Arnaud de la Salle
MUNICIPALITY OF
PONTIAC – The Pontiac Journal recently spoke with the municipality’s newly elected councillor, Eddie McCann, to obtain additional information about the dispute taking place between himself and the rest of council. During the last council meeting, a resolution was passed to ask Elections Quebec to
Arnaud de la Salle
MUNICIPALITY OF
PONTIAC – The Pontiac Journal recently spoke with the municipality’s newly elected councillor, Eddie McCann, to obtain additional information about the dispute taking place between himself and the rest of council. During the last council meeting, a resolution was passed to ask Elections Quebec to
disqualify McCann from sitting on council (see page 16).
The Municipality of Pontiac has seen its share of legal actions; lawsuits against Alain Larose and the former Director General Mr. Bertrand, legal action could be pursued with Lalonde’s waste management, and to top it off, this new case against Eddie McCann.
“My election was legitimate and I want a judge to render me legitimate in the eyes of my
constituents. I will pursue it until the end,” said McCann, who
estimates the legal action will last between 12 and 18 months and will cost the municipality about $25,000; he claims he is the victim of a vendetta that seeks to
disqualify him from running in the next municipal election in 2017. “With more than $100,000 in legal expenses in the 2016 budget, the amount is almost three times what the municipality spent in 2013 under my
mandate. The budget was increased and taxes were raised by 5% because of these
decisions,” he said.
The Journal contacted Larose’s office to clarify the municipality’s position. Dominic Labrie, the municipal spokesperson, said “it’s wrong to say we spent $100,000 in legal fees. We spent $35,000 last year and we predict we will spend $53,000 next year; the costs are mainly to deal with collective agreement negotiations and to modify our urban planning regulations.” Labrie also commented that the action with Alain Larose involved an amicable settlement between the parties, that of Sylvain Bertrand has been closed for a while, and the issue with the Lalonde company was resolved through negotiation.
Finally, Larose commented on McCann’s statements: “Even now we are facing prosecution for issues that originated from the previous administration. McCann is in no position to
lecture. I am still repairing what he has broken. Regarding
the legal proceedings against McCann, he is responsible for the costs to taxpayers; he ran in an election despite being banned by Elections Quebec. If he
had not defied the law, we would not be here today.”
