Dear Editor,
Councillor Eric Smith of Clarendon recently posted on social media that he believes Jane Toller is the only person who can win the race for warden in the Pontiac region due to her solid track record in attending public events. If Mr. Smith is right, this would mean that elections in the region are nothing more than popularity contests that place leadership style above substance. More disturbing however is Mr. Smith’s suggestion that those who don’t like living here are free to move, a comment that was ‘liked’ by the current mayor of Shawville. I understand this to include those who don’t like how they are governed here. Perhaps he should clarify his comment.
I find that Warden Toller’s political legacy in the Pontiac to date has been most undemocratic. Under her leadership, important information such as meeting minutes, resolutions and reports pertaining to public decisions have been withheld or delayed and are often unavailable on the municipal website for months, if at all. Her role in facilitating legal action against member MRC community Alleyn-et-Cawood is, in my opinion, the most egregious of a multitude of examples where she has failed in her primary constitutional duty to promote regional unity and egalitarianism. She led the revision of the meeting procedures by-law #303-2025 to include financial punishment for citizens for expressing their frustrations at meetings yet did not include a consequences section in her own Code of Conduct, signed by her and approved by the regional mayors under by-law 278-2022, even though it is required by law.
When viewed through the lens of the Quebec Civil Code principles of civility, morality and good faith as prescribed by Quebec’s deontology-based regulatory framework and her own Code of Conduct, I find Warden Toller’s conduct as a political leader particularly problematic given that she has obfuscated rather than merely allow suppression of information that would serve to empower regional citizens. This is a critical breach of good faith given that any form of misinformation is inconsistent with the moral prescriptions of deontology. I have also witnessed countless occasions where she has shown disrespect toward citizens, staff and mayors, including chairing meetings in a biased and authoritarian way, notably at the special meeting of April 29, 2024. This behaviour has led to more than one complaint to the Quebec Municipal Commission, including one that alleges that she has violated twenty-one clauses of her Code of Conduct.
In conclusion, if politics in the Pontiac is indeed a mere popularity contest, then I would urge regional voters to rediscover their democratic voice and to petition for improved political accountability by voting for any candidate who commits to the necessary progressive changes.
Linda Lafortune, Otter Lake
