STEPHEN RICCIO
MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC Dec. 16, 2020
Despite a petition gathering over 2,500 signatures to end the status of MRC des Collines as a red zone, the local health authority CISSSO has no intention of asking the provincial government to lower the region to orange zone restrictions.
The petition was launched by Municipality of La Pêche councillor Michel Gervais roughly two weeks ago with the goal of lobbying the CISSSO and the province to lower restrictions.
“Based on the number of cases detected in other MRCs in Quebec, which are now in the orange zone, the MRC des Collines de l’Outaouais could also be considered as such,” Gervais said in a Dec. 2 release. “Maintaining a red zone, despite the many efforts our merchants have put in place to respond to preventative measures, is very detrimental to the economic and social level of these small communities.”
CISSSO media relations agent Marie-Pier Després explained in an email to THE EQUITY that the MRC’s proximity to Gatineau renders it a semi-urban territory that includes many commuters to and from the city. She said that the health authority “would have to see a sustained decrease in cases, outbreaks and hospitalizations” that would last at least several weeks to discuss a return to the orange level.
As of Dec. 14, the Collines de l’Outaouais service area had 14 active cases, and 186 in total since the pandemic began. The Municipality of Pontiac (MoP), which is included in the MRC’s categorization as a red zone but is recorded under the Pontiac service area by CISSSO, has had 35 cases since the pandemic began.
MoP Mayor Joanne Labadie said that she is not in support of the petition and added she didn’t think many politicians in the MRC were either.
“I think one needs to look very closely at the numbers and the reason the MRC des Collines is in the red zone, we are part of the Gatineau metropolitan area,” she said. “If you look at the number, you’ll see the numbers in the [Municipality of] Pontiac are certainly higher than the MRC Pontiac for COVID cases.
“Our health care system is fragile and it needs to be protected for the most vulnerable and it’s for that reason we’re in the red zone,” she continued. “I don’t see any benefit at this point of changing it to orange just so people can gather for the holidays, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or any holiday, we all need to make sacrifices, and this is one that I think is really important for our future.”
Residents who shared the petition in Pontiac-area Facebook groups voiced their displeasure with Luskville and Quyon, both rural villages, being grouped in with the city as opposed to the MRC Pontiac.
Després added that regional transmission data over the past week shows an encouraging downward trend, but that the situation is up in the air.
