Torched cars, mischief targeting local officials has Quebec mayor worried

A Quebec mayor is asking provincial police for assistance after a series of alleged crimes that seem to be targeting local officials.

“Right now, it’s a little bit like the Wild West,” Saint-Joseph-du-Lac Mayor Benoit Proulx said in an interview Monday, speaking out against intimidation.

Proulx said there have been at least four incidents in the lower Laurentians town, northwest of Montreal, in the past two weeks.

Municipal police have launched investigations after two vehicles were allegedly set on fire since Friday, including one owned by a municipal councillor and another belonging to the wife of the town’s director general.

Coun. Alexandra Lauzon’s vehicle caught fire in her driveway on Sunday night, and Insp. Jean-Philippe Labbé of the Lac des Deux-Montagnes police force said an initial examination leads investigators to suspect arson.

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Two days earlier, the vehicle belonging to the wife of the town’s director general also caught fire while the family was asleep. The fire spread to another vehicle belonging to the couple and to their camping trailer, which had a propane tank attached to it.

“It was close to the fire spreading to the house as well,” director general Stephane Giguere said in an interview, adding that a neighbour woke them up.

An investigation has also been launched after the wife of another municipal councillor lost a wheel while driving on a major highway last week. Proulx said the bolts holding the wheel on had been changed and loosened.

Proulx said he also received a threatening call a few weeks ago, and with the latest acts, the expertise of the provincial police is needed to help with the investigation.

“What’s happening is too serious to let it continue,” Proulx said. “This is why I’m asking for help.”

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Proulx suspects whoever is responsible for the suspicious acts wants him and his fellow councillors to resign, “just because we have the guts to do our jobs,” he said.

Municipal election campaigns officially got underway across the province on Friday, and Proulx is seeking a third mandate “no matter what.” He does not believe his political opponents are to blame for the alleged crimes.

“I know them,” he said. “They could have never done something like that, direct or indirectly.”