Top Montreal official resigns from Plante administration after controversial spending in previous post
Dominique Ollivier says reaction has included wave of hate-filled emails
Dominique Ollivier, the chair of Montreal's executive committee, has resigned.
Ollivier announced Monday she is stepping down effective immediately. She will continue to serve the citizens of her district, Vieux-Rosemont.
Her decision comes after Montreal's Official Opposition called for her resignation following a Journal de Montréal investigation into spending at the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) between 2014 and 2021— when Ollivier headed the organization.
The OCPM organizes public consultations in Montreal. Ollivier was not an elected official when she was the president of the agency.
The newspaper reported that during her tenure there, Ollivier spent tens of thousands of dollars on trips to cities like Paris, Lyon, London and Panama and enjoyed lavish meals, including a $350 oyster supper for an employee's birthday.
Ollivier was born in Haiti in 1964 and moved to Montreal with her parents at age two. Since the story broke with allegations of mismanaging funds, she said she has been told to go back to where she came from, or that she should spend the rest of her life in prison.
"They attacked my integrity, both moral and physical," she said. "I have way too much respect for the work of my colleagues ... for the people of Montreal in general to allow the recent controversy to undermine the public's confidence in all the work that's been done and is still being done to make the right choices."
She said she asked the city's finance commission to meet with her Friday so that she can provide them with an account of her management choices at the head of the OCPM.
Ollivier's move comes just two days before the city is set to release the municipal budget.
The leader of the opposition at Montreal city hall, Aref Salem, described Ollivier's resignation as "the thing to do," saying the controversy surrounding her undermined Montrealers' trust in the municipal council.
Speaking of Ollivier's expenses, Salem says, from the beginning , it was very clear that her actions were unacceptable.
"Ethically, morally, we have no right to do that," he said.
He then called on the current president of the OCPM, Isabelle Beaulieu, and OCPM secretary-general Guy Grenier to follow suit.
"The three of them don't have Montrealers' trust to carry on in their roles," he said.
Last week, Ollivier told Radio-Canada's Le téléjournal avec Patrice Roy that the oyster expense "was not my best idea" but defended her spending.
Ollivier made history as the first Black person to become chair of the Montreal executive committee. Before joining Plante's administration, she had 30 years of experience in project management and communications.
Conditions 'no longer there' for Ollivier to stay in role: mayor
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said Ollivier is a competent woman of "great value" who has given a "great deal" to the city — contributing enormously over the last two years. However, the conditions were no longer there for her to carry out her duties.
"Our position and the institution we represent must be protected," said Plante.
Ollivier told her that she couldn't stand in the way of the administration's work and vision, and Plante said she agreed with her.
Plante also contrasted Ollivier's willingness to address the spending allegations with the reluctance shown by the current OCPM president, after both were asked to comment by the Journal de Montréal.
"Madame Ollivier, in comparison with Madame Beaulieu, is that she didn't wait forever to actually come out," Plante said. "Madame Beaulieu was running the other way."
"To me, this is not a great image, and this is not what Montrealers expect."
Echoing Plante in an online post, Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest said Ollivier was right to resign, considering the circumstances, and called on Beaulieu and Grenier to respond to the "breakdown of trust" with the public.
"It is clear that Ms. Beaulieu and Mr. Grenier should no longer lead the Office de consultation publique de Montréal," Laforest said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor replaces Ollivier as chair
Plante has appointed Luc Rabouin to chair the executive committee. Rabouin is the mayor of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and has a background in social economy development. Plante described him as innovative and pragmatic.
"With him, we were able to get through the pandemic and achieve the second-best recovery in North America," she said.
Benoit Dorais, executive committee vice-chair, will oversee finances until the end of the year.
Plante said the next big step is to present the budget on Wednesday. The administration is going to continue to fight racism and systemic discrimination while fighting to promote the French language, she said.
"You can rest assured the city will continue to run smoothly," said Plante.
Women in politics punished more harshly: political columnist
After Ollivier's announcement, political columnist Emilie Nicolas told CBC Montreal's Let's Go that women in politics tend to be held to a higher standard than men.
"Taking responsibility for something is absolutely an important thing in politics, but the cost of that responsibility is absolutely not the same for everyone in politics," said Nicolas.
"Women in politics tend to be punished harsher for their mistakes."
Ollivier was not the only person to charge unusual expenses to the city, but she was the one who was thrown into the limelight. Meanwhile, others are making plenty of similar mistakes but are merely forgiven, or at least facing a much smaller backlash, she said.
Not every politician would face that level of scrutiny, Nicolas said, calling it a double standard.
The mayor asserted her confidence in Ollivier last week, and there is no sign that Plante lost that trust in Ollivier, Nicholas said. The resignation was instead an act of self-sacrifice so as to not stand in the way of the upcoming budget unveiling and other goals of the administration, she said.
with files from Leah Hendry and Radio-Canada