committee, hopes the mayors will once again take part in the island’s broad regional plans.

“It’s my wish that they participate because I think there are a lot of issues that we have to tackle,” he told The Chronicle. “If they’re there, around the table, then they’re able to contribute, they’re able to get their points of view known.”

Yeomans is convinced that if the Parti Québécois wins the next election, they will force re-mergers. “The mayors should be prudent. If they back themselves into a corner — they can’t get out,” he added.

As for improvements to the agglo system, Quebec should set up stringent cheques and balances to ensure Montreal doesn’t drop its financial woes on the regional body. As well, he said one spot on the agglo executive committee should be reserved for a mayor from a reconstituted municipality — there isn’t one now.