The opposition at city hall is calling for Lachine Borough Mayor Claude Dauphin to step down, at least temporarily.
The embattled mayor is under investigation by Quebec's anti-corruption squad UPAC, and new revelations suggest Dauphin may have interfered with the awarding of municipal contracts, back when he was part of former Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay's administration
According to new affidavits from UPAC, Dauphin allegedly spent time in Mont-Tremblant luxury boutique hotel Quintessence in 2008 at a cost of $3,000. The tab was allegedly paid for by construction mogul Paolo Catania, who was doing business with the City of Montreal at the time.
Dauphin was the vice-president of the executive committee at the time, and is now one of several people suspected of acting inappropriately in awarding a contract for water meters -- a contract that was cancelled in 2009 after the Auditor General pointed out multiple problems in how it was awarded.
Last year officers searched Dauphin's home, as well as those of other elected officials who were on the city of Montreal's executive committee during the Tremblay era.
The city’s former general manager Claude Leger’s home was also searched. Leger testified during the Charbonneau Commission that Dauphin has a close relationship with Catania.
During the same commission, former engineer Rosaire Sauriol of the Dessau firm testified he had to finance Dauphin's campaign if he wanted to continue getting contracts.
Nobody has ever been charged.
Having analyzed the documents they seized last year, UPAC is now looking more intently at Dauphin.
Projet Montreal said the allegations surrounding Dauphin should persuade him to rethink his political future.
“We can't force him to resign, but if I were in Claude Dauphin's shoes and such serious allegations were weighing against me, I would step down,” said Projet Montreal councillor Alex Norris.
Other councillors in Lachine said they are starting to wonder how it is affecting the borough.
“It's not easy, you know, it's not easy everything is really hard, and I think it's hard for him now,” said councillor Maja Vodanovic.
Dauphin is not commenting on the matter, but a political attaché said he would wait until the judicial process had taken its course.
