CALEB NICKERSON
CALUMET ISLAND
Sept. 23, 2019
A complaint was filed earlier this year against a municipal councillor on Grand Calumet Island, alleging that he . . .
breached the council’s code of ethics by threatening and insulting multiple members of municipal staff.
The complaint against Réjean Meilleur, councillor for seat five, was filed with the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) on May 29, 2019, but the alleged incidents date back to the summer and fall of 2018.
The four incidents listed in the official citation on the CMQ’s website are as follows:
On or around the council meeting on July 9, 2018, he’s accused of transmitting third-party information to the public about an investigation by Quebec’s anti-corruption taskforce, UPAC, which was obtained during the commission of his duties and is not typically released to the public.
On or around November 28, 2018, during a working meeting he is accused of describing Director General Sabrina Larivière and deputy Director General, Philippe Côté, as “pousseux de crayon” (pencil pushers), as well as disrespecting Larivière by saying “toi ma petite je pourrais t’enterrer” (you, my underling, I can bury you).
At a council meeting on or around March 11, 2019, Meilleur allegedly disrespected former Director General Paul Langlois by stating “monsieur Langlois est un beau bullshitter” (Mr. Langlois is a good bullshitter).
A ruling on the complaint is expected in November. Meilleur and Larivière declined to comment to The Equity and Côté did not respond to a request for comment.
The municipal office on the Island has seen quite a bit of staff turnover, having had five mayors (Paul-Émile Maleau, Irène Nadeau, Pierre Fréchette, Jean-Louis Corriveau (interim) and Serge Newberry) as well as five director generals (Jacques Mantha, Lisa Dagenais, Lisa Boisvert, Langlois (interim) and Larivière) over the past five years.
Langlois and Côté were originally brought in on an interim basis, through a request to the Federation of Quebec Municipalities (FQM) in spring of 2018. Corriveau, the former pro-mayor, was nominated by council to fill the role after Fréchette’s sudden departure in June of 2017, up until the municipal elections that fall.
Both Nadeau and Fréchette cited infighting and impropriety at the municipal office as the reasons for their departure.
