Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Gatineau’s acting mayor, Daniel Champagne, gave his two cents on Bill 57 in a presentation to the National Assembly of Quebec on May 8.

Tabled in early April, the bill aimed to protect elected officials from threats, intimidation, and harassment, with offenders facing fines up to $1,500.

The latest data from the Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités discovered a spike in elected officials reporting uncivil comments and interactions online compared to its 2017 report. This was the reality of former Gatineau mayor France Bélisle, who resigned from her position in late February due to personal attacks and death threats.

Now in her place until the by-election, Champagne underlined the significance of protecting officials from this form of intimidation but avoiding creating a “wall” between politicians and citizens where people no longer feel able to express themselves.

“We must ensure that we do not lose the voice of the citizen,” Champagne told journalists in a press briefing on May 1. “The place of the citizen in decision-making is fundamental. The place of the citizen in criticizing elected officials for the decisions they make is essential.”

At times officials are faced with citizens full of emotion as they speak to issues close to their hearts, and Champagne stressed the importance of allowing this expression of emotion, but in a respectful manner.

“We must not create an environment in which people feel that they are walking on eggshells every time they express discomfort with any situation.”

But where was the limit? Champagne said this was where things became a little difficult but could be resolved with the use of a council president, who was someone other than the mayor.

“I think that the president of a municipal council has an extremely important role to play … to precisely establish this limit, then say at what point have we just crossed to a zone into which we cannot go.”

Photo caption: Gatineau’s interim mayor Daniel Champagne stresses the necessity of keeping communication with citizens open, all the while protecting elected officials from forms of intimidation.

Photo credit: Screenshot from the Executive Committee press scrum on May 1