[3] In 1984, Yeomans championed a municipal by-law to restrict abortion clinics, strip clubs, erotica shops, and tanning studios to a remote corner of the city.
[6] Yeomans also helped ensure passage of a by-law prohibiting the establishment of new commercial and retail outlets for one block on either side of the Trans-Canada Highway through Dorval.
[17] In late 1986, he argued that new revenues for transit should come from increased fees rather than a rise in taxation as proposed by newly elected Montreal mayor Jean Doré.
[24] Shortly thereafter, he called for the province to finish delayed renovations on the Dorion–Rigaud commuter line and expressed disappointment when the government instead allocated the money for a road link to Mirabel Airport.
[27] In June 1987, Yeomans attempted to introduce a demerit points system for Montreal Urban Community cab drivers who failed to obey a code of conduct.
[29] On January 1, 1990, Yeomans's committee introduced a new fare structure based on a system of regional zones, in which travellers from outlying areas on the Deux-Montagnes and Rigaud lines were charged higher rates.
[30] A Montreal Gazette ran an editorial in early 1990 that was strongly critical of the public transit committee's direction under Yeomans's leadership, arguing that it had become "preoccupied with secondary matters" and was avoiding "serious examination of crucial issues" such as declining ridership.
[31] Following the 1989 Quebec provincial election, Yeomans replaced Sam Elkas as vice-president of the Montreal Urban Community executive committee.
[39] In September 1991, the Montreal Gazette reported that Yeomans's committee was planning to support a faster approval process and longer patent protection for new prescription drugs.
[44] In late 1992, he worked with police chief Alain St-Germain to reduce budgetary expenditures by cutting the amount of time officers were required to spend in court.
In 1992, coroner Harvey Yarosky issued a report into François's death that condemned "the existence of a racist attitude that is totally unacceptable" within Montreal's police force.
Yeomans responded by agreeing that racism should be eradicated within the force, but he also said that Yarosky had "exaggerated" the extent of the problem by presenting the image of a generally dysfunctional department.
[52] Yeomans strongly opposed the provincial government's late 1992 proposal to build a casino on the Notre Dame Island, arguing that organized gambling would result in increased criminal activity.
[54] He later opposed the provincial government's decision to take control of Quebec's video lottery terminal industry, a development he said would result in "the province sucking more money out of the local economies.
"[61] He later accused the provincial government of having failed to prepare for the recession, and, after a meeting with the province's assistant auditor-general in April 1991, he said that Quebec had "run out of sources of revenue.
"[68] In April 1997, Yeomans oversaw Dorval council's approval of a symbolic resolution urging the Canadian federal government to ensure the continued existence of a united country including Quebec.
[69] In September of the same year, he helped organize a public protest against the provincial government's decision to download half a billion dollars in expenses to Quebec municipalities.
His only opponent was Jan Eisenhardt, a 92-year-old widower who initially justified his candidacy on the grounds that he wanted Yeomans "to know the thrill of victory" rather than receiving "just another acclamation."
[87] For most of his final term on the MUC, Yeomans's official responsibilities were overshadowed by his vocal opposition to the Quebec government's plans for municipal amalgamation on the Island of Montreal.
[88] He was strongly opposed to Montreal mayor Pierre Bourque's proposal, ultimately accepted by the provincial Parti Québécois government, to amalgamate all of the island's 29 municipalities into a single megacity.
"[90] When provincial municipal affairs minister Louise Harel introduced a white paper that indicated Montreal's suburban communities would lose their bilingual status in the event of amalgamation, Yeomans described the proposal as "so anti-democratic that it could be a case to go to the United Nations.
[96] In late 2001, Yeomans announced his support for a proposal sponsored by opposition Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest that would permit municipalities to withdraw from forced amalgamations.
[101] MICU won a council majority, and Tremblay subsequently appointed Yeomans to the Montreal executive committee with responsibility for public security and civil protection.
"[105] Shortly after his appointment to the executive committee, Yeomans gave his support to a pilot project to permit drivers in certain Montreal boroughs to make right turns on a red light.
(He had initially wanted the force's old weapons to be destroyed in public as a gesture to indicate they would not fall into the hands of criminals, but the city decided against this after being advised that the exercise would cost $600,000.
[115] Gérald Tremblay restructured his executive committee in January 2004 and assigned Yeomans as head of a new "super-ministry" in charge of quality of life and public security.
[121] He was quoted as saying, "As it relates to services and citizen-related activities, [civic administration] is very much like it was before ... we have the same provisions to provide for happy, healthy and safe communities and we have the tools to do the job.
"[122] He later wrote an open letter to the Montreal Gazette in which he argued that the Tremblay administration's decentralization model had already achieved the substance of the de-amalgamation movement's original goals.
[132] In 1997, Yeomans commented that he would eventually change Dorval's street and traffic signs to conform with Quebec's Charter of the French Language but did not regard this as a priority.
[134] There were rumours that the Liberal Party of Canada wanted Yeomans to run under their banner in Lac-Saint-Louis after incumbent parliamentarian Clifford Lincoln announced his retirement, but he once again ruled himself out as a candidate.