Feeling nostalgic for last year? Well here’s the last of the THE EQUITY’s 2024 Year in Review. Take some time to look back on some of last year’s most memorable Pontiac stories.

October

Community supports Hodgins family

After a fire destroyed the house of Clarendon residents Doug and Reuben Hodgins and the future home of nephew Kyle Cockerell, community members rallied in support of the families with various fundraising efforts.

Family friend Karissa Rutledge helped organize a benefit fundraiser with a raffle for prizes and pies to help the families get back on their feet. Cockerell, who recently moved back to the Pontiac after being in Alberta, was grateful for the community support. “One of the big reasons we wanted to come back home is because [ . . . ] there’s a community that will rally this way,” he said.

Ladysmith teen qualifies for world darts championships

Fourteen-year-old Nathan Brown qualified for the World Junior Masters, one of the premier global tournaments for junior darts players, which took place in Hungary in October. Nathan’s mother Melissa Brown, who has two other kids, said it was hard to come up with the money to accompany her son to Budapest. One of Brown’s sponsors, family friend Zandra Charbonneau, raised funds so that Melissa could travel with her son – a trip that, for two, cost over $4,000.

Alleyn and Cawood takes evaluation fight to Quebec City

Alleyn and Cawood director general Isabelle Cardinal and councillors Sidney Squitti and Guy Bergeron travelled to Quebec City for the Federation of Quebec Municipalities conference, where they took the opportunity to to meet with several top politicians to discuss what can be done to fix what they called a flawed municipal evaluation system. “We’ve seen a lot of openness from the ministry’s office, because now we’ll be working with an employee over there that will be looking at our situation,” Cardinal said upon her return.

Annual audit finds Waltham’s finances back to normal

Waltham’s municipal council held a special meeting to receive the municipality’s 2023 financial statement, presented to council by an external auditor for the first time in at least 10 years. This meeting came after the release of a report by Quebec’s municipal commission in August found wrongdoing by the municipality’s director general of over 40 years, who was revealed to have, among other things, misused funds and hired his own wife as a municipal employee. For many years during the DG’s tenure, the auditor’s annual offer to present his findings was not transmitted to the council. On Oct. 9, auditor Simon Thibault said there were no discrepancies in the 2023 financial statement. “Everything has gone well,” he said.

ESSC Firefighter program wins awards

A contingent from ESSC’s firefighter 1 training course travelled to Quebec City for the Forces Avenir gala, an event celebrating the successes of students across the province. Students Emma Rochon and Talira Savard got up on stage to accept the “coup de coeur” award on behalf of their program, which is the first of its kind in Quebec and allows students to get their Firefighter 1 certification while also completing their regular high school graduation requirements.

Equine vet serving Pontiac passes French exam

Valerie Higginson, an equine vet serving the eastern half of the Pontiac, passed the Quebec government’s French language exam, allowing her to get a permanent licence to practice in Quebec. Higginson had been working on a temporary licence for about a year and half, but decided to pursue the French licence due to a large need for vets in the Pontiac.

Ladysmith Oktoberfest returns to three-day festival

Oktoberfest Ladysmith returned to a three-day festival for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, putting on a weekend of German-themed fun. The festival is the biggest in the Outaouais according to the organizers, and this year featured German dancers, music and food, as well as Pontiac staples such as the parade and the truck and tractor pull. Volunteer Jennifer Mielke said the event brings the community together. “It’s the only time of year where there’s a traffic jam in Ladysmith,” she said.

Teen hit at Shawville crosswalk

A 16-year-old Pontiac High School student was hit while crossing Centre Street in Shawville and was sent to the hospital with minor injuries, according to SQ spokesperson Marc Tessier. According to THE EQUITY’s sources, the incident happened at the crosswalk where the PPJ crosses Centre Street around 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 11. Police arrived on the scene and an ambulance transported the teenager to a hospital in Gatineau, where PHS principal Dr. Terry Burns heard a “very positive report” on the student.

Hydro techs restore power to hurricane victims

A group of four Pontiac men spent several weeks in North Carolina helping to restore power to the approximately three million people who were without electricity following Hurricane Helene. The men worked long days starting at 6 a.m., often working in fields containing rattlesnakes and ticks. In one of the areas the men were working, 111 people had drowned and 1,000 people were still unaccounted for by the time they left.

Residents frustrated with MRC’s deferral of new shares bylaw

At the monthly Council of Mayors meeting, members of Alleyn and Cawood’s 370% Evaluation Taskforce expressed frustration with the council’s inaction on developing a new method for calculating the shares each municipality pays to the MRC every year. Several members came to the podium, pleading with the mayors to pass a draft bylaw, presented to the mayors in August, that would do away with the use of the comparative factor in the calculation of shares. Several mayors stood up to express support for the residents’ cause, but said they need more time to draft a bylaw that benefits all municipalities.

Comets launch new season in Shawville

The Pontiac Senior Comets played their first home opener in almost five years. The game was played in Shawville instead of Fort Coulonge due to a mechanical failure at the team’s usual home rink. Comets captain Darcy Findlay used his sway in the Shawville community to move the team’s first four home games to the Shawville arena while the Coulonge arena made its updates. The Comets players were met with whoops and cheers during pregame introductions, with special emphasis for assistant captain Quinn O’Brien and head captain Findlay, both of whom are native Pontiacers.

Chapeau honours community member with memorial ball tournament

A softball tournament was organized in Chapeau in memory of Robert Chartrand, a community member who passed away in a snowmobiling accident in 2021. “He was very committed in his community,” said his sister Andrea, who helped organize the second annual tournament. “I think for us, it really is a way to keep Robert with us.”

Show choir starts up in Shawville

Pontiac High School teacher Phil Holmes and his wife Alina started rehearsals for Pontiac’s first kids’ show choir. The choir, which features singing, choreography, and dancing, fills a void in the Pontiac for musical education. “Not every child wants to play a sport,” said Holmes, who said for him music was crucial to his development and that he hopes to give kids an alternative to other more traditional extracurricular activities.

Kitigan Zibi to lead Outaouais conservation initiative

Leaders from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation’s natural resources and wildlife office launched a new project that will bring together different levels of government with local environmental organizations to create a roadmap for how, and where, to create conservation areas to best protect the biodiversity across the First Nation’s traditional territory, with the goal of protecting 30 per cent of the region’s land and freshwater ecosystems by the year 2030.

November

Citizens of the Pontiac radon info session

Local activism group Citizens of the Pontiac (CoP) organized a public information session to raise awareness about the presence of radon in the Pontiac and how it can affect residents’ health. The hazardous radioactive gas is produced as uranium breaks down in rock and soil. While not particularly dangerous if diluted outdoors, the invisible, odorless and tasteless gas can be harmful to human health if it accumulates indoors. The event brought together experts and concerned citizens to discuss the risks and ways to protect Pontiac residents against exposure.

Flaming trailer left at Quyon fire hall

Several witnesses helped THE EQUITY trace the path of a man who allegedly drove a flaming camping trailer down Chemin Lac-des-Loups into Quyon, left the still flaming trailer at the town’s fire station, and drove away. The man allegedly shot four times in the direction of a volunteer firefighter who was following him.

Comets get first home win

The Pontiac Senior Comets notched a mark in the victory column with a 5-3 victory over visiting Glengarry Pipers in their second home game of the season.

Court dismisses lawsuit against Litchfield

A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Municipality of Litchfield in which the plaintiffs claimed financial, moral and exemplary damages. The conflict traced back to 2007 when a land surveyor listed a lot as belonging to the Municipality of Litchfield which the plaintiffs, Colleen McGuire, Michael McGuire and Mary Ellen McGuire, believed belonged to their father, Aloysius McGuire. The plaintiffs sued Litchfield for $14,480.30 in damages they claimed to have suffered over the course of the dispute which began in 2015. The decision stated “the family suffered sufficient prejudice, administrative errors and that its application had a chance of success,” but that because it was initiated more than six months after the damages had been caused, it was not valid under Quebec’s municipal act.

PHS grads cross the stage

Pontiac High School’s 2024 graduating students took a very solid step into adulthood when they crossed the stage to mark their official completion of their high school diplomas. Many of the graduates began their high school journeys in 2019, not knowing that only months later, the COVID-19 pandemic would flip the high school experience they’d imagined on its head. Class valedictorian Holly Annabelle Smith called the class resilient in the face of obstacles.

Calumet elects Corriveau to council

Lifelong Calumet Island resident Chantal Corriveau was elected to be the seat three councillor for that municipality in the Nov. 3 byelection. Of the 605 residents eligible to vote, only 232 cast a ballot. Corriveau won 168 of the votes cast. The other candidate, Francine Tremblay, received 62 votes and two votes were rejected. “I just promised to be there, simple as that, because they really needed a replacement,” Corriveau said.

Canada Post drivers hit the picket line

Pontiac’s Canada Post drivers joined the 55,000 or so postal workers across the country who walked off the job in November as part of a nation-wide strike after their union failed to reach a new collective agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers had been in negotiations with the federal government since Nov. 2023 around issues including pay, health benefits, pension, and whether Canada Post will shift to delivering seven days a week.

Quyon Lionettes disband

The Quyon Lionettes announced that after 41 years of service, they would be disbanding as a club, a decision that was made at their November meeting. “The membership declined over the years as members aged and were forced to resign due to health conditions, some passing away while still members as well,” said Jennifer Larose, president of the club. “Attempts to keep the club active were made by reaching out to residents but were not successful.” The remaining funds were distributed equally between the three schools in the Municipality of Pontiac as well as the Pontiac Hospital Foundation.

Shawville 4-H annual banquet

The Shawville 4-H club gathered in Bristol to celebrate the year’s achievements. Kasey Lafleur passed the presidential torch to Amy Sheppard. This year, the club’s largest project was the square dancing project, in which 30 of the club’s 65 active members took part. The project took three teams to two competitions and at each competition, one of the Shawville 4-H members took home the calling award.

Shawville’s Grant Moore wins top acting award at Toronto film school

Grant Moore, who grew up in Aylmer and moved to Shawville when he was 11, won the Toronto Film School’s Best Actor award at his graduation from the Acting for Film, TV and Theatre program. He has performed with the Pontiac Community Players, including the leading role in Having Hope at Home and his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof which he said inspired his love for theatre. “There’s something magical about being on stage that you can’t get anywhere else,” he said. The award distinguished him as the best male actor in his graduating class as voted by his instructors.

Woman safe after 42 hours lost in the bush

Seventy-three-year-old Alleyn and Cawood resident Grace Early was found safe and sound after getting lost in the forest for two nights about five kilometres from her home. Her safe return was thanks to a massive search effort that saw more than 400 community volunteers comb the woods for hours alongside police, local firefighters, and search and rescue teams. “I’d spent the night before in the rain,” Early told THE EQUITY from her hospital bed in Shawville. “I was so wet and dirty and by the next morning, I couldn’t move at all. So I sat there and I prayed.”

Bouffe Pontiac users double since pre-pandemic

By the end of 2024, the surge in demand for food bank Bouffe Pontiac caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was not showing any signs of slowing, reaching near double the users it had in 2019. In 2024, the number of people using the Campbell’s Bay food bank increased from 718 to 800. “That’s a big jump for a small food back,” said director Kim Laroche. “I thought that after the pandemic, [the number of people we get] would stop increasing, but it’s still going up. What we’re hearing is that high housing costs are bringing more people to the food bank.”

December

Whiteduck new NDP candidate for Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi

The former chief of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation Gilbert W. Whiteduck was confirmed as the new NDP candidate for the Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi riding after running uncontested. His nomination was celebrated at the Wakefield Community Centre. “I’m really humbled by the opportunity and I want to thank the riding association for all of your support in their work,” Whiteduck said. “I will continue to be involved because I believe in where I live. This beautiful area needs to be protected, for you and for the younger people that are coming.”

Swisha’s mill considers closing before Christmas

The Commonwealth Plywood sawmill in Rapides des Joachims announced plans to shut down operations for an undetermined period beginning on Dec. 19, a decision which would have seen its 23 employees lose their jobs less than a week before Christmas. The news came just under two years after the mill reopened in Jan. 2023, after a near 10-year closure. Commonwealth’s vice president Joël Quévillon cited the province’s cutting of the mill’s pine wood allocation by about 30 per cent around the time the mill reopened, its cancelation of a financial assistance program that helped maintain logging roads and the challenges of operating in a mixed forest as reasons for the company’s decision to close its Pontiac location. Two weeks later, the mill announced it would remain open for an undetermined amount of time, and that the previous notice of closure was announced to give employees the necessary warning in case the plant did stop production.

CISSSO says home care, overtime hours first targets for cuts

Following a last-minute directive from the province that all healthcare networks had to balance their budgets before Mar. 2025, president and CEO of Outaouais’ healthcare network March Bilodeau indicated that it would be focusing on finding efficiencies in home care, the hiring of agency staff, and overtime hours, offering minor clarity to how CISSSO would cut back its predicted spending by $90 million by the end of the fiscal year.

Two municipalities to reduce councils to four seats

Bryson and Fort Coulonge were the only two MRC Pontiac municipalities that chose to reduce their municipal council from six to four seats after a new provincial bill made this change possible for municipalities with under 2,000 residents. Bryson mayor Alain Gagnon said his municipality has been trying to reduce its council size since 2017, when it volunteered to go down to four candidates due to low turnout for councillor seats in recent elections. Fort Coulonge mayor Christine Francoeur said for her council, it was a matter of efficiency. “Our whole council is all in agreement that we do have too many councillors for the Pontiac. Too many councillors and too many mayors,” she said. “I think it should be reduced [. . .] Maybe this is a first step toward [an amalgamation].”

SQ report says 9-1-1 calls up, collisions down in 2023-24

The MRC Pontiac’s public security committee released its year-end review of the Sûreté du Québec’s (SQ) activities on the territory. According to the report, there was a reduction in collisions and general crime in the region. “Each year, our objective is always to improve our citizens’ ability to feel safe, to improve safety on the roads and to diminish crime in general,” said Captain Mélanie Larouche, who is responsible for overseeing stations in Campbell’s Bay, Maniwaki and Mont-Laurier.

Nolan elected conservative candidate for Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi

In a close vote, Brian Nolan of Chelsea, Que. was elected to be the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate for the Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi riding in the next federal election. A total of 206 ballots were cast in a riding with over 800 eligible party members. Nolan won with 114 votes in the third round of counting. “I think it’s a great thing for the Pontiac to have a new person,” Nolan said. “We had four great candidates and I’m lucky to be the one.”

New women’s hockey group in Fort Coulonge

Lise Soucie hosted the first session of a women’s hockey group, open to women from across the Pontiac who are interested in hockey, from seasoned players to absolute beginners. “I always got told for years, ‘No, you can’t because you’re a girl, you shouldn’t be playing,’” Soucie said. She said she hoped to offer women a judgement-free zone where they could try the sport in good company. She said she hoped there would eventually be enough participants for two teams, forming what could be the beginnings of Pontiac’s own women’s hockey league.

Stedmans wraps up a half-century serving Shawville

After 51 years of ownership, Richard and Carolyn Meisner closed Stedmans in Shawville. Over the years, the store endured a fire, an economic recession, the arrival of big box stores and online shopping, but the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced some of their suppliers out of business, was the last straw. Despite these challenges, the couple had fond memories of their five decades serving the community. “We never, never once dreaded to get up and go to work in the morning. There was always something going on,” said Carolyn.