The mayor of Gatineau, Que., says she’s stepping down effective immediately.
France Bélisle made the announcement Thursday morning at a news conference at City Hall, saying she is leaving to preserve her health and integrity.
She said in French that she does not want to keep participating in the current political climate, and that she’s received death threats.
“I wondered about the price to pay to accomplish this demanding work in a context [that is], let’s say it, often hostile,” she said.
Bélisle said there needs to be more reckoning with why many elected officials in the province have resigned in recent years — nearly 800 of them municipally since the 2021 election,
