The images that appeared to show Plateau-Mont-Royal mayor Luc Ferrandez nodding off at City Hall may have provided a chuckle or two for many Montrealers, but one man is not laughing — Ferrandez himself.
In an exchange with TVA reporter Yves Poirier, one of the first to share the images on Monday's council meeting, Ferrandez accused the reporter of being part of some larger scheme to sully his reputation adding he would no longer answer questions from him or his colleagues at Quebecor Media.
The borough mayor — who's also the executive committee member responsible for large parks and sustainable development — said he did not fall asleep and had simply closed his eyes, and if that is enough to be a news story, then there is a serious problem.
The story drew plenty of snarky comments on social media, including the Twitter hashtag 'Dodogate'.
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The city's opposition denounced Ferrandez's threat to boycott journalists, calling it unacceptable.
“The message that sends is that if I don’t like what you do on one subject, I can allow myself not to talk to you on another," said interim opposition leader Lionel Perez.
An aide to the executive committee, Youssef Amane, says neither Ferrandez nor anyone else will be boycotting any media outlet.
Last week, the Journal de Montréal, another Quebecor property, also broke the story of the $42 ticket he received for riding his Bixi bike the wrong way on a one-way street.
-CJAD 800's Richard Deschamps contributed to this report.