Tempers flare during latest NDG council meeting

While Bergeron downplayed his presence, saying that he tries to “attend the council meetings of all my councillors”, the message was clear: recent rumors that CDN/NDG councillor Peter McQueen (Projet Montréal) is considering defecting to Mayor Tremblay’s Union Montréal party are false.

The rumors first surfaced in the January 27th edition of the NDG Free Press. Editor David Goldberg speculated that McQueen might be wooed by Union members (who make up the rest of the city council). The article was short on evidence, quoting former Loyola councillor Jeremy Searle saying (of Union Montréal): “They’ll try to buy anybody.”

Although both McQueen and Mayor Michael Applebaum (Union Montréal) denied the rumors, apparently Projet Montréal decided to send a stronger message. Bergeron hasn’t attended a single CDN/NDG council meeting since the municipal elections, and heads turned when he entered the room and took his seat.

The rumors were further thrown into doubt by an exchange between McQueen and Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand. Council meeting regulars are accustomed to awkwardly observing Rotrand needling McQueen during councillor’s comments. Until Wednesday, McQueen refrained from engaging Rotrand, and has taken his comments in good humor.

But McQueen was apparently in no mood to continue playing the nice guy on Wednesday. Although Rotrand was fairly well-behaved (considering his comments at past meetings), McQueen was feeling feisty. At one point during the evening, he accused Rotrand of being ill-informed regarding several municipal matters, and offered to educate him. Although he was ruled out of order, McQueen blithely continued speaking. It seems that Rotrand may have a fight on his hands the next time he takes on the Projet councillor.

Some residents expressed concerns that ongoing strikes among blue-collar workers could affect municipal services in the borough. While Mayor Applebaum could not offer any guarantees, he assured residents that the borough would do everything possible to ensure that local services continued to flow smoothly, despite possible strikes.

The borough also approved plans for a contest to design the new library, to be located at the corner of Monkland and Benny Avenues. Twenty-five per cent of the funding for the library will be provided by the borough, with the balance coming from the City of Montreal and from the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine (MCCCF).

Designers are being encouraged to submit their plans to the borough. Residents can view a McQueen/Rotrand rematch on Monday, March 1st, at the Cummings Centre, 5151, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine. The meeting starts at 7 pm.