This is Jean-François Parenteau, the mayor of Verdun, Quebec. Over the weekend, he pulled a bizarre prank by claiming a teenager had been seriously hurt at a new skate park.
Verdun invested $700,000 this year in revamping and rebuilding a the city's crumbling Arthur-Therrien Park. The new park will officially open within days.
The man who spearheaded the campaign for a new skate park is Verdun councillor Sterling Downey, who is also a political opponent to the mayor.
Helping with final touches on new #Verdun #Skatepark to get it open ASAP! #skateboarding #polmtl @projetmontreal
Parenteau sent a text message to Downey on Sunday telling him a 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital after suffering a head injury at a new skate park.
Downey took to his Facebook page Sunday night expressing his sympathy for the family of the hurt teenager.
A few hours later, though, he posted an update revealing the whole thing was a hoax by the mayor.
"I have just been re-advised by the Mayor that it wasn't true and NO ACCIDENT HAPPENED at the skate park," he wrote.
"Regardless, head injuries and head trauma incidents are nothing to joke about or to make up stories about especially when you involve a minor in your story."
It seems Parenteau's bizarre stunt had been to "teach a lesson" to Downey about what could happen if people skate in the unfinished park.
