CALEB NICKERSON
CALUMET ISLAND
July 4, 2018
The byelection on Calumet Island is underway and candidates are busy pounding the pavement and knocking on doors, with an eye for council seat four. The spot was left vacant earlier this year when former councillor Patrice Dumouchel resigned, citing health reasons.
The advance poll will take place on Sunday, July 8 at the Municipal Hall, located at 8 rue Mgr Martel from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Regular polling will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday July 15, with preliminary results being announced later that evening. The official result will be made public on Monday July 16.
The Equity caught up with three of the four candidates to get their their views on where the Island should be headed. Despite multiple requests for interview, candidate Adrienne Turgeon did not respond back in time for print.

Irène Nadeau

A former mayor is looking for a council seat in the upcoming byelection on Calumet Island.
Irène Nadeau was elected mayor in a byelection after the former mayor Paul-Émile Maleau stepped down in August 2014 due to health reasons.
She resigned from the post in June 2016, citing mismanagement of the municipal books and hostility from council.
She has been living in the municipality for nine years and wrote in an email that she decided to run again because she thinks the current council has a good vision for the development of the Island.
She describes herself as a reliable, available and honest person.
She wrote that her experience as mayor is an asset for council, as she has many contacts and has learned about the grants that are available.
“The Island has great possibilities to progress and make it a place where people can live happily,” she wrote. “The greatest wealth of a community is the citizens.”
She said she hopes to meet the needs of citizens on Calumet, and encouraged her fellow islanders to do their civic duty to decide the future of council and their municipality.

Alice Meilleur Pieschke

An experienced municipal staffer is looking to apply her skills as an elected official if she’s successful in the byelection for council seat four on Calumet Island.
Alice Meilleur Pieschke was born on the island and has resided there since 2007. She worked as a secretary treasurer and director general in the Municipality of Dubuisson, near Val d’Or, for around 20 years and said she brings a lot of experience to the table.
“It’s something that I know about, I’ve always been fascinated with the work itself,” she said. “That’s why I decided to run this year.”
She said that she has many priorities if she is elected.
“I see that the Island, we have potential for tourism. It’s important to find promoters to help develop the Island itself,” she said. “We’re missing a camping site, and we do have a public beach but the beach needs … to be cleaned up to make it more presentable.”
She also said she would look to improve transportation in the region.
“There’s also the roads here, they all need to be redone,” she said. “That’s something to look at to see if we can find some grants to be able to do it.”
Meilleur Pieschke noted her interpersonal skills and ability to reach a compromise would make her an ideal candidate.
“This is about what my ideas are, but of course I’ll listen to what ideas they have too,” she said. “I always keep an open mind, let’s put it that way.”

Jasmin Lemaire (photo was not sent in time for print)

A former councillor and senior assessment technician at the MRC is making a run for seat four on Calumet Island.
Jasmin Lemaire has lived in the municipality for the vast majority of his life and said that his retirement at the end of the year after 37 years at the MRC is one of the factors that prompted him to give local politics another shot.
“I was born and raised here and we raised our family here also,” he said. “I think that my experience at work and my experience as a councillor will probably benefit the council that’s already there.”
Lemaire previously sat for two terms from 2005 to 2013.
“I’m not there to make any miracles because I’m only one vote as councillor,” he said. “But with my experience, … with the knowledge I do have, I’d be an [asset].”
He pointed to important projects that took place during his tenure, from all the changes in municipal waste management to creating a fire safety cover plan for the municipality.
“They were very big topics,” he said.
He said he would work hard to promote the Island, a place he sees as ideal.
“It’s peaceful and it’s quiet,” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful place to raise a family.”
Editor’s note: Though a photo of Lemaire was requested to accompany the article, The Equity did not receive one in time for print.