The Vision Montreal Crisis of 1997 was a severe political crisis in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Canada. In January the mayor of Montreal,
Pierre Bourque of the Vision Montreal Party, attempted to dismiss two fellow party members from the city's executive committee. This led several party members to defect, complicating governance and undermining party credibility for the remainder of Bourque's term.
Origins
In January 1997,
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Pierre Bourque tried to dismiss two members of Montreal's executive committee: Deputy Chairman
Sammy Forcillo and
Pierre Goyer
Pierre Goyer is a Canadian politician and a city councillor in Montreal, Quebec.
City councillor
He was elected to Montreal's city council as a Montreal Citizens' Movement (RCM) candidate in the district of Jean-Talon in 1986, defeating the incumb ...
. Yet, the city charter of 1921 clearly states that appointments to the executive committee are irrevocable. Forcillo and Goyer left
Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal (french: Vision Montréal or VM) was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1994 and dissolved in April 2014. Between 2001 and 2013 it formed the official opposition on Montreal City Council.
O ...
(Bourque's party) to sit as
independents, but exercised their right to stay on the committee. Therefore, management by consensus became nearly impossible to reach for the remainder of Bourque's term.
That incident as well as allegations of authoritarian tendencies led thirteen other Vision Montreal councillors to
leave the party and sit as independents with their colleagues of the opposition.
Consequences
By August 1997, only a minority of the council members (24 out of 51) were members of Vision Montreal and the credibility of the Bourque administration was undermined.
La politique municipale à Montréal dans les années 1990 : du « réformisme populaire » au « populisme gestionnaire », Serge Belley, Érudit
/ref> Most of the defectors were supporters of Jacques Duchesneau
Jacques Duchesneau, (born February 7, 1949) is a Canadian politician, civil servant, former chief of police, and former president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Duchesneau was the member of the Q ...
's ''Nouveau Montréal'' party, but others backed Jean Doré
Jean Doré (12 December 1944 – 15 June 2015) was a Canadian politician and mayor of the City of Montreal, Quebec.
Background
Doré studied law at the Université de Montréal, where he was president of the student union from 1967 to 1968. ...
's ''Équipe Montréal'', the '' RCM'' or even came back to ''Vision Montreal'' briefly before the next election. The severity of the crisis was such that for a while it appeared to seriously affect Bourque's chances of re-election.
Nonetheless, Bourque was re-elected in 1998, as were a substantial majority of his candidates.
Defectors
The defectors were:
Members of the executive committee are indicated with bold
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Methods and use
The most common methods in W ...
fonts
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In mode ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Politics of Montreal
1997 in Quebec
History by political party
Municipal political parties in Montreal
1997 in Canadian politics
1990s in Montreal