Ensemble Montréal opens its doors to all citizens

The members of Ensemble Montréal were gathered at the Collège Jean-de Brébeuf this morning for their first conference of the year. The interim leader of the party, Mr. Aref Salem, took advantage of the event to unveil the different committees and local associations of our party; an important first in Ensemble Montréal’s history, which will cede the floor to all Montrealers regarding policy orientation in the next months and years.

“My priority as interim leader of Ensemble Montréal is to rebuild the party by putting in place structures that allow for ideological debates. If a citizen has an idea to improve Montreal, we want him/her to have the capacity to knock on our door and realise that he can concretize this idea with the help of our elected officials. The more of us that get involved in the future of our metropolis, the better off the city will be”, said Mr. Salem.

The members of Ensemble Montréal will have their voices heard through eight permanent commissions dealing with issues related to youth, inclusion, seniors and organisation. A political commission dedicated to the platform and ideas will also be established and chaired by Mr. Julien Hénault-Ratelle, City Councillor in the district of Tétreaultville.

The party team is very pleased to be able to count on the interest and expertise of many Montrealers, including several former candidates. It is in fact Ms. Gaetana Colella, a candidate in Ahuntsic-Cartierville for Ensemble Montréal during the last elections and the president of the Association of the Quebec Association for the Defence of the Rights of Retired and Pre-retired Persons, who will assume the presidency of the Commission des aînés. Ms. Malika Dehraoui, who was a candidate in Ville-Marie, will for her part chair the commission on inclusion.

“I know how intimidating it can be to step into the political world, especially when we’ve never dipped our toes in the arena prior. I invite Montrealers to overcome this fear. The fact that we have several former candidates in our ranks demonstrates that the political experience that we offer at Ensemble Montréal is an exceedingly positive element”, added Aref Salem.

Local committees and associations will be launched in the coming weeks. The proposals submitted to these bodies will be debated and adopted during the party’s membership convention.