The meeting lasted just under two hours and saw a routine passing of resolutions agreed to by the Council of Mayors during last week’s private plenary meeting.

Here is some of the news and resolutions to come out of the meeting: . . .

COVID-19

More employees are coming into the MRC office as COVID-19 restrictions ease, according to Bernard Roy, general director of the MRC Pontiac. As of now, about 50 per cent of employees have returned, with more returning gradually in the near future.

The MRC is still involved in trying to encourage residents to get vaccinated.

“There had been discussions about us organizing some mobile clinics, but the CISSO has had difficulty organizing that because of a shortage of workers,” said Toller, “The CISSO also said that given the improvement in number cases and less testing they were concerned that if they organized [mobile clinics], there may not have been enough people interested to come out.”

Residents are still encouraged to get vaccinated, with the vaccination clinic at Campbell’s Bay Recreation Centre open at least until June.

“It’s still possible to get a first vacation, and we’re asking everyone to maintain vigilance,” said Toller.

MRC Finances:

During the presentation on the finances of MRC it was reported that the MRC has $2,120,927.70 in accounts receivable. The MRC has a list of accounts payable which is worth $200,084.36 and has paid bills totalling $147,866.06 since the last meeting.

A resolution was passed on how to spend the $879,829 that the MRC received from the COVID-19 fund made available by the Quebec Ministry of Municipal Assistance.

The resolution suggested the MRC spend that money on:

· Setting aside $326.73 for the purpose renting halls for plenary and council meetings.

· The purchase portable audio visual equipment for about $1600.

· The, purchase of three special computers for inspectors for a total of $16,627.92

· The pouring of a concrete slab for a new generator for $4,461.97.

· The repair of the parking at the MRC building for $9448.88.

It was also stated that the MRC spent $22,415 on the Transcollines bus system between April and December 2021. The council passed a resolution to request $101,082 in financial aide from the Quebec Ministry of Transport for further maintainance and expansion of the system.

The MRC passed a resolution agreeing to enter into an agreement with the Quebec Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to receive a $208,333 grant from the Regions and Rurality fund for the Trajectoire Pontiac project.

Sponsorships and Donations:

An exceptional sponsorship of $1000 was granted to Naomie Lusignan in order for her to compete in international sport competitions. The motion was unanimously supported.

A donation of $400 was given to the Groupe de Ile-du-Grand-Calumet in order to advertise their fundraising activities.

A donation of $1000 was given to the Pontiac Scholarship Fund to be used to help a student attend a post-secondary education.

Culture:

A resolution was passed to call for projects for the Pontiac Creative Development Fund on April 4. The deadline for submissions will be May 13 and the submitted projects would be presented to the regional Council of Mayors on June 8.

A resolution was passed to contribute $2,000 to Loisir Sport Outaouais to improve that organization’s website.

A resolution was also unanimously passed that supported rainbow flags being hung at the MRC buildings and in every municipal office this June during pride month.

Public Safety:

It was announced that the Public Security Committee of the MRC Pontiac and the Council of Mayors came to an agreement of the establishment of local priorities for the police force in the area. The first priority concerns the road and off-road safety issues. Sûreté du Québec promises to target one area of concern for each municipality, which could include things like speeding, dock patrol, not obeying stop signs or issues concerning offroad vehicles.

The second priority would concern criminal issues, which could mean issues along the lines graffiti, drug use or loitering.

With both priorities, Sûreté du Québec commits to targeting one specific area of concern for each municipality and patrol those areas a minimum of once per 35 days per municipality.

Petitions:

Two petitions were mentioned during the MRC meeting.

The first concerns a petition launched by MNA André Fortin to maintain the SOPFEU base in Maniwaki that is to be presented in the National Assembly.

The second was also a reminder of a petition cornering the demand for cell phone coverage in Pontiac, especially in the upper Pontiac. MP Sophie Chatel plans to present the petition in the House of Commons.

Residents were encouraged to sign both petitions.

Environment:

A resolution was unanimously passed to support the creation of a protected area in the Cologne and Noire rivers and participate in the regional consultations regarding the protection of these rivers.

Toller mentioned she was working remarks for the Chalk River hearing on May 31, though said she would discuss those remarks with mayors at next month’s plenary meeting.

She also discussed her waste management priorities for the Pontiac after the meeting, particularly on how to decrease the amount of money spent by MRC on removing waste.

“The MRC Pontiac is spending $1.7 million just to truck our waste to a landfill,” said Toller.

“How can we pull the compostable material out of what’s currently going to landfill that we know would be about 40 per cent[of the total amount of waste],” said Toller. “So, if you took $1.7 million and took 40 per cent out, that would be a significant savings. And our neighbour Vallée de Gatineau, has already built a platform for composting, so we could easily send our compostable waste to them.”

Toller also disscussed bringing a waste-to-energy plant that she has long advocated for to the MRC and helping reopen a privately owned construction waste disposal service in Litchfield as further solutions to the region’s garbage problems.

The whole meeting is availible to watch on the MRC Pontiac’s Facebook page.

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