CALEB NICKERSON
CAMPBELL’S BAY Dec. 18, 2019
The MRC Pontiac council of mayors met for the final public meeting of 2019 on Dec. 18 at their . . .
office in Campbell’s Bay. While the holidays were on everyone’s mind, there was still plenty of business to take care of before the New Year.
Absent from the meeting were the mayors of Thorne, Calumet Island and Waltham.
Forestry alliance, meeting with Minister Lacombe
During the public question period, council heard from Gaetan Fortin, a local forestry worker who was working to create an alliance of other workers from the region, called Alliance forestière du Pontiac. His aim was to ensure that local workers were prioritized to extract and haul wood from the region.
“I’m outlining my plan, it’s coming very shortly In January you’ll have the big picture of where we’re going with this,” he said. “I have people on board from pretty well every corner of the Pontiac.”
Warden Jane Toller voiced her support for the project, and noted that that the MRC had several projects on the go to restart the local forestry industry, especially in light of the recent closure of the Fortress Mill in Thurso.
Speaking after the meeting, Toller said she understood the provincial government’s preoccupation with re-opening the mill, but said that investing more money in the company wasn’t “sustainable” and that the money would be better spent on smaller mills closer to the wood supply.
“I don’t think it’s sustainable, it’s going to take a lot of money to re-open Fortress,” she said. “I’m anxious to see anybody that was working at Fortress or Lauzon Flooring keeping their jobs, I’m just concerned that … we need a new style of forestry … There needs to be something learned from this mill closing.”
She added that the issue had come up in the council’s recent discussion with Minister for the Outaouais Mathieu Lacombe. She said that a host of topics had been discussed with Lacombe, from health care to the spring flooding. She noted that the minister was opposed to any inquiry into the management of the Ottawa River, something that the MRC and several municipal councils had been requesting since the spring. Toller said she was disappointed in the lack of interest.
“I feel that, one way to get solutions is to find out what caused the flooding,” she said. “I thought that Quebec was involved in a study or inquiry. I can’t believe nothing’s been done yet, Ontario has already finished theirs, even if they come up with the conclusion they did. I’m not looking for someone to blame, I just know that we have too much water.”
She also hinted that there was “good news” on the horizon for Pontiac health care facilities, and said that CISSSO would be making an official announcement in January.
New Comms advisor, water rescue training
It was announced that the MRC had hired a new strategic communications advisor, Colleen Jones, who will start on the job in mid-January.
Council approved water rescue training for a group of local firefighters, to take advantage of the rescue boats they have stationed in Waltham and Calumet Island. An ad hoc fire prevention committee was also approved.
FDT projects, MRC bids
farewell to Econ. Dev. Director
The 12 projects receiving support from the Territory Development Fund (FDT) in 2020 were announced by Economic Development Director Danielle Newman:
1) Villa James Shaw (Architectural drawings): $41,697.10
2) Municipality of L’Isle-aux-Allumettes (Agri-tourism video promotion): $8,382.96
3) Club motoneige Pingouin (Expansion of snowmobile trails): $2,653.46
4) Chapeau Agricultural Society (Regional agricultural market): $22,937.44
5) Groupe L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet (Signage at the Croix de Cadieux site): $390.55
6) Bouffe Pontiac (Upgrades and renovations): $4,284.50
7) Coop Aventure Hélianthe (New programming and equipment): $6,071.28
8) Municipality of Bryson (Municpal beach upgrades): $14,206.08
9) George Bryson House (Addition to permanent collection): $24,129
10) Parc Leslie Foundation (Infrastructure improvements): $58,772.28
11) Municipality of Otter Lake (Ball field upgrades): $7,284.28
12) Chapeau R.A. (Ball field upgrades): $3,485.30
Total: $194,294.22 ($22,205.78 was deferred to a later date).
It was announced last month that Newman would be leaving her post by January 10, and Warden Toller took the opportunity to thank her for all her work.
“I have really benefited from her advice,” Toller said. “She is really wise beyond her years. You know the expression when you go to a campground, always leave it in a better state than you found it? Well I can say that … you are leaving the MRC, especially the Economic Development Department, in a much stronger, healthier place and from the bottom of our hearts we thank you Danielle. We hate to see you go, we’re glad you’re here till January the tenth. You’re more than an employee, you’re a friend to us.”
“It’s been an honour and a pleasure to serve you and to serve our citizens,” Newman responded. “It really has been a journey and I have really appreciated my time. I do hope to be involved in some way or another in the future.”
A new committee was also formed to begin delegating responsibilties for the energy from waste project, and collect data from neighbouring regions.
MTQ request and pool project support
Council resolved to send another request to the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) regarding allowing ATVs and other off-road vehicles on or near Hwy. 148 between Waltham and Davidson. At the previous council meeting, they had sent a request to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to intervene on the issue, and the MTQ had asked for another request.
Council also resolved to support the Pontiac Wellness Centre project, a pool and multi-resource centre in Fort Coulonge. Toller explained that the committee was in the process of completing a feasibility study and business plan. The resolution of support was requested for the committee’s application for provincial sport and leisure funding.
