Mayor Marchand's team adviser, Steeve Verret, denies causing a physical altercation with an opposition adviser after a municipal council meeting in Quebec.
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Second opposition councilor Stevens Mélançon accused Mr. Verret of raising his voice, “rushing” on him and having chest-to-chest physical contact with him. Mr Mélançon considers this to be “intimidation”.
“I want to be clear: there was no physical violence on my part. Absolutely not,” Council member Verret wrote on his professional Facebook page on Thursday evening. Instead, he throws the ball back to Stevens Mélançon, whom he criticizes for his intimidating gestures.
Mélançon’s “attempt at intimidation”
“During conversations with my friend and colleague Bianca Dussault, I quickly realized that Mr. Mélançon's attempts at intimidation and allusions to her (sic) affected her deeply. “He took advantage of an extremely personal situation with Ms. Dussault’s family to send her messages on social media.”
According to Mr. Verret, there were “verbal arguments but no physical contact.” “I took the liberty of politely reminding Mr. Mélançon, who quickly recognized the seriousness of his actions but raised his voice. I never touched him.”
Apologies requested
Mr Verret now asks Mr Mélançon for an apology.
This whole saga led to first opposition councilor Alicia Despins denouncing a “toxic climate” in city hall. Yesterday, the city's general manager, Luc Monty, felt obliged to convene all parties to take stock of the situation. In the midst of the storm, Mayor Bruno Marchand, whom the opposition blames for his troops' behavior, refused to apologize.
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