Montreal City Weblog

Kate 10:10 on 2025-11-12 Permalink Reply  

• GC 12:18 on 2025-11-12 Permalink

  I find it interesting that that same article says she’ll be sworn in tomorrow (unless it’s my French?), but is already firing people. I guess the swearing in is just a formality.

  Also, the contracts were ending in about six weeks, anyway, but she terminated them early? Why not just not renew the contracts?

• Ian 20:13 on 2025-11-12 Permalink

  A special Merry Christmas ‘screw you’ to political enemies? It wouldn’t be the first thing a newly elected leader did out of sheer pettiness.

• CE 06:11 on 2025-11-13 Permalink

  I lived in Bogotá colombia for a few years and about a year after I arrived, there was a municipal election. For around 9 months after the election, very little got done because nearly the entire bureaucracy was fired and replaced by the new mayor’s people (usually friends, family, or donors). Since all the institutional knowledge is lost and everyone has to learn how to do their jobs, the civil service becomes completely ineffective. Since mayors can only run once for four (or five?) year terms, this happens after every election.

  I mentioned to the person who was explaining this to me that after an election, this doesn’t really happen in Montreal, civil servants generally work under various administrations. I hope our new mayor doesn’t move us over to this type of system of patronage because it doesn’t do anyone any good (except for the mayor’s lackeys).

• Joey 11:03 on 2025-11-13 Permalink

  There’s an implication in the reporting that there’s something nefarious going on, when it’s clear these seven individuals wound up in city hall to provide political counsel to Valerie Plante (or perhaps to give them a landing spot that would allow them to continue to work on municipal issues after they had lost council races). In reality, Soraya (who we learn actually donated to Projet in 2022) has chosen not to replace Benoit Dagenais, the city’s executive director – even though doing so is common practice. If anything, Soraya is being more conciliatory by keeping the ED and turfing the political hangers-on, but you wouldn’t know it from the lede and the tone of the piece.

  (Also, the seven individuals had contracts that ran out at the end of 2025…)

• GC 13:16 on 2025-11-13 Permalink

  The fact that their contracts were running out just makes it seem all the more petty to me, Joey. I.e., just let them run out.

  But, I agree that the article makes it sound like she’s the only mayor who ever fired some people when coming into power. And, I highly doubt that’s true.

• Joey 15:26 on 2025-11-13 Permalink

  @GC it’s not clear that that’s not what they’re doing, i.e., your contract says we pay you for the year but please don’t come in because we don’t need you any more. I’d be very surprised if that weren’t the case… Anyway, I don’t think it’s petty to start your new administration without the political advisors inherited from the outgoing mayor whose party you just beat. Best for all involved to move on…

• GC 16:18 on 2025-11-13 Permalink

  I agree it’s not clear how their contracts were ended. They probably are getting paid until the end of the year, so why not get some work out of them before they go? Though, granted with the holidays coming up that might not be many hours of actual work. (I have no idea how long City Hall closes over Christmas.)

  As for the level of pettiness, we apparently disagree but we can do that. These were “non partisan” positions, per the article. “Des notes sur les finances, mais aussi sur les infrastructures de l’eau, sur les grands parcs, sur l’habitation ainsi que sur les sports et loisirs” don’t sound like party-specific things. If she were going to fire everyone who’s donated to Projet over the years, she’d have to fire herself.

  But, as I said, I doubt she’s being any worse than most mayors before her. As the article notes, she’s keeping Dagenais even though he was hired by Plante.