The city of Montreal has reacted swiftly to comments made by the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood saying he's lost confidence in Mayor Gerald Tremblay.

Yves Francoeur said that following the allegations from the Charbonneau Commission hearings, he feels uncomfortable having the Tremblay administration handle the police budget.

The Tremblay administration said it wants a retraction.

"The statement made by Yves Francoeur is highly irresponsible," Claude Trudel, executive committee member in charge of public security told reporters, adding that a man who represents law and order should know better when there are only allegations of corruption and no proof of wrondgoing.

Marvin Rotrand, leader of the majority, accused Francoeur of being in cahoots with the official opposition Vision Montreal, pointing to a motion of censure that mentions Francoeur's name.

"It may well be that somebody did something but we're just as interested in finding out the truth and having that person punished if they did something indeed and we don't know that they did. Yet we are living in a position of hysteria where the opposition doesn't want to allow the commission to do its work," Rotrand said.

Council will be asked to vote in two weeks on a motion of censure and a motion of non-confidence presented by the opposition parties.

Photo: Shuyee Lee