In brief: Nearly 50% of council meetings under Mayor Pascal De Bellefeuille are special meetings (7 out of 15 since February). Called under minimum legal notice requirements—such as the meeting on Monday, September 28 at 8 a.m., held without any mention in the Ville’s newsletter or on its Facebook page—these meetings are neither filmed nor broadcast, and provide no written record of question periods.
What happened: During this special meeting, council awarded a $108,798.99 paving contract to a third-party contractor to complete Level II work on Impasse des Bécasseaux. According to an official letter from the Ville dated November 26, 2025, this step was undertaken by the municipality following the Ville’s finding of non-completion regarding the work outlined in the 2020 agreement with Foresterie Léonard Inc.—a company owned by Patrick Léonard, who also serves as a municipal councillor (the latter having recused himself from deliberations in accordance with ethics rules).
The human impact: In a statement read during the September 28 meeting, a resident of Impasse des Bécasseaux spoke about the daily impacts of this issue on local families (uncertainty regarding snow removal, temporary 500-foot electrical hookups, and manually hauling garbage bins over 350 metres). Click here to read the resident’s full statement.
Why it matters: While it is legal to call council for emergencies, the use of special meetings to handle complex municipal files limits the scope of information transmitted to citizens. Although the Ville respects the minimum legal notice requirements, we strongly encourage it to exceed these criteria: dealing with such financial files and their impacts on citizens without video broadcasting or a written record of the question period (citizens’ questions and the mayor’s answers) undermines transparency and public trust.
Key figures:
$239,419.60 (Level I): Amount billed by the Ville to Foresterie Léonard Inc. for Level I work performed in-house by the municipality due to the 2020 agreement deadline having passed (according to the Ville’s official letter dated November 26, 2025).
$108,798.99 (Level II): Amount of the new paving contract awarded during a special meeting to an external contractor to complete the unfinished Level II.
Our requests: Les Amis call for clear rules governing the use of special meetings, genuine transparency exceeding minimum legal requirements (live streaming, virtual participation, and systematic recorded re-broadcasts), as well as the recusal of Councillor Patrick Léonard from the CCU, the budget committee, and caucuses while this dispute is being handled.
About Les Amis de Mont-Tremblant
Our mandate is to ensure the harmonious real estate development of the region while maintaining transparency and community acceptability.