16/Jan/2001 Race to be megamayor is on
By:LINDA GYULAI The Gazette
Under normal conditions, the news a politician is planning to make a speech merits little more than a yawn in city newsrooms.
But with the first Montreal megacity council election looming, these aren't normal conditions.
Another name bandied about is that of former MUC police chief Jacques Duchesneau, who made a bid for the mayor's seat against Bourque in the 1998 civic election, but wound up finishing second with 26.3 per cent of the vote.
New Montreal, the party Duchesneau created in 1998, is still kicking around but is said to be paying down what's left of a $368,000 deficit.
Journalists are invited today to the inauguration of the new Laval offices of the company where Duchesneau is vice-president, Datacom Wireless Corp., New Montreal Councillor Michael Applebaum said.
Friday,October 23, 1998
Duchesneau's still standing L. IAN MACDONALD
Saturday 5 September 1998
Duchesneau vows 4-year tax freeze by AARON DERFEL In what is fast becoming a
battle of one-upmanship
among Montreal's mayoral
candidates, ex-police chief
Jacques Duchesneau
yesterday promised a
four-year tax freeze.
Wednesday Night #853
Wednesday evening July 8, 1998 was dedicated to candid discussion with the third candidate for the mayoralty of Montréal, Monsieur Jacques Duchesneau.
The subjects addressed closely paralleled those taken up at previous Wednesday Nights with Jean Doré and Mayor Bourque. One of the first was the new stadium for the Expos. Mr. Duchesneau expressed a personal wish to see the Expos remain, but felt strongly that this project would not - and should not - receive government funding.
On the role of Montréal International and recently announced projects for the Cité internationale, Mr. Duchesneau expressed his opinion that the organisation is a semi-private group without political input. If there is to be political input, then the City Administration must have a say. He pointed to the numerous economic development agencies and offices in Montréal and the MUC, saying that their efforts must be combined and most likely the agencies should be merged. He further suggested that Montréal should pay less attention to attracting international organisations which, in his opinion, do not create sufficient direct employment for those most in need of it - the families trapped in the welfare cycle. He personally favours an increase in manufacturing and value-adding jobs that would enable unskilled welfare recipients to find decent jobs.
On the Provincial clawback(download), Mr. Duchesneau believes that previous mayors have allowed Québec to do as it wished with Montréal and in this case, Québec was able to split the opposition to the downloading to the Municipalities by convincing Mayor Bourque to accept whatever was offered him for Montréal, including the $53 million "gift". There is a need for the mayor of Montréal (whoever it is) to stand up to Québec, as Jean Drapeau used to!
As vice-president of Dernier Recours, M. Duchesneau is very concerned with the problem of the Homeless, largely a result of Ottawa and Québec cutting back on many important projects in the health and social services sector. Many of the homeless are misfits who require better psychiatric facilities. This is an urban problem, not shared with the remote regions, as these people gravitate to big cities. (It is easier, remarked one guest, to be poor in Montréal than in smaller cities and towns because there are more sources of assistance.) What is required is a reversal of the cutbacks. Montréal cannot address this problem unless there is a budget allocated by other levels of government. Now that both senior levels of government are saving money, this should be a priority for spending. The Federal government ought to intervene - it has helped other Canadian cities.
Other guests pointed out that at one time Montréal was responsible for welfare, but went bankrupt during the depression. Although municipalities are in a much better position to know the needs of their citizens and to devise solutions to social problems, they have a narrow fiscal base, namely property tax. Residents of Montréal already pay much higher taxes than off-island residents. There is only so much additional burden that can be borne by property owners. On the other hand, simply to say that Ottawa and Québec should solve the problem is simplistic, shouldn't Montréal devise its own solutions and propose them to the higher levels of government? Furthermore, it is certain that any attempt to centralize responsibility for areas of social services at the municipal level would infuriate Québec.
We should bear in mind that municipalities elsewhere (i.e. U.S.) have far greater powers and money - we can and should do more. Mr. Duchesneau mentioned that he had discussed this issue recently with Governor Pataki of New York, however an American expert remarked that the State level of government in the U.S. would have very little understanding of - or input to- the resolution of these issues in the Canadian context.
It is unrealistic politically to expect the Federal government to intervene. One has only to think back to the Trudeau government's unpopular attempt to create a federal department of urban affairs - it was viewed as interference.
On the Surtax:
Montréal is under trusteeship, on the brink of bankruptcy. People have lost hope. There are fewer and fewer people to pay more taxes.
The issue here is urban sprawl. The Island of Montreal could accommodate the entire population of Canada, but the provincial government has encouraged people to live outside the city where they have lower taxes, greener surroundings, better schools and a stronger sense of the immediate community. This is a post-war phenomenon, people living in the suburbs are happier there now than their parents and grandparents were in St-Henri.
The PQ of course derives a greater measure of support from the rural areas (therefore, the de-zoning of agricultural areas).
The citizens of Montreal are concerned mostly with garbage and snow removal. In such circumstances, with a deficit of two million dollars, it would be unthinkable to reduce taxes. The priorities are:
- Stabilize expenses and freeze taxes
- Having achieved this, reduce taxes.
On Amalgamation and Decentralization
We need a sense of region, but amalgamation has not been demonstrated
to improve efficiency. Mr. Duchesneau praised the prevailing attitudes of the Conference of Suburban Mayors and indicated that he would be pleased, as Mayor of Montreal, to collaborate with them on a number of issues. Please see Mayor Trent on Amalgamation
M. Duchesneau presented his three priorities to be addressed immediately upon election:.
- Decentralization of the city on a human level into ten or twelve districts - "Mairies de quartier" - or little Westmounts, with specific budgets which they would allocate to local needs such as snow removal, garbage collection, and the power to speed up permits and bureaucracy and solve problems quickly at a local level. Eventual reduction of the number of municipal councilors from fifty-one to thirty. The Central Administration would give overall guidance and be responsible for the vision aspect of government.
- Renegotiation of the city's charter. The current charter works to Montréal's detriment. In many ways the city would be better off without a special charter.
- Finances must be re-worked. The current situation is a disaster as has been graphically decribed by the Auditor General's report, the pension fund is mismanaged. There is a need to give leadership, guidance and redefinition for the unions, with the goal of splitting the 11,000 employees into smaller collaborative units. With the experience of having effected significant change in the police force, we know this is possible.
On his transformation from police chief to mayor in relating to citizens, M. Duchesneau sees no fundamental difference. "As police chief, I looked after people before looking after police officers".
How to deal with Québec?
There will have to be a coordinating effort with Québec in areas of dissatisfaction such as health care and the homeless. But, first, clean up the city's finances and administration.
M. Duchesneau feels that Premier Bouchard is a friend and someone with whom he can work closely as he did through the ice storm crisis.
The problem is that Québec no longer fears the city of Montréal. We should have our own budget for schools and hospitals. The citizens would get better care. That is why M. Duchesneau supports the McGill University Health Care Centre.
One guest stated that young people are attracted to employment opportunities in Montreal's high tech and multimedia sectors and then asked what is his plan to foster the businesses which employ this talent; M. Duchesneau replied that his priorities are to improve basic services, freeze taxes and try to improve productivity.
Another question concerned M. Duchesneau's vision for Montréal . He replied that he wants to bring pride to Montreal, make it a cleaner city that attracts people, reduce taxes, find a way to make off-islanders who use our city's services to pay for the services they use.
It is unfortunate that time did not permit discussion of many issues such as alternative roles for Montréal within Québec, language law application in Montréal, tourism and cultural development, the environment (Lachine Canal, Miron Dumpsite).
Despite a day which had started with a meeting at 7 a.m., Mr. Duchesneau, was charming, forthright and intelligent and attempted to answer a number of questions on diverse aspects of his platform. On consideration, however, he conveyed very little passion or vision for Montréal in the twenty-first century.
This may have been because the wrong questions were asked, but a candidate more skilled in the political process might possibly have discovered a means of introducing his personal and political objectives. On the other hand, his pragmatic approach may simply reflect his preoccupation with the financial and adminstrative priorities which he feels are the key to Montréal's recovery.
In any event, all of the guests were very pleased to have had an opportunity to meet Jacques Duchesneau and hear his views.
#853 Jacques Duchesneau Night July 8th, 1998
by Herbert Bercovitz notes by Michael Judson Edited Diana Thébaud Nicholson
- A talk about Leadership
- Monday 24 August 1998
Ball park figures It is, at the very least, premature for mayoral candidate
Jacques Duchesneau to be promising a $37.5-million
municipal subsidy for a new downtown ball park if he's
elected in November.
- Wednesday 19 August 1998 Duchesneau flops on cash for ball park He now supports subsidy for Expos by AARON DERFEL Montreal mayoral hopeful Jacques
Duchesneau flip-flopped yesterday on the
proposed downtown ball park, saying he's
now in favour of using public funds to
support the Expos.
- Wednesday 15 July 1998 - Henry Aubin - Attack on Duchesneau was unfair
- Friday 10 July 1998 A lesson for Mr. Duchesneau Mayoral candidate Jacques Duchesneau's response this week to the furor over a dubious episode in his police past is a textbook example of how not to do damage control.
... and it cost the MUC $80,000 in a damage suit, his error of judgment was
not sufficiently a blot on his record to prevent him from
rising to the post of police chief. Nor should the incident in
itself disqualify him from becoming mayor.
[This is a nonevent except to show that a Warrant Officer dose not a General make DTN]
- Thursday 9 July 1998
Raid haunts Duchesneau Mayoral candidate is having trouble dealing with ancient reprimand
by MICHELLE LALONDE... Jacques Duchesneau can't have it both ways.
- Monday 29 June 1998
Trial balloons fly at party convention A meeting of mayoral candidate Jacques
Duchesneau's New Montreal Party results in a
host of proposals, including one for "district mayors."
- Monday 22 June 1998
Condos in Old Montreal draw fire
Historic sites will be blocked from view: residents
by STELLA TZINTZIS Condominiums at the Le Royer Saint-Claude will cost between
$140,000 and $350,000. [buy one and you get view! DTN]
- Sunday 21 June 1998
- Bill Brownstein - Pie's the limit for poli-tarte terrorists.. Duchesneau said he was the Bill Gates of Montreal, but the only thing they have in common is a pie in the face,
- Sunday 7 June 1998
Dreaming of the future Two decades from now, they'll still be fixing the Ville Marie Expressway by TOMMY SCHNURMACHER (saved for June 7, 2018. when Premier Josee Legault, to the chagrin of Progressive Reform Party chief Mario Dumont, does a fiscal pact with
Montreal Mayor Andy Nulman .. it gets better
- Saturday 6 June 1998
Police conduct under attack As more incidents of police brutality surface, a
spokesman for a citizens' group denounces the
modest suspensions given to guilty cops. by BASEM BOSHRA
-
#850 Mayor Pierre Bourque night
-
#847 Jean Doré night May 27th.
- 1st. Wed Night #700th Mayor Pierre Bourque
-
Duchesneau: Investors ready.
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Saturday 17 October 1998
Foes accuse Duchesneau of 'blackmail' 'Jews, anglophones' ready to invest under new
administration, he says.. by DAVID JOHNSTON Montreal can expect an infusion of $500 million in investment if Jacques Duchesneau is elected mayor, Duchesneau said yesterday.
The investment would come from people in the
city's Jewish and anglophone communities, he
said.
I'm federalist, Duchesneau
declares Mayoral candidate goes on record as agreeing with the notion that political uncertainty over Quebec's future has hurt Montreal. by AARON DERFEL Jacques Duchesneau declared yesterday that he's a federalist,
breaking ranks with other Montreal mayoral candidates who
have preferred to stay neutral on the unity question.
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