On the eve of the provincial election, as a Côte Saint-Luc city councillor, I have a feeling what would be the best scenario for all of us. A Liberal minority government, with Mario Dumont’s ADQ holding the balance of power, could be just the tonic we need to fix the agglomeration council mess. Premier Jean Charest has been very non-committal about making changes to the agglomeratiom structure. Dumont, on the other hand, has been very straight forward. He would replace it with something that resembles the old Montreal Urban Community. If Charest wins a majority – highly unlikely – he would probably be bullied by Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay not to make any changes to the agglo. But in a minority situation, Dumont will be in a position to exert pressure. Charest and his MNAs representing the suburbs have been saying for some time they want to fix the agglo. I think they need Dumont’s presence to get that extra push. Dumont has not managed to attract much attention in the West End. He has come a long way over the years, but policies such as abolishing school boards do not fly here. There is potential and if he could play a role in fixing the agglo it could bode well for him…especially considering the fact a minority government might not last more than a year or two, giving him a realistic chance at becoming premier.
