Mayor Gérald Tremblay got a bit heated at Monday night’s council meeting when defending Union Montreal’s political ethics.

When an item to approve the lease of a building owned by developer Vincent Chiara came up on the agenda, Projet Montreal’s Alex Norris accused Chiara of being a supporter of Union Montreal, having held a fundraiser for the party in 2005.

The lease was the subject of a probe by the city’s auditor-general two years ago as part of a series of real estate transactions.

Tremblay took exception to the comment, in turn accusing Projet Montreal of “vulgar politics.”

The Montreal Gazette’s Linda Gyulai found the roles reversed on her when Tremblay suddenly brought attention to her goings-on in the press box.

While Tremblay said the presence of the media in the council chambers was legitimate, he took exception to a Projet Montreal press attaché “prepping” Gyulai during the meeting.

Mayor Tremblay just shouted my name in council chambers. He's upset w/ a Projet Montréal aide who was in the press gallery & gave me papers.

— Linda Gyulai (@CityHallReport) February 21, 2012

Le Devoir puts the video below into context.

Photo: video feed of municipal council meeting