Pellerin: Ex-Gatineau mayor takes on the toxicity of our politics

The book cover for L’Heureuse Élue, recently published by former Gatineau mayor France Bélisle.Article content

France Bélisle was the first woman elected mayor of Gatineau, in 2021. She resigned abruptly just a little over a year ago, on Feb. 22, 2024. She cited toxicity in politics as one of the main factors for her sudden departure. Then we learned that nearly 800 municipal politicians in Quebec had also resigned since the 2021 elections. Now Bélisle has a brand new book about her experience, and I find it fascinating for the larger political moment we’re in.

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Accountor

Article content

Her book, L’Heureuse élue, has been well received and not just because she dishes a little bit about various well-known figures in Quebec politics. I like gossip and intrigue as much as the next ink-stained wretch but that’s not why I read the book all the way to the end. I was very curious about her personal journey, which she describes quite well, but also her reflections a year later on the nastiness we too often find not just in politics but in public life more broadly.

Article content

It’s not just the tariffs and the tiresome 51st-state nonsense. It’s also episodes like the public berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. If you didn’t know just how mean and nasty certain elements of the far right can be, now I trust you do.

Article content

It’s too early to speculate about the long-term impacts of such an episode, but that never stopped me before so here goes: I do think Donald Trump in general and the Oval Office ambush against Zelenskyy will prove salutary in the sense that it will turn voters off aggressive politics, including here in Canada. Trump will do more to promote collegiality than anything else I can think of.

Article content

Including measures Bélisle discusses in her book, such as Quebec’s Bill 57, which aims to protect elected people from violence by members of the public. During the occupation of Ottawa (which spilled over into Gatineau), she became the target of a sustained and vicious online campaign. She was called a “sow,” A “child killer” and a genocidal Nazi. Death threats were so serious police cars had to patrol her neighbourhood.

Article content

There is also a great deal of toxicity between elected officials themselves, she writes. Among her recommendations is a call for an ombudsperson, like we have at the federal level, to whom municipal politicians could take their grievances.

Article content

I wanted to talk about this with someone who has an Ottawa lens so I contacted Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante, who is currently reading Bélisle’s book and whose husband is Ukrainian-Canadian. To say she has opinions on recent events and toxicity at all political levels would be an understatement.