Quebec municipalities against end to popular financing

Quebec Premier Francois Legault, centre, signs a declaration of reciprocity with proximity governments, Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. From left, Government MNA Eric Girard, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, UMQ president Martin Damphousse, Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Andree Laforest, Quebec Premier Francois Legault, FQM president Jacques Demers, Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand and Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Putting an end to popular financing of political parties as suggested by Premier François Legault would harm municipal democracy, according to the presidents of Quebec's two major municipal associations.

Those associations have contributed to Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) financing.

Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ) president Martin Damphousse, and his counterpart at the head of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), Jacques Demers, reacted to the idea of abandoning popular financing, launched by the CAQ leader on Thursday.

The CAQ has been rocked for the past two weeks by controversy over its fundraising methods: the opposition accused CAQ MNAs of dangling access to ministers in exchange for a $100 donation to the party, as suggested by messages obtained by La Presse Canadienne.

Damphousse and Demers see no problem with a councillor, mayor or citizen contributing to a party's coffers.

"We're getting away from the real issue, (...) it's not public funding that's the problem," said Demers in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Donations from individuals are "absolutely necessary" for new candidates on the municipal scene to make themselves known, "otherwise the old parties and incumbents will have a major strategic advantage," said Damphousse, who is also mayor of Varennes.

"Everyone is unanimous on this," he said.

If nearly half the mayors are contributing to the CAQ fund, as revealed in a report by The Canadian Press, it is not because they would otherwise have difficulty meeting a minister, that is not the problem, Damphousse maintained.

"I've never had a problem with access," he said. "I've never had to pay into a party fund to meet a minister."

The problem is rather the wording of the CAQ's MNAs' solicitations, which were "clumsy," he said - something that the CAQ has even acknowledged, while saying that it had committed nothing illegal.

You can't dangle a privilege by baiting municipal councillors with a minister at a fundraising cocktail party - the law prohibits contributions to a party with the intention of obtaining a quid pro quo.

"Some mayors felt uncomfortable thinking that they had to pay to meet a minister," said Demers, who is mayor of Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley. "There must be no impression that you have to pay to meet a minister in order to move an issue forward."

"You don't get privileges by financing or participating in a fundraising activity," said Damphousse. "On the other hand, there are plenty of elected (municipal) representatives who take advantage (by going to fundraising cocktails) to make themselves known and move forward on issues that are important to them, and that's fine for them - there's no risk in that."

Last week, Education Minister Bernard Drainville acknowledged that municipal councillors were discussing their issues with him at fundraising events, while the CAQ's Director General claimed that the exchanges between the minister and the mayors were in the nature of a brief conversation.

Demers believes that municipal councillors take part in their MNA's fundraising activities because they want to know what the government is going to do for their municipality.

The presidents of the UMQ and the FQM both contributed to the CAQ.

It was they who, as representatives of all Quebec municipalities, negotiated the latest fiscal pact signed last autumn with the CAQ government.

Does this affect their independence or the appearance of impartiality?

"In my opinion, not at all," said Damphousse.

"It would be incredible if it did," Demers also replied.

Damphousse said that he did not consider himself to be a CAQ party member. He wanted to contribute to the campaign of the CAQ candidate and now Minister for the Family, Suzanne Roy, who was his predecessor at the head of the UMQ.

"She's my MNA, my colleague and my personal friend. This has nothing to do with future meetings with ministers. It has nothing to do with that," he said.

"No, I don't consider myself to be a CAQ supporter," Demers also replied, saying that he had already contributed to the PQ and the PLQ when they were in power.

"I like to hear what these parties are going to do for our riding," he said. "There's no obligation for anyone to take out a membership card, which I don't do anyway."

Damphousse contributed $200 to Roy's campaign in 2022, an election year in which a citizen is entitled to contribute an additional $100 on top of the $100 annual maximum.

He contributed another $100 in 2023.

Demers contributed $100 to the CAQ fund in 2023, but in 2019 and 2017, he gave $100 to the Liberal Party (PLQ).

On Monday, The Canadian Press revealed that 503 of Quebec's 1,138 mayors and prefects had contributed to the CAQ's election fund since the last municipal elections in 2021, for a total of nearly $100,000.

In messages obtained by The Canadian Press, CAQ MNAs invited municipal councillors to cocktail parties, offering to meet a minister in exchange for a $100 contribution.

The opposition parties are accusing the CAQ of having set up a financing scheme that targets municipal councillors, which the CAQ have denied.

Two CAQ MNAs, Sylvain Lévesque and Louis-Charles Thouin, are being investigated by the national assembly's ethics commissioner Ariane Mignolet.

Québec solidaire also asked her to investigate two other CAQ elected representatives, Gilles Bélanger and Yves Montigny, but she deemed the requests inadmissible.

Legault felt that the opposition's attacks called into question his integrity. Upset by the revelations, he announced on Thursday that his party would forego individual contributions from citizens and invited his opponents from the other parties to do the same, which they refused.

Elected municipal officials have the right to contribute to party financing, just like any other citizen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 4, 2024.