Kamanyana calls for Ducharme withdrawal due to conflict of interests 

Taylor Clark

Another mayoral candidate has accused fellow candidate Yves Ducharme of being too close to Brigil, a prominent construction company in Gatineau. Olive Kamanyana said potential conflict of interests could be clouding Ducharme’s decision-making.

“Listen, we just lost a mayor. We don’t want to lose a potential mayor if he is ever elected,” said Kamanyana, in reference to former mayor France Bélisle’s sudden departure in late February.

Ducharme’s ties to Brigil were already put in question by Action Gatineau head Maude Marquis-Bissonnette in late April when she was quoted in an article from Le Droit stating “He still has active mandates on the lobbyist register. Members of his team too.”

The candidate was quick to fire back, issuing a press release insisting the assertion was “unfounded and, above all, false.” Ducharme claimed he and his team had no active mandate in the lobbyist register for any company.

As of May 9, Ducharme and his team member, Roch Cholette, were still listed as active lobbyists for Brigil on the Carrefour Lobby Québec website.

“This is really a problem,” said Kamanyana. “It is very important that the population of Gatineau feels that the mayor will not be in a conflict of interest in advance. Or even in the projects that will come around the table.”

Having served on municipal council, Kamanyana has been part of numerous dealings with Brigil. She noted if Ducharme was elected, he would have to refrain from commenting on several issues, leaving the City’s mayor absent in decision-making.

“We saw other members of council who had to declare their capacity to decide several times because a member of their family was part of the Brigil group. Imagine the one who was working on these files while they were already in progress.”

The call for withdrawal came after the release of the first impression of the legal opinion obtained by Le Droit, claiming that in terms of the law, Ducharme must be considered “close” to Brigil owner Gilles Desjardins.

While Ducharme has said he would only present a legal opinion once elected, former municipal councillor of Hull, Claude Bonhomme, took it upon himself to hire a lawyer from Bélanger-Sauvé, specializing in municipal law.

“In light of the information available to us, it is difficult for us to envisage how Mr. Ducharme could, in a few months, find himself in a position to make decisions that would affect – favourably or unfavourably – the interests of Brigil, while respecting his obligations and ethical standards that would be imposed on him, more particularly, to avoid favouritism toward this company … and not to be influenced by this previous relationship in the exercise of his functions,” read the legal opinion.

“It is absolutely necessary that this legal opinion that (Ducharme) was talking about at one point be done before he submits his candidacy,” said Kamanyana.

Photo caption: After the release of the first impression of the legal opinion, mayoral candidate Olive Kamanyana argues her fellow candidate Yves Ducharme should withdraw his candidacy for Gatineau mayor.

Photo credit: Taylor Clark