House fire Friday night, zero injured
On Oct. 29 the Shawville-Clarendon Fire Department arrived at C62 Fourth Concession to extinguish a burning log house. At around 8:50 p.m. four firetrucks with about 16 firefighters arrived to find the house “engulfed in flames,” according to Fire Chief Lee Laframboise. The fire was of an undetermined cause, Laframboise stated, and they do not know when the fire started. Fortunately, the occupants of the house were not on the . . .
property at the time the fire started. The firefighters were there for about seven hours, according to Laframboise.
30 year old commuter bus gets integrated with new line
For over three decades, residents of the Pontiac have relied on a bus service that allows them to commute to Ottawa for work.
Kim Lance-Rivet, a community member and associate investment advisor working with a stock exchange, discovered changes had been made to the bus schedule so she called the Transcollines bus service. After speaking to Transcollines, it was made clear that the commuter bus had been integrated with a new line.
The 148 is no longer a commuter bus; it was combined with the new line 910 as of Jan. 4, 2021. Anyone wanting to go to Ottawa, must transfer over in Aylmer. Rivet and almost 60 to 70 people relied on the old bus service to go from the Pontiac area to downtown Ottawa. Learning of the changes, Rivet was “absolutely livid.” The new bus route could add an hour to her commute, which would result in her being late for work.
Lyse Lacourse, a retired federal government worker, said she was “totally appalled” because she too hadn’t heard about the changes and was a long-standing user of the service. “We don’t have a commuter train. So we have nothing,” said Lacourse.
According to councillor of Val-des-Monts and president of the board of Transcollines, Claude Bergeron, the 148-line commuter bus had to be replaced because during COVID-19 the bus had to stop at Via Rail, which he said, “was not very good.” The new route is the best service they can provide to their users at this time.
Anglophone residents left to decipher French language communications from Municipality of Pontiac and MRC des Collines
Longtime Luskville resident Tom Murdock was more than a little disappointed and confused when he received voting information for the current municipal election: it was solely in French.
Officially, the MRC des Collines and the Municipality of Pontiac are only required to provide voting information in French. The full text is written by the Quebec government and then given to each municipality to print and distribute as they see fit.
The English version, however, was never printed or sent to residents. By the time the municipality realized what happened it was already too late. Native English speakers make up a large portion of the MRC des Collines at about 20 percent of the population. In Pontiac it is as much as 35 per cent. While Quebec does not require multilingual election communication for its electors, it is in stark contrast to communities across Canada which will often provide multilingual versions of voter information cards in Punjabi, Mandarin or any large language group that makes up their community.
Award-winning Dragon sculpture made from recycled material displayed at Infinity Farm
Reusing and recycling is at the core of Elizabeth Brunetta’s art. The Ontario-based eco-artist uses recycled material to bring otherwise discarded and forgotten items to life. Her most recent art display is an award-winning Dragon, that sits on the grounds of Infinity Farm in Luskville.
The Dragon, which is now 16 years old, has been given a new life. In 2008, the Dragon was selected for the Jury’s Choice and Public’s Choice awards, and Honourable Mention for the Member’s Choice award at the Festival de Recycl’Art in Montpellier, Québec.
“It’s important to highlight to people, just the quantity that they’re thoughtlessly discarding.” Brunetta said. Her sculpture is made up of 95 percent recycled material and took about two years, on and off, to complete.
Chalk River nuclear waste hearings set for new year
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has scheduled public hearings to consider an amendment to the operating license of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) that would authorize the construction of the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. The first part of the hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22, and the second on May 31. Members of the public are free to attend and present comments to CNSC commissioners.
Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area has fought for years to prevent the current plan from moving forward. “The changes that were made between the initial draft environmental impact statement and the final impact statement were not anywhere near enough to satisfy us,” Ole Hendrickson, a member of the group, told THE EQUITY.
“Putting long-lived nuclear waste that close to the Ottawa River is unacceptable.
“We think it’s a shame,” said Hendrickson, commenting on the planned hearings. “The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has never refused to give a license,” he said. Hendrickson noted the next environmental assessment report is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2022.
Quebec reverses stance on double vaccination mandate for healthcare workers
On Nov. 3 the Quebec’s Department of Health and Social Services announced in order to maintain essential services the province would not mandate the full vaccination of all healthcare workers. Unvaccinated staff members will be tested three times a week.
Regional active cases increased slightly as the latest data shows 52 active cases (14,294 total, 14,019 recovered) as of Nov. 8, 2021, up seven from Nov. 1. There are three hospitalizations at the designated COVID-19 centre in Hull, with two people in intensive care. The regional death toll remains at 223 total deaths reported in the Outaouais.
2021 Municipal Election Results
After weeks of knocking on doors, posting advertisements and putting their best efforts into the race, candidates running for council positions across Pontiac can get back to their daily lives as the elections are now over. With an overall voter turnout of 48.7% for Pontiac residents, the results were tallied from the elections Quebec website as follows:
MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller with 52.69% of the votes. MRC Collines-de-l’Outaouais Warden Marc Carriere with 39.96% of the votes. Voter turnout: 38.3% Number of valid votes: 15,240 Number of votes rejected: 595 Number of registered voters: 41,326.
Bringing historical home into the the 21 century as a community gathering place
Once you step into “The Hynes House,” a three-story mansion at 220 Main Street in Shawville you are suddenly transported. The house was first built in 1897 by George Hynes, a contractor in Shawville, for George F. Hodgins, the owner of the general store at the time. According to the Pontiac Archives, he was a businessman who “helped build Shawville.” It was said that Hodgins never returned to live in his estate after he was defeated in the 1911 federal election. The three-storey red-brick mansion was later used as a funeral home in the 1940s by Larry Hynes and his family.
In August of 2021 the 141-year-old home found its most recent owners, Giuliana Albanese and Richard St-Jean who bought the house from Morin because they fell in love with the endless possibility of things they can do with it. They told THE EQUITY, they want to create a space where community members can come and hang out, have lunch, bike, and visit the antique store that they hope to open in their new home.
Toller sworn in for second term as warden
Jane Toller was sworn in for her second mandate as Pontiac warden in a brief ceremony convened by Bernard Roy, Director General of MRC Pontiac at the MRC offices in Campbell’s Bay late Monday afternoon. In her comments to the approximately one dozen supporters of her campaign in attendance, Ms. Toller noted a number of pressing concerns in the MRC, including Bill 96, the closure of the obstetrics department at the hospital and the need for decentralization of health care.
She said she hoped the incoming mayors’ council, which will be composed of nine new and nine returning mayors, will put its energy behind the Energy From Waste pro ject which, she says, will create 50 new Pontiac jobs. “I want to make their priorities my priorities. It is my hope that we’ll all move forward together, all paddling in the same direction,” she said. Toller mentioned that in her door-to-door campaign, one issue that repeatedly came up was the need for revitalization of the forestry industry in the Pontiac, which she said is showing hopeful signs.
10 cases of COVID-19 at Chapeau’s DWK School
According to Mike Dubeau, Director General of the Western Quebec School Board, Dr. Wilbert Keon school had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Nov. 6. On Nov. 9, four more cases were added, then two more cases on Nov. 11, and 3 more cases were added over the weekend, for a total of 10 cases, all at the elementary school level, according to Dubeau.
“When we get a confirmed case, I get an email or a call from public health,” said Dubeau. “That tells me what we need to do. So if the student was at school during the time that they were contagious, then there’s a letter that goes home to the class. If a student was there during this period, it lets them know that they were at moderate risk or light risk,” Dubeau told THE EQUITY.
The director added that public health also sends out a letter home with any student that was in contact with a contagious student. “So what’s been happening generally, throughout the school board, when that happens this year, they’re not isolating the class because kids are wearing masks,” said Dubeau. “If they’re in a kindergarten class, where kids aren’t wearing masks, they’ll more than likely isolate the whole class.”
Injured hiker rescued at Luskville Falls
On Nov 11 around 3 p.m emergency crews in Pontiac were called to rescue an Ottawa hiker who was injured in Gatineau Park. The Pontiac fire department referred to it as one of the most challenging rescues they have experienced. One of the first challenges repeated was locating the injured hiker.
When dispatch was able to send a GPS location, the fire department realized the hikers were three quarters of the way up the mountainside, on the rock-climbing section. Kevin Mansey, the director of the fire department said the hikers were not equipped with high angle rock climbing. The female hiker started going down and ended up holding onto a rope someone must have left behind, but it snapped, and she slid down the rock face, fracturing her leg. “She was in a bad situation,” said Mansey.
The Ottawa Fire Department technical rescue team was called, and in total five different departments were on site: National Capital Commission (NCC), Ottawa Fire Department, Sauvetage Bénévole de l’Outaouais (SBO), Pontiac Fire and MRC -des-Collines-de-l’Outaouais police and the paramedics. It took three and a half hours to get the hiker down. I’ve never been on a call that was as complicated as that,” declared Mansey.
$10,000 Donation to Bristol fire department
A small group of people gathered at Logs End in Bristol on Sunday to witness a $10,000 donation made on behalf of the business’ president, Robert Black and his father Gordon Black, who founded the business, to the Bristol Fire Department’s rescue boat fundraising campaign. Logs End Inc. is a wood flooring company that’s been in operation since 1997. The company recovers logs through diving operations on the Ottawa River, its tributaries and small lakes, and distributes its old growth flooring around the world. Robert said he was excited to be there and was looking forward to making the donation on behalf of his family’s business. “When looking for ways to support it doesn’t get much easier than looking towards providing resources to those that volunteer their services to help their neighbors in their worst moment,” said Robert.
MRC launches business survey with a surprise
The MRC Pontiac’s economic development team has launched a survey for Pontiac business owners and entrepreneurs. This is on the heels of putting a new service in place for businesses called Acces Entreprise Quebec, according to the MRC’s Director of Economic Development Service, Cyndy Phillips. “This is going to support businesses and entrepreneurs in all their endeavors. So whether or not they’re in start up mode, financing expansion, or maybe they’re just planning on opening a business,” said Phillips.
They will be using the survey responses to help define their plan for a new program called Pontiac’s Signature Innovation Program. “This program is funded through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. And we have chosen to focus on entrepreneurship for the Pontiac,” said Phillips.
“The survey touches on a wide range of topics and while it might seem like it’s a lengthy survey, it really would only take about 10 minutes to fill out. The French and English versions of the survey can be found on the MRC Pontiac website. Responses to the survey will be kept confidential and will not be shared outside of the planning programs. Those interested can contact Director of Economic Development Services Cyndy Phillips at 819-648-5689, ext. 134, or by e-mail at c.phillips@ mrcpontiac.qc.ca.
