There's a dark political cloud over this weekend’s Union of Quebec Municipalities meeting after recent arrests in the municipal world, including former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.
Hundreds of mayors and city councillors from across Quebec are in Montreal to discuss politics – and the man who ordered the arrests - had a lot to say at the meeting to elected officials.
“We're doing prevention work,” said Robert Lafreniere, commissioner for UPAC, the province’s permanent anti-corruption squad and the person who authorized the arrest of Vaillancourt this week.
Scandals in Laval and elsewhere have shaken the confidence Quebecers have in their mayors and councillors. Today, the man responsible for investigating corruption in the province came to meet the elected officials.
Many present at the weekend meeting – which was closed to media and the public -- were reminded about minimal ethical standards to avoid a conflict of interest.
“When someone gives you a bottle of wine, and another time he invites you for a game of hockey, that could very well lead to corruption,” said Lise Gendron, Sainte-Adele town coucillor.
During the Charbonneau Commission into corruption in the construction industry, witnesses testified how such basic ethical rules were routinely ignored.
Parti Quebecois minister Jean-Francois Lisée said citizens also need to do their share.
“I'm urging citizens to really get involved. This is the year to get involved, to make a change and to look forward,” he said.
Changing traditions can be hard, however, especially in smaller municipalities.
“I didn't have an election for 12 years,” said Mont-Tremblant Mayor Pierre Pilor. “I was always elected by acclamation.”
Another immediate effect of the commission is that candidates are under much more scrutiny when it comes to political donations, with fewer people now willing to finance candidates.
“If we want people to participate in local democratic process, we need the tools to do it,” said Rimouski Mayor Eric Foprest, who is also president of the Union of Quebec Municipalities.
