JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
Longtime Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle announced last week that he won’t be seeking a fourth term in the fall election.
“Three mandates to me is enough to pass the torch,” he said in an interview. “I’m going to miss it.”
Having originally retired from his role as a business executive in 2003, Bourelle, now 84, said he has an ongoing joke that he tells people who ask why he decided to run for mayor a decade later. “The joke is (that) I had to go to Lakeshore Hospital to get an MRI because I wanted to figure out what was wrong with my brain getting involved in politics,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” he continued. “There’s no doubt that it’s been a very demanding, meaningful and fulfilling commitment in my career.”
Announcing his plan to retire from municipal politics at the May 20 council meeting, Bourelle said he was leaving “with peace of mind and with immense pride in what we have built together.” His speech received a standing ovation from the council.
Having served as mayor since 2013, Bourelle has left his mark on Beaconsfield with several cost-saving initiatives as well as getting the ball rolling on future projects that are expected to be completed after he’s left the mayor’s office.
Asked about his proudest accomplishments over his 12 years as mayor, Bourelle began with his administration’s financial performance.
“If you look at inflation and look at the agglomeration tax increases that we’ve had to suffer and you look at the local tax increase, we were well below inflation,” he explained. “That conservative financial management is a very good accomplishment on our part.”
Other noted accomplishments include: the preservation of the Angell Woods in 2014, which is the last old-growth forest and largest wetlands on the Island of Montreal; the “pay as you throw” principle to waste collection, which reduced the city’s overall landfill waste generation; and the 2019 challenge of the Quebec government’s flood maps, preventing losses in both property values and municipal tax revenue.
Ongoing projects include the ambitious upgrade for the recreation centre and the new cultural centre to be located in Centennial Park. Both projects are expected to break ground in 2026.
One of the most significant issues Bourelle said he’s proud to have been part of is the ongoing court challenge of what he described as an imbalance of power on the Montreal agglomeration council. The 14 demerged municipalities, most of which are located in the West Island, “are no doubt a cash cow to help Montreal balance its budget,” he said, pointing out that the City of Montreal holds 87 per cent of the voting power on the council.
Bourelle added that the $20-million lawsuit has gone “extremely well,” thus far. “We’ve won a couple of battles that we’ve had.”
The city is expecting to arrange a date to hear testimony from current and former municipal and provincial officials.
Discussing potential candidates to fill the mayor’s seat, Bourelle said he has full confidence in the current city councillors.
“I would say that I have a very capable council. (They) have a lot of experience around the table, a lot of expertise. There’s no doubt they all can do the job.”
Bourelle added that he does not plan to endorse any particular candidate.
“I will let the electors decide,” he said.
So far, only councillor Martin St-Jean has launched a bid for the top spot.
St-Jean is a lawyer who has been on council since 2020. He also has experience in the municipal field, serving as director of legal services and the city clerk’s office for the City of Westmount from 2015 to 2019; and as a lawyer for the City of Montreal, from 2011 to 2015, where he managed the process of awarding contracts. He also represented Montreal before the Charbonneau Commission, the provincial inquiry into corruption in the management of public construction contracts.