City has reserve funds for new collective agreements, embattled mayor tells council
Although Mayor Stéphane Boyer was uncharacteristically brief in his opening remarks at the start of the March 11 city council meeting, he responded with the following statement during question period when grilled on the labour disputes involving Laval’s police and blue-collar work force.
Answering Fraternité des policiers de Laval union president Sylvain Tardif, Boyer said, “Naturally, we are respectful towards our police officers. And we are looking for an agreement. But we must also have an agreement that respects the capacity of citizens to pay.
Shaky public finances
“I think you know very well the current situation with public finances,” the mayor added, noting that mediation would be resuming the following day.
He said that since speaking previously with the union leader, city management had been working on various options, although they had not yet reached the negotiation table.
“And so my wish is that on your side, as well, you will arrive with a plan and some news so that we can make progress – because our hope is that we can resolve this hopefully as quickly as possible.”
In response to Tardif’s question as to whether the city really wants to negotiate with the police union, Boyer replied, “Yes, obviously.”
Responds to De Cotis
He took exception to remarks on the labour dispute made by Action Laval city councillor for Saint-Bruno David De Cotis – telling De Cotis not to falsely attribute motives.
In some of those remarks, which were made in response to Tardif during public question period, De Cotis said the mayor decided to go on an economic mission to Washington D.C. recently at around the same time the union was announcing its strike intentions.
De Cotis suggested that it would have been more appropriate for the mayor to stay behind and take care of a local issue, while leaving the broader problem of international tariffs to federal and provincial officials.
Off to Washington, said De Cotis
“In Laval, there is only the mayor of Laval who can demonstrate his leadership in negotiations with our employees,” De Cotis continued. “He went to Washington, so we see where are his priorities. We see clearly it’s not the city’s employees, nor is it the services for our citizens.”
Boyer said, “It’s false to say there won’t be any agreement this year,” referring to a related claim De Cotis had made. “It’s false to say that we’re waiting for the 2026 budget. It’s false to say that we’re waiting to pile this onto the 2026 taxes. We have reserves which have been set aside, which is always the case for all collective agreements.”
According to the mayor, the city has a policy meant to take into account additional labour costs that may arise as collective agreements are expiring. He said reserves are set aside for that reason in view of eventually reaching an agreement and to be able to pay any retroactive wage increases.
Overdue wage increases
The mayor also accused Parti Laval councillor for Fabreville Claude Larochelle of “speaking through your hat, not knowing what you’re talking about or what you’re saying.”
Responding to Laval blue-collar workers’ union president Louis-Pierre Plourde’s questions on the city’s determination to end that labour dispute, Boyer said he was fully aware of the inflation issue the union leadership was raising and agreed that wage increases were overdue.
“I think it’s the reasonable, reasoned, realistic thing to do following cost of living increases in the last few years,” said the mayor.
Falling tax revenue
However, he maintained that the impact of the tariff measures taken by the U.S. are bound to be felt as repercussions on local businesses, as well as on the overall local economy and public finances. “If businesses close their doors, that means less revenue from taxation and social needs will be increasing,” Boyer said.
But while agreeing that salary increases were justified, the mayor didn’t rule out the possibility of other cost-saving measures, after noting that President Trump had been conducting a massive cull of the civil service in the U.S., while Canadian Consevative leader Pierre Poilièvre is threatening to do something similar here.
