Councillor Claire Charbonneau announces that she is leaving the Andrée Bouchard team due to differences of opinion on several issues, including economic development.
The municipal councilor, who sits on the Haut-Richelieu Economic Council, believes that the city suffers from the mayor’s lack of leadership. In her press release, the elected official from district #11 clarifies her thoughts.
“When we look at cities that stand out, the mayor takes up the pilgrim’s staff to attract new investors. Here in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, more often than not, we pile up the files on the general management desk. Business people want to talk to the mayor, but it seems to be extremely difficult. We are constantly losing opportunities and in the meantime, other cities are seizing the opportunities. Our inaction is proving costly for our citizens since we are increasing their tax burden due to the lack of new revenue.”
– Claire Charbonneau, municipal councilor for district #11 in the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Other disagreements
The standardization of snow removal on the right and the concentration of decisions in the mayor’s office are other factors that convinced Councilor Charbonneau to continue her mandate as an independent.
This is a sixth departure within Mayor Andrée Bouchard’s team since the start of her mandate and a fourth in less than two months after those of Jean Fontaine, Mélanie Dufresne and Jérémie Meunier.
Mayor Bouchard’s party is now in the minority at the Saint-Jean municipal council table.
