STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Dec. 16, 2020
The MRC Council of Mayors gathered to talk about forestry, water levels and much more during their final council meeting of 2020 on Dec. 16.
Warden Jane Toller and all but one of the 18 mayors were in attendance for the Zoom meeting, with only l’Île du Grand Calumet Mayor Serge Newberry absent.
Forestry
Conversation around forestry kicked off during the public question period with a letter from Pat Goyette asking for a detailed breakdown of consultant fees paid to Fibre Pontiac consultant Pierre Vézina since 2013. Toller and several other mayors had said during the Nov. 25 meeting that $800,000 was spent on consultant fees throughout the development of Fibre Pontiac.
Toller explained how employees at the MRC went to gather information on Vézina’s income, which was previously requested by THE EQUITY, and realized that because he was an MRC employee during 2013, salary costs from that year should not be included in the $800,000 figure.
She explained to Goyette and the council that the actual amount paid directly as consultant fees between 2014-2019 was $685,749.
Forestry came up again towards the end of meeting with L’Isle aux Allumettes Mayor Winston Sunstrum introducing two resolutions: one that would welcome the company Renmatix to the Pontiac, and another that aimed to lock down a date for the council to meet and form a forestry strategy.
Both resolutions passed, with Toller adding that Jan. 16 would work best as the date for the forestry strategy session.
Speaking after the meeting, Sunstrum said his goal with the first resolution, “Was to ensure that Renmatix and other companies or businesses, we would want them to know that we appreciate and welcome their interest in the Pontiac.”
He said he thought that the resolution that passed regarding Vézina’s contract on Nov. 25 could have been interpreted negatively by Renmatix, an American company that has shown interest in building a $100 million biorefinery in the Pontiac Regional Industrial Park in Litchfield.
Regarding the second resolution, Sunstrum said he felt a strategic forestry plan would be key in getting the entire council on the same page.
Sunstrum added that he wasn’t sure whether Vézina would be present at the Jan. 16 meeting, but he once again vouched for Vézina’s credentials as an MRC asset.
“He’s got lots of work experience, he’s got the qualifications, he’s got the knowledge skills and he’s got the contacts throughout Quebec and beyond,” he said.
Toller said during the media scrum that she fully supports welcoming Renmatix to the Pontiac.
“Renmatix has not chosen the Pontiac and we feel it’s very important that they do, and maybe a letter to them of welcome will make a difference,” she said.
Flood taskforce
Resident André Boisvert sent several questions into the council regarding concerns with the current levels of the Ottawa River throughout the Pontiac.
Boisvert had been tracking information on water levels throughout the river and comparing them to years past, and he said he has found levels to be nearly identical to what they were at this time of year in 2018 prior to 2019 spring flooding.
He demanded answers from the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board (ORRPB) as he had identified river segments upstream that were far below capacity at the same time that river levels downstream were causing flooding, in 2019.
Boisvert also asked whether the ORRPB had a comprehensive plan for a worst-case scenario.
Toller said that the MRC met with the ORRPB on Nov. 18 and they were effectively told that fall water levels don’t necessarily determine what happens in the spring.
She acknowledged that the council did not have the expertise to address Boisvert’s questions.
However, a resolution was passed to create a flood prevention taskforce that Toller said Boisvert could be a part of that would also include many of the mayors whose communities are along the river.
Projects
Phare Ouest President Louis Harvey gave an update to the council on the ongoing project to have the historic Félix Gabriel Marchand Bridge illuminated.
Speaking in French, Harvey thanked many parties for the various contributions that helped to make the project possible, including an MRC grant from the FRR fund. He said that on Dec. 11, Phare Ouest signed a contract with a company that will partake in the required installation work of light fixtures. So far, Harvey and his team have raised $145,000 for the project and are in the process of obtaining more funding.
He said that the official unveiling of the lit-up bridge will be on July 1, 2021 at 9:30 p.m. in Mansfield.
The MRC council moved a resolution to authorize an agreement with a company to create a river routes development project.
The project would attempt to develop tourism in the Pontiac by promoting the numerous paddling routes that are available to use around the region.
Miscallenous
Toller provided positive news regarding a situation that had arisen in Campbell’s Bay earlier in 2020 with the SHQ. Resident Basil Belland had received assistance from the SHQ to build a new ramp outside of his home for accessibility purposes, but faced difficulties throughout the process and was forced to live in St. Joseph’s Manor for a period of time.
Speaking during the media scrum, Toller said that the situation had been resolved but that she was unable to provide any more specific information due to confidentiality concerns.
“Everything got resolved to the satisfaction of the family and Mayor [Maurice] Beauregard,” she said, adding that it only took one meeting with an SHQ official to fix the issue.
Sunstrum brought a point of information to the council at the end of the meeting that he felt was important to keep in mind going into an election year in 2021.
“I just wanted to alert everyone to the fact that there may still be COVID problems in November and we may need to look at mail-in ballots,” he said.
Toller clarified that the municipalities would need to decide amongst themselves on whether to use mail-in ballots as the MRC would only have control over the TNO.
Sunstrum said that further discussion in the spring would be beneficial to finalize a MRC-wide stance on the use of them. He added that it would be best to have all the municipalities on the same page so as not to create a voting imbalance.
Economic development director Cyndy Phillips presented information to the council regarding an $1,800 grant for Cletus Ferrigan of Campbell’s Bay. The funds will be used to hold an “Isolation 2020 Country Jamboree” event in August 2021.
It was announced that the MRC would be contributing a one-time support of $10,000 to the Pontiac Ski at School program. The funding will be used to support the programs in schools within the Pontiac.
Phillips also presented a brief overview of the Longest Snowmobile Bridge in the World project that the MRC hopes to have within its territory. The snowmobile bridge would cross the Ottawa River to Ontario.
As funding for the project has not yet been fully approved, Phillips said that information on where the bridge might be located is not yet available.
