Saint Lazare council members do not use the city's official email platform to send each other messages that criticize or insult residents, said Mayor Geneviève Lachance.

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Chartrand says email was sent to resident by mistake

This was the mayor's response to a question from resident Cosimo La Rosa during the council meeting on August 8 when he asked whether councillors actually send each other emails on the municipal platform that criticize or insult residents. 

La Rosa was referring to the council meeting on July 11 when resident Paola Irrera complained about a series of emails she received from Councillor Richard Chartrand late at night after the meeting on June 13 where she raised personal concerns about the city's drinking water.

Irrera told council at the July meeting the first email she received from Chartrand described her as a 'Veille criss' and the subsequent emails most of which were blank. 

Chartrand told Néomédia during a telephone interview on July 13, the email was sent to Irrera by mistake and was intended to be seen only by the other council members.

'Does not represent the council'

"What Mr. Chartrand said belongs to him. It does not represent the council, myself or the city. What he said is not how we feel. Those are his own words and I will not defend his own words," Lachance told La Rosa.

La Rosa then asked the mayor to clarify whether other council members use the city's email to talk about the town's residents.

Lachance said council members rarely communicate with each other by email and that Chartrand never sent an email in the past. "He's not an email person," she said.

She added none of the councillors knew about the email until Irrera sent it to them. "They never saw the email he sent so what he said in the newspaper (July 13) is not accurate," said Lachance.

'Hoping he would apologize'

"It was his own doing. It's not a joke among any of us and we're not going to take the blame for what he did. What he said in the newspaper and my reality is not the same and does not represent the council, myself or the city. What he said is not how we feel," said Lachance.

"I was hoping he would apologize. He didn't end up apologizing and that was his decision. I can't force him to apologize. I think there's also a lesson to be learned about sending emails at midnight," Lachance added.

Councillor Chartrand did not attend the August council meeting. He declined a request by Néomédia for a comment.