Former Gatineau mayor says partisan politics pushed her to resign

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A year ago, then-Gatineau mayor France Bélisle abruptly resigned, citing a hostile political climate. This week, she has spoken out, offering more details of her complaints about municipal politics in Quebec.

"There was a conflict between duty and power," Bélisle told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

She says that while problems with politics at the federal and provincial levels are well-understood, less attention is being paid to the municipal level.

"While in Ontario municipal elections are non-partisan, this is not the case in Quebec. Political parties at the municipal level there makes a huge difference in the dynamic and the relationships. You would walk in the room and a group of people, they don't look at you. They stop talking just to make you feel bad," Bélisle said.