Jeremy Levi

Hampstead’s Levi, Steinberg spar again

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The third round of the ongoing sparring match between Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi and former mayor William Steinberg took place at the July 2 council meeting.

Previous debates between the two concerned town parkland on Queen Mary Road being potentially sold to make way for houses, and spending by the Mayor and council on trips to municipal conferences and salary increases. The June meeting concluded with Levi asking the SPVM to eject Steinberg from the meeting after the latter declined to relinquish the microphone, following a 15-minute debate between the two.

At the July meeting, Levi read the rules regarding conduct at council, pointing out that the Mayor is the chairman of the meeting and that certain behaviours are prohibited, including disobeying an order of the Mayor regarding order and decorum. The Mayor added that violations of rules could result in a $100 fine for a first offence and $200 for repeated offences. The bylaw also says a question can be asked, followed by a statement of no more than one minute.

Levi said the council rules would be adhered to strictly.

“These are not rules that were created by this mandate, they have been here for 20 years. We have been very lenient over the past four years at these council meetings during question periods, but there was a very unfortunate situation at the last council meeting, which basically crossed the line into civil disobedience and we have an obligation to carry out these meetings in the proper fashion and decorum.”

It was under these conditions that Steinberg asked his question.

Steinberg alleged that just after Levi was first elected Mayor in 2021, “you told the administration that you wanted your block of Merton and the sidewalk sections in front of your new house done that spring and summer….and it was done as requested,” Steinberg said. “The road and sidewalk sections were not amongst the worst in the town.”How do you justify this favouritism?” Steinberg asked.

Levi said Steinberg’s allegation was an “absurd, fallacious claim, that I directed Public Works to repave my street. I looked into it, because I saw that you wrote another slanderous piece [at billsteinberg.ca],” the Mayor said. “As it turns out, in 2019, when you were Mayor, there was a five-year plan [for] repaving roads, and Merton was scheduled to be repaved in 2022. You can file all the access to information requests that you want to regarding this. Merton had a scarification (road surface condition) rating of 54 back in 2019. It is absolutely absurd to suggest that I had anything to do with repaving my road. This was done under your watch! There was an entire schematic presented to me by our former Public Works director. You are more than welcome to file an access to information request, all the back up documentation showing it was scheduled in 2019 when I was not Mayor. It’s all there for your perusal.”

Steinberg then sat down and the council meeting proceeded. n

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Ex-Mayor removed by police after Hampstead council disruption

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi had the SPVM expel former Mayor William Steinberg from the June 9 council meeting following a fractious debate between the two men over reimbursed expenses for hotel stays during conferences and council salaries.

“I hereby order you to leave these premises at once,” Levi told Steinberg.

Steinberg, who was accused by a member of the audience of violating council meeting decorum rules that he himself enforced, had declined to depart from the microphone after approaching it a second time. Levi had told Steinberg to wait for the second question period at the end of the agenda, but the former mayor remained at the microphone. A lengthy recess then took place.

(According to Article 12 of the town’s Bylaw 740, if a resident insists on speaking “without being granted the floor,” this may “justify the expulsion from the meeting by order of the Chairperson (Mayor).” Levi told The Suburban this bylaw was adopted by Steinberg and council and “I was enforcing his own rules.)

“This is exactly what I told everyone you would do,” Steinberg told Levi after officers entered the council chamber. The police then escorted Steinberg outside the Adessky Community Centre, where they told him he committed no crime but had to stay out of the council meeting.

During the meeting, Steinberg brought up pre-2024 allegations he posted at billsteinberg.ca, including a salary hike of 40.5 percent for councillors, Levi staying at a $900 per night hotel in Dallas, Texas during a conference and councillors travelling outside Canada to various locales for conferences.

Regarding councillors’ salaries, Levi responded that his predecessor (Steinberg) “erroneously advised council that the mayor’s salary had to have been three times the councillors’ salary. We looked into that and that was never the case. I looked at the amount of work that council puts in — this is not just about showing up to a council meeting. You know better than anyone else the amount of work involved.They deserve every single dollar.”

Steinberg countered that the salary difference between mayors and councillors is the norm, but not a rule.

Steinberg added, “We kept the salaries in line with the size of the town. [The councillors] conned you, Mr. Mayor, because of their greed, and you fell for it! Many residents want the councillors to pay back the money!”

As for the Dallas hotel stay, Levi said the Omni was the hotel of the conference, and that he did not book it. The hotel was $480 US a night, plus taxes.

Levi then countered with his own allegations about Steinberg’s own reimbursed expenses, including mileage. The former Mayor told The Suburban the mileage figures came from driving to agglomeration meetings and conferences in Canada.

Following Steinberg’s departure, Levi said slanderous accusations were made against the council, and that the items at billsteinberg.ca were incorrect. One audience member interrupted, calling the council “crooks”.

“Some of these councillors use their personal vacation time from their full-time employment [to attend conferences],” Levi said. “They are in constant communication [with the town] when they are away on personal vacations.”

Levi added that what happened at the meeting was “very unfortunate.This is not the way to address concerns about the allocation of resources. There is a proper way to ask questions, and it was not adhered to at all.”

Levi added that “there were accusations against me that I should reimburse the town. I haven’t taken a single dollar. Thank God I’m financially stable, I don’t need the town to pay for anything, certainly not to travel away from my family so that I can bring back better insights and resources to better serve the town. Every single dollar I’ve been paid as Mayor, I have donated to local charities. I take nothing from this town!” n

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Hampstead Mayor granted power to appoint special constables

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Hampstead council voted unanimously, in a voice vote, to grant Mayor Jeremy Levi the power to appoint special constables in case of an emergency in the town.

The bylaw points out that Quebec’s Police Act enables a council to grant the Mayor this power.

“In case of emergency, the Mayor is authorized to appoint, in writing, for a period not exceeding seven days, special constables with authority, under the supervision of the Director of the Montreal Police Service, to prevent and suppress offences under the municipal bylaws within all or part of the territory of the Town of Hampstead.”

During question period, the Mayor further explained that now that the bylaw has been passed, “I have instructed our Director General to consult with legal counsel to develop a working framework to analyze what would merit an emergency, what qualifies as an emergency.

“A special constable is a particular status of a peace officer in Quebec with a specific type of training and certification. It’s important to note that if and when a special constable is appointed, it’s under the Director of the SPVM. It’s a work in progress.”

Levi added that “obviously, the hostile environment that we’ve witnessed over the past few months has pushed us to look for all avenues with regards to Public Security as well.

“I’m not going to get into details of what we have done, for security reasons, but we are looking at making significant changes to Public Security, in a good way, and I’ll leave it at that.” n

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Hampstead will reinstate stop sign

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

A stop sign that was installed briefly at westbound Fleet Road and Baronscourt in 2021 and then removed a week after that year’s town election will be reinstated as a pilot project, Baronscourt resident Gordon Kugler was told by Mayor Jeremy Levi at the town council meeting.

Kugler, who said he was speaking on behalf of all 14 homeowners on the street, told the council, “we have insisted upon, and been ignored, quite frankly — [regarding] a stop sign at the corner of Fleet and Baronscourt for westbound traffic on Fleet and for people on Baronscourt turning left to go west on Fleet.

“This is an extremely dangerous intersection. Councillor Harvey Shaffer and the previous Mayor [William Steinberg] acknowledged it and they immediately put up a stop sign. A week after this administration was elected, the stop sign was summarily removed for no reason. Someone doesn’t have to get killed or seriously injured to make you act. Please put the stop sign back.”

Councillor Michael Goldwax said the sign was removed because it is not in compliance with Quebec’s Highway Safety Code, “so technically speaking, it wouldn’t be able to be enforced” by police, as stop signs have to be spaced a certain amount of metres apart.

“Having said that, we rediscussed this whole issue and said ‘let’s look at reinstating it on a pilot basis and see how it goes, what the reaction is, the exiting of the homeowners on Baronscourt onto Fleet,” the councillor added. “This means painting a stop line, erecting a stop sign and reviewing it based on vehicle traffic. We’re not against it, but we’re looking at our options right now.”

Mayor Jeremy Levi said there are similarities and differences with the intersection of Fleet and Minden, where there is also no stop sign on Fleet. Drivers on Minden can turn right to go eastbound on Fleet, but not left onto westbound Fleet.

“It’s only dangerous [for Baronscourt residents] if you turn left. If you turn right, there’s a stop sign at that intersection, so it’s not 100 percent a dangerous intersection. We’re going to put the stop sign back as a pilot project and we’ll take it from there.”

Kugler asked how soon the stop sign will be reinstated. Levi said that depends on scheduling and logistics. Goldwax pointed out a line has to be painted, as that has to accompany a stop sign.

“This is not going to take place in five months, but it may not be tomorrow.”

“We’ll proceed based on the results we get,” Councillor Leon Elfassy responded to some shouting residents.

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Hampstead Mayor asks for special constable powers

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi is asking the town council to give him the power to appoint special constables in case of an emergency.

Levy introduced a notice of motion June 3, as is the procedure, and the bylaw will be voted on at either a special meeting in June or at the next regular meeting in July. The notice of motion was given by Councillor Michael Goldwax and, from comments overheard by The Suburban, is likely to be approved unanimously.

The resolution notes that Section 108 of Quebec’s Police Act authorizes a town council to grant the Mayor such a power. The resolution says that the Mayor can authorize, “for a period not exceeding seven days, special constables with authority, under the supervision of the Director of the Montreal Police Service (SPVM), to prevent and suppress offences under the municipal bylaws within all or part of the territory of the Town of Hampstead.”

Levi told The Suburban that the bylaw, which has been adopted in other municipalities over the years, is being passed as a precaution in light of recent attacks against Jewish institutions, including the Belz School last week in CDN-NDG and other attacks on institutions in Toronto and Vancouver in recent days.

“The rampant wave of violent antisemitic attacks on Jewish institutions witnessed last week demands immediate action,” Levi posted on X. “I will not hesitate to invoke this power at the earliest opportunity through an emergency decree, ensuring the safety and security of all Jewish institutions in Hampstead. Enough is enough.”

The Mayor told The Suburban that the motion is “much broader than just armed constables.

“We can have unarmed special constables. We were talking about different tiers, special constables that can carry taser guns, that would have the certification to give traffic violations, if we were having a major event and we thought we needed to ensure safety on the road. There’s different scenarios on what would constitute an emergency. This gives us the ability to navigate through that.”

Levi added that the motion “gives Hampstead Public Security an additional tool to deal with [emergency] situations.”

The Mayor said there is no specific threat to Hampstead.

“This is just a precautionary measure. We’d rather be proactive. We received a comprehensive legal opinion on this, we did a deep dive. We’re looking at all kinds of measures to offer a next level of security for our community.” n

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Plante won’t act on complaint against anti-Israel barrage at Agglo, Norris cut

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

By Joel Goldenberg

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has decided that she and the island-wide agglomeration council will not act on B’nai Brith Canada’s complaint that the council broke its own rules in allowing a barrage of anti-Israel questions to be directed at Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi, in December and January.

Levi, who defended Israel’s right to defend itself in a video shot by anti-Israel activist Yves Engler and in social media postings, was not present at the December meeting, where seven anti-Israel questions were asked, and did not respond at the January meeting, where nine questions were asked. At the first meeting, the questioners told agglomeration officials they were asking about subjects like road conditions.

Plante said “it’s the house of citizens; citizens are allowed and they are welcome and we should be happy that they take the time and leave their home to come and ask questions. To me, this is democracy.

“Freedom of speech in these spaces are part of our values, and within our laws. As elected officials, it often happens that we get uncomfortable questions. I get a lot of questions that are uncomfortable and emotional from citizens. It is difficult, but it is also my job to welcome comments, questions. And right now, I know it might be difficult because of the conflict happening in the Middle East, but I think we should value the fact we are a democracy where any citizen can ask a question.”

Plante also said Levi acted on his right not to respond to the questioners. Former Projét Montréal majority leader Alex Norris — dropped from that role late Thursday — also mentioned questioners’ right to freedom of speech during that meeting.

Levi replied at that meeting, “If I understand correctly, Councillor Norris, what we’re saying is, we recognize that there are rules, but we’re not going to follow the rules.” Norris did not respond.

B’nai Brith’s complaint to the Quebec Municipal Commission about the December meeting said the agglomeration allowed questions that were supposed to be about city-related topics and were instead about the Israel-Hamas War and the situation in Gaza. The CMQ responded that an investigation is unnecessary. B’nai Brith filed a second complaint about the January meeting, which was also rejected.

Levi responded to the news of Plante’s refusal to act by posting on Facebook that, “It’s rather ironic that in the last two Montreal agglomeration council meetings, 16 individuals have attended under the guise of championing free speech, only to use it as a platform to criticize my exercise of the same right. Mayor Plante’s argument that allowing people to flout agglomeration rules in the name of free speech might have had some validity if it weren’t for Councillor Norris repeatedly suggesting that complaints be filed against me for exercising my own rights.

“If Mayor Plante genuinely supports free speech, she should consider making Agglomeration rules more accommodating to the range of topics discussed. Hampstead sets an example in this regard. Unlike Montreal, we don’t restrict questions to a 90-second limit, limit them to two per person, or confine the question period to 30 minutes. Council meetings in Hampstead sometimes involve passionate debates with individuals, making us perhaps the only municipality on the island of Montreal with such lenient rules for participants. During each question, I intentionally exercised my right to remain silent. However, this right was consistently undermined by Councillor Norris, who encouraged individuals to file complaints against me whenever I chose to remain silent.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs posted its reaction to Norris no longer being majority leader.

“Alex Norris’s disqualifying conduct at the Montreal Agglomeration Council, including allowing its use for repeated antisemitic attacks against Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi, was deplorable. Today, we are pleased to see he lost his position as a leader.” n

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