On the campaign trail: Plante touts record on disabilities, Coderre promises more police
Following Wednesday night's debate, some of Montreal's mayoral candidates were back on the trail on Thursday, introducing new candidates.
Incumbent mayor Valerie Plante announced that Laurence Parent will be joining her slate. Parent, who is a postdoctoral fellow at Concordia University also holds a PhD in humanities from that school and conducts research into the exclusion of disabled people in Quebec. She has also served on the STM's board of directors for the past four years.
Plante said Parent will help Projet Montreal do more for inclusion of the disabled population.
“We need to more and better. I feel like we're in a great position moving forward with this issue with Laurence Parent joining us today,” she said.
Parent said she hopes her candidacy will “inspire other disabled people to go into politics.”
“We don't have enough disabled officials. It's an issue and we need to talk about it more.”
Meanwhile, Denis Coderre was also out to introduce new Ensemble Montreal candidates.
The one and possibly future mayor responded to the city's recent spate of gun violence by denouncing the defunding police movement, saying that “Police are not the problem, they are the solution.”
“If we're all working together, everyone has a role to play,” he said. “When I (was mayor) we had a budget of $5.2 billion, now it's $6.1 billion. For God's sake, they have the money for the resources, so explain to me why we still have a shortage of 253 police?”
Montrealers will go to the polls for the municipal election on Nov. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.