MONTREAL—Mayor Michael Applebaum fended off fresh allegations of wrong-doing on Friday, with evidence surfacing of a troubled snow removal contract during his time at the head of the Cote-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace borough.
The contract for close to $100,000 was awarded to CMS Enterprises in 2009, however there were irregularities in the billing.
At a city hall press conference, the interim mayor said the irregularities were due to an internal dispute between two city workers and their superior. He maintained that CMS did all the work it was contracted to do.
Again, Applebaum said he's been told that he is not under investigation and has done nothing wrong.
“Step aside as Mayor of Montreal? Absolutely not. I am going to continue to do my job. I will do it until the 3rd of November,” said Applebaum in the city’s lavish press room. “My job is to stand strong and move forward with the interests of Montreal and make sure that we and defend the interests of our taxpayers.”
While members of the opposition in city hall didn’t like the situation, they indicated they were prepared to stand behind the mayor.
“Michael Applebaum phoned me this morning to explain this snow removal contract. The explanation he gave me was the same he gave at a press conference moments ago,” said Richard Bergeron, head of opposition party Projet Montreal.
“I don’t like what I read in the papers. Is the situation so bad that we should launch a new megacrisis in Montreal? No.”
On Wednesday, the mayor was also forced to deny he took part in a land-flip deal while he was borough mayor of CDN-NDG. According to reports, the land on which a high-rise senior’s home on Cote-St-Luc Rd. was built was sold for $1.85 million in 2003. After a zoning change, the land was sold four years later for $4.5 million.
