Plateau-Mont-Royal borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez leaving politics

Plateau-Mont-Royal borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez says he is leaving politics because the current administration isn't doing enough to slow down "the rate at which we are destroying our planet."

He made the announcement on his Facebook page Tuesday and said a byelection to replace him will take place some time in October.

He said he felt his own reputation had boosted Mayor Valérie Plante's reputation, but her administration's actions didn't reflect the same level of commitment to the environment.

"I feel like I am fooling citizens into believing that we are collectively making every effort to slow down the rate at which we are destroying our planet," he said.

In his post, Ferrandez outlined the measures he said should be included in "a real environmental program."

"What I am proposing is nothing short of war measures," he said.

Some of these measures are:

• A 100 per cent tax on parking.
• Taxing garbage.
• Taxing meat.
• Lobby to block an airport expansion.
• Use new tax revenue increase to buy all available green space still available.
• Build hundreds of permaculture farms.
• Plant 500,000 trees.
• Focus investment on environmental objectives — even if that means abandoning financial commitments for roads and new construction plans.

He said Projet Montréal is doing far more for the environment than the previous administration, but the measures the city has taken need to fit into a larger and more detailed plan to slow down development and land use.

• On Daybreak, Ferrandez explains his decision to step down

He named the Royalmount shopping centre project and a new baseball stadium as markers of the kind of excess the administration needs to denounce.

He did, however, praise Mayor Valérie Plante and said he doesn't want his stepping down "to weaken her leadership."

He said he has no intention to join another political party.

Ferrandez has served as the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor since 2009. He was the interim leader of Projet Montréal in 2014. 

A controversial figure

While loved by some in his borough, Ferrandez was not without his controversies as a politician. 

In April, the cycling advocate was ticketed for biking against traffic on a one-way street. He was on his way to City Hall at the time.

That happened the same month he was accused of napping during a municipal council meeting by journalists at Québecor, whom he accused of conducting a smear campaign.

Going as far back as 2011, he was ranked the most frequently absent mayor at municipal council meetings, and admitted he didn't like attending the meetings and preferred to get ahead on his work at his office.