Warden Jane Toller said that she will be encouraging the Municipality of Pontiac (MoP) to switch MRCs and join the MRC Pontiac. Currently, the MoP is situated in the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais.

The remarks have come after she allowed a student from Luskville to sit on the MRC Pontiac’s youth council, which was inaugurated earlier this month.

“I can tell you that the residents all want to join,” Toller said about her interactions with residents in Quyon.

Toller expressed three reasons behind her advocacy. “Number one, I drive down that main street (in Quyon) and I can say they’re not being given a lot of attention. Number two, I can say we have more in common,” Toller said. The third reason relates to the contemporary and historical ties between the regions. Not only do the municipality and MRC share the same name, but also the health district (RLS) and commercial ties.

Furthermore, Toller thinks the geographical separation of the MRC des Collines, the Gatineau hills separating the rest of the MRC from the MRC makes governance awkward.

“They’re (MRC des Collines) one of the richest listed MRCs,” said Toller. “Why do they really need to hang on to 6,000 people who are in the poorest part of the region? We will embrace them,” said Toller.

Toller said that both the MRC Pontiac and MoP would benefit from the change. Toller said that concerns around the MoP losing the des Collines police force could be offset by requesting more SQ officers for the Campbell’s Bay Station.

Earlier this month the Equity asked des Collines Warden Marc Carrière about the prospect of the MoP leaving to join the MRC Pontiac, where he expressed opposition to a transfer.

However, that didn’t dissuade Toller.

“I get along well with Mark Carrière. I think that I might be able to appeal to him. I think just at face value, it’s easy for him to say no,” Toller said. “I’d like to know what is the money he’s getting for those 6000 people and how much of it is traveling back into Municipality of Pontiac, as they seem to not be a priority. I don’t see it as a well-taken-care-of place.”

While the MoP passed a resolution to look into the process of changing MRCs last year, no further steps have been announced.

Toller says she hopes to start by encouraging a petition in the MoP pushing for the move.

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