This article written in french by Stéphane St-Amour was automatically translated using AI
The interim leader of Parti Laval, Claude Larochelle, denounces “maneuvers to silence the opposition,” which he accuses the ruling party, led by Mayor Stéphane Boyer, of orchestrating.
In a statement published on March 20 under the title Censorship and Intimidation at the Municipal Council, Mr. Larochelle revisits the events surrounding the last municipal meeting.
“[…] Parti Laval has been targeted by two unprecedented actions aimed at hindering its work and limiting citizens’ access to information of public interest,” he writes.
Cease and Desist Letter
In the hours leading up to the March 11 council meeting, Claude Larochelle and Louise Lortie were formally served a cease and desist letter by the Mouvement lavallois – Équipe Stéphane Boyer, demanding that they “immediately delete the three Facebook posts from February 14 and 18, 2025, and immediately cease reporting defamatory statements.”
These posts followed reports from TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal, and Le Courrier Laval concerning the findings of an investigation launched by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ) in the aftermath of the November 24, 2019, by-election in the Marc-Aurèle-Fortin district.
Five years later, Elections Quebec reached the same conclusions that had been denounced at the time by the leader of Parti Laval and elected candidate in that by-election, Michel Trottier: the Mouvement lavallois, then led by former mayor Marc Demers, engaged in fraudulent electoral maneuvers.
This included unauthorized partisan advertisements not approved by the party’s official agent, which violates the Act Respecting Elections and Referendums in Municipalities (LERM), exceeding the allowable campaign spending limit, and failing to report these expenses in the electoral expense report submitted by the official agent.
At the mayor’s office, the cease and desist letter is justified by the assertion that “freedom of expression does not grant the right to say just anything,” while also claiming that “Parti Laval’s statements deliberately seek to mislead the public by spreading false and defamatory remarks.”
Notice of Proposal Deemed Inadmissible
At the resumption of the municipal session, which had been adjourned the previous evening, Mr. Larochelle read a notice of proposal requesting that Stéphane Boyer’s party fully reimburse the City for the $13,000 spent on partisan advertisements during the 2019 election period. He also demanded the return of approximately $100,000 in advertising expenses that the party allegedly had reimbursed since the last election through the research and support fund for elected officials. This sparked the ire of Mayor Boyer.
“[…] Stating that all expenses incurred to date were illegal is incorrect. The letter from the DGEQ concerned the by-election and the law governing it,” responded Stéphane Boyer, deeming it “unacceptable to let such doubts linger.”
Regardless of whether it was an election period or not, Mr. Larochelle argued that the Mouvement lavallois’ advertisements did not comply with the regulation governing the reimbursement of research and support expenses for Laval city councillors, which explicitly excludes costs related to partisan messaging. “That is my claim, and we will have the opportunity to discuss it next month,” he stated, only to later learn that his notice of proposal would be deemed “inadmissible.”
Indeed, at the request of councillor and executive committee member Nicholas Borne, council president Cecilia Macedo immediately suspended the meeting to consult with the general management and the legal affairs department to assess the admissibility of the notice.
“The notice is non-compliant and inadmissible as written,” she ruled about forty minutes later, citing “harm to reputation” and adding that “this is not the appropriate forum to make such a reimbursement request.”
Council decisions are final and cannot be appealed, reminded Christine Poirier, also a member of the executive committee, quickly shutting down Claude Larochelle’s claims. He, in turn, accused the mayor’s party of “arbitrarily restricting [his] right to speak, refusing any debate on the issue, and attempting to silence the opposition.”
The mayor’s team, asserting that “the municipal council is not a tribunal,” defended Ms. Macedo’s decision based on Article 13 of the regulation governing deliberative assemblies, which grants her all necessary powers to fulfill her duties and uphold the rights and privileges of the Council.
“Parti Laval submitted a notice of proposal that was deemed inadmissible as a matter of law […] due to its defamatory nature,” they wrote in an email exchange, further accusing the opposition party of engaging in “petty partisan politics.”
As for Claude Larochelle, he has no intention of backing down. “If the mayor thinks that by censoring us he will suppress the debate, he is mistaken,” he concluded, vowing to “continue his efforts to bring full transparency to the use of public funds for partisan and electoral purposes.”
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