STEPHEN RICCIO
MRC PONTIAC Feb. 24, 2021
The MRC Pontiac Council of Mayors gathered virtually for a special meeting on Feb. 24 to discuss several topics pertaining to forestry.
The meeting was called following the council’s meeting on Feb. 17 when three items submitted to the agenda by L’Isle aux Allumettes Mayor Winston Sunstrum were excluded despite opposition from eight of 18 mayors. The items were the featured topics of last Wednesday’s special meeting, which was hosted on Zoom and streamed live to Facebook.
The sole original resolution in the meeting was . . .
passed towards the end of the sitting. Sunstrum submitted a resolution to follow up on one that was passed in December that affirmed the council’s intention to meet to discuss forestry. The resolution was passed and its unofficial translation stated more specifically, “That the MRC Forestry Committee schedule a series of meetings … in order to articulate a Strategic Plan for forestry in the Pontiac.”
Warden Jane Toller told Sunstrum following the resolution’s passing that there would be a forestry committee meeting scheduled for March 1, and she explained that there had been no committee meeting held since October because of former director of territory Régent Dugas’s retirement and current director Jason Durand’s integration into the MRC.
While the resolution passed with no resistance, there was more time centred around the two items of information that Sunstrum submitted: the first being to bring an academic article from the Journal of Environmental Management regarding a biorefinery case study in the Pontiac to the attention of the council, and the second being a request to Durand that information be presented to the council on the status of the MRC’s access to Sustainable Forest Management Program (PADF) funding.
In his introduction of the item regarding the biorefinery case study, Sunstrum provided context on the entire Pontiac Regional Industrial Park biopark project. More specifically, the progress that had been made through Fibre Pontiac, its consultant Pierre Vézina and his attempted attraction of major companies to invest in a potential biopark, most notably the American-based Renmatix, which have been discussed as the possible investors of a $100 million biorefinery being built. He pointed out the progress in feasibility studies through the National Research Council’s work, that the article outlined the potential for three different sized biorefineries and he explained how the featuring of the Pontiac as a location of an academic case study was indicative of the Pontiac beginning to break through with regard to forestry industry development.
“So I invite everyone to read the article,” Sunstrum concluded. “I think it’s a feather in our cap to have our project written up in a scientific journal … It has been a long journey and we’ve come a long way with this project. The fourth [feasibility] study is almost complete, the file itself is very well built, and there’s a strong base of information to pursue.”
Île du Grand Calumet Mayor Serge Newberry spoke up to say that the article, which he had read in advance of the meeting, was helpful for decision makers with coming to a conclusion on the project, but that it had its limits.
“So this study doesn’t prove that a biorefinery would be a good investment, it only provides some useful data for us to use in determining the viability of the project,” he said.
Litchfield Mayor Colleen Larivière responded to Newberry to clarify that it wouldn’t be the MRC investing in the project, but a company such as Renmatix. She said it was important to recognize how positive it is for the Pontiac to be featured in the article.
Newberry added that while the study does go over the various sizes of biorefinery available, he felt that eight years of development on the biopark should have determined the size that the project would be going forward with.
Rapides des Joachims Mayor Jim Gibson closed off the discussion by stating he thought the study was “excellent” and “well-informed”, and he asked whether the study had been sent to Renmatix. Sunstrum confirmed to Gibson that it was indeed sent to them.
Shortly after discussion on the article, Durand then provided a breakdown of the PADF fund, explaining that the MRC Pontiac is the MRC responsible for managing the provincial fund for the entire Outaouais.
Durand outlined the PADF program in response to the questions that Sunstrum had submitted as part of his information item, and Sunstrum thanked him for the presentation. Durand added that the file was very complex and that it would be best served to be explained to the council during a plenary meeting.
The MRC’s next meeting is scheduled to be hosted virtually on March 17 at 6:30 p.m.
