CALEB NICKERSON
PONTIAC July 1, 2020
MRC Pontiac recently published a list of 15 public committees on their website but only a portion of their membership was . . .
listed at the time of print.
The publication of the list had been requested by both this newspaper and L’Ile du Grand Calumet Mayor Serge Newberry, and MRC staff have been compiling and finalizing the list for several months.
As of Monday morning, the list contains the names of the elected officials that sit on the committees, but the names of citizens and unelected bureaucrats are to be “added upon receipt of citizens’ consent.”
When asked why the names weren’t yet published during an interview Friday afternoon, Pontiac Warden Jane Toller expressed surprise that the full membership wasn’t public, but after consulting Director General Bernard Roy, she said that they had been advised by their legal council to get permission first.
“So, it was decided that we needed to have signatures of the citizens before we could publish their names, so those were sent out last week … as we receive the signed letters authorizing their names to be published, we’ll be publishing them,” she said. “It doesn’t need to go back to our council. There won’t be any further delays, as soon as we hear back from people, we’ll be … be adding them to the website.”
Toller also pointed out that the list only encompasses committees that have been established by resolution. She and a handful of MRC staff had been meeting regularly to discuss the waste management file, but further work will take place through the Outaouais Wardens’ council.
