South Shore mayors band together against Longueuil
A group of South Shore mayors have joined forces to pressure Longueuil into easing their financial burden.
Brossard, Saint-Lambert and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville launched a mobilization campaign Monday entitled, "On paie trop pour Longueuil" (We pay too much for Longueuil).
The three mayors behind the campaign — Paul Leduc (Brossard), Alain Dépatie (Saint-Lambert) and Martin Murray (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville) — are hoping to convince Municipal Affairs Minister Martin Coiteux to make the agglomeration of Longueuil more transparent and financially equitable.
"Our message to the minister was clear," Leduc wrote in a statement.
"We must reform or disband the agglomeration of Longueuil. The financial and tax inequity has reached a limit for our citizens."
The group argues that their municipalities have to pay more for services like police, fire and public transit than others of comparable size.
"When we compare ourselves with our municipal neighbours, we can see the disadvantage we are subjected to," Murray said.
The mayors are advocating for the creation of an independent entity similar to a regional county municipality system, where each mayor would have a vote.
Earlier this month, the three mayors threatened to hold referendums on the question of leaving the Longueuil agglomeration if the situation doesn't improve.
