By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Bromont Mayor Louis Villeneuve has taken a new approach to fighting disinformation and incivility on social media. He’s inviting the trolls – and any other constituents who’d like to have a chat – to City Hall for coffee. Any Bromont resident who would like to book a 20-30-minute morning meeting with the mayor can sign up on the city’s website.
Record numbers of mayors and city officials around the province have resigned since the 2021 election. Many, including former Gatineau mayor France Bélisle and Pierre Tremblay, the mayor of Les Éboulements in the Charlevoix region, who stepped down last week, have cited personal attacks on social media as one of the factors pushing them toward the exit – a situation Villeneuve said he found “really sad.” Other mayors around the province have made headlines by leading online crusades against social media vitriol, reading mean tweets or launching video campaigns urging more respect for civil servants. Although city officials say Bromont has been spared the worst of social media troll campaigns and internal conflict, it’s not completely isolated from it. “There’s a lot of misinformation and incivility on social media, and that is pretty much everywhere,” said Villeneuve. “The pandemic has had an impact on people’s tolerance, and they want answers now. When someone is feeling a lot of pressure, there’s nothing like dialogue.”
The coffee events are an outgrowth of the Brunchs du Maire, which Villeneuve hosted alongside city councillors in 2022 and 2023. “We met a lot of people, but there would always be one or two who would take the floor because the others were shy.” The strict decorum and formality of council meetings isn’t an ideal forum for one-on-one conversations either, he added. “I felt like sitting down with people and taking time to discuss the issues, one citizen to another.”
He said he is eager to hear what citizens have to say, correct misinformation at the source, and find out what residents are concerned about and whether they’re happy in the city.
The first three mornings set aside for the coffee meetings – March 21, April 4 and April 18 – are already fully booked. Villeneuve said there was no “filtering process” for participants beyond ensuring that they are residents of Bromont. Citizens who want to discuss specific issues can list them on the online signup sheet. Villeneuve said he is looking forward to debates but won’t accept overt rudeness. “I trust people. People can disagree with me. You need to be able to take criticism in politics, but I check out when people start being uncivil.”
“I have seen people [on the sign-up sheet] who have been rough on me on social media. I don’t know these people and they don’t know me – we’re just operating based on perceptions. Let’s talk!”
Bromont residents interested in booking a one-on-one meeting with Mayor Louis Villeneuve can do so on the city website (bromont.net/administration-municipale/cafe-avec-maire). They must provide their full name, address and contact information.