Mayor won’t comment on partisan spending allegations

Answering a resident’s question concerning allegations about the use of city funds for possibly partisan purposes, Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt said in city council earlier this week that there is currently no “investigation” by Quebec underway, but rather a “verification” whose results he eagerly awaits.

“Out of respect for the process, I have already said that I will not comment on the work that has already been done,” Vaillancourt said during question period at the July 11 council meeting.

Parti PRO spending
David de Cotis of the Mouvement lavallois grilled the mayor about reports published in Le Devoir, which raised questions about municipal funds being allotted by the city to the Parti PRO des Lavallois, the mayor’s party, which currently has all the seats in city council. Again, Vaillancourt insisted he had “too much respect” for the provincial auditor to comment at this time on an open dossier.
Responding to a call by Parti au Service du Citoyen leader Robert Bordeleau for Vaillancourt to resign, the mayor said simply, “I will not resign,” then went on to boast about his administration’s many accomplishments. Another ML member, Emilio Migliozzi, questioned the city’s decision to spend on electric refueling stations to be used in conjunction with a fleet of Chevrolet Volts Laval is also investing in to be deployed in several areas of the city.

Volt program
Migliozzi contrasted that with the fact that residents of Champfleury have been trying unsuccessfully for the past two years to get lighting installed in a park. Vaillancourt said the Volts were chosen because they were the only vehicles of their type available, and that they will end up being more cost-efficient than buses, as they won’t require the hiring of bus drivers.
A woman named Anne-Marie Tougas who said she was a member of the Mouvement lavallois asked Vaillancourt why his administration doesn’t implement a network of bike paths over five years rather than 20 years as planned.
“The daily bottlenecks on the nearby autoroutes contribute to smog, to noise pollution and to the exasperation of users,” she said. “Many are of the view that the bike networks of Montreal and the lower Laurentians must be interconnected in a way as to allow individuals to use their bicycles as a means of transport to get to work.”

Bike path network
Pointing out that Laval continues towards its goal of reducing its greenhouse gas output by 50 per cent, the mayor said the city is moving towards developing a transport network that meets the needs of all users. He said that the bike path network would be implemented much faster than the questioner had suggested. A man named Valiquette who lives near the proposed Mont Laval development project in Ste-Dorothée asked about bus service to the area and for information on any further developments.
The mayor said that he and the administration had tried to put together a new development project that would be accepted because it was not as dense. “Unfortunately there are people who didn’t want it,” he said, adding that he needs the support of local people before proceeding with a new project for that area. Councillor Denis Robillard who represents Sainte-Rose announced that his district will be holding the annual Sainte-Rose-en-Bleu event in August, which is a large summertime social gathering.