Opinion: Valérie Plante needs to come out of hiding
It's the summer of 1997. I'm sitting in the back seat of my parents' car as we head off on our next family vacation. To keep me occupied, my mother hands me one of my Where's Waldo? books.
I could spend hours searching for Waldo — hidden behind a tree, a beach house or an ice cream parlour.
Today, as a political observer and with summer vacations in full swing, I'm no longer looking for Waldo. I'm looking for Valérie Plante.
Because like many Montrealers, I'm seriously wondering: Where is our mayor?
A few weeks ago, La Presse revealed that the city's top elected official has missed half of the executive committee's meetings since announcing her decision to step down last fall. That's as if the province's premier would neglect to attend half of their cabinet's meetings — serious questions would soon be raised about their leadership and ability to govern.
In recent months, Plante has also significantly reduced her media presence and public appearances, despite the city grappling with major events like the STM strike and dangerously poor air quality due to high smog levels. Understandably, many are now questioning her motivation and commitment to the job.
Usually, as their time in office winds down, politicians step up their public presence — to defend their legacy, to leave a lasting impression, to be remembered positively in the history books.
But after nearly eight years in power, what legacy does Plante really have to defend?
Bike paths? Sure. If you're among the few who believe spending nearly $100 million to turn Camillien-Houde Way into a giant bike path on Mount Royal — despite clear public opposition — is a productive and visionary move, when city hall is facing other, much more pressing issues, then maybe Plante's tenure can appear to have been a tremendous success.
Beyond that — and perhaps a few newly landscaped sidewalk corners — what else does she have to be proud of?
Frankly, not much. The city's finances are in poor shape, with steep property tax hikes under Projet Montréal. Our crumbling infrastructure continues to decay. Construction zones and orange cones remain omnipresent. Crime and homelessness are on the rise, with a Léger poll last summer revealing that two-thirds of Montrealers felt their city was less safe than it had been five years before. Small businesses are struggling, with many commercial areas now considered unsafe or uninviting.
Meanwhile, the housing crisis has worsened under the Plante administration's heavy-handed bureaucracy and restrictive bylaws, which have made Montreal's real estate market so unappealing that some developers now prefer to build in the suburbs — even though the city itself is where new housing is most urgently needed.
In short, almost everything Plante promised to fix when first elected in 2017 has only grown worse.
So, is there still a captain at the helm?
While her predecessor Denis Coderre was dubbed 'the omni-mayor' for insisting on being everywhere all the time, Plante could be remembered — at least for the final year of her tenure — as the 'ghost mayor.'
Maybe her party has asked her to stay out of the spotlight this summer so as not to overshadow her successor as Projet Montréal leader, Luc Rabouin, as he ramps up his campaign ahead of this fall's municipal elections.
Or maybe she's just no longer interested in the job now that her departure is official.
Either way, the mayor should remember that she still holds the office until someone else is sworn in this November — and that the important responsibilities with which she has been entrusted demand unwavering dedication at all times.
Because if she continues to hide like Waldo, Montrealers might remember Valérie Plante as the captain who abandoned ship before it reached its final destination.
It may be summertime, but it's not vacation time yet for the mayor.
Raphaël Melançon is a public affairs consultant and political analyst. He previously worked as a journalist and political adviser at all three levels of government.
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Have other contracts avoided scrutiny by the committee because the city narrowed the gap between its estimate and the bid price to less than 20 per cent? 'And how widespread is it?' he asked. The BIG refused to discuss the traffic light contract with The Gazette. 'The Inspector General cannot comment on a matter that has not been the subject of a public report,' BIG spokesperson Linda Boutin said. Information exchanged during the contracts committee's in-camera meetings is confidential. If it discussed the opinion it gave on the traffic light contract, she said, 'the Inspector General would be violating this confidentiality rule adopted by elected officials.'
