With continued restrictions putting a strain on many Quebec communities, Pontiac MNA André Fortin spoke to THE EQUITY and highlighted how the Liberal Party wants to approach possible new waves, the return of children’s sports to the community, and highlighted news about high speed internet in Pontiac.

“We have to start doing things differently, experts are warning about the next wave and we can’t just keep repeating things the same way,” said Fortin.

He pointed out that Premier Legault can not . . .

continue to act unilaterally and apply restrictions at the last minute which have proven to harm business and individuals. Rather, Fortin is suggesting that the government prepares its citizens to live with the virus adequately.

Last week the MNA’s Liberal Party introduced how they would cope with the pandemic and offered suggestions so as to avoid the current open and close all or nothing approach that the government has been taking.

They proposed that the government sit down with experts and discuss how to improve air quality in schools, provide adequate testing kits, and better protect health care workers and ensure that there is strong protective equipment, he explained. As well as finding ways to have organized events such as sports, remain open to a degree, while still having the appropriate safety measures in place.

“As we go into a potential sixth wave or the wave after that, we have to start looking at things differently, because it’s weighing on everybody’s mental health,” Fortin said.

One example he gave, in terms of keeping schools safe, is investing in proper ventilation. Fortin highlighted that Ontario, for instance, has installed ventilation and air purifier systems in many schools. Quebec he said, has chosen not to make those investments, although according to Fortin, the province provided over $400 million for this purpose. “Those are the types of measures that can help improve the situation, can help reduce the spread of the virus and can make it so that we have more liberties at the end of the day.”

One of the Liberal Party’s priorities is kids sports because they believe the pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on their well being. “It was important for us to ensure physical health and mental health to get them moving again,” Fortin said. He pointed out that there is still some work before they can allow kids and adult sports to come back in full swing, but is hoping in the next few weeks there will be a roll out with clearer guidelines.

The big news this week is high speed internet. High speed internet is finally arriving in the Pontiac. The wait is almost over as Fortin confirmed that the MRC Pontiac awarded the contract to company Xplornet to start its roll out of fiber cables to telephone poles all around the region. About three weeks ago, Xplornet started its roll out in Mansfield-et-Pontefract, they have since moved to Bristol, Clarendon and will continue until the entire region is ready to receive high speed internet in their homes. The company estimated that by June/July they will finish the installation and by then will be able to offer their product to local residents. The fiber-to-home technology, pointed out Fortin, provides much better speed and is reliable. Currently the area that is completely ready is upper Pontiac, which was awarded to Bell.

The only hiccups that Fortin foresees are issues around supply of certain parts that might be needed to do that work, but he noted that, as of today, everything should finish by early summer and, if it were to be extended, the hard deadline is September ensured Fortin.

“When I was elected in 2014, people started talking to me about high speed internet. And as the years passed, it became a more and more important issue to a lot of people to the point where it is now an essential service,” he said.

To finally arrive at this stage, Fortin believes it is a major step forward for the region, and he has noticed peoples’ enthusiasm with seeing the trucks on their street doing the installations, and said some have reached out to him and told him they can’t wait to get the service in their homes.

“What we’ve learned is that people are resilient. Business owners are resilient. Citizens who haven’t been able to spend time with their loved ones are resilient, but everybody is at the end of their rope,” said Fortin.

Over the weekend, as the truck convoy took over downtown Ottawa, The Equity asked Fortin what he thought about the situation and he noted that to protest against mandates is a legitimate thing, but added, “I do have a worry about some of the comments made by the national organizers of the protests. But to me there are local Pontiacers who are looking for a way to share their concerns, to share their apprehension. I just hope that their voice and their legitimate concerns don’t get drowned out by some of the political rhetoric of the national organizers.”

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