In the shadow of corruption, candidates line up to fill Montreal’s political void

MONTREAL- If elected mayor, Vision Montreal candidate Marcel Côté said he doesn’t agree with the proposed Quebec Charter of Values- with one exception. He doesn’t believe veils that fully cover the face should be allowed.

Other mayoral candidates were less willing to weigh in on a measure put forth by the provincial government. Richard Bergeron, the party leader of Projet Montréal, said he wouldn’t comment on “pre-hysteria.” Denis Coderre advocated the status quo.

“You can have a balanced approach, we already have a balanced approach.”

Montreal’s municipal political season is heating up, as three mayoral candidates made themselves available on a Saturday in August. And corruption took centre stage; candidate Melanie Joly has made it the centrepiece of her upstart campaign. Other candidates have stressed its importance.

“What happened should not have happened,” Côté said, referring to the far-reaching revelations of the Charbonneau Commission on corruption within the construction industry. “It doesn’t happen in 99.9 per cent of the cities. Why did it happen in Montreal?”

Côté is advocating excluding the perpetrators of “significant” corruption from any future dealings, but keeping punishments out of the court system in an effort to streamline the system.

Coderre has been touting the creation of an independent inspector general in Montreal who would monitor contracts.

Bergeron is pushing moratorium on new construction contracts for one year until the city can ensure bidders have clean hands.

The one exception, he notes, is emergencies like the construction crane that fell in the sinkhole recently.

“It’s a very small price to pay to have one year where we not do all the jobs we want to do,” he said.

The election is scheduled for Nov. 3.