The mayor of Chateauguay is denying that he is in a conflict of interest, in a case pitting a councillor against the city's request for details about property holdings.
Mayor Pierre-Paul Routhier is a lawyer and he is representing the councillor in his battle against Chateauguay's disclosure rules for politicians. The councillor feels he doesn't need to reveal what properties he holds through companies.
The case goes to appeal this spring.
Routhier tells La Presse he started working on the case before he was elected mayor last fall, and will be in an advisory role only as a colleague makes the arguments during the appeal.
He says he wants to see the case through because cities need clarity on what kind of information they can compel politicians to supply for the purposes of transparency.