“I was hoping that this saga would run out of steam, but it’s been a year and a half and it’s not calming down,” he confided in an interview with Soleil the mayor of the small municipality of barely more than 1000 souls.
A village of 4 square kilometers camped at the western tip of the Île d’Orléans, Sainte-Pétronille experienced its first shock in the spring of 2023, when the hiring of a new general director, publicly contested, ignited the powder .
Since then, the island village has been the scene of a real earthquake which shook the columns of the temple.
En masse resignation of municipal library volunteers, formal notices to around a hundred citizens and the local newspaper, petitions, hectic meetings of the municipal council, resignations, absences of elected officials and civil servants, reports and investigations: the order has definitely been troubled in Sainte-Pétronille.
So much so that a police presence and security agents were sometimes necessary to contain certain citizens who were “intimidating” during public meetings, recalls the mayor.
“Paralyzed”
And although hoped for – even desired – calm has not yet returned, breathes Jean Côté on the other end of the line.
“Around ten people have paralyzed the municipal apparatus and this is not without negative impacts for the entire population,” notes the chief magistrate, struggling to hide a certain discouragement.
The Sainte-Pétronille municipal council has experienced several stormy sessions in the past year. (Simon Carmichael/Archives Le Soleil)
For nearly an hour, Mr. Côté opened up for the first time on Tuesday about the series of events afflicting his municipality.
In an interview, he appeared anxious to regain control of the message, after having often kept silent so as not to inflame the situation, under the recommendations of communications firms and experts from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
“I’ve always risen above it and I don’t want it to be seen as revenge.”
— Jean Côté, mayor of Sainte-Pétronille
For him, this whole story arose from “the refusal of the municipal council to reimburse an unauthorized expense” made by library volunteers. “We were just asking them not to incur any costs, it’s simply illegal.”
A change of direction that some have linked to the arrival of the new general director, Nathalie Paquet. What followed were “lies” and collective “disinformation,” the mayor accuses. “The municipality had to take steps to stop the intimidation.”
The response with formal notices will have been criticized, but Sainte-Pétronille “could not do otherwise,” justifies Mr. Côté, describing the approach as a “gentle warning.”
Resignation expected
However, her exit comes the day after the resignation on Monday of a new municipal councilor, less than eight months after the holding of by-elections to fill three positions left vacant last April by resigning elected officials.
In turn, Line Bisson slammed the door of the municipal council. In a letter to the attention of his colleagues and the population of Sainte-Pétronille, including The Sun obtained a copy, the resigning elected official essentially blames “failing” governance, hidden “irregularities” and “questionable actions”, without however identifying them.
Comments refuted across the board by the mayor.
“I think we are seeing someone who is angry. Since June, there have always been one or two representatives from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs at our meetings, so if things had been as bad as that, there would have been other disclosures made. But none of that came out,” he defends, speaking of “gratuitous” allegations.
He endorses the conclusions of the investigation report of the Quebec Municipal Commission, stating that the municipality did not commit “reprehensible acts” within the meaning of the law.
Jean Côté considers that Line Bisson is one of those he identifies as a “small group of protesters” who “intimidate” the municipal council.
“I have no idea why she showed up [pour être élue]he said. No one is surprised by his resignation: we weren’t wondering if it was going to happen, but rather when.
Costly election
The municipal council must still decide whether or not it wishes to replace the position of municipal councilor left vacant on Monday, less than a year before the next municipal elections scheduled for November.
Calm has not yet returned to the village of Sainte-Pétronille. (Frederic Matte/Archives Le Soleil)
Élections Québec provides that a by-election is not obligatory in the event of a vacancy in the 12 months preceding an election.
“We can operate with six elected officials [sur sept] if everyone is in good faith,” said Mayor Côté.
Triggering a by-election would represent a “significant expense,” which the mayor estimates at between $15,000 and $20,000. “It has to be a considered decision,” he sums up.
For the “silent majority”
The least we can say is that Jean Côté’s first mandate as mayor will have been “difficult”, admits the one who already had experience as a municipal councilor since 2017.
About ten months before the municipal elections, he avoids commenting on his political future, but says he is proud of the work accomplished so far.
However, he is against the support offered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, whose desire to “valorize” the profession of elected official he questions.
“We make a job not easy, in a fairly difficult context.”
— Jean Côté, mayor of Sainte-Pétronille
Still looking for solutions to end the saga, Sainte-Pétronille asks for help. “If we want elected officials to be free to make decisions, we must do so without fear of reprisals,” he demands.
Between now and the end of the mandate, “we want to move projects forward,” insists the one who is pleased to have completed “the biggest project in the history” of Sainte-Pétronille. The sewer system update, valued at $15 million, was completed “within the financial framework.”
“I have not yet made my decision for the future, but I can confirm that by November 2025, I will continue to represent all citizens, for a silent majority,” he pledges, visibly determined.
