Montreal’s suburban mayors want more say on how tax revenues are spent

A group representing Montreal’s West Island mayors says it wants more say about how to spend tax revenues.

Five days into Quebec’s provincial election campaign, many promises are being bandied about to try and win votes and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has come up with a wish-list for her provincial counterparts.

Plante is asking for nine things, including a land development plan for eastern Montreal and increased services to help newly arrived immigrants.

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The mayor says many of her demands are “related to all the island.”

Beny Masella, the president of the Association of Suburban Municipalities, says the mayor’s wish-list includes reasonable asks but that many of the West Island mayors he speaks for say they feel left out.

Masella says he has a wish-list of his own and that he and the agglomeration of municipalities he works with are not asking for little things.

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“We’re not going to be talking about this mayor wanting that bike path or that mayor wanting that urban boulevard,” Masella said.

“We are going to be talking about how things are going to be made better for this agglomeration.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are going to be talking about how things are going to be made better for this agglomeration."

Masella, who is also the mayor of Montreal West, says many things need to be improved, including public transportation.

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He says despite recent investment into transportation, some recent purchases have not been helping West Island commuters.

“They are talking 300 new buses and Azur trains — well, there are no metros on the West Island and those buses do not do a very good job of servicing the West Island,” Masella says.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They are talking 300 new buses and Azur trains — well, there are no metros on the West Island and those buses do not do a very good job of servicing the West Island," Masella says.

According to Masella, the agglomeration represents more than 240,000 residents and pays for 17 per cent of Montreal’s budget bill, which he says shouldn’t be underestimated.

He says the agglomeration wants to have more say at the provincial negotiation table and also to be able to manage its share of the budget.

“I am not saying that I need the provincial government to be the arbitrator, I want to try and work with the city,” Masella said.

The City of Montreal and the agglomeration are working together, according to Masella, but more could be done.

“If we are not going forward, I need the provincial government to say, ‘Yes, we’re going to help,'” Masella said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If we are not going forward, I need the provincial government to say, 'Yes, we're going to help,'" Masella said.