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Town of Two Mountains mayor Marc Lauzon has stated his version of events, following a court decision which found a man, not residing in Two Mountains, guilty of having unlawfully made a campaign contribution to the mayor's political party three years ago, leading up to the last municipal election. The response came during Two Mountains town council's monthly meeting last week, following an announcement made by Marcel Blanchet, Quebec's Director General of Elections.
Lauzon explains
André Gamache had paid $766.65 to Équipe Team Lauzon/Action Deux Montagnes, some time around Sept. 28, 2005, despite the fact he was not a Town of Two Mountains resident. The payment contravened Article 429 of Quebec's Law on elections and referendums held in municipalities, which stipulates contributors must be residents. Gamache pleaded guilty to the offence last Sept. 12 and was sentenced to pay a fine of $500.
"This donation was made during the pre-campaign, and not during the electoral campaign period," Lauzon said. "We understand that in the middle of a campaign period political parties must declare and it's very structured, very rigid." Lauzon said the party itself was responsible for the error. "Volunteers in good faith were involved, and if they had been more aware, that situation wouldn't have turnout out the way it did," he said.
Answers Chayer allegations
During the same meeting, the mayor also responded to accusations directed at him recently by Councillor Nathalie Chayer, who claims that since the departure last January of the town's former director-general, Maud Lefebvre, there's been no follow-up to work done by a committee for which Chayer is supposed to be responsible, dealing with women and municipal issues.
She and supporters say they've lost patience, since Lauzon had mentioned during an earlier town council meeting that there would be an update on the committee's work by last Jan. 31. Lauzon said he was "surprised" by Chayer's actions and noted that he had extended an invitation for her committee's work to become part of an existing Two Mountains town council committee which deals in family issues, which she had refused.
Tainted water emergency
As a public address vehicle made its way along the streets of Two Mountains on Wednesday last week broadcasting an emergency message, officials with the town were issuing a bulletin informing residents to boil their tap water for five minutes for the next 48 hours, because of a major water main break. On Friday, the town issued a statement saying all preventative measures were lifted and that tests performed in accordance with the provincial environment ministry indicated water supplied by Two Mountains' filtration plant was safe to drink.
During the town council meeting, Mayor Marc Lauzon acknowledged that the apprehended emergency had caused a degree of alarm among some residents — especially those who had heard the news from other people by word-of-mouth. He said he personally ordered that the public address vehicle go around the town, "even if according to the facts there was no risk to the health and safety of the citizens."
In other business:
The town is about to conclude a deal for the sale of the Complexe de la Gare, the train station building on Two Mountains Boulevard, for $1,150,000 to Construction Daneau. The sale is part of Lauzon's ongoing policy of liquidating Two Mountains' superfluous real-estate assets, to raise cash in a municipality which can no longer expand its tax base. According to the town's year-end financial report, which was tabled in council last week, Two Mountains finished 2007 with a balanced budget.
During question period, a resident named Alan Meindersma complained to the mayor about a local children's ringuette club, that is subsidized by the town, which obliges its young members to sell fundraising tickets door-to-door, in addition to the annual fees. The mayor promised to investigate. The Two Mountains public library will be closed from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8 for renovations. Several Two Mountains households have been announced as winners in the province-wide Maisons Fleuries gardening competition.
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