Chambly will no longer be under trusteeship as of June 19

MONTREAL -

The City of Chambly, in the Montérégie region, will no longer be under trusteeship and will regain all its decision-making powers as of June 19, the Commission municipale du Québec announced Wednesday.

In February 2019, a government decree subjected the city to the control of the Municipal Commission.

Chambly council remained functional, but all its decisions had to be approved.

This came after Quebec's anticorruption unit (UPAC) conducted searches of the city's offices.

In April 2019, then-mayor Denis Lavoie resigned after allegations he fostered a toxic climate for city employees; two months later, Alexandra Labbé was elected mayor.

In November 2019, Chambly regained its decision-making autonomy over certain aspects of financial, budgetary and administrative duties. However, the Commission reserved some transitional power when it came to human resources management.

Last February, the Commission gave Chambly officials back their decision-making ability when it came to human resources, while preserving its power to veto, suspend and dismiss a municipal officer or employee.

Denis Michaud, the administrative judge and designated guardian put in charge of the city, emphasized that there has been very good cooperation between the Municipal Commission and Chambly officials, allowing the city to regain full autonomy on June 19.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 9, 2021.