Former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has taken aim at outgoing Mayor Valérie Plante, who defeated him in 2017 and 2021, accusing her of leading a dogmatic and sectarian administration for the past eight years.
He said this in an interview with Sophie Durocher on the show. In the whites of the eyesepisode airing this Friday at 8pm on LCN.
“We lived eight years in dogma, and then in a sect, that’s enough,” he said, thus introducing his seed into the current municipal election campaign.
However, he denies that he harbors any ill will towards his successor as mayor of the metropolis.
“I don't think we had an administration that worked for all Montrealers. If you didn't think like them, they treated you with contempt,” continued the 62-year-old, who ended his political career this year when the Quebec Liberal Party refused to allow him to begin his leadership race.
He recalls that his three priorities during the 2021 campaign in Montreal were cleanliness, housing and homelessness – three issues that remain at the forefront of Montrealers' minds four years later.
“I was talking about this, we were wondering at the time whether we could build higher than Mount Royal or not. The only way to solve the housing supply and cost situation is through density. The only way to regulate population density in Montreal is to build higher,” he noted with his usual candor.
Sophie Durocher with Denis Coderre in the production of the show “Dans le blanc des yeux”.
Photo by MARTIN CHEVALIER
“Don't get me on board at 20-20-20 and then make commitments left and right. It's not true that all developers are thugs. They're part of the solution,” he continued, saying, “I take responsibility for everything I say.”
Too many bike paths
He also believes there are too many bike lanes, although he says he created several during his sole mandate as chief magistrate from 2013 to 2017.
“There are too many bike paths here. […] I am one of those who have done the most, but we don’t need it… When we want shared housing, we think about motorists, cyclists, pedestrians. Stop the expansion so fire trucks and police can no longer get through, it will impact safety.”
- The show is produced by QUB. In the whites of the eyes broadcast on LCN every Friday at 20:00 and also on QUB Télé simultaneously on the channel Digital radio QUBevery Saturday at 9:00 and every Sunday at 16:00. It is also available upon request at TVA+in a podcast on the platform quub.ca and on a chain YouTube OLD.
