Every four years, the first Sunday of November, 8000 elected municipal representatives are chosen by citizens of their respective municipalities. This year, the particular political context showed us the fragility of our institutions and the importance of following closely the management of municipal affairs, as well as the direct impact of politics on our life. With the upcoming elections of November 3rd, each and every one of us has a major role to play regarding the future of our city and of our own well-being. In this sense, it is essential to understand the foregrounds of municipal politics, to question our candidates and to be interested in the decisions that directly concern us. These are the best ways to participate in creating a vibrant democratic life, and to take real action towards issues touching us directly!
Municipal elected representatives have direct links to the citizens, and can therefore have a direct impact on their quality of life. During the next elections, citizens will have to choose the mayor that they think will best represent their interests.
The Mayor or the Mayoress
• Elected by universal suffrage by the citizens of his/her municipality, he/she is the official representative of the city.
• Ensures the transparency and the running of services offered to the population.
• Oversees the management of public finances and the application of regulations and motions entrusted by the municipal council.
• Even if he/she is not obliged to take side or to use his/her right to vote, the mayor/mayoress actively takes part to the decision-making process during the council’s meetings.
• Presides the council’s assemblies.
Municipal Council and Borough Council
The conseil municipal meets one or several times monthly and acts as deciding authority. Those meetings enable the mayor and the municipal councillors to discuss and make decisions regarding the planning and the priorities of the municipality, and to adopt regulations and motions regarding the topics discussed. Each session is headed by the president of council, who is personally responsible for the presidency of the council. The president has the duty to establish direct links between public life and the population. The borough council also stands on a regular basis. Its field of competence is large and gathers, among others, questions regarding urbanism, fire prevention, waste management, financial support to local development organizations, parks and the planning of sports and sociocultural activities, etc.
In addition to voting for the mayor/mayoress, citizens are called to vote for 1) their borough mayor, 2) the councillor that will represent them in the municipal council and 3) the person representing them in the borough council.
The Borough Mayor or Mayoress
• Elected by universal suffrage by the citizens of his/her borough, of whose interests he/she represents.
• Is in charge of the affairs regarding the public finances of the borough. In Montreal’s case, for instance, it includes processing reported financial results, capital programs, some contracts and broad guidelines for the following budget.
• Keeps track of the report of external auditor and of the auditor general if it deals with the concerned borough.
The Municipal and Borough Councillors
• Sit at the assemblies of the borough or municipal councils, where they adjudicate on the interests of the citizens of the borough that they are representing.
• Take stands on the proposals debated in council (if there is no conflict of interest, of course).
• Assist and support the council on diverse issue resolution processes, in which their knowledge is necessary.
Finally, in addition to elected representatives, the municipal elections involve the participation of two essential actors, which are the electoral officer (generally the clerk or the secretary-treasurer of the municipality) and the treasurer. The first one ensures the effective conduct of the elections in general, while the second one is primarily in charge of financial questions, like political financing and election expenses. In performing their function, both have the support of the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (Directeur géneral des élections du Québec – DGEQ) that ensures the enforcement of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities.
And Montreal?
In Montreal, the municipal council acts as principal deciding authority. The council is composed of the mayor, who is also the mayor of the Ville-Marie borough, the borough mayors, who are also municipal councillors of the city, and finally, of the city councillors.
Each one of the 19 boroughs is divided into a certain amount of electoral districts, for a total of 58 on Montreal’s territory. Each borough council has a minimum of five members, which are 1) the borough mayor, 2) the city councillors and 3) the borough councillors.
Currently, the municipal council is composed of 65 elected representatives, 18 of which are borough mayors. All the boroughs also elect 38 borough councillors that sit in their own borough council. To know which positions are yet to fill in your borough, and thus, for which you will have to vote, consult the map of your borough, available on the Montreal’s elections website.
Note: You can find the majority of the information mentioned in this article on the Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy (MAMROT) and the City of Montreal official websites.
Image credits
Image of the men and women in black in front of buildings is a courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image of microphone is a courtesy of sixninepixels at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image of the voting box is a courtesy of taoty at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
