Benefits of Harel as mayor slim for West Islanders

Harel, who didn’t seek re-election as an MNA last fall, is now running under the Vision Montreal banner to become mayor of the City of Montreal, which includes two West Island boroughs, Pierrefonds/Roxboro and Ile Bizard/Ste. Geneviève. If elected, she will also take the reins of the agglomeration council which oversees regional issues, from police to environmental controls. While they have no say in the Montreal election, West Islanders in reconstituted cities end up paying roughly about half of their municipal property taxes to the agglomeration where they have almost no say.

Considering Vision Montreal’s lack of success in the West Island in two previous elections, then under the leadership of Pierre Bourque, Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay can probably count on sweeping the two West Island boroughs with ease with Harel as his main opponent.

Since the Charest Liberals took power, first under a minority government before winning a majority last fall, West Island mayors have been lobbying for fairer and better arrangements under the agglomeration system. Some changes are underway with the proposals initiated with Bill 22. Although Tremblay hasn’t fought against some of them, he’s not exactly a friend of reconstituted municipalities, even though most of the West Island mayors ran under his party’s banner during the mega-city term. Harel, however, seems poised to be a harder sell for reconstituted municipalities and even for the boroughs, which she feels have too much power.

Another issue, already broached by Tremblay, is her poor command of the English language, which probably served her well as a badge of honour with hard-line separatists but raises questions about her ability to represent the city with international or national delegations. Montreal’s English-speaking population should also be weary of her stance on language issues, wonder if she will force French-only rules on its citizens and eliminate any bilingual services now available.