Tag Archives: Karim Boulos

Vision’s Boulos goes independent

The fallout from the switcheroo at Vision Montreal is continuing. Less than a week after the party’s vice-president quit because she couldn’t support a sovereignist anti-borough leader, token anglo Karim Boulos has quit the party and decided to sit as an independent, leaving Ville-Marie borough mayor Benoît Labonté in a minority position on the borough council.

The move comes a couple of days after Boulos posted an item on his blog about how destructive party politics can be, based on a column from The Gazette’s Henry Aubin he read. Though he asked for comments, the post only got one, from me, asking if this means he’ll be sitting as an independent. I didn’t actually thin he’d just make the jump right there.

As important in his decision is that Boulos represents the Peter-McGill district (PDF), which includes all of the Ville-Marie borough west of University (in other words, both anglo universities, though not the McGill ghetto). With the splitting of the borough into a third electoral district, his turf becomes even more anglo than it was (it used to extend to St. Denis). And having a sovereignist former PQ minister leading your party isn’t sitting well with those constituents on Pine and Dr. Penfield.

His move also comes just over a week after he defended Vision leader Louise Harel on his blog, saying he’s still a federalist Liberal but they can work together on municipal matters.

Boulos defends Harel

Karim Boulos, the anglo at Vision Montreal, wants us to know Louise Harel is not to be feared by our people. As a Liberal and federalist, even he can find a way to support her, because she believes in the same things Benoît Labonté believes in: centralization and improving services and bring more environmentally friendly and cookies and puppies and happy children and such.

He promises to highlight electoral platforms “as soon as the parties render them public”.

I’m waiting too.