The biggest news out of the meeting was the approval of funding for 27 local projects through Component 4 of the Regions & Rurality Fund (FRR). In total $2,622,469.64 was approved to be spent on various projects across the region. The projects were recommended to the Council of Mayors by the Vitalization Committee.

The following is a list of projects that were approved in the first call for projects:

Here is a list of the 27 projects that have been approved under the first call for projects:

Municipality of Fort-Coulonge – Pump Track – $100,000

Municipality of Mansfield-et-Pontefract – Outdoor Halte – $100,000

Municipality of Campbell’s Bay – Recreational Site – $100,000

Municipality of Ile-du-Grand-Calumet – Recreational and tourist site – $89,453.18

Municipality of Shawville – 150th anniversary and development of Mill Dam Park – $90,000

Municipality of Bryson – 150th anniversary and improvement of tourist sites – $100,000

Municipality of Otter Lake – Recreation Site Development – $89,416.59

Municipality of Waltham – recreational site improvements and installation of signs – $100,000

Municipality of Bristol – Norway Bay Beach revitalization – $100,000

Municipality of Sheenboro – Revitalization of the boat launch in Fort-William – $77,400

Municipality of Isle-aux-Allumettes – Development of Centennial Park – $100,000

Municipality of Chichester – Municipal Park development – $100,000

Municipality of Alleyn-et-Cawood – Revitalizing the municipal park – $100,000

Municipality of Rapides-des-Joachims – Developing the municipal park – $99,000

MRC Pontiac – MRC Pontiac transport hub – $461,976

MRC Pontiac – MRC Pontiac dynamic portal – $35,000

Le Patro de Fort-Coulonge/Mansfield – Mini putt – $65,272.85

Chapeau and District Lions Club – Canteen Upgrade – $40,252.50

Federation UPA Outaouais-Laurentides ALUS Outaouais – $32,861.28

Piscine Pontiac – Civil, structural, electrical and mechanical specifications – $225,000

Le Jardin éducatif Pontiac – Improvement of greenhouse infrastructure – $100,000

Harrington Hall – Lighting system upgrade – $4,217.38

Upper Pontiac Sports Complex – Improvement of recreational infrastructure – $99,000

CRÉDETAO – Pontiac Agricultural Platform – $100,000

The Domaine de la Belle et le Gentleman – Vineyard in Bristol – $18,747.36

Eskimo Escapade – Construction of a service station at the Domaine and preparation of a camping area in Danford – $32,000.

Pure Conscience Farm – Organic Egg Production – $28,872.50.

A second call for projects should be launched in April 2023, according to a press release.

The MRC intends to hold an official press conference in Bryson on Friday, February 3, 2023, to provide more details about the projects being funded.

Legal notice

About 15 minutes of the meeting was taken up by the public question period. Two Pontiac residents, Pat Goyette and Amy Taylor attended the meeting to dispute a letter from the RPGL law firm on behalf of the MRC Pontiac demanding they: “immediately stop publishing, on Facebook or any other social media platform, any postings which attack directly or indirectly, the integrity, transparency and competence of our client, its warden, any member of the Council of Mayors, or any of employees.” The letter also requested Goyette and Taylor remove any critical comments made about anyone associated with the MRC from their social media pages.

The letter concluded by stating: “If you fail to do so, our client intends to undertake all useful resources to protect her rights and reputation, as well as those of its warden, all members of the Council of Mayors, and all of its employees and this without any further notice.”

Goyette and Taylor are known for making various requests for information from the MRC and its various municipalities, as well as making critical remarks about the status and progress of the Pontiac’s economic development.

Goyette and Taylor characterize their efforts holding the MRC accountable and posed various questions and comments to Toller disputing the legitimacy of sending the letter.

During the exchange between Toller and Goyette, Toller described the published materials referenced in the letter as “harassing, bullying and unacceptable.”

Both Goyette and Taylor characterized the letter as an attack on freedom of expression and asked if the council if they had the right to express themselves and hold them accountable.

Toller replied that freedom of expression is a right but that “it does not include being critical and calling people names and calling people liars. That is when you crossed the line and went too far.”

Toller said that the Council of Mayors unanimously agreed that this letter should be sent at the last plenary meeting. Toller also said she hopes Goyette gets involved in the work of the MRC through committees, and stated the letter does not preclude them from continuing to request information through established channels.

In an interview after the meeting Toller expanded on her remarks during the meeting, by saying: “We’re working for the public. Those of us that are elected don’t deserve that (being insulted). Nobody should have the right to name-call and put us down, especially when we’re doing our best.”

When asked what the line is between legitimate criticism and remarks that warrant this kind of legal response, Toller said: “If somebody criticizes you, it’s for a specific reason. You deal with it and move past it by solving the problem in their case. They (Goyette and Taylor), were never satisfied.”

Colleen Jones, strategic communications advisor at the MRC added the line where criticism becomes defamation is when it becomes a personal attack on integrity and professional competence.

Toller and Jones also connected the need for these kinds of action with the general phenomena of the rise of online harassment across the Canada.

“It’s a proven fact that since covid, attacks, especially online, have really escalated. It’s mainly against female politicians,” said Toller.

Toller said she doesn’t expect any further legal action will be necessary as the letter has had its desired effect. She estimated the cost of employing the law firm to send the letter as about $1,000, which she said was money well spent.

Waste-from-Energy

Toller announced that she recently met with newly elected Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, where she discussed the proposed waste-to-energy facility in the region, and homelessness.

In an interview after the meeting, Toller said the discussion around homelessness related to her own personal research on the topic and had nothing policywise to do with Pontiac.

The other part of the conservation had to do with Toller’s lobbying efforts to make a waste-to-energy project in the Pontiac economically viable.

“I planted a seed that MRC Pontiac would like to receive the waste from Ontario, and that we have hope to build an waste-to-energy facility,” said Toller. “But it will depend on having sufficient tonnage. And the tonnage would probably come from Ontario because even the Outaouais doesn’t have enough tonnage, it’s only at 90,000. And Papineau would probably never send their waste here. We (the MRC Pontiac) only have 5000 tonnes”.

Toller went on to add that she expects the City of Ottawa to start moving forward solutions on waste in the first quarter of 2023 on waste.

Toller has not received any official sign off from the province as to whether or not they would be willing to open the border to Ontario waste, but she remains optimistic that the Quebec Minister of Environment is on board with the principal of the site based on previous discussions.

“The way I see this is that, first we need to see what the plan for Ottawa will be. And if they do see us as the best option, then it will be a green light for this whole process”, said Toller.

“The facility we want to build is a 400,000 tonne facility to produce 35 to 40 megawatts of electricity because the premier needs a lot of power. This is the most efficient way to produce electricity. And most of all, it is taking garbage using it as a resource so we will no longer have to spend $1.7 million a year trucking to Lachute. And it would bring 50 jobs to the Pontiac,” claimed Toller.

Youth Council

Toller announced that the MRC youth council for 2023 had 22 interested students, which she expected would increase to 24 after search was concluded at École secondaire Sieur de Coulonge and Dr. Wilbert Keon School. The inaugural meeting will be held on Jan. 16 at the MRC building in Campbell’s Bay.

Toller said she hopes the incoming President of the Youth Council will be available to make a report each month to the Council of Mayors.

“I’m looking forward to the kids and what their excitement and their input and your enthusiasm will lead to,” said Toller.

TNO budget

During the territoire non organisé (TNO) Lac-Nilgaut part of the meeting, the Council of Mayors passed the area’s budget.

Tax revenue from the territory is projected to be $362,394, with the mill rate for residents going from 63 cents to 69 cents. This will bring in about $17, 000 more revenue from than last year, according to Annie Vaillancourt, the MRC’s accountant.

Major expenses in the TNO budget include road work, air medics, administration and waste management, among other services.

Various grants from other revenue from the provincial government combined with the tax revenue will cover the $751,997 budget, which is up from the $726,526 budget from 2022.

The budget also appropriated $5,243 from the territory’s surplus to balance the budget.

Forestry Letter

Toller announced that she personally delivered a letter from the MRC to the new Forestry Minister for Quebec, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, and invited her to come to the Pontiac.

The letter requested that the province ensure “adequate volumes of wood are allocated (through supply guarantees) or reserved for the Pontiac.”

Toller outlined that the owner of the soon-to-be opened mill in Rapides-des-Joachims, Bill Kane Jr., was concerned about the province potentially cutting back on the pine allocation for mills in the region. Toller said that she would make the case to exempt the Rapides-des-Joachims mill and any new mills that reopen in the region from that policy if it happens.

Miscellaneous

It was announced that Marie Josée Corriveau, winner of the recent dance competition show Révolution, would receive a plaque from the MRC at an upcoming celebration in Fort-Coulonge on Jan. 21.

A resolution was passed announcing a teleworking policy for MRC employees which will allow them to work from home for up to two days a week.

A resolution supporting a request to review the legislative framework to allow for virtual municipal sessions from the MRC Brome Missisquoi was passed.

A resolution was passed accepting a resolution from the Municipality of Chichester requesting MRC deal with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH) to reform the methodology for establishing the local municipalities shares within a framework of the MRC budget making process.

“We need to look at how the system is set up and how to make it fair for every municipality,” said Mayor of Chichester Donald Gagnon before passing the resolution.

It was announced that the Donations and Sponsorship Program will be discontinued in 2023, which would save the MRC $10,000. Toller mentioned the MRC would revisit this decision next year.

The MRC passed a resolution requesting that future work on the Limerick Island Bridge be changed from starting at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. as well as requesting a sign be established along Storyland Road in Renfrew County that would notify drivers when the bridge will be closed. As of now, no new bridge closures are expected until the spring.

You can watch the whole Council of Mayors meeting on the MRC Pontiac’s Facebook page.

Mayor of Portage-du-Fort Lynne Cameron with her son Jeffrey and her husband Ron pose for a picture with Warden Jane Toller. During the MRC meeting, a ceremony was held for Cameron, which conferred a plaque from Fédération québécoise des municipalités for 20 years service as mayor. Cameron received a standing ovation from her fellow mayors.

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