Montreal's municipal election campaign has taken a sharp and unpleasant turn this past week with a devastating report by the city's auditor-general topping off a string of scandalous allegations that have been aimed at the administration of incumbent Mayor Gérald Tremblay. On Nov. 1, many Montrealers will find themselves between a rock and a hard place, forced to choose between Mr. Tremblay and his main opponent, former Parti Québécois minister Louise Harel – a militant sovereigntist who can hardly speak English and who many believe is the most unlikely person to head a bilingual and multicultural metropolis.
Federalist francophones and anglophones, as well as the 20 per cent of Montrealers whose linguistic background is neither English or French, were poised to vote as a bloc against Ms. Harel, but now the tide is shifting.
The last straw was the auditor's report about the handling of a huge contract to renovate Montreal's old, leaking water grid. There were so many irregularities in the tender process, so many questionable links between highly placed officials and the companies that received the contract, that the auditor has referred information to Quebec's provincial police for further investigation.
Although red flags had been raised by external auditors and several civil servants, the city's top officials didn't stop the process. And it seems the Mayor didn't even bother to read the terms of a contract that was the biggest in Montreal's history. In fact, five months ago, when details of the contract were revealed by the media, Mr. Tremblay insisted the contract was “a good project” that was handled with the required “transparency.” Now he is saying that he wasn't sufficiently informed about the contract by city officials.
Last week, with the scandal growing, he was forced to fire the city's two top officials and cancelled the contract – but it's too late. While Mr. Tremblay himself has not fallen under suspicion, his standard excuse – he didn't see, didn't hear, didn't know – doesn't work any more. Is a man unable to see what's happening under his nose fit to lead the city?
Meanwhile, Ms. Harel, who opened her campaign by brandishing a broom – a symbol of the cleanup needed at city hall – can see her route mapped out. Either she will become mayor, or she will head a formidable opposition to a weak administration led by Mr. Tremblay.
Ms. Harel can certainly be credited with a reputation of total integrity. But she has other important flaws. Coming from the left-leaning and radical sovereigntist wing of the Parti Québécois, she has no vision of Montreal as a hub for commercial and business activities and no understanding of the non-francophone communities that make up about half of the city. She speaks some Spanish but, at 61, and with two university degrees, never managed to learn how to form a complete sentence in English.
The first result of her candidacy is that non-francophone Montrealers will be deprived of their right to hear the mayoral candidates debate in their language. The proposed televised debate has been cancelled after Ms. Harel refused to participate.
Ms. Harel said she does not possess “the very high level of bilingualism” required to discuss issues “in a confrontational context,” and refused simultaneous translation.
She should have followed the example of many federal party leaders who have had the humility to participate in the French debates even though they hadn't mastered the language – out of respect for their francophone voters.