Richard Bergeron
Encyclopedia
Richard Bergeron is a Canadian politician from Montreal
and a previous Mayor
al candidate. Bergeron is the leader of Projet Montréal
, a municipal political party. He was its mayoralty candidate during the 2009 Montreal municipal election
. He is presently a Montreal City Council
lor for the de Lorimier district of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and is a member of city council
's Commission sur la mise en valeur du territoire et du patrimoine.
. He moved to Montreal in 1975 where he acquired a bachelor's degree in Architecture
, a master's in Urban Planning
, and a doctorate in Regional Planning
from Université de Montréal
. He has practiced architecture, been an urban planning consultant and taught at l’Institut d’urbanisme. Associated with several research projects concerning urban policy, urban services management and the environment, he has traveled in numerous countries, including Burkina Faso
, Haïti
and Morocco
.
Mr. Bergeron was subsequently president of the Fédération des coopératives d’habitation de l’île de Montréal (Montreal Island Federation of Housing Co-operatives) , an invited professor at l’Université Laval
and a researcher. From 1996, as a consultant to the Ministère de la Métropole, he produced some ten studies on the redevelopment potential of vacant spaces around Montreal metro stations. Starting in 2000, he was responsible for strategic analysis for l’Agence métropolitaine de transport
. As an urban planner and researcher, he has a specialized in transportation, real estate economics and the environment. He favours the return of the tram
way to Montreal, an efficient and modern tramway that he calls the “New Tramway”.
Richard Bergeron is married to Amina Ouaqouaq (of Moroccan origin), and the father of two children Guillaume and Nadianie.
In the early 1990s, Richard Bergeron converted to Islam
out of love for his wife and respect for his Moroccan in-law
s. He has stated that neither he, nor his wife, are practicing Islam.
and City Councillor for the district of DeLorimier
, located in the Borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal, under the Projet Montréal
label. As a Montreal city councilor, Richard Bergeron asked the Quebec transport ministry
and the City of Montreal to reconstruct the Turcot Interchange
in such a way as to create an urban boulevard with a large capacity for high-quality public transportation. He asked the City of Montreal to preserve remaining green space
s, submitted proposals for improving the quality of snow removal
in Montreal and demanded that future scandals be avoided by limiting donations to municipal political parties to $300 per person per year, by having the executive committee hold its meetings in public and by returning the supervision of its projects to the City of Montreal. On May 2, 2009, the Projet Montréal leader lodged a complaint with the Sûreté du Québec
concerning the contract for water meters and the apparent link between it and the sale of the Contrecoeur site by the SHDM. He asked the police to investigate the role of certain elected officials, highly-placed civil servants or directors of the current administration in these matters.
Projet Montreal is a fairly new municipal political party, founded in November 2004. It advocates sustainable urbanism
, a philosophy that emphasizes the need for an administration and an environment that are friendlier to pedestrians.
In 2005 Bergeron finished a distant third in the mayoral contest with 8.5% of the vote. Incumbent
Gérald Tremblay
was re-elected. However, he was elected to the City Council with 36.5% of the ballots. His closest opponent received 33.7% of the vote.
On October 2, 2009, Richard Bergeron announced his party's plan to open up the southern water front (currently cast unused industrial zoned space) to residents as well as redevelop the eastern tip of Saint Helen's Island
, which is currently a parking lot.
On October 6, 2009, prior to the debate at the Conseil Régional de l'Environnement, Mr. Bergeron released his party's Plan for a Sustainable Montreal, something for which his party, Projet Montreal, is known hold high in its ideals.
On October 8, 2009, Richard Bergeron unveiled his party's plan for public transportation, in which he suggeseted that the price of STM monthly passes be reduced to 60$ for adults and 30$ for students. Moreover, Bergeron has stated he would ask the government to study the extension of the Line 5 Blue (Montreal Metro)
west towards Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
and Montreal West train station
.
On October 19, accompanied by his chairman of fundraising, Justice John Gomery, Richard Bergeron demanded a provincial inquiry into the financing of political parties.
The poll done between 14–15 October 2009 and published October 19, 2009 had Bergeron at 23%, while his two main opponents were said to be at 37% and 36% (Harel and Tremblay respectively).
This poll however was done before the Benoit Labonté and Bernard Trépanier scandals had broken.
The final poll (done over oct 28 and 29 and published oct 30, Angus Reid) put Richard Bergeron at 32%, with Louise Harel at 34% and incumbent Gérald Tremblay in last place at 30%.
Besides the honourable justice John Gomery
, many notable celebrities came out to support Bergeron in the later stages of the campaign, including the Gazette's Henry Aubin, world-renown philosopher and McGill emeritus, Charles Taylor
, as well as a group of fifty local artists in their letter 'for the love of Montreal'
Despite polling at a statistical tie shortly before the eleciton, Bergeron finished third in the mayoralty race. However, from being the only member of Projet Montréal elected in the previous election, he led his party to the election of two borough mayors, ten seats on city council, and four borough councillors, including control of the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
. Bergeron himself was elected city councillor for the district of Jeanne-Mance via his co-candidate Nimâ Machouf.
On November 17, 2009, Bergeron was appointed by Mayor Tremblay to the city's executive committee, becoming responsible for urban planning. He joins Lyn Thériault
of Vision Montréal
as opposition members of the Council, in a move meant to foster cooperation.
Less than one year later, on November 4, 2010, Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay asked Richard Bergeron to step down from the executive committee over his refusal to support a proposal to revamp the aging Turcot interchange.
Direct quote:
In an interview in 2009 with La Presse Bergeron was quoted as saying,
“I am damn proud of that paragraph. I worked really hard on it. I had 10 people read it and they all said “don’t do it”. Even my editor. My duty as an academic was to incite intellectual questioning. It is a frivolous question to ask whether I agree with it or not.”
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and a previous Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
al candidate. Bergeron is the leader of Projet Montréal
Projet Montréal
Projet Montréal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Origins:Projet Montréal is possibly the first party since the Montreal Citizens' Movement that was not specifically established to promote a mayoral candidacy. It was created by environmental activists in May...
, a municipal political party. He was its mayoralty candidate during the 2009 Montreal municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 2009
The city of Montreal, Quebec, held a municipal election at the same time as numerous other municipalities in Quebec, on November 1, 2009. Voters elected the Mayor of Montreal, Montreal City Council, and the mayors and councils of each of the city's boroughs....
. He is presently a Montreal City Council
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
lor for the de Lorimier district of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and is a member of city council
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
's Commission sur la mise en valeur du territoire et du patrimoine.
Background
Richard Bergeron was born in 1955 in Alma, QuebecAlma, Quebec
Alma is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec.-Geography:Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the Saguenay River, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, approximately 175 km north of Quebec City...
. He moved to Montreal in 1975 where he acquired a bachelor's degree in Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, a master's in Urban Planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, and a doctorate in Regional Planning
Regional planning
Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. The related field of urban planning deals with the specific issues of city planning...
from Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. He has practiced architecture, been an urban planning consultant and taught at l’Institut d’urbanisme. Associated with several research projects concerning urban policy, urban services management and the environment, he has traveled in numerous countries, including Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Haïti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Mr. Bergeron was subsequently president of the Fédération des coopératives d’habitation de l’île de Montréal (Montreal Island Federation of Housing Co-operatives) , an invited professor at l’Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
and a researcher. From 1996, as a consultant to the Ministère de la Métropole, he produced some ten studies on the redevelopment potential of vacant spaces around Montreal metro stations. Starting in 2000, he was responsible for strategic analysis for l’Agence métropolitaine de transport
Agence métropolitaine de transport
The Agence métropolitaine de transport is the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transportation services across Canada's Greater Montreal Region, including the Island of Montreal, Laval , and communities along both the North Shore of the Rivière des Mille-Îles...
. As an urban planner and researcher, he has a specialized in transportation, real estate economics and the environment. He favours the return of the tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way to Montreal, an efficient and modern tramway that he calls the “New Tramway”.
Richard Bergeron is married to Amina Ouaqouaq (of Moroccan origin), and the father of two children Guillaume and Nadianie.
In the early 1990s, Richard Bergeron converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
out of love for his wife and respect for his Moroccan in-law
Affinity (law)
In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
s. He has stated that neither he, nor his wife, are practicing Islam.
Municipal Politics
In 2005, Bergeron ran simultaneously for Mayor of MontrealMayor of Montreal
The Mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of Montreal City Council.The Mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and provincial laws within Montreal....
and City Councillor for the district of DeLorimier
François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier
François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier , also known under various shorter names as François-Marie-Thomas de Lorimier, Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier or Chevalier de Lorimier, was a notary who fought as a Patriote and Frère chasseur for the independence of Lower Canada in the Lower Canada...
, located in the Borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal, under the Projet Montréal
Projet Montréal
Projet Montréal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Origins:Projet Montréal is possibly the first party since the Montreal Citizens' Movement that was not specifically established to promote a mayoral candidacy. It was created by environmental activists in May...
label. As a Montreal city councilor, Richard Bergeron asked the Quebec transport ministry
Transports Québec
Le ministère des Transports du Québec , known by its short form name Transports Québec, is a Quebec government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in Quebec, Canada....
and the City of Montreal to reconstruct the Turcot Interchange
Turcot Interchange
The Turcot Interchange is a freeway interchange within the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that links Autoroutes 15, 20, and 720. It takes its name from the currently-abandoned Turcot rail yards over which it is built....
in such a way as to create an urban boulevard with a large capacity for high-quality public transportation. He asked the City of Montreal to preserve remaining green space
Open space reserve
Open space reserve, open space preserve, and open space reservation, are planning and conservation ethics terms used to describe areas of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside...
s, submitted proposals for improving the quality of snow removal
Snow removal
Snow removal is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done by both individual households and by governments and institutions.-De-icing and anti-icing:...
in Montreal and demanded that future scandals be avoided by limiting donations to municipal political parties to $300 per person per year, by having the executive committee hold its meetings in public and by returning the supervision of its projects to the City of Montreal. On May 2, 2009, the Projet Montréal leader lodged a complaint with the Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...
concerning the contract for water meters and the apparent link between it and the sale of the Contrecoeur site by the SHDM. He asked the police to investigate the role of certain elected officials, highly-placed civil servants or directors of the current administration in these matters.
Projet Montreal is a fairly new municipal political party, founded in November 2004. It advocates sustainable urbanism
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, a philosophy that emphasizes the need for an administration and an environment that are friendlier to pedestrians.
In 2005 Bergeron finished a distant third in the mayoral contest with 8.5% of the vote. Incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Gérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving his third term as mayor of Montreal and as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community...
was re-elected. However, he was elected to the City Council with 36.5% of the ballots. His closest opponent received 33.7% of the vote.
2009 Election Highlights
On August 9, 2009, the Honourable John H. Gomery announced that he would be the honorary president of the fundraising campaign of Projet Montréal.On October 2, 2009, Richard Bergeron announced his party's plan to open up the southern water front (currently cast unused industrial zoned space) to residents as well as redevelop the eastern tip of Saint Helen's Island
Saint Helen's Island
Saint Helen's Island is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal. It is situated immediately southeast of the Island of Montreal, in the extreme southwest of Quebec. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago...
, which is currently a parking lot.
On October 6, 2009, prior to the debate at the Conseil Régional de l'Environnement, Mr. Bergeron released his party's Plan for a Sustainable Montreal, something for which his party, Projet Montreal, is known hold high in its ideals.
On October 8, 2009, Richard Bergeron unveiled his party's plan for public transportation, in which he suggeseted that the price of STM monthly passes be reduced to 60$ for adults and 30$ for students. Moreover, Bergeron has stated he would ask the government to study the extension of the Line 5 Blue (Montreal Metro)
Line 5 Blue (Montreal Metro)
The Blue line is one of the four lines of the metro in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the fourth to be built, notwithstanding its name. Line 3 was planned, but never built...
west towards Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal located in the city's west-end. It is one of five districts of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce...
and Montreal West train station
Montréal-Ouest (AMT)
Montréal-Ouest is a commuter rail station on the AMT Vaudreuil-Hudson, Blainville-Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines in the Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada area. Montréal-Ouest is in Fare Zone 1, and this station has 20 parking spaces...
.
On October 19, accompanied by his chairman of fundraising, Justice John Gomery, Richard Bergeron demanded a provincial inquiry into the financing of political parties.
The poll done between 14–15 October 2009 and published October 19, 2009 had Bergeron at 23%, while his two main opponents were said to be at 37% and 36% (Harel and Tremblay respectively).
This poll however was done before the Benoit Labonté and Bernard Trépanier scandals had broken.
The final poll (done over oct 28 and 29 and published oct 30, Angus Reid) put Richard Bergeron at 32%, with Louise Harel at 34% and incumbent Gérald Tremblay in last place at 30%.
Besides the honourable justice John Gomery
John Gomery
John H. Gomery, BCL, BA, QC is a retired Canadian jurist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Personal life:Gomery has a daughter, Cym Gomery, who is a partisan and candidate of municipal party Projet Montreal. Gomery is fluently bilingual, as is his daughter...
, many notable celebrities came out to support Bergeron in the later stages of the campaign, including the Gazette's Henry Aubin, world-renown philosopher and McGill emeritus, Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor (philosopher)
Charles Margrave Taylor, is a Canadian philosopher from Montreal, Quebec best known for his contributions in political philosophy, the philosophy of social science, and in the history of philosophy. His contributions to these fields have earned him both the prestigious Kyoto Prize and the...
, as well as a group of fifty local artists in their letter 'for the love of Montreal'
Despite polling at a statistical tie shortly before the eleciton, Bergeron finished third in the mayoralty race. However, from being the only member of Projet Montréal elected in the previous election, he led his party to the election of two borough mayors, ten seats on city council, and four borough councillors, including control of the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal is a borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on relatively flat terrain north of Sherbrooke Street and downtown, and east of Mont-Royal...
. Bergeron himself was elected city councillor for the district of Jeanne-Mance via his co-candidate Nimâ Machouf.
| Candidate | Party | Vote | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gérald Tremblay Gérald Tremblay Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving his third term as mayor of Montreal and as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community... (incumbent) |
Union Montréal Union Montreal Union Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It currently governs Montreal's city government.-Origins:It was established as the Montreal Island Citizens Union in the aftermath of the province-wide municipal merger of 2001 and not long before the municipal election... |
159,020 | 37.90% | |
| Louise Harel Louise Harel Louise Harel is a Québec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec. She represented the riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in the Montreal region... |
Vision Montréal Vision Montreal Vision Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been in existence since 1994 and presently forms the Official opposition on Montreal City Council under leader Louise Harel.-Origins:... |
137,301 | 32.73% | |
| Richard Bergeron | Projet Montréal Projet Montréal Projet Montréal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Origins:Projet Montréal is possibly the first party since the Montreal Citizens' Movement that was not specifically established to promote a mayoral candidacy. It was created by environmental activists in May... |
106,768 | 25.45% | |
| Louise O'Sullivan Louise O'Sullivan Louise O'Sullivan is a former Montreal city councillor and member of the city's executive committee. She is the founder and leader of Parti Montréal Ville-Marie... |
Parti Montréal - Ville-Marie Parti Montréal Ville-Marie Parti Montréal Ville-Marie is a municipal political party in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Led by its founder, Louise O'Sullivan, Parti Montréal Ville-Marie was founded on May 31, 2005.... |
8,490 | 2.02% | |
| Michel Bédard | Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal aka in English as Montreal Pride is an LGBT multidisciplinary arts and music festival taking place each year in the heart of Montreal. It is the second biggest LGBT event in Montreal after Divers/Cité... |
5,297 | 1.26% | |
| Michel Prairie | Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
2,648 | 0.63% |
On November 17, 2009, Bergeron was appointed by Mayor Tremblay to the city's executive committee, becoming responsible for urban planning. He joins Lyn Thériault
Lyn Thériault
Lyn Thériault, formerly known as Lyn Faust, is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has served on the Montreal city council since 2001 as a member of the Vision Montreal party. Thériault was the borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve from 2005 to 2009 and a member of the Montreal...
of Vision Montréal
Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been in existence since 1994 and presently forms the Official opposition on Montreal City Council under leader Louise Harel.-Origins:...
as opposition members of the Council, in a move meant to foster cooperation.
Less than one year later, on November 4, 2010, Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay asked Richard Bergeron to step down from the executive committee over his refusal to support a proposal to revamp the aging Turcot interchange.
Controversy
Richard Bergeron, in his 2005 317 page long book, Les Québécois au volant, c'est mortel, wrote a paragraph which raised questions about the actual events surrounding the September 11 attacks.Direct quote:
"No one knows what really happened on Sept. 11, 2001. We have been sated with pictures of two airliners striking the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. This is the only event of which we can be sure. The reasons for this act remain unknown. As for the two other planes that would have crashed — one on the Pentagon, in Washington, and one in Pennsylvania — they resemble a macabre farce, in my opinion. Everyone knows that any airplane crash produces an abundance of debris. Yet no one has seen any debris at all at the Pentagon or Pennsylvania. I personally don't believe 60-tonne planes can simply vanish. It might be that what we witnessed on Sept. 11, 2001, was a simple act of state banditry of titanic proportions. The events of that fateful day provided the mafias surrounding George W. Bush with a pretext for taking over the petroleum reserves of the Persian Gulf."
In an interview in 2009 with La Presse Bergeron was quoted as saying,
“I am damn proud of that paragraph. I worked really hard on it. I had 10 people read it and they all said “don’t do it”. Even my editor. My duty as an academic was to incite intellectual questioning. It is a frivolous question to ask whether I agree with it or not.”