Adil Boukind Archives Le Devoir Dominique Ollivier, in November 2021
Criticized for excessive spending when she headed the Office of public consultation of Montreal (OCPM), Dominique Ollivier assured Wednesday that she will offer her collaboration to the City's general auditor, who must look into the management of the organization plunged into turmoil.
For her part, the current president of the OCPM, Isabelle Beaulieu, will have to report to the City's finance committee on November 17.
During the weekly meeting of the executive committee, which she chairs, Dominique Ollivier recognized that the confidence of Montrealers had been shaken by the revelations on the use of public funds at the OCPM. “Your trust in the City of Montreal and all the organizations that represent you is essential and I know, in view of the various reports in recent days, that it is affected,” Ms. Ollivier immediately recognized.
< p>The members of the executive committee were preparing to grant a mandate to the City's general auditor to conduct a specific audit on the practices and supervisory measures of the OCPM, a measure announced by Mayor Plante Monday in the wake of the Journal de Montréal investigation.
The OCPM is now 20 years old, but its operating rules have never been revised, recalled Ms. Ollivier. “Just because spending is legal and permissible doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. I particularly regret that certain expenditures affect the population's feeling of confidence. I am the first to say that things must change within the OCPM,” indicated Dominique Ollivier.
The examination carried out by the Auditor General will not be limited to the mandate of the current president of the OCPM, Isabelle Beaulieu, added the elected official. “I offer my full cooperation to the Auditor General so that she can look at the expenditures and practices that took place under my presidency so that they can examine them and make the appropriate recommendations to us,” said Dominique Ollivier. .
Ms. Ollivier chaired the OCPM from 2014 to 2021, before making the leap into politics with Projet Montréal. In recent days, Quebecor reports have notably reported spending $27,353 on restaurant expenses over seven years for Ms. Ollivier, including a $347 oyster meal in Paris to mark the birthday of a collaborator and former business partner, Guy Grenier. It also reported trips abroad whose benefits remain unclear and poorly documented.
Explanations expected
Wednesday noon, the mayor of Mercier –Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Pierre Lessard-Blais, announced that he had summoned Isabelle Beaulieu to a public meeting of the Commission on Finance, which he chairs, so that she could explain the management of the organization . Isabelle Beaulieu, who has headed the OCPM since February 2022, is also the subject of criticism in connection with expenses such as the purchase of three interactive screens for more than $20,000 and wireless headphones for $900. The session will be held at city hall on November 17 at 9 a.m.
On Tuesday, the leader of the opposition, Aref Salem, deplored the fact that only Ms. Beaulieu was summoned to this session, Dominique Ollivier does not have to undergo the same exercise.