Quebec will review agglomeration council

The Quebec government will review rules that guide the City of Montreal and demerged cities after suburban mayors launched a boycott of agglomeration council meetings.

Demerged city mayors have long complained thecouncil is a sham, and the Liberal government is backing that claim.

"I think we have to come to the conclusion that the agglomeration council is, at least currently, dysfunctional," said Russell Copeman, Liberal MNA for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

The mayors of Montreal's 16 demerged suburbs and citiessaid Nov. 30 they refused to attend further agglomeration meetings until the provincereworks the council's power structure.

Demerged mayors have long complained they don't have enough clout on council, which, they say, is dominated by Montreal city councillors.

Demerged cities only have about 17 per cent of the vote on the agglomeration council because of the population breakdown. Their vote share prevents any true representation on the council, even though demerged cities are forced to accept taxation for island-wide services, said Westmount Mayor Karin Marks.

"They have only Montreal's interests at heart, but they act for all of us."

Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec's minister of municipal affairs, acknowledged the demerged cities' concerns, andsaid she wouldreview the principals guiding the agglomeration council structure.

Shesaid, however, thatQuebec would not reopen the demerger legislation, which allowed suburbs to split from Montreal after holding referendums last year.

Normandeau said she did not support the mayors' boycott, butfellow caucus member Russell Copeman said it's urgent that the province resolve the agglomeration council conflict as soon as possible.

"The agglomeration council has to be a body that responds to the legitimate needs of the population of the entire island of Montreal, not just the city of Montreal," Copeman said.

The demerged mayors' boycott does not affect quorum on council because of the population they represent.