By Jack Wilson

Local Journalism Initiative

Sherbrooke’s city council is getting outside help to address what many are calling a difficult work environment.

The council passed Rock Forest councillor Annie Godbout’s motion calling for an outside mediator Feb. 20. The Commission municipale du Québec will be in charge of the mediation process.

Godbout said she decided to draft the motion following suggestions from Sherbrooke mayor Évelyne Beaudin that the tension on council would be here to stay. “It isn’t right for us to stay in this situation for two years. For me, the mayor needs to bring people together and make compromises,” Godbout said. “This is an unacceptable position for the mayor.”

Godbout cited councillor Marc Denault’s resignation as Société de transport de Sherbrooke president as an example of poor relationships on council. Denault had cited exclusion from a meeting with provincial Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility Geneviève Guilbault as the reason for his departure. He had charged that the mayor’s chief of staff lied when he said the exclusion had come at Guilbault’s request.

“That wasn’t fun,” Godbout said.

She also mentioned a “very difficult climate” for now former citizen participation secretary Néné Oularé. Oularé left her post as part of a confidential agreement with the City of Sherbrooke. She had previously charged that Beaudin had discredited and tried to control her.

Godbout said Beaudin has also been overly critical of fellow councillors who have opposed her on certain votes. She said the climate in council is difficult for everyone. “We are all affected,” Godbout said.

But the councillor said she’s most concerned about how a difficult workplace culture is affecting municipal operations. “Projects are moving very little, very slowly at the City of Sherbrooke,” she said. “It’s affecting services to citizens.”

Beaudin too has called out difficult conditions on council, saying hostility from other councillors was a factor behind her extended leave of absence. She’s also taken issue with attacks on social media, threatening legal action against a citizen who routinely takes aim at the mayor on Facebook.

Godbout said she’s more focussed on the conduct of council members than on citizens and added that she avoids social media.

Beaudin and Godbout met prior to the motion’s passage. Godbout said Beaudin suggested a few tweaks to the motion, which she agreed to.

Godbout said she’s hoping to attain “more consensus” and “more confidence between people,” as a result of the mediation. Though Godbout said she hopes for positive change, she said she doesn’t expect the process to fix everything. “I don’t believe in miracles.”