STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Jan. 20, 2021
The MRC Pontiac Council of Mayors held its first meeting of 2021 on Jan. 20 over the video conferencing platform Zoom, while also streaming it live to Facebook.
All of the 18 mayors were in attendance, as well as Warden Jane Toller.
Forestry resolution
There was tension in the air during Wednesday’s meeting, once again stemming from a resolution regarding the development of a biopark at the Pontiac Regional Industrial Park.
The resolution, which was raised by Bristol Mayor Brent Orr, stated all the groundwork that has been laid for a biopark through the efforts of the Fibre Pontiac project, including how the National Research Council and Canmet ENERGY had completed four of seven phases of a technology feasibility study through $500,000 of federal government funding. Given that, the resolution’s function was to firmly support . . .
the biopark and to send copies of the resolution to Pontiac MNA André Fortin, Pontiac MP Will Amos, Outaouais Minister Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks Pierre Dufour, Minister of Natural Resources of Canada Seamus O’Regan and Renmatix, the American-based company that could potentially be the centerpiece of a biopark.
Initially, a cohort of mayors: Clarendon’s John Armstrong, Shawville’s Sandra Murray, Campbell’s Bay’s Maurice Beauregard, Chichester’s Donald Gagnon and Bryson’s Alain Gagnon, spoke out in favour of the resolution. They said that there was too much time and work put into a biopark at the Litchfield site to give up.
Disagreement began when Toller spoke up to say that the resolution seemed to have a lot of different elements to it and that it should be reviewed by the entire council during a pre-council plenary session. She added that going forward, no resolutions that were submitted the day before would be allowed to be raised. L’Isle aux Allumettes Mayor Winston Sunstrum interjected to clarify that the resolution was actually submitted on the Friday before the meeting.
Fort Coulonge Mayor Debbie Laporte said that she felt raising another resolution regarding the Litchfield biopark was insulting to the nine mayors, and Toller, who voted against the Nov. 25 resolution regarding Fibre Pontiac consultant Pierre Vézina’s contract for 2021. Laporte referred to her own vote as being against the project, not just the consultant.
Armstrong responded to Laporte by explaining that the Nov. 25 vote was supposed to be regarding the consultant, not the fate of the project itself. Litchfield Mayor Colleen Lariviere said that clarification was needed if those who voted against were doing so to stop a project.
Toller asked Orr if it would be OK for the resolution to be sent back to the plenary for further discussion given that it wasn’t especially time sensitive. Orr said that the resolution was self-explanatory.
Sunstrum resolved the disagreement by suggesting that an amendment be added onto the resolution to send it back to the plenary for reviewing. However, the actionable items within the resolution were still passed.
Toller said during her post-meeting scrum that going forward, resolutions would have to be discussed at the plenary session a week before every meeting.
Sunstrum explained after the meeting that despite Toller’s new resolution suggestion, the municipal code requires that resolutions be submitted within only three days of the meeting.
“You’re supposed to do your resolutions three days ahead of time and in this situation, it’s more highlighted I guess,” he said. “We have had a lot of resolutions in the past that didn’t respect the three-day requirement.”
Toller also cited her concern that a similar resolution was passed and sent to elected officials during the Dec.16 meeting. That resolution contained less specific information regarding the biopark, but was intended to welcome the company Renmatix and re-affirm support for the project.
“I think it’s important not to flood ministers, who are busy, with resolutions every month,” Toller said during the scrum. “I think that if you’ve got something specific, a request where you’re asking for action … that it makes sense. We should be particular about what we send to those ministers.”
“Every time we have a resolution that is approved, it is reported in the media, the public read it and begin to think, ‘Wow this project is definitely going to happen,’” she continued. “It’s very important to never promise things to the people of the Pontiac that we can’t deliver 100 per cent.”
CN Rail corridor bylaw
Another controversial issue dominated much of the meeting, with a proposed bylaw that would allow snowmobilers and ATV riders to access the old CN Rail bed not being tabled as per the request of two mayors: Armstrong and Orr.
The bylaw was initially adopted in draft form during the Dec. 16 meeting and it would allow snowmobile and ATV access to the abandoned railway bed in the Municipalities of Clarendon, Bristol, Litchfield and Portage du Fort.
Both Armstrong and Orr objected to the bylaw’s tabling because they felt that the quad and snowmobile clubs within their municipalities should be consulted further before passing the bylaw.
“We need to meet with the representatives from the club and have a written agreement … to bring to a future planning meeting,” Armstrong said during the meeting. “I don’t see how you can pass something that isn’t already in agreement with both parties.”
Economic development director Cyndy Phillips explained that the bylaw being tabled does not mean that the corridor can be used right away. She said that more steps are required, including it being sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval, which takes several months. She added that meetings would be scheduled with the heads of snowmobile clubs, a representative from CN Rail and others who should be present.
Both mayors insisted that further discussion was still needed among their local clubs and it was eventually agreed upon by the council that a special meeting could be scheduled for later this month or in early February to table the bylaw.
The meeting also featured a lengthy breakdown of the various concerns about the bylaw that were submitted by 22 different residents who live alongside the old rail bed. These concerns were: noise from ATVs and snowmobiles, safety of excess speed and crossings, parking obstructing fire truck access to the river near chemin de Pontiac Station, biodiversity concerns, desire to have a non-motorized corridor, farmers needing to cross the corridor, civil liability issues and signage.
Phillips and land planner Alexandre Savoie-Perron attempted to speak to each of these concerns, explaining how protections would be in place as part of the bylaw to ensure safety and security.
Regarding the request to allow non-motorized traffic, Phillips said that allowing snowmobiles and ATVs to travel on a regulated corridor avoids the usage of other trails by motorized vehicles. Over the years, the CN rail bed has been known to be used by motorized vehicles as well as non-motorized users.
Miscallenous
Campbell’s Bay Maurice Beauregard gave the council a heads-up regarding a future resolution that would attempt to have municipalities and the SHQ on the same page in relation to permits. He said that he will be bringing it forward at the February meeting.
“I’m going to ask the table of mayors to support the motion, we’re going to have to pass it at Campbell’s Bay in our next meeting,” Beauregard said after the meeting. “It will be a motion asking the MRC [that] any project that goes on through the MRC, that their inspector should reach out to ours to confirm that there’s been a permit taken out.”
Beauregard explained how the resolution stems from a situation that came to his attention last summer when a man had the SHQ assist him in a project that was too close to another property, creating significant inconveniences for the resident. He said that while that issue was resolved, the problem of the SHQ not consulting municipal building inspectors was a deeper issue that a resolution would hopefully solve.
Beauregard also introduced a resolution that would seek to revise the new line 910 bus route that Transcollines adopted for 2021. The route now has a transfer in Alymer for those residents who need to travel deeper into Gatineau or Ottawa, as opposed to the previous one that went straight to Ottawa.
He mentioned that he heard from a resident who had long-travelled on the previous route to go straight to their job in Ottawa, but was disappointed by the new route.
The resolution was passed, and it will request that Transcollines look into its newly formed route and whether it can resume its direct service to Ottawa.
The meeting was also used to authorize the MRC’s financial contribution to the Conférence des préfets de l’Outaouais (CPO) for 2021-2022. A resolution was passed that confirmed a payment of $34,000 to the CPO.
MRC Director General Bernard Roy spoke briefly about an item that called for public support in the shape of a letter for the Connexion Fibre Picanoc internet project, as the project intends to submit an official request for funding by the Feb. 15 deadline.
Earlier in the meeting, Phillips announced a $500 donation to the Life Downtown committee in Rapides des Joachims to support its “kids party time” activity that is scheduled to be held on July 10. The activity “allows children from their municipality to get together and have a great day out with their family.” The donation was the sole recommendation of the economic development department.
