Denis Coderre outlines his priorities with Quebec government

Montreal’s mayor-elect Denis Coderre says his top priority is to fight corruption, and put in place an inspector-general to oversee the city’s affairs.

I want to make sure Montreal is respected as a metropolis,- Denis Coderre, Montreal Mayor-elect

Coderre met Tuesday morning with Quebec’s minister in charge of Montreal, Jean-François Lisée, and described the meeting as positive and productive.

“I want to make sure Montreal is respected as a metropolis, and I think the name of the game of our meeting today was respect - mutual respect,” Coderre said.

Lisée said if Montreal wants an inspector general, it will get one.

He also said he’s hopeful about Montreal’s future, and that Coderre's election brings a new era for Montreal.

“The future of Montreal can at last begin because in the last ten years, we've had a number of problems — merger-demerger, then corruption problems, mayors that kept dropping on me,” Lisée said, adding that it's time for new strength, new respect, and new pride in Montreal.

In the last year, two mayors resigned amid corruption allegations.

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Coderre said that Montreal’s economy — the province’s largest city —  is also at the top of his list of priorities.

“When Montreal suffers, everybody suffers,” he said.

Although Coderre and Lisée called Tuesday’s meeting positive and respectful, they don’t agree on every issue - such as Quebec's proposed Charter of Values.

Coderre has come out strongly against it.

He said he'll wait to see what's written in the bill before responding to it.