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Boos and claps at NDG Community Council
Article mis en ligne le lundi 19 octobre 2009

	Photo Christina Grolmuss

It felt a bit like at university when the students enter the classroom and get settled in the rows of benches. The seats in the middle and in the back are always taken first, but the ones in the front stay clear. A similar situation appeared at the NDG Community Council on October 15 in the community centre Saint-Raymond. The residents, who had come to meet the candidates of their district, kept a certain distance by not taking the seats in the very first row.

The meeting gave the residents an opportunity to address questions directly to the candidates. "We have such meetings every time before there are elections", said Gillian Keefe, executive director of the centre. All candidates were present, the five running for councillors (David Hanna, David Riachi, Peter McQueen and Phillipe Godley) and the four running for mayor (Brenda Paris, Carole Dupuis, Jacqueline Sommereyns and current mayor Michael Applebaum). Some of them even behaved like students. Mr Hanna and Mr Applebaum were pointing with fingers at each other and criticizing one another personally - much to the disapproval of the audience who wanted constructive talks and no simple blaming.

The residents' questions focused on corruption, road conditions and housings. A young man was pretty upset about ongoing corruption in the present council. He wanted to know from Mrs Mastromonaco and Mr McQueen: "What do you do to ensure that corruption will not take place?" To which Mrs Mastromonaco replied: "There might be allegations but there is no corruption at City Hall." This statement resulted in a burst of laughter. "It's sometimes not as easy as it seems", she continued, "but I believe in our team, we are no bandits, and there are many good projects on the go in Montreal."

However, Mr McQueen had an action plan at hand for this: "We have a three-point-plan to fight corruption. First, reform the financing of the municipal parties. Second, create transparency and third, the City must have an indoor expertise like in the era of Drapeau." No laughs for Mr McQueen but a lot of claps. An involved community activist, Sharon Leslie, told me that she was going to vote for him because she was impressed by his commitment and passionate work in the neighbourhood. Estefanie M., a 26-year-old resident, shared this opinion.

When asked about a traffic plan for the upcoming MUHC, Mr Applebaum replied: "Our committee works on a master plan to ensure a proper circulation with the least impact for the citizens. We're going to benefit from the hospital. It will bring money for the community and create jobs." After the booing that he had earned for his improper criticism he now got a good applause.

At the end, the independent candidate Phillipe Godley reminded the residents of the low voter participation at the 2005 elections. He said: "Only 35% went to vote. Is that acceptable? Without democracy we are not looking too good." So, don't forget to give your voice on November 1st and take part in decision-making.

[ Christina Grolmuss ]