Author name: Brome County News

LEARN Quebec tutoring program left out of ministry catchup plan

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec (EPCA-Quebec) is raising concerns after LEARN Quebec, a provincewide organization which provides online tutoring to English-speaking students, professional development for teachers and support for community learning centres in English public schools, was apparently left out of a $300-million post-strike catchup plan announced last week by Education Minister Bernard Drainville.

Although most of the funding was earmarked for schools, through school boards and service centres, $42 million was set aside for organizations providing tutoring, literacy support or dropout prevention services. LEARN did not receive funding; the BCN asked ministry officials whether other organizations specific to the English-speaking community received funding, but that information wasn’t immediately available on Monday.

“A lot of English public schools cover vast areas and staying after school isn’t a possibility for all students due to transportation issues,” said EPCA president Katherine Korakakis. “In-person learning is best, but if [online tutoring through] LEARN works, then they should get funding. … While acknowledging the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges faced by students, EPCA Quebec expresses concern about the omission of established educational entities, such as Learn Quebec, which has a proven track record of offering services to the English-speaking communities.”

“Despite the government’s plan and media coverage indicating increased funding for homework-help organizations, LEARN, which has been providing tutoring services to the English-speaking community of Quebec for over 19 years, was not included in this initiative,” said LEARN communications manager Carolina Toteda. “If additional funds were made available, we would gladly accept them to support more families and students in need.”

Toteda said her organization has yet to discuss further funding with the ministry. LEARN offered more than 37,000 tutoring sessions in the past year and has been forced to cap registration for its online tutoring program.

LEARN Quebec tutoring program left out of ministry catchup plan Read More »

Cowansville, Farnham warming centres up and running for second year

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

People experiencing homelessness in Cowansville and Farnham will be able to come in from the cold at community warming centres for the second straight year.

The Cowansville centre is open on Monday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the otherwise unused lower floor of the Uniprix pharmacy on Albert St. The Farnham centre, at the community centre on Rue St-André Sud, is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On nights where the wind chill falls below -20, both centres will be open overnight from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. “We would love to have places open five days a week with longer hours, but we have budgetary concerns, and we’re doing what we can,” said project co-ordinator Marie-Andrée Pomerleau.

Pomerleau is a project co-ordinator at the Maison des Jeunes de Farnham, one of more than 30 organizations that have worked together, through the Brome-Missisquoi Homelessness Committee, to get the shelters open.

“There’s a lot of hidden homelessness in Brome-Missisquoi – people who have been couchsurfing at friends’ houses or who are in precarious housing situations [or] have lost their housing due to the housing crisis. We need to ensure people’s safety as best we can. We decided to put [the warming centres] in place to support them because there are no other resources like this in the region.”

At the warming centres, which opened in early December, people in need hang out on the couch, stock up on snacks and handy winter supplies like socks, enjoy a hot coffee, speak with support workers onsite and get referrals to other services. People under the influence of alcohol will be allowed in the centres “unless the situation is completely unmanageable,” Pomerleau said.

Pomerleau said the people using the centre are from a cross-section of society. “We see both men and women, relatively few young adults and families – the one thing they have in common is that they are people in distress. They’re not, by definition, dangerous.”

She emphasized that homelessness can happen to anyone. “We say that everyone is two pieces of bad news away from homelessness – for example, if you lose your job and lose your apartment, one thing leads to another, and you can’t get your head out of water.” According to a 2022 census of the provincewide homeless population, substance abuse, loss of housing after a hospital or rehab stay and eviction were the three most common causes of homelessness in the Estrie region.

If you would like to contribute snacks, warm clothing or other supplies to the warming centres, send a message to the Haltes-Chaleur Farnham & Cowansville Facebook page.

Cowansville, Farnham warming centres up and running for second year Read More »

Shared schools to reopen Jan. 9 as FAE strike ends

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

When schools reopen Jan. 9, students at most Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) schools will be returning from the usual holiday break of just over two weeks. However, students at Sutton School, Massey-Vanier High School and the Campus Brome-Missisquoi adult vocational training centre will be returning after nearly a month and a half.

The ETSB and the Centre de services scolaire Val-des-Cerfs (CSSVDC) jointly administer the three schools, which have English and French sectors. While ETSB teachers are represented by the Appalachian Teachers’ Association (ATA), affiliated with the Front Commun bloc through the CSQ-linked Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT), CSSVDC teachers are members of the Syndicat des enseignants Haute-Yamaska (SEHY), itself a member of the Fédération autonome d’enseignement (FAE). FAE members have been on an indefinite general strike since Nov. 23; as the strike began, SEHY president Sophie Veilleux told the BCN that picket lines around the shared schools would be “watertight.”

As a result, all three schools have been closed since the FAE strike began – along with dozens of French-language public schools around the province staffed by FAE-affiliated teachers. On Dec. 22, the ETSB announced it had reached an agreement with the FAE to allow access to shared schools, and on Dec. 28, the strike ended after the FAE reached an agreement-in-principle with the government.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville is expected to announce a “catchup plan” for strike-affected schools on Jan. 9. ATA union officer Gail Klinck, a teacher at Massey-Vanier, called on the minister not to forget the three shared bilingual schools. “Our students will need the same support as FAE students, and I think the ministry is going to have to direct that,” she said. “Our kids have missed critical time, and we want to make sure they don’t get left out of the loop.” She expects teachers to have to make difficult decisions about curriculum as they try to make up for lost time: “What do you decide to skim over and what do you have to keep? If you miss a certain math topic but you need it to do something else down the road … that could impact you for several years.”

Klinck said she expects the return to class to be “kind of like coming back from COVID times” in terms of learning loss and mental health. “The kids are anxious to come back, not only for the academics but for their social lives,” she said. “The first couple of weeks, everyone’s going to be stressed.”

Drainville announced on Jan. 4 that the January ministerial exams would be rescheduled to later this month; his office has said it would not comment further before the Jan. 9 announcement. Klinck said she is eagerly awaiting ministry proposals on scheduling, year-end exams and support for vulnerable students. “There are no easy answers here.”

She also called on the ETSB, the CSSVDC and the two unions to work out a long-term agreement where “no one shuts down the other side’s school” and where dialogue is encouraged. “Even on days when [FAE and QPAT teachers] were both on strike, there was a red (FAE) group and a green (Front Commun) group, entirely separate. We need to change that – we might not agree on tactics, but we agree on education.”

Requests for comment sent to the SEHY and FAE were referred to FAE president Mélanie Hubert, who was not immediately available.

ATA members to vote on Front Commun agreement

On Jan. 7, the Front Commun – made up of four of the largest union federations in the province, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Fédération des Travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) and the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé (APTS) announced it had reached an agreement-in-principle with the government, which included a 17.4 per cent increase over five years with additional smaller increases pegged to inflation in the last three years. Many of the details around working conditions have been hashed out by sector-specific negotiating tables and will become public in the coming weeks.

QPAT president Stephen Le Sueur said although he could not share details of the sector-specific agreement for teachers, there were steps forward on salary, workloads and class composition. “We haven’t lost anything, and we have made some gains – maybe not as much as we would have liked, but there are some gains,” he said.

Front Commun union members around the province will vote on the agreement between mid-January and Feb. 20. A double simple majority — where over 50 per cent of members in at least half of affected locals vote to approve the agreement – is needed to approve the agreement.

Shared schools to reopen Jan. 9 as FAE strike ends Read More »

Cowansville cuts rate, but taxes still rise

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Cowansville residents will still feel the pinch of a property tax increase despite a drastic cut in the tax rate, according to the city’s 2024 budget released Dec. 18.

Skyrocketing property values are the main reason why — the value of an average single-family home has increased by 58 per cent on the most recent roll, which was released earlier this year and based on July 2022 market value. Multi-unit buildings have gone up in value by an average of about 41 per cent, commercial buildings by 30 per cent, industrial buildings by 37 per cent and unused land by nearly 70 per cent.

In response, the city has slashed the tax rate. The rate for a single-family home or an agricultural property is now 62 cents per $100 of value compared to 94 cents last year; multi-unit residential buildings are now taxed at 97 cents rather than 72 cents and vacant land is taxed at $1.24 rather than $1.29. Rates for commercial buildings have been reduced from $2.15 to $1.74 for buildings worth less than $800,000 and $2.33 to $1.94 for those worth more than $800,000; for industrial buildings, rates have been reduced from $2.21 to $1.76 and $2.38 to $1.96 respectively.

According to data provided by the city, 84 per cent of residential property taxpayers will see an increase of less than $300 and about 18 per cent will see a tax reduction. The average increase is 5.3 per cent or $145.50. Residential utility and service fees will rise slightly — from $190 to $197 for water, from $145 to $152 for sewage, from $140 to $145 for garbage collection, from $31 to $32.50 for recycling and from $60 to $65 for septic tank emptying. Water and sewage fees for businesses will rise from 52 cents per square metre and 28 cents per square metre to 58 and 32 cents respectively. Residential pool taxes will remain the same at $35 for an above-ground pool and $70 for an in-ground pool.

The owner of an average home can expect to pay a total of $2,908.50 in taxes and utility fees, compared to $2,763 last year. The city has switched the tax payment schedule from four yearly instalments to five (in February, April, June, September and November).

“In the current inflationary context, where prices for most goods and services have risen significantly, the 2024 budget has been prepared in particularly difficult conditions,” said Mayor Sylvie Beauregard. “Rising interest rates, the labour shortage, the housing shortage and various social and community issues are among the challenges we have to work with — and will have to work with in 2024.”

She referred to the jump in property values — and the corresponding decrease in tax rates — as “historic”.

“The uncertainty around property taxes in 2024 has been felt by a lot of citizens and it was essential for us to reassure the population. We worked to reduce the impact on citizens to maintain a balance between economic growth and the need to protect residents’ purchasing power … in light of the cost of groceries and gas, we wanted to give people a little breathing room [with the five-instalment payment plan],” she said. “The last few years, people have had no tax increase or a very minimal one, but we have no choice this year because the costs of everything are going up.”

Major infrastructure projects planned for the coming year include the replacement of pumping equipment at the water treatment plant, the construction of a new road and new water and sewage lines serving the new francophone primary school, reinforcement of the Mitch Bédard dam, replacement of a fire engine ladder and the first steps — architectural plans and estimates — for the long-awaited renovations to the aquatic centre. Beauregard also spotlighted a $250,000 investment — 67 per cent coming from a provincial subsidy — in pickleball fields. “We had to prioritize essential [infrastructure] projects, but we didn’t want to cut recreation,” she said.

Cowansville cuts rate, but taxes still rise Read More »

Dubé urges self-care as respiratory virus cases rise

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé urged Quebecers to avoid emergency rooms unless suffering from severe symptoms as health officials warned of accelerated COVID and flu circulation in the leadup to the holidays.

Overcrowded emergency rooms and long wait times have been a recurring theme in Quebec over the last several months. As this story was being written on Dec. 22, three of the four hospital emergency rooms in the Estrie region – Granby Hospital, Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins (BMP) Hospital and CHUS Fleurimont – were operating at over 100 per cent capacity, and a patient waiting on a stretcher in the BMP emergency room could expect to wait nearly 19 hours.

“There are many people who come for urgent care who don’t have an urgent problem,” Dubé said. “I’m not saying they’re not worried, but their concerns aren’t urgent. There are other things [people in this situation] can do – take care of yourself at home, ask for advice from your pharmacist, call your family doctor’s office if you have access to one, call 811 or the pediatric helpline,” he said, acknowledging that 811 wait times may be longer than usual at times due to the nurses’ strike.

Dubé pointed to a seasonal resurgence of respiratory viruses, winter vacations, an ongoing labour shortage and the strikes as among the many reasons for emergency room overcrowding. “Emergency rooms are always functioning at 100 per cent [staffing levels], even during a strike, but some other departments are only functioning at 40, 50, 70 per cent,” he said, adding that the government respects the right to strike.

Public health director Dr. Luc Boileau warned that COVID-19 infections were still rising, largely due to a recent variant (JN.1) that is believed to be more contagious – although not necessarily more virulent – than its predecessors. Case numbers were believed to be “nearly doubling every week,” he said, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 new cases per day. Flu cases have also been on the rise over the past several weeks, and are expected to “go into a period of more intense activity” over the coming months, Boileau said, with H1N1 (the “swine flu” variant which led to a pandemic in 2009) expected to be responsible for a significant number of infections. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which isn’t usually dangerous for healthy adults but can send young children and vulnerable people to hospital – seemed to have peaked, according to data shown by Boileau, but was still circulating.

“If you have a fever, stay home. If you have symptoms and you must go out, wear a mask…until the end of your symptoms. If you’re sick, wait ten days before coming into contact with vulnerable people and avoid non-essential events,” Boileau said, emphasizing the need to “stay vigilant” and protect young children, elderly people, people with weak immune systems and those who are pregnant.

“In the event of symptoms, it is important to take actions that limit the transmission of viruses and to use advice and guides to treat yourself at home. When symptoms worsen, call Info-Santé at 811 option 1. After assessment, the staff may refer you to a medical appointment if necessary,” Miriam Filion, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS, said in a statement. “The Info-Santé services, the Front Line Access Desk and various information tools on our web pages are also available in English.”

Boileau called on people who don’t have up-to-date COVID or flu shots to get vaccinated. “It’s not too late and it’s not just to protect yourself for the holiday season – these infections will be there all winter,” he said.

COVID and flu vaccines are free in most pharmacies, and effective at preventing complications leading to hospitalization, even if they don’t prevent all infections, according to Dr. Nicholas Brousseau of the Institut national de la santé publique du Québec (INSPQ). A vaccine for RSV was recently approved for use in Canada for seniors, but is not widely available yet, Brousseau said. He said both the Quebec and federal vaccination committees would evaluate the vaccine in the coming months and conduct a cost-benefit analysis to see if it was “relevant” to roll out a widespread public vaccination campaign for the illness.

Dubé urges self-care as respiratory virus cases rise Read More »

Out-of-province students reconsider Quebec universities after tuition announcement

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Earlier this fall, Ireland Bassendowski was thrilled when she got into her first-choice university, Bishop’s University in Lennoxville. Then came the Quebec government’s announcement that tuition fees would double for Canadian students from outside the province. Bassendowski, an aspiring math teacher who lives in Dawson’s Creek, B.C. and whose family has a vacation home in Knowlton, is looking at British Columbia and Alberta schools. She now thinks she’ll do her degree outside of Quebec, despite the government’s decision, announced Dec. 16, to exempt Bishop’s from the tuition increase.

“When [my parents and I] heard tuition would go up, I started applying to other places and I actually found a program I liked better,” she said. In Quebec, she said, “things are just really unsure, and we can’t take that chance.”

“Ireland didn’t have a Plan B [other than Bishop’s], and after the policy change, we were forced to look at other places. We didn’t know whether it would be reversed, so we had to look at other places,” her mother, Diane Bassendowski, told the BCN. “The uncertainty worried us – what if she got to her second or third year and then they changed the policy again? Our hearts really go out to all of the kids in Grade 12 who are facing this turmoil.”

Ottawa high school student Jackie Evans said she has wanted to study at McGill University ever since she was little. More recently, the aspiring physicist has been drawn to a bachelor’s program there that integrates physics and philosophy. On a campus visit last year, she was “blown away” by the architecture and the feel of the campus. Her father, Aaron Evans, is a McGill grad and was “excited and happy” that his daughter was keen to attend his alma mater. However, since this fall, she’s been taking a closer look at programs at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

“I really enjoyed spending time in Montreal and studying at McGill; it’s a national treasure and highly regarded around the world,” Aaron Evans said. He called the government’s decision to double tuition fees for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia “really disheartening.”

“Either they knew it would be crippling to [the English universities] and they did it anyway, or they didn’t, and they’re incompetent,” he said. Like the Bassendowski family, Aaron and Jackie Evans said they were concerned that a policy that would discourage enrolment would ultimately lead to a lower-quality student experience. “The extra tuition is not ideal, but our main concern is around the quality,” said Aaron Evans. “If we have these concerns, then other people have these concerns and it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Both Jackie Evans and Ireland Bassendowski speak French and were looking forward to potentially attending school in a bilingual environment. Bassendowski said the experience of the past few months has changed her perception of the Quebec government but not of francophones or Quebecers at large. “I know it’s not the people’s fault,” she said.

Although they don’t keep data on why students refuse offers of admission, Bishop’s, McGill and Concordia have all expressed concerns that the uncertainty of the past few months, combined with the tuition increase for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia, could have long-term knock-on effects. “We will not congratulate the government for limiting the damage to Bishop’s that [it] has itself caused. The incoherent policies will have a devastating effect on the Quebec economy and on the Quebec university network in general,” McGill media relations officer Keila DePape said in a statement.

Out-of-province students reconsider Quebec universities after tuition announcement Read More »

Belt tightening, tax increase in the cards for Bromont

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The city of Bromont is expecting to tighten its belt in the coming months, city officials announced Dec. 11. Mayor Louis Villeneuve, finance director Stéphane Brochu and director general Francis Dorion presented the 2024 budget and five-year infrastructure plan at the final council meeting of the year. The budget includes a residential property tax increase of just under eight per cent and an emphasis on the maintenance of essential services.

“Everyone has been through a difficult year and had to make difficult budget choices, and it’s kind of the same thing for the city,” said Villeneuve, commenting that this year’s budget was “the least simple” he has seen in ten years in municipal politics. “Our needs are changing, not just due to growth, but due to [evolving] ways of doing things…and this is happening in conditions that aren’t ideal. Since 2006, taxes on home sales have allowed us to build up a fund that was sufficient to avoid tax increases. This year, we’re seeing a construction slowdown due to rising construction costs and interest rates. This has an inevitable impact on the budget.” Service costs have also risen sharply, according to data provided by the city – fuel, natural gas, asphalt, roadwork and maintenance costs have all gone up by 20 per cent or more (roadwork costs have risen by 37 per cent), salaries have risen and the city’s contribution to the MRC has risen by 11 per cent. The city received fewer bids from outside contractors for ongoing projects, pushing prices up, Dorion explained. Additionally, certain city infrastructure, including some water and sewer lines, was “reaching the end of its useful life,” he added.

The challenge, Dorion told reporters, was being able to maintain existing services and honour existing financial commitments (including debt reimbursement, which takes up about 15 per cent of the budget) while respecting taxpayers’ capacity to pay.

Tax rates for all types of property will rise, after a tax rate freeze in 2023. The residential tax rate has been raised from $0.558 per $100 of value to $0.604, meaning that the owner of an average single-family home with municipal water service can expect to pay $3,415 in property taxes, not including utility fees – $260 more than last year. Owners of multi-unit buildings with six units or more will pay $0.647 per $100 rather than the previous $0.598; owners of non-residential buildings will pay $1.578 rather than $1.458, owners of industrial buildings pay $2.104 rather than $1.944. Tax rates on agricultural land will also rise, from $0.488 to $0.528. Taxes on unused land covered by the city water network will nearly double, from $0.698 to $1.208, mainly as an incentive to encourage construction.

Utility fees will go up for both residents and owners of other types of property. Water fees, which had been stable since 2015, will rise from $226 to $237 for both homes and businesses. Residential septic tank fees will jump from $65 to $90 and sewage management fees from $110 to $137. Recycling and commercial water and sewage fees will also rise slightly.

Brochu said 85 per cent of the city’s current revenue comes from residential property taxes. He said he hoped further development of the industrial park and sales of city land there will help shift some of the tax burden from residents to businesses and bring the city an estimated $39 million in additional revenue.

Five-year infrastructure plan

Villeneuve and Dorion presented the city’s five-year infrastructure plan – a first for the city, which, like most municipalities, usually releases a three-year infrastructure plan at the end of every year. Dorion said a five-year plan made long-term planning easier. He said the current plan would focus on “essential investments.”

The five-year plan laid out $190 million in investments, of which $76.4 million would be paid by taxpayers, $16.7 million financed by land sales in the industrial park and $37.8 million by subsidies from other levels of government. Dorion gave a rapid overview of major upcoming projects including upgrades and extensions to the town’s sewer and water networks, upgrades to the water treatment plant which will allow more water to be pumped in from the Yamaska river, the first phase of construction of a new sewage treatment facility, the long-awaited new main fire station, Parc Grégoire, the Lac Bromont beach and a new public green space within the industrial park.

Belt tightening, tax increase in the cards for Bromont Read More »

English universities react to tuition measures, Bishop’s exemption

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Bishop’s University has received a show of support from one of its English counterparts after it was given a partial exemption to the CAQ government’s planned fee hike and language strategy affecting English-language universities.

In October, Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry announced plans to double tuition for out-of-province Canadian students enrolled in undergraduate programs and certain masters’ programs and introduce a minimum tuition rate for international students. At the time, she argued that the measure would help counter the perceived anglicization of Montreal and keep Quebec taxpayers from subsidizing out-of-province students who took advantage of Quebec’s relatively low tuition fees and then returned home to work. Bishop’s is the smallest English-language university in the province, which receives 30 per cent of its students from the rest of Canada. After Bishop’s argued that the fee increase posed an “existential threat,” Déry indicated she was willing to relax some aspects of the policy for them. The opposition Liberals have called for it to be scrapped entirely.

In a Dec. 14 directive, Déry partially walked back the tuition increase, reducing the total base rate from $17,000 to $12,000 (The base rate for Quebec resident undergraduates at Bishop’s is just under $3000). The policy allows Bishop’s to enroll up to 825 Canadian out-of-province students at the current out-of-province base rate of just under $9,000. Funding for Bishop’s, unlike for McGill and Concordia, will not be tied to reaching French-language proficiency targets, although it will still be expected to aim for 80 per cent of their non-Quebec undergraduate students to reach intermediate French proficiency by the end of their studies.

Vannina Maestracci, a media relations officer for Concordia University, said Concordia supported the exemption for Bishop’s. “We are relieved to see that Bishop’s particular circumstances were taken into account by the government. The support provided by the community around Bishop’s also demonstrated how important this institution is for the Townships,” Maestracci told the BCN.

Echoing comments made by Bishop’s principal Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, Maestracci noted that despite the softened measures, the damage may have already been done to out-of-province enrolment, at least for this year. “Following the negative message sent to prospective students from outside Quebec over the last two months as well as the confusion surrounding tuition fees, we have already seen a decrease in applications of around 20 per cent for out-of-province students and 30 per cent for international students. Given this, despite tuition fees for out-of-province students now having been set at $12,000 rather than $17,000, we believe that the assessment of anticipated financial impact we did in late October still holds and that the new measures will result in a loss of about 10 per cent of our budget,” she said.

McGill University officials said in a statement that McGill “is very happy that Bishop’s University will largely escape the targeted, punitive measures that the Quebec government is inflicting on Concordia and McGill, Quebec’s other anglophone universities. We will not congratulate the government for limiting the damage to Bishop’s that the government has itself caused. The incoherent policies will have a devastating effect on the Quebec economy and on the Quebec university network in general.”

English universities react to tuition measures, Bishop’s exemption Read More »

Sutton raises residential property tax by 6.5 per cent in budget

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Sutton mayor Robert Benoît and director general Pascal Smith presented the 2023 budget and three-year infrastructure plan at the Dec. 13 council meeting.

City officials painted a relatively rosy picture of the town’s finances despite an uncertain overall economic situation marked by inflation, rising costs and interest rates. “This is our third budget since being elected, and we have pursued our initial objective of gradually restoring a balanced budget so as to no longer draw on the unallocated surplus to finance our current expenses,” said Benoît. “We are very satisfied with the work accomplished.”

The city expects to run a deficit of slightly over $960,000 this year, compared with $1.14 million last year. Smith noted that “further work would be conducted” in the coming year to look at different ways to “optimize” the city’s long-term debt of $10.8 million.

According to a city information document, the budget’s main aims are to maintain the current level of services to citizens, implement the family and seniors’ policy and the cultural policy, reduce utilization of the surplus and keep property tax increases down.

On the property tax front, residential, multi-unit residential and agricultural property tax rates will rise by just over 6.5 per cent, from 48.9 cents per $100 to 52.1 cents. Unused serviced land and non-residential buildings will see the largest increases, at 7.15 per cent (71.3 to 76.4 cents) and 7.24 per cent (88.3 cents to 94.7 cents) respectively. Water, sewage and septic tank fees will stay stable, with garbage collection fees decreasing slightly (from $198 to $196.30). The owner of an average single-family home in the Village sector will owe a combined $3,617.12 in property taxes, debt service and utility costs – an increase of $162.13, or 4.69 per cent, from last year; in the Mountain sector, the average homeowner will pay $3,546.90, an increase of $77.88 or 2.24 per cent. A homeowner with a house that isn’t served by the city’s water or sewage networks will owe an average of $3,160.80 – an increase of $157.45 or 5.24 per cent.

The city’s primary expenses are in transport, including road maintenance (25 per cent of the budget), public safety (16 per cent) and environmental hygiene including waste management (14 per cent), economic development (13 per cent) and administration (12 per cent). Smith noted that a large part of the security cost increase is attributed to an increase in the town’s contribution to the Sûreté du Québec, which is tied to combined property value. “Since property values went up [last year], we had to expect an increase in our Sûreté du Québec share,” Smith explained. The share the city pays to the MRC also rose by 14 per cent. “There’s a whole system that should be called into question there,” Benoit said, noting that the MRC and SQ shares paid by each municipality have no correlation with the amount of services requested or provided.

Smith noted that the municipality is reliant on taxes for 82 per cent of its income, and more than 90 per cent of tax revenue in Sutton comes from residential property taxes.

After concluding the budget presentation, Smith presented the city’s three-year infrastructure plan. Projects on Sutton’s to-do list for 2024 include major upgrades to water and sewage infrastructure on Western St. North, two culverts at the intersection of rue Réal and rue Harold and along Chemin de la Vallée-Missisquoi, long-awaited upgrades to Parc Gagné, the replacement of a bulldozer and a 12-wheeler truck and the creation of a dog park at the end of Rue des Puits – the winning project in the participatory budget poll held this fall. Smith noted that there would be no participatory budget poll in 2024. “It’s an excellent project, but it takes a lot of energy,” he said.

Sutton raises residential property tax by 6.5 per cent in budget Read More »

Sutton water table study “a relief”: Benoît

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

City officials in Sutton expressed relief and satisfaction after the release of a study showing that the town’s water table is on stronger footing than expected.

The study carried out by independent hydrogeology firm LNA, which takes into account the impact of a potential drought, found that the water table that currently supplies the Academy well in the Village sector can safely supply up to three times more water per day than is currently tapped from it. If a well is installed at the spring near Route 215, more than 5.5 times more water per day can be safely extracted.

Mayor Robert Benoît and director general Pascal Smith presented the report on Dec. 5 at a public meeting attended by about 50 members of the public, current and former councillors and officials from the city’s urban planning, public works and public safety departments.

“We have good news – we no longer fear water shortages in Sutton. In terms of quantity, we have plenty,” said Smith. “We need to know how much there is and what we should do with it. We don’t have all the answers yet.”

The difficulty lies with the town’s geography and existing water infrastructure. Sutton has two separate water networks – one using groundwater in the Village sector and one supplying the Montagne sector from surrounding lakes. Each one serves around 1100 homes. For several years, Sutton has been grappling both with periodic water shortages, particularly in the Montagne sector, and an acute housing shortage. In April 2022, Benoît announced a moratorium on construction in the Montagne sector to relieve pressure on the water supply. A subsequent study found that the Montagne sector didn’t have any significant water reserves of its own.

Smith noted that 13 studies on the water supply had been carried out in the past 40 years, mostly focusing on how to increase the flow of water in the Montagne network. The LNA study, he said, “looked at things from a different angle,” considering the capacity of the current Village groundwater supply to supply the whole town.

Over the next several years, the city plans to invest $7-10 million in a 2,350-metre pipeline and pump system to pipe water to the sector from the village and provide 258 homes with municipal water service. The Mont Sutton chalet and the Huttopia campground would also be connected to the network. Initial engineering studies are expected to begin next year.

In the longer term, the city is considering the installation of 1,200 metres of additional pipeline, one additional booster pump and one reservoir at the top of Chemin Boulanger, which would service 741 additional homes and cost an additional estimated $10 million. Ultimately, more than 80 per cent of the current Montagne network could be covered by the Village network once work is complete.

“This is a big number, and we would have to double the debt of the city…so we need to find sources of funding for that,” said Benoît, alluding to government subsidies and user fees. The municipality would most likely have to take out a loan to cover costs, which would lead to a bylaw and a potential referendum. The mayor said he expected “a big debate” in the years to come around the kind of development that could, or should, take place in the Montagne sector.

The moratorium is expected to remain in place, at least in part, until construction of the pipeline project or projects is completed. “Water availability in the mountains, particularly in the Maple sector, is still not sufficient to supply new construction. On the other hand, in the Academy sector, which is served by individual wells, it would be possible to relax some of the more restrictive zoning and subdivision measures, provided that the natural recharge of water to the village’s water table is preserved,” a city information document states. “We know we have a lot of water; now we have to know how to protect it,” summarized Claude Théberge, director of public works for Sutton.

The initial studies presented last week cost the city about $200,000 over two and a half years.

Sutton water table study “a relief”: Benoît Read More »

Taxes, utility fees to rise in Farnham

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Homeowners and commercial property owners in Farnham will see their tax bills creep up by about 6 per cent in the coming year, city officials announced on Dec. 4. As far back as July, Mayor Patrick Melchior hinted that tax rates would rise, saying the city had to “keep its head above water” amid rising inflation.

The BCN was unable to watch the budget presentation due to technical difficulties with a planned livestream, and Melchior was travelling and unavailable for further comment, but town officials shared a public Powerpoint presentation breaking down the highlights of the town’s $20.2-million budget, of which 77 per cent ($15.6 million) comes from tax revenues.

The presentation showed that total expenses were expected to rise by just under 6 per cent, with the biggest cost increases in the areas of administration, public safety and environmental hygiene. Spending for transportation and arts and culture was expected to decrease.

The general tax rate will be raised from $0.663 per $100 of evaluated value to $0.70, and contributions for the MRC and SQ will both rise by a few tenths of a cent per $100. As a result, the tax bill for an average single-family home with access to city water and sewer service is expected to increase by about $160. The tax bill for an average home without access to water or sewer service will rise by about $146.

Tax rates will also rise for most other types of property – from $0.588 per $100 to $0.625 for agricultural land, from $0.593 to $0.663 for forested land, from $1.91 to $1.947 for industrial property and from $0.683 to $0.72 for a property with six or more housing units.

Residents can also expect higher utility and waste management costs. Garbage and recycling fees will rise from $40 to $45, water service fees from $165 to $180, sewage fees from $160 to $170 and septic tank fees from $165 to $180.

Tax bills are payable in six installments, with the first installment due Feb. 15.

Infrastructure plans

Major infrastructure investments planned for 2024 include renovations to the town’s water purification and filtration plants ($3.46 million); extensive road work on Rue Jacques-Cartier, Rue Meigs, Rue St-André and Rue St-Alphonse; the acquisition of a new pumper truck ($1.4 million) and the installation of a new splash pad in Parc Uldège-Fortin. The presentation, accessible on the city’s website, contains a detailed list of infrastructure projects.

Budget season

Municipalities traditionally make budget announcements for the coming year in December. Bromont will announce its budget Dec. 11 (after the BCN goes to press) and Sutton’s announcement takes place Dec. 13. Cowansville and Brome Lake will announce their budgets Dec. 18.

Taxes, utility fees to rise in Farnham Read More »

Future of religious retreat centre sparks debate in Sutton

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

A former religious retreat centre in downtown Sutton is the object of a tug-of-war between the Town of Sutton and the administrators of the non-profit organization that oversees its maintenance.

The Villa Châteauneuf is a former convent and school that was built in 1911 on a 25-acre plot donated by philanthropist and politician Eugene Dyer, who stipulated that it be used for educational purposes. In 1971, it was transferred to the Foyers de la Charité, a network of religious retreat centres-slash-utopian communities based in France and affiliated with the Catholic Church. In June 2023, amid declining religious participation and the impact of COVID restrictions, the papal delegate of the Foyers de la Charité decreed the closure of the entire network; the last six permanent residents of the Sutton centre, elderly laypeople who shared all their goods in common, moved out in September.

Since then, the building has stood empty, maintained by members of a volunteer governing board. Board members want to donate it to Le Chaînon, a Montreal-based organization for survivors of domestic violence. The town wants to acquire the complex – which has eight buildings with a total of 60 bedrooms, a chapel and a maple grove and is worth about $15 million according to the board – for use as a community centre, replacing the aging Centre John-Sleeth. Sutton mayor Robert Benoît said the vast facility could also be used for a daycare, meeting rooms, housing for temporary workers and/or a hub for local nonprofits. “It’s a magnificent place…and it should be given back to the citizens of Sutton,” he said.

“As noble as the mission of Le Chaînon may be, we believe the project we are presenting respects the vision of the land’s original owners,” Benoît said, referring to the Dyer family, who have veto power over any project. He added that the Diocese of St-Hyacinthe would also have to participate in any discussions. Sutton resident Ann Dyer, Eugene Dyer’s great-great-granddaughter, opposes the Chaînon plan, saying the board is “trying to give away the convent” to an organization with no connection to Sutton or Eugene Dyer’s stipulations.

Dyer said she and her sister, Diana Dyer, who oversee the family trust, were “in full agreement” with the property going to the town. “We propose a joint venture with the Church and the town to keep this going,” she added.

City officials said in a statement that there are “two ways to resolve this situation reasonably – either Le Chaînon gives up the donation, or the chair of the board of directors agrees to meet, with representatives of the diocese, the municipal council and citizens to discuss the terms of a harmonious transition with a view to the creation of a community centre in the Foyer de charité building.”

Board chair Serge Poirier said the board received four proposals from various nonprofits in the past few months, and no proposal came from the city. Benoît denied this, saying he and Poirier had what he assumed to be a constructive meeting about the building’s future in mid-September before the board cut off communications.

Vice-chair Victor Marchand said the board decided to donate the complex, which still has “sheets on the beds and dishes in the cupboards” to Le Chaînon because of the “expertise and solidity” of its proposal and the lack of services for domestic violence survivors in the area. He said the board “learned about the community centre project [on Dec. 6] when it came up in council.”

Benoît said the notice of reservation, which needs to be approved by the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs (MAMH), could be the first step of an expropriation process. However, he said, “We don’t want to expel [Villa Châteauneuf]; we want to talk to them.” He noted that the notice of reservation doesn’t block Villa Châteauneuf from selling the building.

Poirier said he didn’t trust the city to maintain the Villa Châteauneuf complex, and the Le Chaînon donation represented “a golden opportunity” to create a rural retreat for vulnerable women. He was not optimistic about the outcome of a potential meeting between the board, the city and the diocese. “They invited us to a meeting last week, but instead of letting us in on the discussions from the beginning, they have a preconceived idea,” he said.

Le Chaînon communications director Ségolène Roederer said she was aware of the board’s intention to donate the property to her organization, but preferred not to comment further “because officially, there hasn’t been a donation.”

“If everyone decides to sit at one table and talk about this, we’ll find a solution, but if we’re stubborn, [the conflict is] going to last a while,” said Benoît.

Representatives of the Diocese of St-Hyacinthe and the MAMH could not comment in detail before the BCN went to press on Monday.

If you think “bizarre tug-of-war” is editorializing, feel free to dial it down.

Future of religious retreat centre sparks debate in Sutton Read More »

Feds, Google reach online news agreement

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The federal government has signed a $100-million deal with Google to compensate media outlets and ensure that articles from Canadian news outlets remain accessible on the market-dominating search engine, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced last week.

Earlier this year, Google threatened to de-index articles from Canadian news outlets unless the federal government walked back the Online News Act, a law passed this spring in order to create a mechanism for online platforms with annual revenues of over $1 billion to compensate news outlets. The company has agreed to put $100 million annually, indexed to inflation, into a compensation fund for Canadian media.

“For more than a decade the media sector has been disrupted by the web giants. More than 500 media outlets have closed, thousands of journalists have lost their jobs and a lot of information has gone unreported,” St-Onge, MP for Brome-Missisquoi and a former communications union representative, told reporters Nov. 29 on Parliament Hill. “Everywhere, governments are seeking to establish a more level playing field between the online giants and the media. Here, we’ve decided to pass the Online News Act. We’ve [also] found a way forward to respond to Google’s concerns.”

“Following extensive discussions, we are pleased that the Government of Canada has committed to addressing our core issues with Bill C-18, which included the need for a streamlined path to an exemption at a clear commitment threshold,” Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a statement. St-Onge, for her part, called the agreement “a historic development” and said the government had made no significant concessions to Google. However, the $100 million annual payment agreed to was below the $172 million for which Google was liable according to previous government estimates.

St-Onge said the agreement would allow Google to “do business with a single collective representing all admissible media outlets.” Much remains to be seen about how the money will be divided and administered. Quebec Minister of Culture Mathieu Lacombe has called for CBC and Radio-Canada to be exempt from receiving money and for Quebec to have “a seat at the table,” and the Conservatives have pledged to repeal the act in the event they take power.

Brenda O’Farrell is the president of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association, which represents 33 English-language, bilingual and diaspora publications across Quebec (including the Record and the BCN). She said the agreement is a partial victory for Canadian media outlets. “The fact that there’s an agreement with Google is a good thing. What was at stake is that news in Canada would not be searchable on Google, and that catastrophe has been averted.”

However, she still has concerns about the law itself and about how the funds will be distributed. “The bill is a flawed piece of legislation. Everyone thinks it’s going to help media, but it will help some media partially,” she said. She pointed out that instead of negotiating compensation with individual media outlets, as originally planned, Google will negotiate with a collective. “The big dailies will be at the front of the line, they will carve out a bit for the Globe and Mail and a bit for the [Toronto] Star and Postmedia will get the remnants. [Major dailies] have gotten the lion’s share of every benefit and they have still cut jobs, circulation and coverage. Support for local media still needs to be addressed.”

O’Farrell called on the federal government to support small, local media outlets with ad buys and other targeted programs. “The foundational problem is that the government has to stop looking at media as one-size-fits-all.”

The law goes into effect Dec. 19. Walker stated that “While we work with the government through the exemption process based on the regulations that will be published shortly, we will continue sending valuable traffic to Canadian publishers.”

Google and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, are the only two companies covered by the law, designed to cover online platforms with annual revenues of $1 billion or more. Since June, people in Canada have been unable to share news content on Facebook. As of this writing, no agreement has been reached with Meta. “It’s up to Facebook to show why they are leaving their platform [open] to disinformation and misinformation instead of sustaining our news system,” St-Onge said.

Feds, Google reach online news agreement Read More »

Local asylum seeker gets reprieve

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

A Cowansville woman who was facing deportation to Nigeria earlier this month has been granted a last-minute reprieve, according to a community organization that had been assisting her with her case.

Philomena Williams arrived in Canada in 2018 via the now-closed irregular border crossing at Roxham Road and applied for asylum, arguing that her religious beliefs put her safety at risk in her home country. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, under most circumstances, foreign nationals in Canada can apply for refugee status if they have “a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group” or “would be subjected personally to a danger of torture, a risk to their life, or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they were returned to their home country.” The Roxham Road crossing has been barricaded since March 2021, but at the time, many of the several thousand people who crossed the U.S.-Canada border via that route were allowed to apply for asylum.

Applying for asylum is a complex process involving several rounds of hearings where asylum seekers must prove that their safety is in danger if they return to their home countries. Canada ultimately accepts about 68 per cent of asylum applications, including 64 per cent from Nigeria. In Williams’ case, her appeals fell on deaf ears – “her [initial] application, her appeal and even her pre-removal risk assessment [a last-ditch application for a stay of deportation aimed at preventing deportation to an unsafe environment] were refused” – according to Micaela Robitaille, a support worker at the Centre Femmes des Cantons who helped Williams with her case. Robitaille argued that Williams was “afraid because, in addition to the critical political, economic and social situation in Nigeria, she is part of a religious minority that is persecuted in this country. It was the death of her daughter, murdered because of her religious affiliation, which pushed her to try to find refuge in Canada in 2018.” During her five years in Cowansville, Williams got a job and put down roots in the community and at the Centre Femmes des Cantons.

The women’s centre held a vigil earlier this month and made a last-minute appeal to elected officials, including Brome-Missisquoi MNA Pascale Saint-Onge, Shefford MNA Andréanne Larouche and Immigration Minister Marc Miller, to ask that Miller use his discretionary power to suspend the deportation. Cowansville mayor Sylvie Beauregard also wrote a public letter of support. Miller ultimately took action, giving Williams a one-year reprieve to apply for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

“Everything happened at the last minute – I think she got a phone call [from the minister’s office] at about 8 p.m. on the day before she was supposed to leave for the airport,” Robitaille said. “The support [from the community] allowed the right people to realize how well integrated and appreciated she was. The day she was supposed to leave, instead of taking the plane, she came here, and there was so much joy, so much relief.”

The BCN tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with Williams via the Centre des Femmes. Robitaille said she is “working and moving on with her life,” and beginning the long process of applying for permanent residence. “She’s very touched by all the support,” Robitaille said.

Robitaille said the last few weeks have shown a lot about the power of community mobilization. “A lot of the time, people sign petitions and mobilize and go to protests and think it won’t change anything, but this time it did,” she said. “It’s a great story that ends well.”

Local asylum seeker gets reprieve Read More »

Shopping centre project in Eastman inspired by local history

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

A local real estate development company is moving forward with plans to build a combination shopping centre and office building with a historic twist on the site of the former Bovila restaurant in Eastman.

The building has been named La Gare after the train station that stood on the spot in the 1880s. According to plans shared with the BCN, it will feature several architectural references to the Victorian station, inspired by archive photos; a historic wooden barn on the site will be preserved. La Gare will house the offices of Habitation KYO (about 4000 square feet) and 7500 square feet of office space to be leased to local businesses. La Gare is the first foray into commercial development for Habitation KYO, which has spearheaded residential projects in the region for about 15 years.

The site is located near a roundabout at the entrance to the village and is also accessible via a local bike path. “Near Highway 10, a bit outside the village, there was a lot of space that was more or less used” for development, explained Jannick B. Duval, director of sales and marketing at Habitation KYO. “We bought the land and we thought, why not do a commercial project to attract more businesses? The space was a blank canvas. We needed commercial space for ourselves, and there’s a lack of space for services in the municipality. This is our first commercial-only project.”

Duval said the company had received the necessary approvals from the municipality for the building, although the configuration of the parking lot has not yet been finalized. She said the company hoped to start construction before the end of this year, depending on the weather, aiming to complete the project in summer 2024. Geneviève Lapalme, culture and communications co-ordinator for the municipality of Eastman, said the project was “following its course.”

Duval said that although the company did not have a specific number of renters or shops in mind, “very stimulating” conversations had already taken place with local entrepreneurs.

“A lot of the time, people in Eastman will do their shopping in Magog or in Sherbrooke,” she said. “I hope that [through this project] we’ll be able to encourage people to buy local, and people will be able to access more services without leaving the municipality.”

Shopping centre project in Eastman inspired by local history Read More »

Property evaluations cause sticker shock for homeowners

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Residents of several Brome-Missisquoi municipalities are dealing with sticker shock as three-year property evaluation rolls are released. In Cowansville, the value of an average single-family home is nearly 60 per cent higher than it was three years ago, and property values have increased by an average of 50.43 per cent. In Bromont, residential property values rose by an average of 49.6 per cent, and commercial property values by more than 25 per cent.

Property values around Brome-Missisquoi skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as city dwellers took advantage of the rise of telecommuting to move to the country. “As is the case in the majority of cities in the region and elsewhere in Quebec, property values are experiencing a marked increase. Since the new role is [released] every three years, we had a reprieve before feeling the repercussions of the pandemic on property values,” Cowansville mayor Sylvie Beauregard said.

Beauregard assured property owners that their property taxes will not go up by 50 per cent when the 2024 tax rates are released in December. “Your property value on the roll is not your tax account,” she said. “The current tax rate is $0.94 per $100 [of assessed value] and we can’t maintain that – we’ll have to bring it down, so [the increase in value] has the least possible impact on citizens.”

Bromont mayor Louis Villeneuve made similar assurances. “The city has no power over property assessment. … The tax rate will be reviewed based on these new values,” explained the mayor of Bromont, Louis Villeneuve. “The municipal council will act responsibly to avoid a general increase [while] taking into account inflation and the obligations of the municipality,” he said in a statement.

Beauregard said Cowansville would most likely “have to postpone certain projects” because decreasing the tax rate would lead to a decrease in revenue. “We need salt for snow removal, we need to maintain the water treatment plant, and we have employees that have collective agreements that we need to respect,” she said. “We need to reduce expenses elsewhere while still giving services.”

She said she “would be surprised” if a tax increase caused people to decide to leave the city. “The situation is similar in the surrounding municipalities…everything is more expensive, everything has gone up, interest rates have gone up. That’s not good for property owners. That’s not us, that’s the market, but we’re aware [of the impact]. We just have to hope the economy settles down.”

Cowansville plans to release its 2024 budget, including the adjusted taxation rates, on Dec. 18. Property owners will receive tax notices in January 2024.

Property evaluations cause sticker shock for homeowners Read More »

Three ETSB schools to close during FAE strike

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Sutton Elementary School, Massey-Vanier High School and the Campus Brome-Missisquoi vocational training centre will close Nov. 21 for at least three days and “potentially much longer” due to two separate teachers’ strikes, Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) chairperson Michael Murray has said.

The three schools are jointly administered by the ETSB and the French-language Centre des services scolaire Val-des-Cerfs (CSSVDC). ETSB teachers are represented by the Appalachian Teachers’ Association (ATA), a member of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) which is part of the Front Commun negotiating bloc of four large union federations; CSSVDC teachers are represented by the Syndicat d’enseignement Haute-Yamaska (SEHY) which is part of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE), which is not part of the Front Commun.

Both the Front Commun and the FAE are negotiating a new collective agreement with the provincial government, but the two federations have taken slightly different tactics. Front Commun members will hold a three-day strike from Nov. 21-23; FAE members plan to launch an unlimited general strike on Nov. 23.

SEHY president Sophie Veilleux has said picket lines around CSSVDC schools, including the three jointly administered schools, will be “watertight.” QPAT president Stephen Le Sueur has said ATA members won’t cross SEHY picket lines, forcing the English sectors of the three bilingual schools to close for the duration of the SEHY strike. Other ETSB schools are expected to reopen Nov. 24.

“Before students [at the three schools] leave on [Nov. 20], we will have wound up the first term. Students are aware that they will be off for at least six days and potentially much longer. Teachers can share reading lists with students, and so forth, so students can do some independent study, but we don’t have a systematic means of resuming instruction,” said ETSB chairperson Michael Murray. “[Education Minister] Bernard Drainville has said this isn’t a holiday [for students], but we have yet to find a practical way to teach without teachers.” He added that the school board would not pressure teachers to cross SEHY picket lines, and that asking teachers to shift to online learning is “not a viable long-term solution.”

Veilleux said FAE members voted for an unlimited general strike because “there have been no significant advances” in negotiations between teachers and the government over the last several months. She said members are concerned about staffing shortages, wages, insufficient support for students with disabilities and newly arrived immigrant students, and promised help that never comes. “When a student needs a special education technician, don’t tell us that the technician is coming [eventually] – the person needs to be there,” she said.

Veilleux said she hoped the strike would be as short as possible, adding that the union had no strike fund for its members. “We want a quick, satisfying agreement, and we want the things we agreed to be applicable at the beginning of the next school year, and for that, we need an agreement in principle before Christmas. We understand the inconvenience this can cause, and we’re not doing it for fun.”

Le Sueur raised several of the same concerns as Veilleux about working conditions, and said QPAT teachers could join FAE teachers in an unlimited general strike if negotiations don’t move forward in the coming weeks. “The way things are moving at the table, that’s certainly a possibility. It would be a disappointment, but we have to do what we have to do,” he said.

Three ETSB schools to close during FAE strike Read More »

Waterloo comes together for fire evacuees

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The community of Waterloo is coming together to support 11 of its residents who lost their homes when an apartment building was destroyed by fire on Nov. 12.

Patrick Gallagher is the director of public safety and fire safety for the municipality of Waterloo. He said firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 6 a.m. that morning. Neighbours and courageous passersby rushed through the building knocking on doors and telling people to evacuate, Gallagher recounted. No one was injured. However, the fire chief said it quickly became apparent that the building was a total loss, with extensive damage to the roof and facade.

Gallagher and his crew fought the fire with the assistance of crews from Brome Lake, Bromont, Granby and Shefford. “There were about 40 of us,” he recalled. After the fire was out, the firefighters turned their attention to helping the evacuees. “We put together a crisis cell…and we’re collecting clothes and household furniture with the collaboration of the Centre d’action bénévole (CAB) aux 4 Vents, the Knights of Columbus and St. Bernardin Parish.” The crisis cell is also helping victims replace important documents lost in the fire, added Gallagher, his voice betraying his exhaustion.

The municipality of Waterloo has also started a crisis fund to support the victims, and local soccer coach and volunteer Pierre-Paul Foisy has launched a fundraiser on the GoFundMe platform to provide further support, raising nearly $4,000 as of this writing. Local shoe store Chaussures Pop has pitched in as well, offering free winter boots to evacuees, and a storage company has offered free storage space. “This is a tight community, and a lot of people are involved in the response [to the fire],” Gallagher said.

The Canadian Red Cross provided emergency housing and food assistance for the evacuees for the three days following the fire. Now, most are staying with family, friends or acquaintances while they look for long-term housing. “With the rents the way they are now, it’s not easy for people to relocate quickly. That’s the hardest part, and that’s what we’re working on now,” Gallagher said.

It’s still not clear what caused the fire. A Sûreté du Québec investigation is ongoing; SQ Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, a police spokesperson, said “it may be a few days or weeks” before investigators learn more.

Gallagher said the crisis cell is actively looking for donations of furniture, appliances and kitchen supplies such as pots and pans for evacuees. Donations of furniture and housewares can be brought to the St. Bernardin Parish office; donations of food and personal hygiene supplies can be brought to the CAB. Any financial donations will be given to the municipal crisis fund and “shared fairly” between the evacuees, he said.

Waterloo comes together for fire evacuees Read More »

Three ETSB schools to close during FAE strike

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Sutton Elementary School, Massey-Vanier High School and the Campus Brome-Missisquoi vocational training centre will close Nov. 21 for at least three days and “potentially much longer” due to two separate teachers’ strikes, Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) chairperson Michael Murray has said.

The three schools are jointly administered by the ETSB and the French-language Centre des services scolaire Val-des-Cerfs (CSSVDC). ETSB teachers are represented by the Appalachian Teachers’ Association (ATA), a member of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) which is part of the Front Commun negotiating bloc of four large union federations; CSSVDC teachers are represented by the Syndicat d’enseignement Haute-Yamaska (SEHY) which is part of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE), which is not part of the Front Commun.

Both the Front Commun and the FAE are negotiating a new collective agreement with the provincial government, but the two federations have taken slightly different tactics. Front Commun members will hold a three-day strike from Nov. 21-23; FAE members plan to launch an unlimited general strike on Nov. 23.

SEHY president Sophie Veilleux has said picket lines around CSSVDC schools, including the three jointly administered schools, will be “watertight.” QPAT president Stephen Le Sueur has said ATA members won’t cross SEHY picket lines, forcing the English sectors of the three bilingual schools to close for the duration of the SEHY strike. Other ETSB schools are expected to reopen Nov. 24.

“Before students [at the three schools] leave on [Nov. 20], we will have wound up the first term. Students are aware that they will be off for at least six days and potentially much longer. Teachers can share reading lists with students, and so forth, so students can do some independent study, but we don’t have a systematic means of resuming instruction,” said ETSB chairperson Michael Murray. “[Education Minister] Bernard Drainville has said this isn’t a holiday [for students], but we have yet to find a practical way to teach without teachers.” He added that the school board would not pressure teachers to cross SEHY picket lines, and that asking teachers to shift to online learning is “not a viable long-term solution.”

Veilleux said FAE members voted for an unlimited general strike because “there have been no significant advances” in negotiations between teachers and the government over the last several months. She said members are concerned about staffing shortages, wages, insufficient support for students with disabilities and newly arrived immigrant students, and promised help that never comes. “When a student needs a special education technician, don’t tell us that the technician is coming [eventually] – the person needs to be there,” she said.

Veilleux said she hoped the strike would be as short as possible, adding that the union had no strike fund for its members. “We want a quick, satisfying agreement, and we want the things we agreed to be applicable at the beginning of the next school year, and for that, we need an agreement in principle before Christmas. We understand the inconvenience this can cause, and we’re not doing it for fun.”

Le Sueur raised several of the same concerns as Veilleux about working conditions, and said QPAT teachers could join FAE teachers in an unlimited general strike if negotiations don’t move forward in the coming weeks. “The way things are moving at the table, that’s certainly a possibility. It would be a disappointment, but we have to do what we have to do,” he said.

Three ETSB schools to close during FAE strike Read More »

Property evaluations cause sticker shock for homeowners

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Residents of several Brome-Missisquoi municipalities are dealing with sticker shock as three-year property evaluation rolls are released. In Cowansville, the value of an average single-family home is nearly 60 per cent higher than it was three years ago, and property values have increased by an average of 50.43 per cent. In Bromont, residential property values rose by an average of 49.6 per cent, and commercial property values by more than 25 per cent.

Property values around Brome-Missisquoi skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as city dwellers took advantage of the rise of telecommuting to move to the country. “As is the case in the majority of cities in the region and elsewhere in Quebec, property values are experiencing a marked increase. Since the new role is [released] every three years, we had a reprieve before feeling the repercussions of the pandemic on property values,” Cowansville mayor Sylvie Beauregard said.

Beauregard assured property owners that their property taxes will not go up by 50 per cent when the 2024 tax rates are released in December. “Your property value on the roll is not your tax account,” she said. “The current tax rate is $0.94 per $100 [of assessed value] and we can’t maintain that – we’ll have to bring it down, so [the increase in value] has the least possible impact on citizens.”

Bromont mayor Louis Villeneuve made similar assurances. “The city has no power over property assessment. … The tax rate will be reviewed based on these new values,” explained the mayor of Bromont, Louis Villeneuve. “The municipal council will act responsibly to avoid a general increase [while] taking into account inflation and the obligations of the municipality,” he said in a statement.

Beauregard said Cowansville would most likely “have to postpone certain projects” because decreasing the tax rate would lead to a decrease in revenue. “We need salt for snow removal, we need to maintain the water treatment plant, and we have employees that have collective agreements that we need to respect,” she said. “We need to reduce expenses elsewhere while still giving services.”

She said she “would be surprised” if a tax increase caused people to decide to leave the city. “The situation is similar in the surrounding municipalities…everything is more expensive, everything has gone up, interest rates have gone up. That’s not good for property owners. That’s not us, that’s the market, but we’re aware [of the impact]. We just have to hope the economy settles down.”

Cowansville plans to release its 2024 budget, including the adjusted taxation rates, on Dec. 18. Property owners will receive tax notices in January 2024.

Property evaluations cause sticker shock for homeowners Read More »

No new quarry projects in Potton for now, mayor says

Potton mayor Bruno Côté has said the town has no concrete plans for new gravel, stone or sand quarries on its territory, despite two proposed zoning changes to that effect.

On Nov. 1, about 20 concerned citizens attended a public consultation organized by the MRC de Memphrémagog to address two zoning changes proposed as part of an update to the regional land use plan developed by the MRC. At the municipality’s request, the MRC adopted zoning changes that would authorize “extraction” on two lots along Chemin de la Vallée-Missisquoi and Chemin de la Mine. One resident, Jean Paré, who said he lived near an existing sand quarry, told La Voix de l’Est he was “gobsmacked” by the proposed changes.

Côté said no new quarry projects are in the works in the area; the two changes, he said, were required to bring existing quarries into conformity with zoning regulations. “For one of the two sectors, there’s an existing sand quarry that benefits from a grandfather clause. The other [change] involves a private landowner digging for stone on his own land.” Since the changes involve bringing town bylaws into conformity with the MRC’s land use plan, rather than approving new projects, they are not subject to a referendum.

Côté did leave the door open to a future project, however. “Nobody wants extraction in their backyard, but all the municipalities are looking for material. We have 175 square kilometres of gravel roads, and we need to bring gravel in from Bromont and Eastmain – that has a financial and environmental cost. It’s normal to want more supply chain autonomy. The day a project will be proposed, we’ll make a decision, the Government of Quebec will make a decision and the citizens will make a decision. It might be 10, 20 or 25 years down the road – we have no way of knowing that.”

Nicolas Cornellier, communications director for the MRC de Memphremagog, said the Nov. 1 consultation was required as part of the land use plan modification process. “Following the public consultation, the consultation commission analyzes the points of view expressed. Subsequently, the MRC council will be invited to adopt a bylaw…modifying the [land use] plan.” The bylaw is then subject to approval by the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs (MAMH). After the bylaw receives MAMH approval, the municipality has six months to implement the bylaw, Cornellier explained. He added that all new quarry projects must be approved by the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC).

The land use plan was initially approved by the MRC council in September, and a final version is expected to be approved by the end of the year. No one from the MELCC was available to comment on the provincial approval process at press time.

No new quarry projects in Potton for now, mayor says Read More »

One COVID-19 vaccine dose enough for most people, for now, officials say

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

People over age 5 who get vaccinated against COVID-19 for the first time now only need a single dose to be considered adequately vaccinated, according to the Institut national de santé public du Québec (INSPQ).

“In the past, someone who was getting vaccinated for the first time was [advised] to get two doses,” explained Dr. Nicholas Brousseau, a public health physician at the INSPQ. “Now that almost everyone has been infected, or has a certain form of protection, we have agreed that just one dose will boost protection.”

“A single dose of the new vaccine, administered this fall, is now sufficient for a person to be considered adequately protected. Thus, the number of vaccine doses to be administered is no longer influenced by the presence or absence of a confirmed previous infection nor by the number of doses previously received,” officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) said in a statement. Two doses are still recommended for children under five and immunocompromised people. People who have recently been infected with COVID-19 are advised to wait six months before getting a booster shot.

Brousseau emphasized that the situation could change. “We can’t say there will be no more vaccine doses after this one; there are still too many unknowns. We’re less and less worried as time moves on and people build up certain defences – we’re no longer in an early pandemic situation where no one has had any exposure to this disease before – but protection can lower with time, and we’re not out of danger if there’s a significant mutation to the virus.” The MSSS also mentioned that “recommendations regarding possible additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be released later, depending in particular on the evolution of this disease and the arrival of future variants.”

Since early October, public health authorities have been encouraging people to get an additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. “Vaccination is very important for people at high risk – people over 60 or living with chronic illness. I’d like it if everyone in those risk groups got the current vaccine, which is well adapted to the current variant. For younger, healthier people who are at lower risk, it’s a personal decision.” According to Brousseau, most of those currently hospitalized due to COVID are over 60 or facing other pre-existing health challenges.

COVID-19 and flu vaccines are available for free in vaccination centres, health facilities and many pharmacies. People who do not have a Quebec health card or who have an expired health card can still get vaccinated. The MSSS recommends that people residing in CHSLDs, RPAs or other shared living environments; people aged 60 and over; immunocompromised or pregnant people; health care workers and people living in remote areas get the latest booster shot.

While the last provincial public health restrictions put in place to control the pandemic in hospitals were rolled back in May, after the World Health Organization declared the end of the “emergency phase” of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease still causes hospitalization and death. As of this writing, nearly 1500 people in Quebec were in hospital with the virus, including 43 in intensive care. Between Oct. 29 and Nov. 4, the most recent week for which data is available, 49 people died due to complications from COVID-19 infections.

One COVID-19 vaccine dose enough for most people, for now, officials say Read More »

Second proposal for Knowlton church land gets short shrift

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

A proposal by a Knowlton citizens’ group to buy a four-acre stretch of vacant land behind St. Paul’s Church and transfer it to a nature reserve has come too late, according to the church’s pastor, Rev. Tim Wiebe.

In 2020, Wiebe signed the land over to Bromont-based development firm IMKOR. The company originally intended to build a four-story, 20-unit, 38,000-square-foot condominium complex on the land. The initial plan was scaled back amid public opposition, and IMKOR now intends to build three compact two-story buildings with a total of six units, further away from the nearby marsh. While the project has yet to receive final approval from the city, the agreement between the church and IMKOR effectively gives IMKOR control over the land.

The citizens’ group, Knowlton Concerned Citizens, outlined its proposal in an open letter addressed to “members of the congregation and the neighbours of St. Paul Anglican Church” and dated Oct. 23. According to the letter’s six signatories, Jacques Beauchamp, Alan Eastley, Tony Rotherham, Kirk Lynn, John Lawson and Ken Smarzik, “a multi-unit residential complex in the heart of the historic core of Knowlton would be a tragedy. Nothing short of a money grab exploiting the millions of dollars invested by the Town of Brome Lake, the Brome County Historical Society, and private citizens, trying to keep this historic and cultural area pristine for the use of the public, both current and future.”

“Our [proposal] was to lead a public fundraising campaign to purchase the land in question, and then transfer it to a nature reserve, forever protecting the land from development. The proceeds of the sale would be used to support the operational expenses of the church for the foreseeable future,” they write.

They say they made a counter-offer to the church and the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, under whose jurisdiction the church falls, “about a month ago” and received an acknowledgement of receipt.

Wiebe and Sauvé appeared to give the proposal short shrift. “The most important thing is that we are under contract with IMKOR – we can’t have any more proposals and they know that,” Wiebe told the BCN, weighing his words deliberately. “I want to be as generous as I can [to the citizens’ group]. I think they are trying to be creative and find a solution, but what they need to do is contact IMKOR – our hands are tied. A conversation did take place [between a representative of the church and the citizens’ group] with IMKOR’s permission, but what they are offering at present is not a serious offer. If you have an offer, you have a number [attached], not just ‘somewhere down the road, we’re going to raise some money.’”

“It would be [IMKOR’s] decision whether to give the land to anyone else or not,” Sauvé said. “Legally they would have to pass by us, and no one has done that yet. There has been no offer made to us.”

He added that IMKOR has tabled a request for a zoning change with the Town of Brome Lake in connection with the project, although he couldn’t say when the final proposal for the project itself would be tabled for council approval. If and when council approves the project, it will be subjected to a register, and potentially to a referendum of area residents. The signatories worry that a referendum would cause unnecessary division and expense, “tearing apart the community .. and endangering the future prosperity of the congregation.”

“In preparation for this eventuality, the Knowlton Concerned Citizens have already accumulated a majority of the signatures within the referendum zone against the development,” they write. The BCN contacted or attempted to contact several of the letter’s signatories, but no one was available to speak at press time.

Sauvé, for his part, said he was “very optimistic” that the current IMKOR proposal would clear the social acceptability hurdle, “Before we submit [a proposal], we have to show social acceptability. We presented the new project in June and we have conducted smaller meetings ever since. There are people who are ill-informed or who are not in favour of the project, and that’s normal, but they need to understand the differences between this project and the previous one. We won’t destroy the woods…and we’ve committed to building no more than six units.”

Second proposal for Knowlton church land gets short shrift Read More »

Eligibility certificate refusals on the rise, data shows


By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Refusals of eligibility certificates for English instruction have gone up by nearly 50 per cent since the 2020-2021 school year, according to data shared with the BCN by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES).

Two hundred and fifty certificate applications were refused in the 2020-2021 school year, compared to 495 in 2022-2023 and 350 so far this year, the data shows.

Under the Charter of the French Language, students who enrol in English-language public schools or subsidized private schools must have an eligibility certificate. Certificates are usually granted to students under 18 who have a parent or sibling who completed the majority of their schooling in English in Canada; other students may be eligible under certain circumstances (for example, if a student has a learning disability or if their stay in Quebec is temporary). School boards work with families to submit eligibility certificate applications, but the final decision on whether to confer eligibility rests with the MEES.

School officials, including Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) chairperson Michael Murray, have raised concerns in recent weeks about an apparent rise in the number of eligibility certificate applications being refused.

The ministry did not provide information about the geographical breakdown or the reasons for the refusals. However, since the passage of Bill 96, students with eligibility certificates have easier access to English CEGEPs and face less demanding language requirements in CEGEP, leading to speculation about whether young adults who have attended French school are applying for certificates between high school and CEGEP.

Ministry spokesperson Bryan St-Louis clarified that young adults who have finished high school aren’t entitled to eligibility certificates. “Eligibility certificates are requested by parents before or during their child’s studies, and issued to students enrolled in preschool, elementary or high school in the youth sector. A student must be declared eligible before the end of their secondary studies,” he said.

In a previous interview, Murray urged families to contact the ETSB and apply for eligibility certificates for their children “as soon as possible,” even if their children attend school in the French system. In addition to easing access to English CEGEPs, the certificates ensure that English school eligibility is passed from parent to child.

Eligibility certificate refusals on the rise, data shows Read More »

Suttonites vote for dog park, turtle crossing


By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The town council of Sutton has approved funding for a dog park and a turtle crossing after those two projects received the most votes in the town’s participatory budget poll, town officials announced on Nov. 1.

Participatory budget initiatives, where cities earmark $50,000 for citizen-driven projects, have been established in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, Rimouski, Granby and several smaller towns across the province in recent years. Mayor Robert Benoit and the Action Sutton slate made a participatory budget part of their campaign platform. “It’s a [concept] that is taking root all over Quebec, and we thought it was important to do it here, ” Benoit told the BCN in April, shortly after the project was launched.

Through the participatory budget initiative, citizens were invited to submit their own proposals to put their stamp on town property. According to a city information document, projects needed to be completed by the end of 2024, designed to last at least three years, require a one-time investment of no more than $50,000 with no subsequent recurring costs, serve the common good and be “financially, technically and legally feasible” within the time frame and budget described. Twenty-nine projects were submitted, 16 were judged eligible, and after a process of consolidation and feasibility assessment, 12 appeared on the final ballot.

Voting took place online and in person with polling stations at the Tourist Office, the municipal and school libraries and voting events held at the farmers’ market the Maison des Jeunes and Les Villas des Monts seniors’ residence; polling places were also set up in Sutton Junction and Glen Sutton. Although each proposal had to have an adult project lead, children and youth groups were welcome to submit projects, and children as young as 10 were given the right to vote for their favourite, according to the president of the project steering committee, Sylvie Grégoire. “We wanted young people to get involved and have a voice in their community,” Grégoire said. Town officials said in a statement that 875 people – nearly 19 per cent of the eligible population – cast their votes.

When the votes were counted, the dog park at the end of Rue des Puits was the clear winner with just over 41 per cent of the vote, followed by the turtle crossing with 37 per cent. Despite the fact that the proposed budget for the dog park ($50,000) theoretically left no room for additional projects, councillors voted to earmark another $2,500 to put in place a turtle crossing at the south end of Chemin Alderbrooke. According to the statement, officials expect both projects to be completed by the end of 2024. “The public will be kept informed of the progress of the work, in which citizens might be invited to participate,” the statement said.

“We have a lot of very involved citizens, and that’s one of the things that make it nice to live here,” Grégoire said. “We were hoping to have 15 projects submitted and finally we had 29. That’s more than we ever hoped for, and it shows there’s a lot of interest for this kind of participation.” She added that while councillors will have the final say on whether and when subsequent participatory budget projects move forward, the steering committee has recommended that this edition not be the first.

Suttonites vote for dog park, turtle crossing Read More »

CLSC de Bedford gets top-of-the-line X-ray machine

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Patients and health-care professionals at the CLSC de Bedford now have access to state-of-the-art X-ray equipment thanks to a $465,000 contribution from the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) and the Fondation Lévesque-Craighead.

The new wall-mounted, motorized remote-controlled machine and wheelchair-accessible examining table have been in use since Oct. 18, according to Stéphanie Davenport, head of medical imaging at the La Pommeraie local health network. Skeletal, chest and abdominal X-rays can be conducted in as little as five minutes with the new machine. The machine is the only one of its kind in the region for the moment, although two are expected to be installed at Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins hospital before the end of the year.

“The nearest hospital is 25-30 minutes away, so it’s important to have this in Bedford – it’s exactly the same kind of device we use in hospitals,” Davenport said.

X-ray technician Mélina Lévesque-Boyer said the new table is “user-friendly, rapid and precise” especially for wheelchair users, who no longer need to step or be supported onto the table. It speeds up service to patients and reduces wait times. The system also includes a camera which allows technicians to monitor patients’ movements during the scan and evaluate whether scans need to be redone.

“When people are in pain, we’ll be able to get them examined faster,” Davenport added.

According to the CLSC, about 2,000 X-rays are conducted there every year, mainly to diagnose broken bones, joint problems and lung disease.

The Fondation Lévesque-Craighead contributed $50,000 toward the purchase of the machine, money raised through donations from community members and local businesses and fundraising events. A drive-through spaghetti dinner on Oct. 27 served more than 900 people and collected at least $10,000 to top off the fundraising campaign for the new X-ray machine, according to the president of the foundation, Christiane Granger. “It’s important for us to maintain local services in the community, especially for elderly people.”

Granger said the donation was part of the volunteer-run foundation’s commitment to contribute $150,000 over three years for equipment and services at the CLSC and CHSLD in Bedford, adding “a little plus” to investments made by public health authorities. The foundation also plans to raise funds for the forthcoming CHSLD expansion in Bedford. She invited people interested in supporting the foundation’s efforts to visit its website at fondationlevesquecraighead.org.

CLSC de Bedford gets top-of-the-line X-ray machine Read More »

Cowansville Christmas Parade to return Dec. 15

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The annual Christmas parade will return to the streets of Cowansville for the first time since 2019, city officials announced on Oct. 24.

At 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, the parade will start at the corner of Rue du Sud and Rue Léopold. It will end at Parc Centre-Ville, on Rue Principale, where a neighbourhood party with a DJ, bouncy castles and other activities will await parade-goers.

“The return of the Christmas parade is a source of joy for our city. This event

brings families together, brings magic to our streets and creates treasured memories

for our young citizens. As it is an event that requires a lot of logistics, citizen participation will be essential. We hope citizens and the business community will answer the call so that the parade is majestic,” said Mayor Sylvie Beauregard.

“It’s a big event that brings people together, and everyone is excited,” said Patricia Néron, special events and communications co-ordinator at the Ville de Cowansville. “People are looking forward to seeing the floats and seeing Santa, and everything else is dessert.”

The city is seeking businesses and community organizations to build floats for the parade. There’s also a need for volunteers to supervise children’s activities, serve as mascots, lead mascots around the parade site “because they can’t see in their costumes” and ride on floats, Néron said.

According to Michel Racicot of the Cowansville Historical Society, the first Cowansville Christmas Parade was organized by the Brock Mills Textile Plant in 1944, and ran from the current Brock Museum, then the workers’ recreation club, to the mill. The mill, then the town’s largest employer, kept the tradition going until around 1960, when the Young Chamber of Commerce took over the parade. Racicot has fond memories of parades during those years, when Santa Claus would land at the head of the parade in a helicopter before kicking off the festivities.

The Young Chamber of Commerce dissolved in the 1970s and the parade was taken over by the Cowansville Chamber of Commerce (now the Chambre de commerce de Brome-Missisquoi), which organized it until 2019. In 2020, the parade was cancelled due to public health measures, and in 2021 the city organized a COVID-safe “Christmas trail” where drivers could watch performances and admire floats from their cars. There was no parade in 2022. The 2023 parade is the first “normal” parade since the pandemic, the first organized by the municipality and the first to feature a post-parade party.

“We’ll have a festive atmosphere, we’ll have music, we’ll have Santa Claus, and this year we’ll have an event in the park,” Néron said. “We want families to continue their event after the parade and go meet Santa. I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces.”

Anyone who is interested in volunteering or contributing a float to the parade can learn more at cowansville.ca/noel.

Cowansville Christmas Parade to return Dec. 15 Read More »

Get eligibility certificates as soon as possible, ETSB tells families

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) officials are warning English-speaking families to get eligibility certificates for their children as soon as possible before the end of their children’s school days, even if their children study in the French system or attend private school.

According to the Charter of the French Language, an eligibility certificate is required to attend English public school; when applying for a certificate, a young person or their family must prove that one of their parents or siblings completed part of their primary or secondary education in English in Canada, or that there are extenuating circumstances (for example, a short stay in the province or a learning disability which makes mastering a second language unrealistic). The children of eligibility certificate holders (known as ayants-droit or rightsholders) can apply for certificates in turn. Although English school boards work with families to gather the necessary documentation, the certificates are issued by the Ministry of Education.

Under Bill 96, the legislation passed in May 22 aimed at shoring up French in the province, students who have eligibility certificates, even if they did not attend English public school, have easier access to English CEGEPs and face less onerous French language exam requirements.

ETSB chair Michael Murray said the school board has been receiving reports that the ministry is refusing eligibility certificates to young adults who meet eligibility requirements.

“It’s entirely arbitrary of the ministry to refuse [eligibility certificate applications] but technically, the certificates should be issued to youth,” he said. “Many parents send their kids to French elementary school, which is laudable for parents who want their kids to become bilingual, but they’re the ones being penalized now for their conformity to making French the official language of Quebec.”

Murray acknowledged that certificates are issued at the ministry’s discretion. “We don’t adjudicate eligibility, and they could have been declined for any number of reasons.” However, for Murray, the refusals of eligibility certificates “are just one more facet of the relentless attack on English – Bill 96, Bill 40 [which abolishes elected school boards], Bill 21 [which bars people who wear visible religious symbols from most public sector jobs], the fee rise [for out-of-province students] – it’s all part and parcel of an attempt to discourage and eliminate Englishness.” He said that as far as he knew, such denials “were not a problem” before Bill 96.

Murray encouraged families to apply for their children’s eligibility certificates as soon as possible. “The obvious message to parents with children under 18 is to get [their applications] in as soon as possible, but it’s totally unexpected and unacceptable that otherwise eligible people are being declined. If that becomes common, we’ll have to take it up with the ministry.”

The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) and the Ministry of Education and Higher Learning were not able to respond to requests for comment by press time.

Get eligibility certificates as soon as possible, ETSB tells families Read More »

Premier’s Halloween strike date speculation a scare tactic, union leaders say

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Public sector union leaders say there’s no plan for a general strike to begin Oct. 31, despite an assertion to that effect last week by Premier François Legault.

“Unions always think they have to go on strike to gain as much as possible, so we’re going to expect a strike on Oct. 31,” Legault told reporters on Oct. 17, the day after the conclusion of a round of strike votes where locals under four public sector union federations voted in support of a strike mandate by an average of 95 per cent.

Éric Gingras is the president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and a co-spokesperson for the Front Commun, the negotiating bloc made up of the CSQ, the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), the Conseil des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS).

“We don’t usually comment on rumours, but unfortunately, we have to comment on this one because it came from the premier,” Gingras said. “That [Oct. 31 strike date] is not what is planned.”

Gingras said unions that go on strike are bound by legal restrictions that require ten days of advance notice before any strike action. “A strike action is not something that we’ll announce the night before,” he said. He also said union members would most likely engage in a series of brief, time-limited strikes before taking the rare and drastic step of an unlimited general strike. Such a strike would close schools, colleges and daycares around the province, and some health care workers would also walk picket lines, although the Essential Services Act ensures that there won’t be service interruptions in the sector. A Front Commun statement released Oct. 18 said “Bientôt en Grève” (“On strike soon”) banners will soon pop up across the region. “This is a clear warning to the government that public sector workers are willing to go all the way,” the statement said.

Gingras said negotiations were ongoing between the Front Commun, which represents a combined 420,000 public sector workers in health, education and social services fields, and the government. Union leaders have previously told the BCN that a salary increase below the predicted rate of inflation, the imposition of pension penalties for those who retire early and working conditions that they say don’t encourage retention are among the major sticking points. “The goal is to get an offer that’s satisfying for our members – we don’t want to have to reach an unlimited general strike. The next few weeks [of negotiations] will be key,” said Gingras.

“If we go on strike, people will find that difficult – we know that,” he added. “We’re fighting so that the public can have the levels of service they’re entitled to, so that our members will be able to better serve the public.”

Premier’s Halloween strike date speculation a scare tactic, union leaders say Read More »

Local family feels ripple effects of Quebec tuition hikes

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Inititaive

A British Columbia family with aspirations to settle in the Eastern Townships is asking hard questions after the CAQ government announced plans to double tuition fees for out-of-province students.

Clay and Dianne Bassendowski are based in Dawson’s Creek, B.C., but have a holiday home in Knowlton – where they hope to retire – and attend Sherbrooke Phoenix games at every opportunity. Although they’re not fluent in French, Clay Bassendowski said they “love the language” and become better versed in it with every visit. Their 17-year-old daughter, an aspiring math teacher, learned earlier this fall that she had been accepted to Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, realizing a long-held dream.

That was before Oct. 13, when higher education minister Pascale Déry announced that tuition fees for out-of-province students at Quebec universities would double starting next September.

When the Bassendowski family heard the announcement, they “were in shock,” Clay Bassendowski said. “She found out she was accepted, and we learned about this the same week. It’s a real emotional roller coaster.”

They are now considering other options. Although the family hasn’t given up on sending their daughter to Bishop’s, “the more we digest it, the more we realize we need a plan B,” he said.

“One of the concerns we have is the cost – it’s an extra $40,000 over four years, although living expenses are cheaper, and we are factoring that in,” he said. “The other concern is that with 40 per cent of the student body coming from out of province, that’s a big part of the university’s business model. What happens if in three or four years, the university’s business model isn’t viable anymore?”

Bassendowski, a former town councillor, said the idea of finding a workaround to make his daughter eligible for in-province tuition via their holiday home didn’t sit right with him. “I don’t feel we deserve the in-province rate, but we would be happy to pay the same rate that a Quebecer would pay at the University of British Columbia (UBC),” he said. “It’s a great thing for students to be able to experience other provinces.”

He said the opportunity to perfect her French – and one day teach in Quebec – was part of the appeal of Bishop’s for his daughter. “I don’t know why the government assumes that people won’t stay,” he said. “You go to university, you make friends, you put down roots – I think there’s a very high likelihood you will stay.”

Political fallout

The announcement has been roundly criticized by opposition parties. Madwa-Nika Cadet, the Liberal Party critic for public finances and the French language, called on Déry to produce data to back up her assertions that out-of-province students don’t stay in the province or integrate. She noted that students who do leave after their studies in Quebec can be “ambassadors” for Quebec language and culture elsewhere, strengthening connections within the federation.

Québec Solidaire MNA Christine Labrie’s riding includes Bishop’s University. She has called on Déry to exempt Bishop’s from the fee increase. “Bishop’s risks losing a third of their student body, and if nothing is done, this policy will lead to job losses. The consequences will hit the region hard, and the policy won’t achieve its goal because there will be less money coming in to finance French-language universities.”

Labrie said out-of-province students who attend Bishop’s, McGill or Concordia “choose to come and live in a francophone province, and I read that as a will to learn more about Quebec. If they stay, great. If they leave, that means more people in the rest of Canada are familiar with Quebec, and that’s also great.”

Parti Québécois education critic Pascal Bérubé said his party supported the measure but didn’t believe it would have a significant impact on the vitality of French. He said the government should apply the Charter of the French Language to CEGEPs and invest more in French language learning opportunities for temporary foreign workers to reinforce the vitality of the language.

Local family feels ripple effects of Quebec tuition hikes Read More »

Feds to make it easier for cities to regulate lakes

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Municipalities and Indigenous communities will soon have access to a faster and easier process to regulate navigation on lakes in their jurisdiction, Compton-Stanstead MP Marie-Claude Bibeau announced last week.

Bibeau, Brome-Missisquoi MP Pascale St-Onge, and Sherbrooke MP Isabelle Brière gathered alongside municipal officials and lake preservation advocates near Lake Massawippi in Ayer’s Cliff on Oct. 12 to announce upcoming policy changes.

Navigable lakes and rivers in Canada, even those on the territory of a single municipality, fall under federal jurisdiction. For many years, municipalities that wanted to regulate lakes on their territory – for example, to ban a certain type of boat or impose a boating speed limit – had to apply to Transport Canada for authorization, a long and involved process that could take two to three years. Transport Canada can now approve municipalities’ requests by decree, making the process much faster.

Bibeau said she had been determined to reform the process since 2016. “Our challenge was to change the Canada Shipping Act, which I was jokingly told was harder to change than the Constitution … that gives you an idea of the challenges we faced. We recently proposed modifications to the Act which received royal assent in June.” She said the new regulations that will be developed in the wake of these changes will clarify the role of municipalities and streamline the authorization process. In the interim, Transport Canada has eliminated several steps from that process. “It’s now easier and faster for municipalities and Indigenous communities to seek restrictions on local waterways if they have safety or environmental concerns,” she said.

“For those who haven’t been following the file closely, the changes aren’t super clear, but in essence…a municipality that wanted to ask to regulate a lake had to submit an application which would go through two or three levels of jurisdiction, and that would take a year or two,” explained Pierre St-Arnault, the president of the Comité de sauvegarde du bassin versant du lac Davignon and a longtime advocate for a streamlined process, who attended the Ayer’s Cliff announcement. “Now, the city will fill out the same forms, and if the ministry decides the application is sufficient, it can issue a decree authorizing the municipality to regulate. You submit something before the end of the year, and it can be authorized by this summer.”

Jacques Demers, president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, said the changes were “a positive step” after years of discussions and consultations on the issue.

In Cowansville, city officials have been in discussions with Transport Canada since earlier this year with an eye to ban motorboats on Lac Davignon. Cowansville communications director Fanny Poisson told the BCN the reforms announced last week were “good news” but that the city would not comment further while discussions with the ministry and public consultations were ongoing.

St-Arnault said the Lac Davignon motorboat ban needed to be authorized as soon as possible, for the safety of swimmers and kayakers and for the good of the lake. “Our goal is to ban all motors, fuel or electric, even the smallest ones. We have a small, shallow lake and motorboats stir it up – they stir up sediment which contains a lot of phosphate, and that’s bad for the lake. They’re an important [vector] of invasive species. … and they affect the safety of swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders. We can’t have boats zooming around at 70 miles per hour if we care about the health of the lake and the safety of its users,” he said.

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Fee increases pose potential “existential threat” to Bishop’s

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Bishop’s University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Sébastien Lebel-Grenier has said proposed changes to the province’s university fee structure announced last week could pose an “existential” threat to the Lennoxville institution.

On Oct. 13, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry announced the province would essentially double university tuition fees for out-of-province students in undergraduate and professional master’s degree programs at Quebec universities. Fees for international students, whose tuition is already several times higher than what Quebec students pay, are also expected to rise slightly. The measure would apply to new students as of the 2024-2025 school year; fees for current students will remain the same until they finish their degree.

International students whose home countries have a reciprocity agreement with Quebec are exempt, as are doctoral students and those in research-based masters programs. Déry alluded to possible future exemptions for students from francophone communities outside Quebec, although no such exemptions were announced.

Déry argued that most Canadian students from outside Quebec leave at the end of their studies, and the change meant Quebec taxpayers would no longer subsidize out-of-province students who took advantage of Quebec’s relatively low tuition fees and then returned home to work. She did not cite data supporting her premise.

The proposal received immediate backlash from English-speaking educational institutions. Celine Cooper, managing director of the Consortium of English-language CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities of Quebec, said institutions reacted with “profound disappointment.”

“The measures announced on Friday are counterproductive. They will have serious and far-reaching consequences not only for Quebec’s higher education sector in the broadest sense, but also for Quebec’s economy, workforce development and international reputation,” Cooper told the BCN. “These new measures, coupled with recent changes to the Quebec Experience Program [for international students], are likely to discourage thousands of international students from choosing Quebec. The price point will be prohibitive for many out-of-province students, [and] we expect that Quebec’s English universities will see a significant drop in enrollments from out-of-province students.”

While Déry emphasized that the policy change, applied to all universities, “was not a measure against anglophones,” it will have a disproportionate impact on Quebec’s three English-language universities, McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s, which welcome the lion’s share of students from other provinces. Déry said revenue from international and out-of-province student fees “creates a significant imbalance” between the French and English university systems. Between 2019 and 2022, according to the ministry, English-language universities gained a total of $282 million in extra revenue from international and out-of-province student fees, compared to a combined $46 million for the 10 public French-language universities in the Université du Québec network and an estimated $79 million for French-language universities outside the network. “I have to reduce this imbalance so our French-language universities can shine and grow,” said Déry. The extra income from the fee increase will “give the ministry the means to … better support the francophone network” while “putting the brakes on the anglicization of Montreal,” she argued.

None of that is any consolation to Lebel-Grenier, who said the announcement came “out of nowhere.”

“We got a two-day advance warning that this policy was going to be put in place; there was no consultation,” he told the BCN. “We received a letter in late spring telling us the minister was concerned about out-of-province students…but there was no invitation to discuss.” He said he was “expecting a conversation on how we can be better partners for unilingual anglophone students who want to learn French – not punitive measures.”

Nearly one in three Bishop’s students are from other provinces and one in six are international. Lebel-Grenier said he “fully expects” many prospective out-of-province students to reconsider their plans. That would have a potentially “catastrophic” impact on the university’s finances, with preliminary projections suggesting at least 25 per cent of the academic budget would vanish, affecting “our ability to go on as a university,” he said.

The school’s culture would also take a significant hit. “We’ve always been premised on welcoming students from across Canada, and the diversity of our community is what makes Bishop’s an incredible place to learn and grow as a person,” he said.

Lebel-Grenier said the university was receiving calls from “distraught” parents and prospective students. Beyond the financial impacts of the fee increase, “they are seeing this [announcement] as a message that they aren’t welcome.”

“A lot of students come to Bishop’s because they are curious about Quebec and they want to stay and learn French,” he added. “We don’t have data [on how many graduates stay on], but we have a lot of great stories of people who have stayed.”

Déry said she was “sensitive to” the school’s situation, but could not make an exemption to the policy for a single school.

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Local woman wants to bring films to life for blind moviegoers

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Since childhood, Monika Nelis Dupont, 24, who lives in Bedford, has enjoyed going to the movies in Cowansville with friends and family. Since she lost her sight due to a degenerative condition five years ago, she finds it hard to follow all the action with sound alone. “When you need to constantly ask [other people] what happened, it’s not as much of a communal experience anymore,” she said.

Nelis Dupont, an activist and aspiring children’s author, has launched a petition on Change.org asking the Princess Cinema in Cowansville to invest in audio description devices. These devices, which are shaped like portable cassette players and include headphones, add an extra audio track to the film so moviegoers who are blind, visually impaired or experiencing sight loss can follow the action.

“If you’re watching a film and you hear suspenseful music, you understand why, but if you’re blind, you might not be able to follow the action,” she said. “If the film had audio description, I would hear, ‘Charlie is creeping down the hall with a baseball bat in his hand,’ and so forth. I wouldn’t have to ask what was going on…and it [wouldn’t] disrupt anyone else,” she said.

Nelis Dupont said the closest theatre which regularly shows English-language films with audio description is in Brossard, an hour away. She said she believes more widespread use of audio description devices in local theatres would help bring more blind and partially sighted people and their families and friends back to the movies. Her petition has received more than 360 signatures as of this writing, and she plans to launch a flyer campaign in the next few months. She said she has yet to receive a response from the Princess Cinema.

“The Princess Cinema is wheelchair-accessible, and that’s why I want to support it,” added Nelis Dupont, who also uses a wheelchair. “We have wheelchair-accessible seats. We have subtitles. It would be great if we had four or five audio description devices.”

Local cinema entrepreneur Yvan Fontaine owns the Princess Cinema and four other theatres in Magog, Orford, Quebec City and the Beauce region. He said he is aware of the petition but does not plan to invest in the devices for the moment.

“It’s not that we don’t want to do it,” he explained. “The equipment is not hugely expensive, but we need to make sure all of our theatres are equipped for it, and that requires installing transmitters and receivers. We would need to buy and install that equipment and then ensure that the films came with audio description, which not all films do. People don’t realize the complexity.”

“All of our theatres are wheelchair-accessible, but we have maybe two or three wheelchair users a year,” he added. “Just because we are adapted doesn’t mean people will come. I don’t know how many people have [visual impairments] in Brome-Missisquoi.”

He said he and his counterparts at the Association québécoise des propriétaires du cinéma have been asking for greater support from the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the provincial crown corporation that supports film and TV production. He said theatre owners have asked SODEC for funding to support installation costs and assurances that future Quebec-made films will include French-language audio description tracks. “We’ve been told that is not a priority for them right now,” he said.

SODEC communications director Johanne Morissette was not able to comment at press time.

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