Montreal is having a problem finding a Chief for the Fire Department, and the department itself is having problems keeping people from quitting, according to the firefighters' union.
Months after the department chief post was vacated, there appears to be little interest to replace Francois Masse.
None of the eight deputy department chiefs have applied for the top job, according to the Chris Ross of the firefighters' union, "and nobody applied from outside the department either."
"It's the most prestigious position in the Montreal Fire Department, one of the largest in North America, and nobody wants to be director of the department—I think that should tell you something."
For Ross, this is not just a management problem, but something seen all the way down to the unionized rank-and-file members.
"From chief of operations to director of the department, [the city is] having a huge problem with recruiting," he told CJAD 800 News. "Even trying to hire outside the department isn't working, and the candidates that are applying for the [management position] exams are a fraction of what we used to see 10 years ago."
"To be quite honest, nobody in our union, at the rank of captain, wants to go any higher," he continued. "They are going to have worse working conditions than if they remain unionized."
Ross says strained relations over pension reform have created a culture of dissatisfaction among firefighters, to the point that within management, there have been 10 fire hall and operations chiefs, which are under the Fire Department Chief, have left in the past year.
"I think [the lack of candidates for department chief and management positions] demonstrates morale is so low, [that] managing the fire department has become so difficult, to the point nobody wants to manage the fire department under the direction that is coming out of city hall," he surmised.
"I think [city hall] makes everyone uncomfortable and [no one wants] to be put in that position and have to put themselves in between [the city] and the front-line firefighters."
Many from among the rank-and-file in the department are also leaving Montreal for elsewhere, citing the ongoing friction with city hall, according to Ross
A city representative tells CJAD 800 News there have been two serious candidates that have shown interest in replacing Masse as Fire Chief.
Mayor Denis Coderre says the union, which he believes is going through an executive election soon, isn't telling the whole story.
"Soon there will be a replacement of the leadership, so they are all going to try and play their games," he said.