For a year and a half, the position of auditor general was vacant in Saguenay and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, found that the situation had been going on for too long and issued an ultimatum.
“A delay of 20 months is unacceptable!” insisted the minister in an interview with TVA Nouvelles on Monday afternoon. The law allows 180 days. Imagine two or three years without VG, it would be impossible to act like that!
The auditor general acts as a small watchdog in the administration of a city. Saguenay is the only city with 100,000 or more inhabitants in Quebec that will not rely on this resource since the retirement of the person occupying the position in April 2022.
Ms Laforest informed Mayor Julie Dufour that if the position is not filled at the next public meeting on December 5, she will take care of it.
However, the position is open from spring 2022.
“We were a little surprised by the way the minister did things,” answered Ms. Dufour. We have been communicating with the ministry and the minister for a year.”
The contract offered is for 7 years, at a salary of $150,000 per year. The city called in a special company to find the rare gem, and 224 potential candidates were targeted.
“Both almost reached the end of the process, but finally refused before the interview,” said Martin Harvey, the advisor responsible for the Human Resources Commission in Saguenay.
Later, to encourage recruitment from outside the region, Saguenay relaxed its norms: teleworking was accepted.
“If people can live in Saguenay, it’s better,” agreed Mr. Harvey. We allow teleworking, but we understand that the person needs to travel from time to time to meet with people in the city of Saguenay.”
