Giuliana Fumagalli - the mayor of Villeray-St-Michel-Park-Extension - has been ordered to work from home after allegations of harassment in the workplace surfaced last week.

Mayor Valerie Plante said on Wednesday that she learned of the complaint against Fumagalli on Thursday May 10 and met with the borough mayor right away.

Plante did not explain the allegations against the Projet Montreal borough mayor.

"It's not about being surprised or not it's about doing the right thing. There's an allegation, I take it very seriously and we decided to take action," said Plante.

Plante said Fumagalli and her accuser are going through mediation, and that it was her personal order that Fumagalli work from home -- although Fumagalli will have to attend borough and city council meetincgs.

Opposition leader Lionel Perez said the incident was troubling.

"It's a situation where anyone who works in that environment knows that it's not possible to be a part-time mayor and the fact that they are at home does not prevent them from the ability to harass," said Perez.

Perez says Plante has not provided information about how the mediation will work, nor what kind of accounting there will be of the findings.

Plante did tell reporters that the mediation will likely take a bit of time.