Coderre still refuses to give the costs to the City

Photo Agence QMI, Joel Lemay

Matthew Payen

Monday, 25 September, 2017 16:23

UPDATE
Monday, 25 September, 2017 16:23

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Mayor Coderre has again refused Monday to give the costs to the City for the Formula E and the number of tickets sold during the competition, which was held in July in the streets of Montreal.

The fight between Denis Coderre and his main rival at the town hall, Valerie Plant, was invited Monday to the last Montreal city Council before the November 5 elections.

The head of Project Montreal has taken advantage of the period of questions from elected officials to engage firmly the one she calls her “opponent”.

“Mr. Mayor, there are questions as always, and we still have no response, lance Ms. Plant. How much has that cost the Formula E? And how many tickets have been sold?”

Initially, the City had announced that the competition was expected to cost $ 24 million, but other costs had been added later.

As for the number of tickets, the City estimates that 45 000 people went to see the competition, but it is not known how many have paid for their place.

Ms. Plant has also suggested that the administration Coderre had chosen to organize the competition by a non-profit organization (NPO) for not having to provide these numbers in the event of a request for access to information.

“You want things do not know”, insists Ms. Plant.

The mayor has argued that his administration may be considered to be transparent since the amounts vested in the competition were voted by the municipal Council.

“There is no hiding place,” said Mr. Coderre. An expense report will be made public by [the NPO] and at that time you will have your answers.”

The mayor also ensures that the auditor general of the City will be able to examine the costs to ensure that monies have been well spent.