Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay: 4 controversial moments

Jean Tremblay, the longtime mayor of Saguenay, announced on Mondayhe will step down at the end of his current mandate in2017.

He was electedmayorof Chicoutimi in 1997 and four years later becamemayorof the merged community of Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.

Ina Facebook post, Tremblaysaidhe made the decision after a long period of reflection.

"I want to leave the impression of amayorwho succeeded at all levels, of amayorwho proved that he worked for his constituents," he said.

But the populist mayor's time in power has not been without controversy. Here are four memorablemoments from his tenure.

1. Prayer beforecouncilmeetings

Jean Tremblay is perhaps best knownfor his fight to say a Catholic prayer prior to municipal council meetings.

Tremblay took the disagreementall the way to the Supreme Court and lost. After the decisionfrom Canada's top court last April, Tremblay saidhe would respect the ruling even thoughhe didn't like it.

"We have to stand up for our customs, for our traditions," he said.

2. 'Comme desngres'

In a radio interview from March 2015, Tremblay came under criticism for using a pejorative term to describe workers in his city.

"Y'adesgensquitravaillentfort,quitravaillentcommedesngres," Tremblaytold a local French radio station, before quickly apologizing for using theterm "ngres" to describe the hardworking people of his region.

Hethen went on to explain he used the term becauseblack people are hard workers who earn low wages.

3. Anti-Greenpeace rant

In a video shared widely on social media, Tremblay called onall city employees and unions to take action against Greenpeace and "the intellectuals of this world."

"If things continue like this, there will beno more work for our workers. We are not able to develop projects anymore," Tremblay says in the video, posted in March 2015.

"Our forest we have an extraordinary forest but the people of Greenpeace with their certifications, are they more intelligent than our government that establishes laws and is elected democratically?"

The video prompted a petition calling for his resignation.The MNA for the region, Sylvain Gaudreault, deplored the mayor's rant on social media.

"It's more silliness in his succession of blunders," he said.

4. 'Someone whose name I can't even pronounce'

In 2012,Jean Tremblay, a devout Catholic, said he was"outraged" at theParti Qubecois' desires to make secularism mainstream.

He wasespeciallyangered over then-PQ candidate Djemila Benhabib'sremarks that thethe crucifix should be taken downat the National Assembly.

"It's not the [secular] charter in and out of itself [that annoys me]. It's having someone whose name I can't even pronounce come from Algeria, who doesn't understand our culture at all, but she's going to make the rules. And I know how soft Quebecers are they'll all give in to her," Tremblay said.