Coderre proposes new council of mayors to handle billions of dollars in funds
Montreal mayoral candidate Denis Coderre wants to give more power to borough mayors through a new, cross-party committee to manage $120 billion in dedicated funds.
The mayors would be able to allocate that money over four years, but his opponents say it would only mean more red tape.
“We want to create some specific funds,” said Coderre at his Sunday campaign event, surrounded by Ensemble Montreal borough mayor-hopefuls.
“The new management should now be based on dedicated funds because its easier to follow and it has the merit to be more accountable,” he said.
The proposed committee would allocate money for road safety, sidewalk upkeep, park maintenance, and the creation of dog parks.
Coderre says it will prevent projects falling victim to partisanship – accusing Projet Montreal of causing delays in Ensemble Montreal-held boroughs.
Projet Montreal, for its part, says it’s better suited to respond to the needs of boroughs.
"Projet Montreal stopped the cuts planned by the Coderre administration, which ultimately returned several millions of dollars to local budgets,” read a statement from Projet Montreal.
“The boroughs will be able to continue to count on our team to restore the inequities left by the former administration.”
Movement Montreal's Balarama Holness agrees with giving boroughs more autonomy but doesn’t think Coderre’s plan is the right way to do it.
“We don't need extra councils or commissions,” he said. “Let’s give money to boroughs directly. Right now, [there’s] too much red tape.”
Montreal’s 19 borough mayors already sit on city council in addition to their regular borough council duties.
Political analyst Raphaël Melançon says that any committee with members from more than one party will have to deal with partisan politics.
You have people that that represent the two parties, and they play political games all the time at city council,” he told CTV News.
“So, if you have another committee, where you have bipartisan representatives, you're going to have the same games.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.