Toller: In addition to trying to do my best to complete the 11 priorities* I started when I became the first elected warden, I’ve been working on . . .

all 11 and I will be giving a report in March as to where they all stand.

For my immediate priorities off the top, I hope to hear good news about Énergie Davidson moving forward, which is the co-generation white pine sawmill. The consultants have worked on their report and it needs to be presented to two ministers, Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks Pierre Dufour and Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon. So I’m hoping to hear good news because that would be our first forestry project moving forward.

The number two priority is to hear good news from the CRTC about the $57 million project that we’re involved in with the MRC Vallée de la Gatineau and two school boards to provide fiber optic service across the entire Pontiac, so we have no more no-service areas.

A third priority would be to get the obstetrics department reopened through equalizing the salaries for nurses between Quebec and Ontario.

*The 11 priorities that Warden Jane Toller unveiled early in her term as MRC Pontiac warden, after consulting the MRC’s mayors:

1 – Internet and cellular coverage

2 – Increased forestry

3 – Increase agriculture operations

4 – Pontiac Pool

5 – Improve road infrastructure

6 – French CEGEP and trades program

7 – Increase composting and recycling

8 – ATV trails network

9 – Tourism marketing

10 – Regional industrial park

11 – Small business creation/Main Street revitalization

THE EQUITY: I understand there was a forestry meeting scheduled for Jan. 16. Is that still scheduled, and what do you hope to see come from that?

Toller: The main topic will be forestry, and it will be a plan for the Pontiac just involving many projects and one of them will be Énergie Davidson. It will be when we’re able to meet face to face, which I’m hoping will be February or March. Because there’s no point in having a retreat by Zoom.

THE EQUITY: Have you heard any news on the Fibre Pontiac project regarding federal government funding for the company Renmatix?

Toller: No, I’m not sure when that IFIT (Investments in Forest Industry Transformation) funding from the federal government will be announced. In the meantime, [project consultant] Pierre Vézina’s contract finished on Dec. 31. He would be able to re-apply if the two conditions are met.

(The two conditions being: 1- that Renmatix declare interest. 2- That Renmatix be approved of federal (IFIT) funding.)

THE EQUITY: If the Fibre Picanoc internet project is approved for CRTC funding, will that be sufficient for the Pontiac’s internet needs?

Toller: This $57 billion project will be all the funding that’s needed to roll out. And when we do hear good news – and we are expecting to, so I say when – the rollout will take two and a half years because it will take time to lay the fiber optic line to all the areas of the Pontiac that need it.

Initially Fibre Picanoc was created roughly around 14 years ago and it was a 20-year contract we entered in, but the only fiber optic line connected municipal offices and schools. So there wasn’t enough length available for homes to tap into it. But we know that fiber optic is the best way forward for internet reception.

THE EQUITY: What are the immediate priorities for the Council of Mayors?

Toller: They are not different, my priorities are very much in line with what the MRC is working on.

If I were to say off the top what the Council of Mayors priorities are, a lot of it is guided by the operation of their municipalities. For example, they’ve all been engaged with our Strategic Vision, which is something we’re mandated to have in our Vision 2030.

They also are very anxious to see that our assessment department functions well, because we got a little bit behind with some of our inspections because with COVID we weren’t able to go into homes. So that’s a priority for us because that determines the amount of tax that they collect.

Coupled with COVID-19 is the relaunch of our economy, we’re all very concerned about the impact of all of these closures on our businesses. We did have one emergency fund, which was for $70,000 and was put together by Economic Development Director Cyndy Phillips. It benefitted at least 15 businesses. I asked her this week if there would be another opportunity for that and I believe there will be.

THE EQUITY: Have you thought about whether you will be running for warden in the 2021 election?

Toller: I will start out by saying that it has been an honour to be the first elected warden and I absolutely love my work. I have spearheaded a few priorities, one of them is the energy from waste facility, which we hope to have in the Pontiac. We will find out about that in September. I believe that I may have to seek another term to ensure that some of the projects that I have spearheaded are completed, because I do like to finish what I started. So it’s not a definite answer. I love my work and I will work hard to see how many of my priorities I can complete by the end of this year. But if I have not completed everything to the satisfaction of the residents of the Pontiac, then I may have more work to do and would then seek re-election.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!