One Last "Service"

"Under these circumstances, I cannot help any more.  The success of our city is much more important than my personal interest.
"I dedicated myself to the success of Montreal, based on my Judeo-Christian values of helping one another, in solidarity, integrity, openness, respect for human dignity, social justice and peace."
former Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay

 

Photo By CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters Mon, 5 Nov, 2012

The problem here appears to be the juxtaposition of 'solidarity, integrity and openness' with the 'values of helping one another'.   Mr. Tremblay was very well aware that things were not as they seemed.  Not only was he aware, before he became mayor of Montreal that endemic corruption in city management and affairs was prevalent, but he set himself the task of cleaning it up.  

Or so he assured his audience as he resigned his public office.

"I fervently hope that one day it will be recognized that I fought, often alone, against this system, this collusion, this corruption."  He had heard rumours, he claimed, of corruption at city hall but proof was never available to him until it was rather late in the day.  He ran for a third term in 2009 for the express purpose to "finish the clean-up".

Now, the clean-up has finished him.  The Charbonneau enquiry has heard compelling testimony, in particular that his political party, Union Montreal, which controls city council, received a standard 3% kick-back from all construction jobs that city engineers gave the green light to, pocketing their own shares routinely.  

The mayor's right-hand man, Frank Zampino, and Bernard Trepanier, in charge of Union Montreal finances, have all been implicated.

Former organizer for Union Montreal, Martin Dumont, testified about a meeting where double books were tabled and the mayor's disinterest in hearing details about illicit election financing: "I don't need to know that", he said as he walked out and left the nitty-gritty of the dirty details to others to proceed with.  

But he exited with, he believes, honour intact.  No one has linked him to amassing a fortune in graft personally; he merely enabled it for others.

Bleeding the taxpayers of the city for cost overruns and generous pay-outs to the Mafia and crooked civil servants.  But he did a last favour to his political party.  Taking his time to resign in forced disgrace, but since he left office after November 3, provincial law permits the party to replace him with an interim mayor selected by city council.

Gilles Vaillancourt, who resigned his mayoralty earlier has been linked to receiving graft personally.  In Laval, the mayor has not yet made up his mind to resign.  Tarnished irredeemably with the same broad brush of corruption.