CALEB NICKERSON

CAMPBELL’S BAY

March 20, 2019

MRC Pontiac’s council of mayors monthly meeting on March 20 was a packed house, as the public seating area was filled with ATV enthusiasts as well as snowmobilers and a cyclist or two.

They were all there to express their views on the usage of the PPJ trail. The ATV crowd asserted that the trail is underused by cyclists and foot traffic during the summer months, and they expressed their interest in creating a multi-use trail. They also said that off-road vehicles bring in more tourism dollars than bicycles.

The issue was studied at length back in 2016 under the previous council, who created an ATV committee to explore the possibility of using the over-width on certain parts of the PPJ, as well as opening up more back roads to off-road vehicles. When the committee expressed their interest in creating a multi-use trail, they butted heads with local cycling advocates and the snowmobilers who use the trail in the winter.

Remo Pasteris, head of the Green PPJ Verte committee, was present at the meeting and explained that half of PPJ’s $250,000 annual budget comes from Route Verte, a fund only available for cycling trails. He submitted analysis by Vélo Quebec on the economic benefits of cycling in the province.

Pontiac Snowmobile Driver’s Association President Alain Goulet explained that he is unconvinced the PPJ could be made a multi-use trail. He cited provincial off-road vehicle trail regulations, which prohibit new trails in close proximity to residences, as well as the high maintenance costs involved.

Pontiac Warden Jane Toller thanked the visitors for attending and explained that the council is working to expand existing ATV networks in the region. Speaking with the press after the meeting, she added that Campbell’s Bay Mayor Maurice Beauregard’s recently proposed study on the use of the PPJ has been shelved, but council is still looking at different options.

“We decided a study wasn’t necessary,” she said. “A study takes a lot of time, energy, money, staff time and it’s been studied a lot. It’s been talked about but never resolved, but we will resolve this in this term.”

She added that expanding the ATV trail network is one of the council’s 11 priorities, and said that there’s still more work to be done on the PPJ file.

“In the end, we want to build tourism, we need to provide for as many different ways of travel as possible,” she said. “There’s no preference [for] one or the other. I think that the unfortunate thing is, for such a long period of time here there’s been a bit of a war going on between the two users. Other regions have found a way to make it work, that everyone can share the use. I think we need to maximize the use. I think it is underused right now.”

Following the public question period, the meeting got underway with a presentation from newly-elected Pontiac Youth Council President Jordan Larivière.

There was a shuffle on the Public Safety Committee, as Calumet Island Mayor Serge Newberry joined while Sheenboro Mayor Doris Ranger stepped down.

“At the moment there can only be seven members [on the committee] and we had one mayor that was very interested and he’s been given the opportunity to join,” Toller explained after the meeting. “I would like to investigate whether we cannot have eight.”

MRC Economic Development Director Danielle Newman went over her department’s recommendations for donations and sponsorships, all of which were approved by council. The Groupe L’Île du Grand Calumet, the Pontiac bursaries, the Fred Meilleur Memorial Golf Tournament and the Danford Lake Mud Run were all cleared for $500 donations and the CSHBO’s Adult education bursaries received $250.

In the larger donation category, the Shawville Lion’s Country Jamboree was approved for a grant of $5,000.

Newman then broke down the Territory Development Fund budget for 2019/2020, which totals $1,143,857, as well as the policies and priorities for the fund.

She also encouraged the council to spread the word about an upcoming information session on April 4 in Campbell’s Bay about work opportunities at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories facility in Chalk River Ont. The meeting will provide local businesses and trades people with details on the upcoming construction contracts at the facility and how to apply for them.

“As Danielle said, they’re going to be spending about a billion dollars with construction, building new buildings, repairing things …,” Toller said after the meeting. “We’re being given an opportunity to bid on some of the work, which I think is going to be great.”

Following an in-camera session, council approved a six month extension of a $100,000 grant offer to LiveWell, a CBD extraction company looking to build a facility in Litchfield, provided the company complies with new conditions to be laid out by Newman.

“It was brought to our attention that the deadline was later than originally thought,” Toller said, noting it is March 31.“Because we are very supportive of LiveWell and very hopeful that the research and development facility and whatever other plans they have come to fruition, we felt it was important to reinstate the opportunity.”

In the post-meeting media scrum, Toller went over several ongoing files.

She said that the Economic SWAT team would be gathering in the next month, following a request from the MRC for more regular meetings.

“I do understand that it might not be the most efficient way to have a huge meeting too often, people are busy, but I just thought it would be beneficial to some members who haven’t been kept up to date to have a chance to meet together and have an update,” Toller said.

The Piscine Pontiac Pool committee, of which Toller is a member, is continuing work on their project.

“We’re getting ready to make our submissions to the provincial and federal government and we’ve also applied for some smaller grants,” she said, adding that an engineer’s report on the land will be required once the snow melts.

She added that she is no longer seeking a president for the committee, something she said she would look into back in October 2018.

“We have a committee and at this point we haven’t really needed a president,” she said. “We just have active members.”

She noted that the MRC is submitting a letter to the provincial government giving support to a proposed landfill site near the Pontiac Sorting Centre.

“They have a need for a technical landfill,” she said. “The MRC is supporting giving them the opportunity to expand, but there will still be public consultation needed. It’s a first step because they have some challenges. They have excess construction debris and if they can’t find markets for it they need a place to deposit it.”

The Sorting Centre recently made headlines after receiving more than $40,000 in fines from the Quebec Ministry of the Environment for numerous infractions relating to the improper storage of asbestos and other construction materials.