BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

The Commission municipale du Québec held four days of hearings last week to listen to testimony from six witnesses called as it weighs the merits of a complaint filed against Pointe Claire Mayor Tim Thomas that alleges he misused his city-supplied car and credit card.

The hearings stretched from July 21 to July 24 in Montreal. Among the individuals questioned were former Pointe Claire director-general Robert Weemaes, who was the city’s top administrator from 2014 until August 2022; and current director-general Karina Verdon. Thomas was also questioned over two days.

“Based on what transpired, I feel the truth came out,” Thomas said yesterday in an interview.

“The biggest piece of truth that needed to come out was the instructions that were given to me,” Thomas added, referring to how and when to use the vehicle leased by the city and the credit card supplied by the municipality. “And we established how it was done in the past, what Pointe Claire’s practices were and the practices, were long-standing.”

No date is provided by the Commission municipal for when a decision in the case will be issued.

The complaint involving Thomas was registered with the quasi-judicial body that oversees municipal matters in March, about a month before the City of Pointe Claire’s administration opted not to continue to provide him with a car after the vehicle was damaged beyond repair when the mayor hit a deer in the Laurentians, where he was visiting his mother. At that time, the city’s director-general also asked Thomas to return the credit card that had been issued to him by the municipality.

In its ruling, the commission could find fault with Thomas and/or the City of Pointe Claire’s administration’s actions and practices.