Forestry was once again discussed by the council, with it first entering the discussion during the public question period while also being the subject of a vote later in the meeting.

The vote took place due to L’Isle aux Allumettes Mayor Winston Sunstrum submitting a resolution that proposed the use of $25,000 of Sustainable Forest Development Program (PADF) money to hire former Fibre Pontiac consultant Pierre Vézina for the months of April, May and June 2021.

“A primary goal of the forestry consultant contract would be to assist the MRC Pontiac in developing and adopting a Strategic Plan for Forestry that would integrate the various projects and activities,” the resolution stated.

The resolution was ultimately defeated due to a nine to nine split between the mayors, a split that has been made clear with identical voting on several forestry resolutions over the past several months.

Resident Pat Goyette submitted questions to Litchfield Mayor Colleen Larivière regarding a prior statement she made on the company Renmatix’s role as a possible investor in a biorefinery at the Pontiac Regional Industrial Park. Larivière had referenced the company as an investor while clarifying that the MRC would not be an investor in any project. Goyette asked if the company would invest, if it would have ownership and whether the MRC had any documentation showing Renmatix would invest.

Larivière said that the company would invest in developing commercial projects if it were to commit, that it would be the primary owner and that both the MRC and Renmatix had received documentation from the provincial government regarding investment interest. She added that Renmatix had verbally confirmed interest within the past few weeks.

Resident Jean-Pierre Landry submitted a question regarding Vézina’s contract being terminated on the basis of a salary amount that he characterized as being exaggerated. When the council voted on Vézina’s contract in November of 2020, Toller had cited his earnings, which were close to $800,000 in consulting fees, as a reason as to why the project should have had more results by that point in time. However, following a request from THE EQUITY, it was discovered that he was paid less than $700,000 as a consultant.

Toller explained to Landry that she realized that part of the fees Vézina earned were during his time as an MRC employee and were therefore confidential. She also cited factors such as feasibility studies not being completed and the absence of federal funding as reasons for voting against the consultant’s contract. She added that there was no pressure applied to the mayors who voted alongside with Toller and she insisted that mayors make up their own mind based off of their community’s needs.

Public safety

Bryson Mayor Alain Gagnon introduced a resolution from the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) in relation to the federal government’s recent piece of gun legislation, Bill C-21.

“It is unanimous in the municipal community that gun control must be tightened to fight crime,” the resolution reads. “However, the federal government must take full responsibility. There needs to be a level playing field defined by Ottawa. To be consistent, it is unthinkable to regulate one way in one municipality and another way in a neighboring municipality.”

While the government’s legislation would allow individual municipalities to ban handguns, all 18 mayors voted unanimously for Gagnon’s resolution, thereby agreeing that gun-related decision-making should be federal jurisdiction.

Clarendon Mayor John Armstrong took a moment during the meeting to thank Julien Gagnon, fire and public safety coordinator, for his idea that the MRC have a search and rescue team created which would include ATVs and snowmobiles, as well as an emergency transport sled.

Armstrong said that the team was crucial in the handling of a serious snowmobile accident along the border of Bristol and Clarendon several weeks ago. He said that the team, which travelled from Mansfield et Pontefract, was able to assist in transporting the injured man to the ambulance and were integral in the process running smoothly.

Miscellaneous

Early in the meeting, Larivière brought forth a point of information for residents of her municipality regarding residents who needed transportation to get to the vaccination site in Campbell’s Bay, the RA Centre. She explained that Litchfield had established a partnership with TransporAction that included government funding for residents to be able to call the transportation service in order to get to their vaccine appointment. She clarified that the partnership that she was referring to was strictly in the confines of Litchfield, and not elsewhere in the MRC.

Mayor Gagnon also introduced another UMQ resolution that would confirm the council’s support of delaying the date of municipal elections until spring 2022.

According to him, the provincial government had previously mentioned the possibility of changing the date, although it is currently unclear which direction the province will go in.

Were it to be changed, the next electoral term would either last 3.5 or 4.5 years, which would mean the next election would once again take place in the fall.

“It’s not the best time of year to have an election,” Gagnon said of the fall, as he said having to pass a budget immediately after election is a challenge.

Armstrong voiced his opposition to the idea of delaying elections, but he was the only mayor to speak out against the resolution. He explained that passing a budget immediately after election had never been an issue before, and he said the election date should be left as it is.

A resolution was brought to the table that confirmed the MRC’s role in the establishment of an Outaouais Regional Assembly, which would be a development project of the CPO, the conference including the region’s four wardens and the mayor of Gatineau.

Toller explained that through the assembly’s creation, the MRC’s would be contributing more money to enable further hiring of staff members that would enable increased cooperation in the region.

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