Montreal mayor faces criticism for blocking comments on social media accounts [Video]

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is facing pushback for a decision to restrict access to her social media accounts, which her office says was an attempt to curb online hate.

Aref Salem, leader of the city’s official Opposition, says Plante and her party, Projet Montréal, are limiting Montrealers’ freedom of expression by blocking comments on social media platforms X and Instagram.

“This is not the way of democracy,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “This is really unethical, even, to not let the population of Montreal interact with the mayor.”

Salem says social media is one of the only ways for citizens to interact with Plante. Residents can voice their concerns in person during a question period at city council meetings, but they have only 90 seconds to ask their question. “Having a social media feed is to connect with the population and ask the population about their opinion,” he said. …