Équipe Montréal

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Équipe Montréal (English: Team Montreal) was a municipal political party that existed from 1998 to 2001 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by Jean Doré, a former leader of the Montreal Citizens' Movement (MCM) who served as mayor of Montreal from 1986 to 1994.

Montreal City in Quebec, Canada

Montreal is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous municipality in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Contents

Origins

Doré, who resigned from the MCM in 1997, announced Équipe Montréal's formation at a press conference on 27 April 1998. He acknowledged having made mistakes that led to his former party's defeat in the 1994 municipal election, saying, "I became more of a spokesperson for the apparatus, the bureaucracy, rather than for the interests of the citizens." He promised to govern "more from my heart" and to pursue a policy of economic renewal if returned to office. Doré also promised that his party would freeze and eventually reduce municipal taxes, simplify government services, and restore Montreal's cleanliness, while remaining neutral on the issue of Quebec nationalism. [1] When asked if he still identified as a social democrat, Doré responded that his party would govern from a position of pragmatism.

Quebec nationalism

Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism asserts that the Québécois people are a nation, distinct from the rest of Canada, and promotes the unity of the Québécois people in the province of Quebec.

Two sitting councillors, Pierre Goyer and Martin Lemay, were present for the party's official launch. [2] Councillors Helen Fotopulos and Sammy Forcillo also joined over the following months, as did former councillor Scott McKay and former Coalition Démocratique et Montréal Écologique party leader Yolande Cohen. [3] All were candidates in the 1998 municipal election.

Pierre Goyer is a Canadian politician and a City Councillor in Montreal, Quebec.

Martin Lemay is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He is the Parti Québécois (PQ) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in the National Assembly of Quebec.

Helen Fotopulos was a member of the City of Montreal executive committee and Cote des Neiges (CDN) City Councillor.

Doré did not initially plan for Équipe Montréal to release an election platform, and some critics charged that the party was more an electoral vehicle centered around the former mayor's personality than a proper political party. [4] Doré rejected this, saying that the party was "born out of necessity" and was "not a closed political club." [5] Équipe Montréal held a founding convention in June 1998 that was attended by about five hundred people and released a platform after a follow-up convention in August. [6]

Policies

Many of Équipe Montréal's election promises were focused on tax reform, as Doré sought to position himself as a pro-business candidate. At the party's August convention, Doré promised to lobby the provincial government for Montreal and other metropolitan centres to receive a percentage of Quebec's sales tax, so as to make the city less dependent on property taxes. He also promised to eliminate Montreal's non-residential property surtax (a policy he had introduced in 1993), reduce residential property tax rates by at least 10 per cent in four years, and consider forming partnerships with private corporations and neighbouring municipalities. [7]

The Government of Quebec refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867.

The party was more liberal on social issues. Doré promised that he would eliminate guaranteed permanent employment in the upper levels of Montreal's bureaucracy, so as to create more diversity in the municipal workforce. [8] Saying that Montreal's drug problem required a bold solution, he argued that heroin should be legalized and regulated such that addicts could receive it in a controlled setting while having access to methadone programs. [9] On heritage issues, he promised to renew the Urban Plan that he first introduced in 1992. [10]

Heroin chemical compound

Heroin, also known as diamorphine among other names, is an opioid most commonly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medically it is used in several countries to relieve pain or in opioid replacement therapy. Heroin is typically injected, usually into a vein; however, it can also be smoked, snorted or inhaled. The onset of effects is usually rapid and lasts for a few hours.

Methadone group of stereoisomers

Methadone, sold under the brand name Dolophine among others, is an opioid used for opioid maintenance therapy in opioid dependence, and for pain. Detoxification using methadone can either be done relatively rapidly in less than a month or gradually over as long as six months. While a single dose has a rapid effect, maximum effect can take five days of use. The pain relieving effects last about six hours after a single dose, similar to morphine's. After long term use, in people with normal liver function, effects last 8 to 36 hours. Methadone is usually taken by mouth and rarely by injection into a muscle or vein.

Doré also promised that Équipe Montréal would decentralize the city's municipal services, giving neighbourhoods greater control over recreation and sports facilities. [11]

The 1998 election

About a week before election day, faced with polls that showed him well behind incumbent mayor Pierre Bourque, Doré made the surprising announcement that he would consider withdrawing from the mayoral contest to support rival candidate Jacques Duchesneau, leader of the New Montreal party, in a bid to prevent Bourque's re-election. [12] Doré ultimately chose to remain in the contest, but it was generally accepted that his remarks damaged his campaign. [13]

Doré finished fourth in the mayoral contest with about 10 per cent of the popular vote, as Pierre Bourque was elected to a second term in office. Helen Fotopulos and Sammy Forcillo were the only Équipe Montréal candidates returned to council. In his concession speech, Doré described his defeat as "extremely disappointing." [14]

Dissolution

Doré resigned as Équipe Montréal leader in March 1999, saying that he would not be a candidate for mayor in 2002. [15] Both Fotopulos and Forcillo resigned from the party to sit as independents in January 2000, with Fotopulos remarking that the party had been "essentially rudderless" since the 1998 election. [16] The party had $597,764 in debts at the end of 2000 and was officially dissolved by Quebec's chief electoral officer on 30 June 2001. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ "Former Montreal mayor Dore tries for comeback," Canadian Press, 27 April 1998; Sarah Binder, "Doré trying for comeback in Montreal mayoral race," Toronto Star, 28 April 1998, p. 10.
  2. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "I'll do better job this time: Dore," Montreal Gazette, 28 April 1998, p. 1.
  3. ↑ Monique Beaudin, "Dore vague on plan's details: Former mayor unveils team for comeback bid," Montreal Gazette, 23 May 1998, p. 5; Darren Becker, "Fotopulos joins Dore's party: Independent Mile End councillor eyes re-election with Team Montreal," Montreal Gazette, 15 August 1998, p. 3; Michelle Lalonde, "Forcillo joins old-foe Dore's party," Montreal Gazette, 19 August 1998, p. 4.
  4. ↑ Aaron Derfel, "Three remain in mayoral contest," Montreal Gazette, 2 May 1998, p. 1; Peggy Curran, "Dore campaign short on ideas: Plenty of personality, but little in way of platform," Montreal Gazette, 23 May 1998, p. 3.
  5. ↑ Monique Beaudin, "Dore vague on plan's details: Former mayor unveils team for comeback bid," Montreal Gazette, 23 May 1998, p. 5.
  6. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "Dore looking for credibility for new party," Montreal Gazette, 19 June 1998, p. 3; Aaron Derfel, "Dore kicks off Team Montreal: 500 of the new party's faithful gather to support former mayor's bid," Montreal Gazette, 20 June 1998, p. 4; Linda Gyulai, "Dore turns up heat: Makes splashy return to election race with 37 candidates," Montreal Gazette, 31 August 1998, p. 3.
  7. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Dore turns up heat: Makes splashy return to election race with 37 candidates," Montreal Gazette, 31 August 1998, p. 3; Linda Gyulai, "Dore promises 10-per-cent tax cut: He pledges to cut business bills by even more," Montreal Gazette, 9 September 1998, p. 4; "Where do candidates stand?", Montreal Gazette, 26 September 1998, p. 1.
  8. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "No top jobs for life, Dore promises: He wants to make room for women and minorities at city's upper level," Montreal Gazette, 16 August 1998, p. 3.
  9. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "Poverty: not on the agenda," Montreal Gazette, 17 October 1998, p. 1.
  10. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Parties differ on heritage policies," Montreal Gazette, 20 October 1998, p. 8.
  11. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Help on way for sports facilities?", Montreal Gazette, 7 October 1998, p. 8.
  12. ↑ "Dore might quit - or join Duchesneau," Montreal Gazette, 23 October 1998, p. 1.
  13. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Dore stays, says voters need choice," Montreal Gazette, 25 October 1998, p. 1.
  14. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "Bourque is back: His candidates take 39 of 51 council seats on his coattails," Montreal Gazette 2 November 1998, p. 1; Linda Gyulai, "Dore's comeback bid fails: Ex-mayor puts on brave face after finishing fourth in mayoral contest," Montreal Gazette, 2 November 1998, p. 16.
  15. ↑ "Dore bows out," Montreal Gazette, 15 March 1999, p. 5.
  16. ↑ Michael Mainville, "Four quit in party shakeups: Councillors will carry on, sitting as independents," Montreal Gazette, 6 January 2000, p. 7.
  17. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Municipal parties welcome tax deductions for donations," Montreal Gazette, 31 March 2001, p. 4; Linda Gyulai, "Dore's party officially dead: Ex-mayor requested dissolution; Team Montreal's $597,764 debt erased," Montreal Gazette, 21 July 2001, p. 3.
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