Author name: The Gaspé Spec

Cynthia Dow, LJI Journalist

CASCAPEDIA: – Travelling outside the region for health care can be intimidating and stressful, but there is help and support. Steve Guimond has been working for Travel4Health, a service established in March 2016 by the Community Health and Social Services Network in partnership with a host of regional anglophone associations including CASA, Vision Gaspé-Percé Now, Council of Anglophone Magdalen Islanders, and the Coasters Association from the Lower North Shore.

The funding for the position has come from the Quebec Community Health Foundation.
Mr. Guimond offers a range of services and supports for people who have to travel to the Quebec City area for health care. Some have to travel more than 1,000 kilometres to receive the medical care they need.
“We survived COVID and we are still here!” Mr. Guimond told SPEC during a recent interview. He noted that before his position as Patient Navigator was established, the regional groups used a printed toolkit to provide patients with information about the hospitals they were scheduled to visit and find travel services and accommodations in Quebec City.

The toolkits may still be available, but the online site at https://www.travel4health.ca/ has a host of information that can be easily accessed and walks patients through many of the issues they may face while travelling to and staying in Quebec City.

“People come to the city for a range of treatments,” Mr. Guimond explained to SPEC, “Probably number one is oncology (cancer treatments) and number two cardiology (to see heart specialists) but we also have a lot of people coming for surgery, dialysis, and MRI scans. Many regions do not yet have MRI machines.”
Mr. Guimond noted that Gaspesian patients perhaps face the most challenging travel situation, as from most other regions, air travel is relatively simple. “What people from the Gaspé Coast have to go through to get here is unbelievable,” he said, “Ten to twelve hours on a bus or in a car… two full days to get here and return, and sometimes the medical appointment lasts just 15 or 20 minutes. If changes were made, the health care system could save a lot of time and money for everyone.”

Mr. Guimond mentioned that many patients are not travelling alone, but have been allowed to bring someone to accompany them. However, eligibility to cover those expenses varies a great deal from region to region. “I sometimes see people here who really should not be travelling alone.”

There is also a serious loneliness factor for some who have to stay a long time in the city. “I am currently helping a woman who is in the hospital from May until July 3 and then must stay another 100 days in Quebec City for follow-up treatments. She also needs to remain in isolation. In cases like that, I check in regularly on people.”

He noted that representatives of the English-speaking community are working at the level of the regional access committees to highlight the issues that some patients are going through. So far, Mr. Guimond has served almost 500 patients, with support offered to just over 100 people per year, sometimes for multiple trips to the city. Altogether 1,036 interventions have been undertaken.

There have been considerable improvements already to the way patients from the regions are being treated. For example, in the past, patients who had been transported by the health care system to Quebec City were sometimes required to find their own way home. Now, those brought in by the medivac transporters are also sent home that way.

Mr. Guimond also noted a significant increase in the ability of Quebec City hospitals to respond in English to the needs of his clients. “Things have changed a lot in the local hospitals. It’s never been much of an issue with doctors, because many of them have trained in English. Now at the nursing level, the younger generation of recent recruits enjoy speaking English… and I find that the staff here really have the interests of the patients at heart. They do an incredible job in difficult circumstances, and that is not always fully acknowledged.”

However, a problem that requires a solution is the lack of English-language printed material about things like preparation for surgery and post-surgery instructions. “What’s frustrating is that all this material exists in the English institutions in Montreal. But we are told that the documentation is institution-specific, so it is not being shared.”

He said a major challenge that affects all people throughout the system is the long waiting lists for treatment.

For more information about the services he can offer, you can contact Mr. Guimond directly at 418-932-0095 or by email at navigator@qchfoundation.or. Don’t forget to check out https://www.travel4health.ca/ to help you organize your trip.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Quebec Fisheries Minister André Lamontagne took advantage of the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers on August 15 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to once again urge the Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to intensify its collaboration with fishermen, processors and the provinces, as climate change is impacting several fisheries.

While in Gaspé on July 5, Mr. Lamontagne deplored this lack of collaboration at a time when the industry is going through a crisis and must define its future.

He mentioned that the federal government does not seem to have a clear vision for the future.
In the current crisis, it is more than necessary that future actions be the subject of real consultation in order to ensure the sustainability of coastal communities, said Mr. Lamontagne.

Using the example of shrimp, the Minister mentioned that despite repeated calls from Quebec for increased collaboration between levels of government to respond to this crisis, the federal government has still not indicated its intention to offer substantial structural and financial support measures for struggling fisheries sectors, including Quebec’s shrimp fishery, as the Quebec Shrimp Fishermen’s Office recalled on August 15.

Last year, 4,500 tonnes of shrimp were landed by Quebec fishermen out of the 8,193-tonne quota. This year’s quota is set at 3,060 tonnes.

Another example is the resumption of redfish fishing, which should have benefited this sector. However, the 5,500-tonne quota currently allocated to Quebec shrimp fishermen is far too small to contribute to the restructuring of this fleet, which is in a very precarious situation.

The Minister also met with his counterparts from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island to discuss the pressing fisheries issues they share.

They agreed that federal government intervention was necessary to support shrimpers and any fisheries in difficulty, emphasizing the importance of joint management of fishery resources overseen by the federal government.

“Several fisheries are currently experiencing major upheaval. I saw this again during my recent visit to the Magdalen Islands, the Lower St. Lawrence, and the Gaspé Peninsula. In the middle of the fishing season, it is inconceivable that boats have to remain docked. I took advantage of the meeting to reiterate the federal government’s responsibility to contribute to the measures needed to ensure the restructuring of fishing fleets in difficulty, particularly shrimp fishermen. We must develop a common vision, which will be supported by jointly developed strategies and action plans. Silos have no place in fisheries,” says the Minister.

Mr. Lamontagne mentioned turbot, where the quota fell by more than 50% between 2021 and 2023, from 4,500 tonnes to 2,400 tonnes, with landings of only 179 tonnes last year.

He also mentioned that since 2023, fishing for winter flounder and yellowtail flounder in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been subject to a moratorium. While the federal government is dragging its feet, the Minister mentioned that Quebec has stepped in to provide support to the various stakeholders in the shrimp sector since 2023, including the creation of a working committee made up of fishermen, processors and the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ).

Financial assistance of more than $3.5 million has been granted to the shrimp sector, including $528,000 to fishermen in difficulty.

In addition, the Quebec government guarantees loans to those at risk for an amount of nearly $20 million.
Projects to support the sector and hire resources, presented by associations and regional county municipalities, were also funded during this period.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ: – Steps are still being taken to potentially file a legal appeal against the architects and engineers who designed the plans for the ongoing work at the Town Hall.

“It’s still in the process. I can’t go into it any further,” said Mr. Côté.

When asked whether the parties are in discussions or if a formal notice has been served, the mayor once again remained cautious. “We’re at the legal level, so I’m going to keep a big reserve on my comments. We’ll let the legal specialists chat among themselves. I don’t want to interfere in the process,” replied the mayor, who is a trained lawyer.

The contractor in charge of the project had discovered a problem between the design of the building’s façade wall and what had been agreed upon during planning, a surprise that should have been noted by the engineers and architects when designing the renovation plans, Mr. Côté indicated in July.

The additional costs amount to $700,000. The Town had adopted a $4.3 million borrowing bylaw, which included plans and specifications, and the work contract was initially set at $2.9 million, representing a savings of $1 million.

“It had pleasantly surprised us, but the million has melted like snow in the sun. One of the issues we have is that we have no guarantee that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs will extend the missing amount. The ministry pays 65% of the bill after the call for tenders but now they do not want to go back up to the amount initially planned. It’s not our fault if there were errors in the plans and specifications,” said the elected official.

Rue des Touristes

Work to protect Rue des Touristes, located in the Anse-à-Valleau sector of Gaspé, will not be done until 2026. The street, which has been highly vulnerable since a devastating storm in December 2016, will face a ten-year wait before it receives adequate protection but, even then, the solution may not resolve all the problems, according to the mayor.

“It required financial assistance from Civil Security and it took a long time to agree on the principle of compensation in he case of bank erosion. It was a very long and painful process, from ministry approvals to everything. In short, it was endless,” comments the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté.

Once this step was completed and a financial agreement was reached, in which Quebec pays 75% of the estimated $4 million cost, plans and specifications were ordered in June at a cost of $644,000.

“If we didn’t need environmental studies, the work would have been done before the end of 2025 but we know that environmental studies always have delays of a year, a year and a half, two years, which means that there will be no potential work until 2026,” calculates the elected official.

He hopes that work will begin in early 2026 to be completed by the end of the year. “The high tides have been around for eight years, and there is still about a two-year delay left. I understand the exasperation of the people in the area,” says the mayor, who considers himself lucky that no new storm has hit the area.
However, the battle to protect the coastline is far from over.

The Ministry of Public Safety only wants to pay for the riprap for the area affected by the 2016 storm, leaving the ends of the planned work vulnerable.

“We fear the end effects. When the water hits the riprap, it will affect the sides of the riprap and create new erosion zones. We fear this effect, our specialists have these fears, but the ministry does not want to pay. We will continue to make the ministry see reason,” says the mayor, who indicates that approximately 20% of the work remains to be completed.

The plans and specifications address this end effect, which is defined as the turbulence caused by water striking the ends of a structure and eroding the soil of unprotected neighbouring properties. Severe erosion zones could emerge, potentially leading to significant land loss for neighbours.

“If we let nature take its course, it would take away the road and relocate dozens of houses. In short, we would have had to practically close the village if we had listened to what the people from the ministry told us at the beginning. No one had noticed that the road was the next to disappear and right after that, it was houses. It took them a while to realize that it didn’t make sense to let nature take its course unless we decided to condemn the village of Anse-à-Valleau. As a town, we weren’t ready for that,” says Mr. Côté.
In the event of another storm causing further damage, the mayor believes that an emergency decree could be issued to bypass environmental regulations and allow for the street’s reconstruction.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – The Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles is expecting 1,279 students for the fall 2024 session, which began on August 19.

This marks an increase of 42 students compared to last year and 147 more than in the fall 2022 session.
“The CEGEP is doing great promotional activities in the Gaspésie but also in Quebec with some 250 students coming from other regions of Quebec. We have about 120 foreign students and we have better retention of students from the Gaspésie. It’s a multitude of factors,” explains the Director of Studies, Serge Rochon.

Among these factors, the Director notes the twenty or so programs offered, the small groups of students, and the close relationships between professors and students, which promotes success.
“We have positioned our educational institution well in recent years, and we have more and more students in our classrooms,” he continues.

New measures were put in place to allow foreign students to come and study in Canada despite strict rules.
“We are managing to maintain the number of international students. Last year was a record year. We are maintaining these students who come from France and African countries. This is good news for our study programs, as it allows us to maintain them,” explains Mr. Rochon.

The revision of the Childhood Education Technique program is still underway. “We are going to equip ourselves with a new version of the program. We started our work last winter and we will finish it this year. This is a program where we had no registrations last year. We are going to significantly modify the study program that we will present in a few weeks,” indicates the director of studies, recalling the significant need for workers in the region.

The same reflection will be done with the Aquatic Products Transformation program offered in Grande-Rivière. “The program has been suspended for several years. We are going to start a major project this year to try to look at it in depth and see how we can make it attractive for a relaunch at the UPAQ,” emphasizes Mr. Rochon.

The Police Technology program is under development at the Gaspé campus. “We are starting to hire our first professors. We have a version of the program that is not completed but is very advanced. We will be able to unveil it very soon because we will soon begin our promotional activities,” emphasizes Mr. Rochon.
The first policing students are expected at the start of the fall 2025 school year. The work to build the laboratories for this training will be done during the year. “We need to create some pretty specific laboratories. We’re talking about apartments, bars, and police stations where we do all sorts of simulations. We’re going to prepare everything over the course of the year to be ready for the start of the 2025 school year,” says the director.

As for the idea put forward this summer by politicians to train wildlife officers in the region due to a labour shortage, particularly in this region, the CEGEP has not been contacted.

“There are other CEGEPs in Quebec that offer this training. Sometimes, it’s difficult to set up the program everywhere in the territory. We have a lot of programs at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, and sometimes it becomes difficult to add more since we already have Police Technology. We’re always listening and, if we can meet a need in the region, we’ll be there,” says Mr. Rochon.

International students

The CEGEP believes that it is too early to comment on the Quebec bill that would limit the number of foreign students in the province.

The Coalition Avenir Québec government intends to table a bill in the next parliamentary session to regulate the registration of international students in higher education institutions.
Since the content of the bill is not yet known, the CEGEP is unable to determine what the impacts of the legislation would be on its activities.

The college welcomes about 120 foreign students this year, representing nearly 10% of the student body.
The CEGEP indicates that it will monitor the situation closely.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GESGAPEGIAG – The Minister responsible for relations with First Nations admits that there is still a lot of work to be done before trust can be reestablished with the government.

While visiting Gesgapegiag and Listuguj on August 15, Ian Lafrenière indicated that efforts are ongoing to improve relations with these communities.

“It’s obvious that these are difficult relationships. Why? We are talking about 400 years of history, punctuated by moments that have not been glorious as Canadians and Quebecers. There is certainly mistrust. I am not comfortable telling you that everything is fine, but I am comfortable telling you that we are moving forward. We are gaining trust one file at a time. It will take time,” says the Minister.
In Gesgapegiag, the first subject that was discussed between the minister and the community was the salmon fishing conflict that escalated in late spring.

An agreement that had provided compensation to members of Gesgapegiag for 16 years expired on March 31. “The Wildlife file was transferred from the ministry, and it was more complex. Together, we agreed that we need to reach a medium and long-term agreement to avoid this type of situation that creates uncertainty and tension. We want to reach an agreement to provide more predictability,” the Minister explained.
Given the difficulties in capturing other species, alternative possibilities were also discussed. Additionally, several other priorities were mentioned.

The Minister also took the opportunity to visit the memorial dedicated to Aboriginal Veterans, a significant moment for him as a veteran, and a project in which the Quebec government contributed.
In Listuguj, Mr. Lafrenière reviewed completed projects. “In all cases, these are projects that have respected both the budget and the deadline. I am thinking of the school and the police station. There is a lot of movement and it is very positive,” the Minister mentions.

However, Mr. Lafrenière did not visit Gespeg due to a tight schedule but also for another factor.
“We know that there is a pre-election period in Gespeg. That is why I did not continue my trip. I would say that in terms of schedule and geography, I couldn’t do it. And in addition to this pre-election period, I refrain from visiting the communities. It will be soon,” he says, adding that he has visited the 55 communities in Quebec.

“It’s important to see the communities. That’s where we learn things. It’s not in our office,” maintains Mr. Lafrenière.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

SAINTE-ANNE-DES-MONTS – The ten female and three male caribou captured this winter, along with the six surviving calves, might remain in captivity at the Mount McGerrigle enclosure, in the Parc de la Gaspésie, longer than initially planned.

The Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks indicates that “recent observations regarding the low productivity and recruitment rates observed in recent years have led the ministry to consider temporarily keeping a portion of the Gaspésie caribou population in captivity in 2024, rather than using maternity pens involving the annual capture of pregnant females and their release with their calves at the end of the summer, as deployed in 2023,” states the response to an inquiry made by SPEC regarding the 19 caribous being held in captivity.”

Captivity is a final and temporary measure to protect isolated caribou populations in a very precarious situation,” mentions the ministry. The Minister responsible for Wildlife, Benoit Charette, indicated this spring in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts that there were only 24 caribou left in the Gaspésie.

“The presence of three males in the enclosure will allow one or more reproductive cycles to be carried out in captivity and provide the information needed to optimize recruitment while documenting the low pregnancy rates observed in the wild,” the ministry explains in its letter.
Various factors such as survival rates, physical condition, sex ratio or productivity could lead to occasional releases of caribou, as a proportion of nine caribou remain in the wild, assuming those not captured last spring survived predation and the winter.

“The duration of the use of this management measure will be assessed through a multi-criteria analysis taking into consideration, among other things, the parameters mentioned and the deployment of other complementary management measures, such as predator control and habitat restoration,” the ministry explains.

Temporary captivity aims to protect caribou from predators and increase their survival rates. “This reflection demonstrates the ministry’s attention to deploying a dynamic and adaptive management approach that relies on monitoring the biological indicators of the Gaspésie caribou population,” the ministry states in response to our inquiries.

The Haute-Gaspésie receives support

The Côte-de-Gaspé MRC is supporting the Haute-Gaspésie by asking the Quebec government to hold information sessions and public consultations in Haute-Gaspésie due to the impact of the proposed caribou protection measures. The Quebec government announced a pilot project for the caribou population in April and the Haute-Gaspésie is concerned that recreational tourism development could be significantly restricted due to the proposed measures.

Côte-de-Gaspé is also calling for interim measures to be lifted and for the public service to be given clear directives so that sustainable development can continue. The MRC is asking that the wind energy sector and access to territories be taken into account.

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – As of September 3, Dr. Yv Bonnier Viger, the Regional Director of Public Health for the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, will be stepping down.

Dr. Bonnier Viger, who is a preventative medicine specialist will take on the role of medical advisor. “We had been thinking about this for some time. We had to ensure a succession. The succession is ready and I will step down because I am a 1950 model. At some point, we simply have to make way for the succession,” says Dr. Bonnier Viger, who is 74 years old.

The physician will continue his work to support his successor in a smooth transition. Dr. Bonnier Viger has held this position twice: from 2001 to 2002, and since 2016. His tenure as Director of Public Health was especially defined by the pandemic. Dr. Bonnier Viger believes that his team is well-prepared to handle any future events. Lessons have been learned, and Public Health is now working on building a better response for what the future may hold.

“We are preparing plans and we will take the time to do simulations to be ready. We can be ready on paper, but if we have never tried it, that is when we can have surprises. The difference between theory and practice is considerable and we must take the time to properly practice what we have planned,” says Dr. Bonnier Viger.

Dr. Bonnier Viger does not want to talk about legacy, because he has not finished his work. “With my role as director, having a participatory management approach, geared towards always allowing others to do the best they can do, I think it’s a winning formula,” he says.

He says he might have a little more free time once he is no longer involved in management. “My time was already very limited. I may have weeks that are a little more normal, but I won’t have a lot of free time. There are a lot of files that we have to put a lot of time into. I’ll have my work cut out for me to continue working 60 to 80 hours as I do,” he says.

“I’m in great shape. When you get older, you’re more likely to get sick. It’s better to be in positions that don’t affect too many people at the same time if something happens,” he says.

After his first stint as Director of Public Health for the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands region in 2001-2002, he left to create the Public Health Department in Cree territory, a role he held until 2008.
He was then recruited by Laval University as a part-time coordinator of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, while also serving as a medical assistant to the Director of Public Health in Chaudière-Appalaches. In 2010, he became the department’s director. Dr. Bonnier Viger returned to the Gaspé Peninsula in 2016.

In a 2020 interview, Dr. Bonnier Viger set himself the goal of getting public health back on track after the Barrette reform, with a younger management team and remaining a medical advisor, a role he will officially take on in September.

Nelson Sergerie

MATANE – Diane Lebouthiller will seek a fourth mandate from voters in the newly expanded constituency of the Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine-Listuguj during the next election.

She was elected for the first time under the Liberal banner in 2015 and announced her intentions to run again on February 9 before the members of the Matanie Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Matane.
During the last ministerial reshuffle, which promoted her to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans last fall, Ms. Lebouthillier indicated that she intended to be a candidate if her health allowed it.

Clearly, Ms. Lebouthillier wants another electoral battle. Making the announcement in Matane is symbolic since the MRCs of Matanie and Avignon are added to his constituency following the redistribution of the electoral map, which eliminates the riding of Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia.

“Gaspesians and Magdalen Islanders have given me the honour of a lifetime to represent them since 2015, and I want to tell them that, more than ever, I still have the sacred fire to continue to defend their interests in Ottawa. After four long years in opposition, the people of Avignon and Matanie will have a unique opportunity in the next election: to choose to play in the middle of the ice rink and take a full part in the decisions that affect them,” states the Member of Parliament in a press release.

Elections are scheduled for October 2025.

Nelson Sergerie

CHANDLER – Started last fall, work to repair the Newport wharf is progressing, according to the Newport Port Association.

Phases 1 and 2 of the vast project are going well, thanks in particular to an unexpected helping hand from Mother Nature, which has provided a mild winter so far.

“In phase 1, the work is going number one. Winter is here, which allowed the contractor and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to do the work. Phase one should be passable for the start of fishing,” explains the president of the Newport Port Association, Luc Legresley.

Phase 1 consists of the construction of a new 278-foot wharf between the existing mid-shore and coastal wharves.

Phase 2 is also progressing. “Dredging was done across the entire wharf. What is planned is the construction of the coastal or lobster boat wharf, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a new wharf to the east of the current one,” explains Mr. Legresley.

With little ice, the fishing season could be early. Boats could be launched as early as March. “The most important thing will be safety: both that of the workers and the boats. In March, there are still some good storms. I tell anyone who will listen to be careful before mooring on the docks,” suggests the president who notes that there is ice on the docks due to the work.

Phases 3 and 4 are ready, and all that is missing is the financing for their implementation. “If I rely on certain comments from both Fisheries and Oceans and the office of Member of Parliament and Minister Diane Lebouthillier, I sincerely hope that phases 3 and 4 will be announced quickly,” he says.

The mid-shore wharf is at the end of its life, and Mr. Legresley fears that it will no longer be accessible
“The coastal wharf, this large quay is phase 3 where the boats enter inside the quay, and phase 4 is the large parking lot area where the boats can moor and unload,” specifies the president.

If all goes as planned, phase 2 should be completed in 2025. “We will push so that in 2025 and 2026, phases 3 and 4 can be done. Are we dreaming in colour? I do not know. I have full confidence in the DFO staff,” says Mr. Legresley.

In November, the authorities remained cautious about the cost of the work but put it at between $10 and $15 million.

According to the port authority, traffic has increased over the last seven years from around 3000 to more than 7000 boat movements annually. Managers had been working on this project for several years.

At the end of the wharf reconstruction, the Port of Newport will have about 400 additional feet of dock.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – Logements CVP’s 144-unit apartment project near Carrefour Gaspé has still not been initiated, and Gaspé will exercise its termination clause if necessary.

A termination clause is a contractual mechanism that makes it possible to sanction a party’s failure to fulfill its contractual obligations by providing that the contract will be terminated at the fault of the offending party.
The company purchased the municipal land in September 2021 by paying $300,000, when its assessment at the time was $566,000, to create Le Domaine de la Baie.

The investors also posted a $266,000 bond, repayable in four instalments each time a complex was built.
The project comprises four 36-unit buildings, and the apartment buildings were to be constructed at a rate of one per year until 2026.

Logements CVP had promised to start construction on December 31, 2023. A first foundation was to be poured on that date, but it never happened.

“As this is a file that falls in the hands of our prosecutors, I would be a little embarrassed (to comment on it). The Town of Gaspé wishes to preserve its rights in this matter. I still have confidence that we will be able to move forward. There were deadlines in this contract and we just want to preserve our rights with prior notice,” notes the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté.

The mayor does not want to discuss the possibility of taking back possession of the land. “I don’t want to go that far if the project doesn’t work. Currently, it works, but let’s admit that there were pitfalls and that it was necessary to lift the termination clause which would give the land to the Town. I also don’t want to harm the legal process. We are not heading towards that. For the moment, we are waiving a notice in accordance with what is provided for in the Civil Code and in the contract provided for with the developer. Some deadlines have been missed. We are only protecting our rights,” explains the mayor.

The announcement was made with great fanfare, and the project was presented as the largest real estate project in 50 years in Gaspé.

The site provides an exceptional view of Gaspé Bay, close to a shopping centre and less than five minutes from the heart of downtown and an equivalent distance from the LM Wind Power plant.
The Ministry of Natural Resources had requested $381,000 from Gaspé in September 2022 for the sale of the land to allow the transaction to close.

The ministry invoked a 1978 clause when the Town acquired this land from the ministry which preserved certain uses for the site.

Furthermore, the project also encountered technical issues due to the slope being steeper than expected, which forced the developer to return to the drawing board, erasing the hope of launching the project in 2022.

The pandemic also caused delays for materials, which scheduled the start of construction according to the initial plan for 2023. Initially estimated at $25 million, the project is now likely to exceed $40 million.

Nelson Sergerie

CHANDLER – To replace Nova Lumina, The Bourg de Pabos, an archaeological site, is setting up a new visitor experience which will be ready in the spring if all goes according to plans.

“The activity is called Ghost Hunting. People will be invited to explore the trails with technology that is rarely used to chase away the ghosts that have haunted the Bourg de Pabos site for centuries,” says the director, Elsa Pépin.

During the day, objects will be haunted. “When night falls, we will hunt ghosts from our past. These are different well-known and lesser-known characters who travel our trails providing different information about their experiences,” explains Ms Pépin.

This new virtual activity fits directly into the site’s mission. “It is an important site that we must conserve and protect and we have a mission to disseminate history and heritage. Although we now have expertise in developing multimedia activities, we remain in our sector. On the other hand, we want the historical content to be rigorous and we hope that people leave having learned something about our history and our heritage,” says the director.

This activity will be produced as part of a transition year between now and the implementation of new activities in 2025.

“People will be able to come and try the new experience. We are also reviewing all schedules, pricing and operations to arrive in 2025 with a new project that people have heard a little about, Beauséjour Island,” she says.

In 2022, a vast development project of up to $6 million had been rumoured while the corporation aims to develop eco-responsible accommodation on Beauséjour Island which would be powered 100% by solar energy and would have its own water treatment system.

A museum and multimedia component would also be developed, and the island would be connected to the mainland by a floating footbridge.

Last August, the town announced the end of the Nova Lumina experience, after eight night seasons.
The Corporation indicated that it had begun a restructuring of its offering to further endorse its mission of protecting and promoting archaeological and historical heritage and to meet the expectations of the Ministry of Culture and Communications.

Nova Lumina was an enchanted nocturnal journey along the seaside of 1.5-kilometre where the visitor was guided by the celestial vault which contributed to bringing magical moments to many visitors.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – Weather-permitting, operations to capture female caribou in the Parc de la Gaspésie will take place soon.

The Ministry of Wildlife specifies that it is difficult to predict the exact time of the start of the operation, which remains uncertain due to weather conditions and the involvement of helicopters. The targeted period is from February to March, and the teams are closely monitoring conditions to ensure the safety of both the caribou and the personnel involved. This year only the Mount McGerrigle enclosure will be used.

Almost a year after the first operation, the ministry says that the captures, enclosures, care and monitoring of the caribou took place as planned last year.

“Although deaths due to infections beyond our control occurred last summer, they do not call into question the monitoring methods and the conditions of custody,” writes the ministry in response to our questions.
It is specified that the risks of perinatal mortality of natural origin for fawns and females remain.

During the previous operation, conducted between March 18 and April 6, two of the six female caribou that were captured were pregnant. Unfortunately, none of the fawns survived, and one caribou died from a uterine infection following giving birth.

Of the five caribou released from the enclosure in August, four quickly joined herds of caribou on different peaks, including Mont Jacques-Cartier. The other caribou was shot by a hunter only a few weeks after her release.

In this regard, the investigation and analysis of the evidence are still ongoing at the Protection de la Faune du Québec and no other information is being released in order to not impact the investigation.

Currently, six caribou, four female and two male, are being monitored using telemetry collars. Their movements indicate that after the rutting period, the caribou dispersed towards less exposed habitats, under forest cover, and currently form herds of a few dozen.

The caribou population in the Gaspé Peninsula is estimated at between 32 and 36 animals.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Government of Quebec continues to search for the right solution to provide the regions with air transportation services and, in that regard, the Air Transport Committee held a meeting on February 20 in Quebec City.

The president of the committee on air transportation within the Union of Quebec Municipalities and the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, is starting to get the impression that the solutions are not forthcoming.
“It appears that we are always at the mercy of what carriers want and can offer us as a service. It appears that the clientele is not always there. In Gaspé, there has been a fairly pronounced drop in customers over the last few months because there is still uncertainty,” says Daniel Côté.

The $500 program or the 30% discount on tickets does not seem to reflect reality. “This program seems too complicated, so it ran out of $500 tickets. And few people apply for reimbursement because people don’t know about this program. In short, there are plenty of problems,” notes the mayor.

Yves Montigny, who chairs the Quebec government committee, and is the Member of the National Assembly for René-Lévesque, is aware of the problem.

Mr. Montigny mentions that, in January, ticket sales increased by 30% in several destinations in Quebec, but admits at the same time that Gaspé has not experienced this growth.

“The PAAR program (Regional Air Access Program) is having an effect, but it is not having an effect everywhere. We see it in Gaspé, Mont-Joli and Baie-Comeau where we must adapt it. We want to improve it to ensure better service and better frequency,” says Mr. Montigny, who believes that the program must be revised.

“We want to ensure that the changes we are going to make correspond to the real needs of Quebec citizens. We are in consultations,” he said.

According to Mr. Côté, the Quebec Government intends to adopt an air strategy. The mayor suggests using Premier François Legault’s idea, who mentioned a possible solution during his visit to Gaspé last November. At the time the premier had promised seven days a week service imposed on carriers by the government, in each region of Quebec with tickets at $500 round trip and that the province would subsidize the deficits.

“I say it clearly, even if it doesn’t make the carriers happy, I expect that Mr. Legault’s promise materializes,” states the mayor.

“What the Premier said in Gaspé makes a lot of sense. We are working on that. We are working to have regular service to major airports in Quebec,” says Mr. Montigny.

“We are working to put in place means to find a way with one or more carriers so that services can be improved in the coming weeks and months,” specifies Mr. Montigny.

However, it remains to be seen what the carriers will do as Mr. Côté notes that they do not want to have anything imposed on them.

“We have to be able to agree because the Quebec government has decided to take on this important issue. There is also an important issue. This must be done with companies because it is private companies that transport. You have to get along with them. It’s not always easy. We have the same objective of finding common ground with businesses to better serve important destinations which have experienced a drop in traffic,” indicates Mr. Montigny.

For its part, the Parti Québécois is once again calling for a real plan to ensure effective air services for the regions of Quebec.

The Parti Québécois transport spokesperson, Joël Arseneau, notes that the government still has no vision. “If we don’t know the objective to achieve, obviously the means will not follow and we have the results that we see today. It has never been so bad in air transportation,” notes the opposition representative.

According to Mr. Arseneau, the $500 ticket program is not working, as he’s noted a visible decrease in ridership, particularly in Gaspé. Out of a target of 166,000 tickets, only 73,000 tickets were sold in two years.

The elected official notes that the Air Transport Committee set up by the CAQ is not working. “At each meeting, we go around the table and it’s like going in circles because everyone’s interests don’t align perfectly. The government is not capable of getting the best from its participants,” adds the MNA for the Magdalen Islands.

Air transportation has been the subject of reflection since February 2018, when Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government held the first forum on the issue.

Nelson Sergerie

CHANDLER – The Quebec Municipal Commission has initiated legal action in the Superior Court, seeking a declaration of provisional incapacity against Chandler councillor, Bruno-Pierre Godbout, who is the Newport Ward councillor, and serving as the pro-mayor of Chandler as well.

Mr. Godbout voluntarily complied with the request and has since tendered his resignation.

The Commission points out that the administrative investigation against the elected official is complete, leading to the filing of the petition. The case is scheduled to be heard on April 4 at the Percé Courthouse.
On January 17, Mr. Godbout was charged with fraud, forgery and use, possession or trafficking of a document. The request for a declaration of provisional incapacity stemmed from these charges. The accused is set to appear at the Percé Courthouse to address these criminal charges on April 22.

The Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) emphasized that its investigation revealed that between February 1 and July 31, 2021, while acting as pro-mayor during the Quebec Municipal Commission’s suspension of former mayor, Louisette Langlois, Mr. Godbout produced and used false expense reimbursement requests.

UPAC estimated the fraudulent amount to be approximately $10,000.

In the court document, the municipal commission states that jurisprudence establishes the burden to be met for such a request to be filed, namely serious reproaches if prima facie evidence shows that these acts appear to have been committed, and if the public interest justifies temporarily relieving the elected official concerned by determining the link between the reproached acts and the performance of his duties and the extent to which these acts bring the administration of the municipality into disrepute.

The petition states that for the fraud charge, the maximum penalty is 14 years in prison, while the production of a false document carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and the same for the forgery of a document.

The Commission notes that the elected official faces charges punishable by two years of imprisonment or more, which gives the power to the Superior Court to provisionally declare Mr. Godbout incapable of exercising any function related to his office as a member of the municipal council, based on Section 305.1 of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities.

Since Mr. Godbout filed an act of acquiescence to the request signed on February 19, the Municipal Commission requests that he be declared temporarily incapable of exercising the function of member of the council of any municipality in Quebec, i.e. until a stay of the proceedings, acquittal or the end of his term.
The mayor and councillors were informed of the discussions between the Quebec Municipal Commission and the councillor.

“Mr. Godbout was very transparent,” stated the mayor of Chandler, Gilles Daraîche. “The Municipal Commission presented him with three scenarios. He chose the scenario of resigning during the proceedings. He could have chosen scenario two or three and it would have cost the town much more, as in a trial that we know about, but he chose the scenario which will cost much less for the Town of Chandler,” adds the mayor.

Mr. Daraîche is indirectly referring to the legal saga involving the former mayor of Chandler, Louisette Langlois, whose legal expenses exceed $350,000.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – Fishermen and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) are reviewing the terms of repayment for loans granted during the crisis affecting the fishing sector.

“There are indeed files being analyzed at the regional management level of MAPAQ,” confirms the Member of the National Assembly for Gaspé and government assistant for fisheries, Stéphane Sainte-Croix.
Quebec’s Minister of Fisheries, André Lamontagne, had previously stated that the government would support fishermen during the crisis.

“We will do everything we can to make effective use of all the tools at our disposal and do everything possible to promote, in one way or another, measures which will put a balm – so to speak – on the current problems experienced by our communities,” adds Mr. Sainte-Croix.

On February 27, all stakeholders in the field unanimously requested federal aid to get through this crisis.
“It takes extra help. We cannot go through this crisis with companies worth several million dollars that are under loans, loan guarantees or things like that… that the banker calls… that the house is mortgaged. Some people are at risk of losing their homes. It’s going to take direct aid,” repeats the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté.

Considering how climate change is impacting the Gulf and the marine ecosystem, Mr. Sainte-Croix believes that a thorough reflection is necessary.

“The fishing industry is at a crossroads. We are talking in the short term about what we are experiencing in terms of turbot or shrimp boats. We must look further and what we are currently experiencing risks becoming a more and more present phenomenon. I hope that as governments, both federal and provincial, we can reflect on the future of things to see the bad news coming and be equipped to support our communities in these challenges,” adds the MNA.

Marketing redfish remains a challenge, especially if minimum quotas are increased beyond the floor of 25,000 tonnes announced by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Diane Lebouthillier.
“We are waiting for final information and, for our part, we are working on how to put in place measures to ensure the most efficient marketing possible in the short, medium and long term for this resource,” indicates Mr. Sainte-Croix.

Nelson Sergerie

CARLETON-SUR-MER – The Town of Carleton-sur-Mer has set an ambitious objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030, based on the emissions inventory conducted in 2019.
“We have a clear action plan with actions to follow to achieve this target. It’s realistic and we’re already working on it with the electrification of transportation. We will give mandates to remove fossil fuel energy from buildings. It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s realistic,” says the mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer, Mathieu Lapointe.

Residual materials account for 63% of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly through the municipal campsite.

“We are working very hard on it. We are involved in the creation of the Intermunicipal Residual Materials Management Board. We are hopeful that we will come up with solutions to improve our balance sheet by adding composting,” suggests the mayor.

However, implementing composting infrastructure may take some time. “2024 seems unrealistic, but we are making all the necessary efforts to achieve it,” says the mayor.

It is a three-year action plan and halfway through a review will be made to assess the progress made.
The town wants to set an example and hopes that citizens will also participate.

“We also want to have a plan on the general scale of the municipality for all greenhouse gas emissions by all residents. This is the second phase that we are thinking about,” says Mr. Lapointe.

“We are much more ambitious in our objectives if we compare ourselves to the governments of Quebec and Canada. Few municipalities have clear targets. We are certainly in the lead in Quebec,” believes the mayor.

The process was conducted in collaboration with the Gaspésie Regional Environmental Council.
Greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the town were estimated at 426.94 carbon dioxide equivalents.
Apart from residual materials, 20% of emissions come from buildings and 16% from transportation.

Propane (42%), diesel (26%) and gasoline (10%) constitute the main energy sources of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal activity.

Nelson Sergerie

PORT-DANIEL-GASCONS – On February 20, the Caisse populaire Desjardins du Centre-sud Gaspésien announced that the Gascons service centre will close its doors on March 28. 

This announcement follows an announcement by the Caisse Desjardins Baie-des-Chaleurs on February 19 that the Caplan and Nouvelle service points will be closing. 

Once again, the marked drop in attendance at counters and ATM services has led the credit union to make this decision. 

“We adjust to the transactional habits of our members. Indeed, the reduction in traffic leads us to make this decision,” says the Caisses Desjardins du Centre-sud Gaspésien director, Jovin Caron. 

Approximately fifty members will be affected by this closure. 

“We know these people. There will be a personalized approach by our staff to see their needs and give them support based on their challenges,” notes the director. 

The closest service points are in Chandler (27 kilometres) and Paspébiac (39 kilometres). 

“We will try to support them with digital transactions. We will also support those who are more vulnerable by offering them personalized transportation,” says Mr. Caron. 

It is difficult to know whether workers will lose their jobs. 

“We have two relocated positions and positions that will be abolished. We have other openings elsewhere. I cannot say at this time whether there will be job losses. Everything will depend on the choice of the employees,” specifies the director. 

As part of this restructuring of the service offering to members, the Gascons and Newport ATMs will be removed on May 24. 

The mayor of Port-Daniel-Gascons, Henri Grenier, was presented with a “fait accompli” when he was informed on February 19 by the leaders of the Caisse populaire Desjardins Centre-sud Gaspésien of the decision to close the Gascons service counter. 

“I am extremely disappointed with this decision to close the service point as well as the ATM of the municipality of Port-Daniel-Gascons,” says Mr. Grenier. 

The closest counter will be in Chandler, 27 kilometres from the municipality. “It’s far from home,” says the mayor. 

“They are not aware that the needs of small municipalities like Port-Daniel-Gascons are the same as those of larger municipalities,” notes the mayor. He adds that the town has a vested interest in the services available to the population. 

“And, overnight, Desjardins announced the closure of the Caisse, a service to our citizens. It’s hard to take,” adds Mr. Grenier. 

“I intend to discuss it with the Desjardins members, and we will surely set up a citizens’ committee to meet with the managers of the Caisse so that we can at least keep the ATM,” demands the mayor. 

Nelson Sergerie

GRANDE-RIVIÈRE – A demonstration, bringing together about a hundred fishermen from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Quebec, was held on the morning of February 20 in Grande-Rivière. 

They are, once again, denouncing Ottawa’s decisions on redfish fishing quotas and distribution between fleets. 

About fifteen people from New Brunswick and six from Newfoundland and Labrador travelled to the Gaspé Peninsula to participate in the demonstration. 

The primary issue remains the profitability and the future of fishing, particularly for shrimp fishermen, but especially the presence of processing boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

“The issue for the coastal and mid-shore fishing industry, in general, is whether we allow the processing boats which process and freeze on board and which have very little impact, and, for Quebec, zero impact on coastal communities. Hundreds of jobs will disappear,” warns Claudio Bernatchez, the director general of the Association of Captains and Owners of the Gaspésie. 

“If the captains continue to disappear and the plants no longer have anything to process and the fishing-related service companies can no longer operate, it will be totally catastrophic for the region,” adds the director. 

The fishermen gathered in front of the Fisheries and Oceans offices in Grande-Rivière and then moved to the riding offices of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie-Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Diane Lebouthillier. 

“Unfortunately, I cannot see how our minister, who is here, who understands the situation, who has decried it in the past, was able to make announcements like that. It surely comes from higher up, from the Prime Minister’s office. But there is someone, somewhere, who had a harmful influence on the decision of January 26,” says Mr. Bernatchez. 

According to him, an announcement should have been more thoughtful for the good of the communities to distribute wealth more equitably around the Gulf. 

“The communication is there, I can tell you that but, currently, I am very cautious about the words and I can’t wait for the actions to confirm the words,” he says. 

The objective of the demonstration was to spread the message of discontent in the Gulf of St. Lawrence following Ottawa’s announcements on shrimp and redfish. 

The relaunch of redfish fishing will be carried out in two phases: phase one will be transitional lasting two years with a minimum quota of 25,000 tonnes and allocations of 10% reserved for shrimp fishermen, who are in difficulty given the decline in stocks, and 10% of the quota to Indigenous communities. 

A committee has still not ruled on the final quotas to restart fishing this year. 

Phase 2 will be that of development to establish a fishery with a modernized allocation key. 

The ministry specified that the preliminary quotas would be established as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador: 19% (+2.0); Nova Scotia: 33% (-5.8); New Brunswick: 11% (+3.1); Prince Edward Island: 5% (+0.5) and Quebec: 32% (+0.2). 

The offshore fleet gets 58% of the quota, the coastal fleet of less than 65 feet has 15%, and the mid-shore 5.72% in addition to the allocations announced by the minister, which offends the Association of Captains and Owners of the Gaspésie. 

Claudio Bernatchez would have liked the government to take inspiration from the past to avoid mistakes. 

“The former Liberal Minister of Fisheries, Roméo Leblanc, favoured coastal fishermen in 1977 in the allocation of redfish quotas by giving them the first 30,000 tonnes. It was a good decision,” recalls the director of the association. 

The Bloc Québécois’ 

reaction 

The Bloc Québécois believes that Ottawa still has the room to implement a plan acceptable to shrimp fishermen who are in a difficult position because of the reduction in shrimp quotas and small redfish allocations set aside for them. This will barely be enough to keep their heads above water. 

“It’s not too late and I hope Ottawa heard Tuesday’s (February 20) message and we will help spread it.” We still cannot explain why the majority of the pie is going to the deep-sea boats that we had removed from the gulf for obvious reasons,” says the Member of Parliament for Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia, Kristina Michaud. 

For her, the quota reserved for shrimp fishermen will cause them to lose their livelihood. 

“What Ms. Lebouthillier offered them isn’t even enough for them to go out to sea. It doesn’t justify the fixed costs. Even more, this does not justify the investments to go out for redfish fishing with the allocated quotas. What’s going to happen: bankruptcies, closures and boats to sell? Ms. Lebouthillier does not realize that she has signed the death warrant for fishermen with 10% of the quota,” says Ms. Michaud. 

Several factors, according to her, remain unclear: the price paid for the fish, when fishing will be launched or whether processors will have help to adapt. 

Ms. Michaud also mentions that with climate change and the impacts on fishing, we cannot trust the historic shares allocated by the minister in January. 

“We need to have a different vision, in the longest term possible. We cannot rely on what has been done in the past,” emphasizes Ms. Michaud. 

For her, one day we will have to look at the entire marine ecosystem to establish fishing plans rather than working in silos. 

“Scientists tell us to take a broader view. Let’s talk about seals. There is overpopulation. Why don’t we open a hunt gradually? There is a whole market to develop. On the ground, there seems to be a willingness, but it does not reach the offices of civil servants or the offices of Ms. Lebouthillier,” she notes. 

For her, Quebec is no match when the federal government talks about fishing. 

There is an urgent need to act as the fishing season is fast approaching. 

“Ms. Lebouthillier should know. It’s not easy for people who don’t know if they will be able to get out, pay the bills or offer employment to their crew. Let’s give them some predictability and reassure them. I cannot believe that there is no money left and that we cannot review the quotas with a global vision of the marine ecosystem. Time is running out, but it is not too late,” says the Bloc representative. 

Ms. Lebouthillier 

also comments 

For her part, in a statement sent following the demonstration, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans reiterated the elements of her January announcement. 

“To support them, shrimp fishermen were granted 10% of the total (redfish) allocation. This decision not only respects the leading role that Nova Scotia has historically played in this fishery but also increases the historical shares of each of the other provinces. From the point of view of distribution by fleet, this modernized distribution also ensures a greater balance of power for the smallest players, thus reducing the share of large boats over 100 feet, from 74% in 1994 to 59% in 2024. It also helps advance reconciliation, by creating a 10% bank dedicated to Indigenous communities,” mentions the written declaration by Diane Lebouthillier. 

“In order to help fishermen reduce their expenses for the next season, I have also instructed officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to be flexible towards shrimp fishing license holders. This will allow them, among other things, to manage the way they fish their quota using ‘twinning’, i.e. the possibility for several license holders to fish together on board the same boat and, thus, share the costs,” she adds. 

Ms. Lebouthillier says she is aware that there is still work to be done and wants to keep the channels of communication open with the industry. 

Diane Skinner

BARACHOIS: If you attended the bilingual presentation given by Nathalie Clément in Barachois on Saturday, February 17, you will have heard all about the exciting new project inspired by the Gaspesian classic, The Black Whale Cookbook, originally published in 1948. 

Further, you could have sampled some “fine old recipes from the Gaspé Coast going back to Pioneer Days.” Volunteers at the Barachois Recreational Centre (Allisson-Aubut Library) prepared Madeira cakes, almond cookies, scones, old-fashioned sugar cookies, butter tarts, lemon squares, Swedish tea cakes and tea served in fine china teacups. Nathalie’s favourite recipe from the original cookbook is the corn bread which she adds, “Is perfect to accompany whatever you have cooked.” This project is funded by the Government of Quebec and the MRC du Rocher-Percé. 

Nathalie Clément, photographer and founder of Nath et Compagnie Restaurant and Bookshop, Percé, was pleased to have over 60 people attend the event that was presented in the Allison-Aubut Library located in the Barachois Recreational Centre. Nathalie is busy putting the final touches on her new, updated cookbook, inspired by the original Black Whale Cookbook. The new version of the book will include recipes, photos, crafts and historical anecdotes. A portion of the new material was gathered from “testimonials, meetings and various collaborations with elders and artists.” She intends to preserve a piece of history while giving homage to the original book, and incorporating some of today’s flavours and cooking methods. 

“The revival of this fabulous recipe book of a prosperous era,” states Nathalie, “rich in exchanges, know-how and “savoir-vivre” is the project. It updates the vision of the people involved in those times, into 2024. Culture is omnipresent in everything: the sounds that rock us, the breathtaking views, the scents of the sea, the touch of the wind and the urge to taste. To pay tribute to this community that is now mine.” 

Nathalie Clément and her husband, Patrice Dansereau, moved to Percé in the winter of 2021 where they rented the Black Whale House and opened a year-round bookstore and café. Nathalie comes from Montreal but has been visiting her husband’s family in Percé for over 40 years. Personally, her interests include family, cooking, architecture, houses, literature and art. She previously managed a real estate agency in Plateau Mont-Royal for 25 years and she loved the urban lifestyle and was very involved in her community, but she and her husband made a big decision after retirement to move to Percé with their three children. 

The presentation in Barachois on February 17 not only informed the community about her project, it allowed her to connect with people who might have new recipes made with local products 

This new version of the Black Whale Cookbook is an important project because it “belongs to the collective memory of those who lived on the Coast,” states Nathalie. 

The event was well-attended and showed how much interest there is in the community about the beloved Black Whale Cookbook. Nathalie Clément’s new cookbook will pay tribute to the original while updating the recipes and adding new ones. 

Presently, Nathalie is finishing up the book, whose final title has not been confirmed and will include text in both French and English and is hoping to have that completed by the end of March. The next step will be finding a publisher. 

Black Whale Cookbook 

This unique cookbook, published in 1948, has been described as “an artistic reflection of Gaspé summers gone by.” It was written and compiled over 70 years ago by Gaspesian ladies and women from Montreal who summered in Percé. The Black Whale was the name of a craft shop that was established in Percé ten years earlier in 1938. Nobody can say for sure how the store got that name, other than the sighting of whales off the coast. 

The shop was run by a group called the Percé Handicraft Committee and the President was Mrs. Ethel Renouf who is credited for compiling the numerous recipes contributed by the members. The shop sold crafts and art created by the ladies and by local artisans. Some of the food made from recipes in the Black Whale Cookbook, such as strawberry jam, were sold in the store. That particular recipe is credited to Mrs. Ethel Renouf herself. 

The book is more than recipes because it offers an informative introduction and lots of information about the Gaspé Peninsula. It is more than a cookbook – it is a slice of Gaspesian history. The book contains many small articles at the beginning of each section on different kinds of 

foods on such topics as Expeditions, Autumn in the Woods, Deep Sea Fishing and Sunday on the Coast. Reading through 

The Black Whale Cookbook gives a real sense of how life was seven decades ago, through the eyes of the ladies who loved to cook. 

Looking through the pages we can get a sense of how food preparation has changed and what foods were eaten during those times. 

There were no microwaves or stand mixers. Some of the recipes included are Bonaventure Cod Tongues, Roasted Sea Pigeons, Fish Head Chowder, Seal Liver, Gaspé Ox Tails, Gaspé Frozen Pudding and Spruce Beer. 

Other recipes, though historical, are still prepared today such as Johnny Cake, Fried Smelt, Fish Cakes, Pea Soup and Gaspé Boiled Dinner. 

The Black Whale Cookbook was very popular at the time, so there are likely many copies of it still in existence. If you own a copy hang onto it as it is a treasure and a piece of history. 

Nelson Sergerie

QUEBEC – CAQ Members of the National Assembly (MNA) from the Gaspé Peninsula once again demanded the status quo before the Electoral Representation Commission during a parliamentary commission which ended on February 15 in Quebec City. 

The Gaspé Peninsula made itself heard during the last day of the hearings. MNA for Bonaventure, Catherine Blouin, and her colleague for Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, each had 20 minutes to reaffirm their positions. This exercise was undertaken last fall during the Commission’s visit to Gaspé and New Richmond. 

The Commission suggests merging the constituencies of Gaspé and Bonaventure and bringing together the MRCs of Côte-de-Gaspé, Rocher-Percé, Bonaventure and Avignon to create Gaspé-Bonaventure while Haute-Gaspésie would be transferred to the constituency of Matane-Matapédia, a Lower Saint Lawrence Ms. Blouin on what the new constituency of Gaspé-Bonaventure would represent, recalling that Montreal’s constituencies have only a few street corners and are accessible on foot. 

“More time on the road means less time for fieldwork with citizens,” adds the elected official listing the organizations and institutions that would be included in the possible constituency. 

“Is a voter from the Gaspésie worth less than a voter from Montreal? I ask myself that question,” says Ms. Blouin to the commissioners before the parliamentary committee. 

“I am before you all dressed in black, and it is not by chance, considering the nature of the day, which is a concern for the democracy of our nation, the regions of Quebec and particularly worrisome for the Gaspésie,” says Stéphane Sainte-Croix, referring to without directly saying the possible mourning that the acceptance of the Commission’s proposal would cause. 

For the elected official, the merger of Gaspé and Bonaventure ridings would result in the loss of political weight of the Gaspésie compared to the whole of Quebec, recalling several statistics and comparisons of a future riding mentioned which would be one of the most important in terms of voters in Quebec, but with an extraordinarily large area compared to comparable ridings in Montreal. 

The MNA for Gaspé placed great emphasis on Haute-Gaspésie, the most devitalized MRC in Quebec, which would be submerged in the county of Matane-Matapédia in the current proposal. 

“By integrating this MRC into a predominantly Lower Saint Lawrence constituency, the historical links that unite Haute-Gaspésie to the rest of 

the Gaspésie are compromised. This restructuring, which has not been convincingly justified in our eyes, isolates the most devitalized MRC in Quebec from its regional counterparts, calling into question the principle of regional representation,” means Mr. Sainte-Croix. 

Currently, the Haute-Gaspésie MRC represents 50% of the Gaspé constituency and would only represent 17% of the expanded Matane-Matapédia constituency. 

“Similarly, the share of the voting population of Haute-Gaspésie would fall from 31% to 18%. This structural dilution could considerably reduce the political weight of Haute-Gaspésie, making its specific concerns and needs less audible and less politically visible,” affirms the MNA for Gaspé. 

“Our recommendation is simple: withdraw this merger proposal for the region and favour maintaining the status quo,” concludes the elected official. 

Mr. Sainte-Croix mentioned that of the 600 people who took the time to be heard last fall through public hearings in the province, 300 were from the Gaspésie. 

As of April 30, Bonaventure had 35,898 voters and Gaspé 30,131, far from the minimum threshold planned. The difference was respectively -29.2% and -40.6%. 

Gaspé thus ranked third among the least populous constituencies, behind the Magdalen Islands, which has an exceptional status as well as Ungava. 

According to projections of the number of voters based on data from the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, the gap compared to the average in Gaspé should soon surpass that of Ungava. 

In 2017, the Commission maintained the negative exception status for Gaspé and granted the same status to Bonaventure. However, since the inequalities in the representation of these constituencies are increasing, the Commission does not wish to renew this status. 

Elected officials called for this exception to be maintained.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Federal Court will not grant the Gaspé Peninsula a reprieve. As a result, the constituency of Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia will disappear on April 24 unless elections are called prior to that date. 

In August, Gaspesian lawyer Alexis Deschênes and the organization Droits Collectifs Québec filed motions urging a judge not to eliminate the constituency and requested the suspension of its redesign pending a decision on the merits. 

“It’s a disappointing rejection for us. The judge did not consider the criterion of irreparable harm. Indeed, it is hypothetical that there will be elections called before the judgment in this case. We think that it is a hypothesis that there is every chance of happening,” remarks Étienne-Alexis Boucher, General Director of Droits collectifs Québec. 

No date has been set for the hearing of merits, although elections must be held no later than October 2025. completed as quickly as possible so that there is no election with the new map when we would find ourselves in an absurd situation of an election being held on a new map which would be deemed unconstitutional or not respecting the Canadian Elections Act, hence the reason for the (procedure) stay,” explains Mr. Boucher. 

The dilution of political power in the Gaspé Peninsula is the basic issue. The application for judicial review is based on an opinion issued by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Saskatchewan Provincial Electoral Districts Reference and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act. 

On September 6, Alexis Deschênes, who participated in the judicial review, emphasized that the right to vote comes with the right to effective representation. 

He explained that the Supreme Court says that effective representation is not just parity of electoral power between different constituencies. We must also take into account other factors such as geography, historical development and communities of interest. 

“We simply hope now that the request for a stay has been rejected that all the parties will agree to hold a trial before the elections are called,” mentions the director general. 

He hopes that the Attorney General will not put obstacles in the way by filing various challenges before the court. 

“We would be lucky to have a trial in the coming months and another six months to obtain a judgment,” recalls Mr. Boucher, who notes that time is starting to run out with the electoral deadline approaching. 

If elections were called quickly, protesters would be ready to act swiftly. 

“The request would have to be reworked, but the arguments raised would possibly be the same. Simply the hypothetical aspect of irreparable harm would no longer be given that the holding of an election before the trial or the delivery of the decision following the trial, it would become obvious that we would meet the criterion linked to irreparable harm,” maintains Mr. Boucher. 

The region unanimously opposed the scenario proposed in September 2022 before the commission in Gaspé and reacted strongly to the submission of the report last June. 

Nelson Sergerie

PERCÉ – The Town of Percé  has received a warning from the Municipal Commission of Québec reminding elected officials and municipal employees of their duty to cooperate with the investigation underway by the Direction des enquêtes et des poursuites en intégrité municipale (DEPIM/Municipal Integrity Investigations and Prosecutions Branch). 

In this new chapter relating to the allegations surrounding the director of Urban Planning, Ghislain Pitre, the commission sent a letter to the director general of the municipality, Jean-François Coderre, on February 19 and in an exceptional gesture on their part, transmitted the document to SPEC. It is customary for the commission not to confirm its investigations. 

In this letter, the investigation department indicates that it is carrying out an investigation “into possible breaches of the rules of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct applicable to elected officials of the Town of Percé as well as, possible reprehensible acts committed or about to be committed.” 

The investigations department mentions having been informed of the internal investigation carried out among Town of Percé employees. 

“Despite several attempts, it was impossible for us to obtain details on this mandate or its progress. Recently, information brought to our attention makes us fear that this internal investigation, in fact, could hinder the course of the DEPIM investigation,” is written in the letter addressed to the town. 

“We hereby ask you to disseminate this within the Town of Percé to notify the municipal elected officials of the Town of Percé as well as, its staff of the current investigation. To facilitate the holding of our investigation, and to avoid any hindrance to it, we ask you to indicate to the municipal elected officials of the Town of Percé as well as, to its staff that the only administrative investigation in which they are authorized to participate is that carried out by the DEPIM, subject to any other approach carried out by the police authorities,” warns the Municipal Commission. 

The investigation department specifies in the letter that several people will be met as part of the investigation, including employees and elected officials, and asks them “to maintain the strictest confidentiality surrounding it and, as such, not to discuss, with anyone, the information exchanged during meetings with DEPIM representatives.” 

The letter also mentions that any person is required to collaborate, to meet the commission investigator and to provide the requested information, subject to the professional secrecy of the lawyer or notary, ensuring that the people met with are protected against reprisals. 

Moreover, the Commission takes care to explain that fines of up to $20,000 could be issued for any form of retaliation or obstruction of the investigation in various ways. 

This is a new investigation in addition to those already underway. 

The Town of Percé launched its own administrative investigation after suspending Mr. Pitre with pay on October 30 on allegations of suspected fraud, theft of large sums of money from the municipality and falsification of documents. 

The investigation was entrusted to an “independent and impartial” firm, which is now causing problems for the Municipal Commission because that organization wants its investigation to be prioritized. 

The Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit visited the Town Hall on November 14 to meet with Mr. Coderre and various municipal employees in connection with the case. 

At the November municipal council meeting, the town’s lawyer, Simon Cossette Lachance, indicated that the allegations raised were serious, which led to an administrative investigation to verify the allegations, specifying that the suspension with pay follows a court ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada to respect the presumption of innocence. 

Mr. Pitre is the spouse of Cathy Poirier, the Mayor of Percé.

Diane Skinner

NEW CARLISLE: The New Carlisle Legion is bustling with construction upgrades and changes that ultimately pay homage to the many men and women who have served, and those who serve in the military today. You do not have to be a veteran or even a relative of one to join the Legion. All are welcome to join the Legion community. Joining supports our veterans and the community that the Legion serves.

Currently, a new extension of 12 feet is under construction on the north side of the building. The Legion is fortunate to own a large piece of land which can accommodate the extension and still have loads of room for parking. Included in this phase of improvements will be a new entrance and two new bathrooms. All these upgrades have been funded by the Bonaventure MRC at a projected cost of $85,000, with the goal of completion in 2024.

President Tammy Chatterton notes, “When we applied for the extension 18 months ago and received approval in September 2023, many of the initial estimates submitted with the application, such as building materials, had increased tremendously in price. For us to complete the extension, we will seek other funding opportunities, fundraisers and donations.”

Recent improvements have included a renovated bar, a new kitchen upstairs and a storage area. Other purchases made to complete these areas are bar fridges, a stove for the new kitchen, a dishwasher and cooking supplies, new flooring, a shuffleboard top, lighting for the dart club, rewiring of the building, a thermal pump and new lighting for the building have made an impressive improvement to the building.
Tammy Chatterton stresses that this building is for the enjoyment of the community, as it is a very busy locale since COVID no longer impacts the ability of the community to get together. Ongoing activities include line dancing, darts, shuffleboard, weekend entertainment tournaments and a visit from Santa.
Darts is proving to be a very popular activity. The Chairperson of the darts club, Stephen LeBerre, has been a Legion member for over 20 years. He tells Spec that currently the group has almost 30 members which has grown from having only a handful of players a few years ago. Stephen credits President Tammy and the Executive, saying, “We are having some of the best fun and moments at darts we have ever had.”

The Legion Executive is pursuing other projects and the financing necessary for them. Currently, they have two federal funding applications submitted and are anxiously awaiting a favourable response. There are other goals including changing the windows, doors and adding a new patio. Ms. Chatterton mentions that there’s a water issue that needs attention in the basement and the need for a second thermal pump. There is also a plan to purchase a pool table to start a league.

Membership has increased greatly, and there are presently 105 members. If you are considering becoming a member, it is open to all at a yearly cost of $45. This is a great way to become more active in the community. You will be welcomed at the Legion!

The executive, led by Tammy Chatterton, is comprised of Comrades Kathy Gallon, Fay Gallon, Howard Chedore, Mary Woods, Clyde Flowers and the Sergeant at Arms is Dean Flowers. It takes a strong team to accomplish all the changes being made to improve the building and to organize activities.

Overall, the future hopes for the legion are that it is a safe building that can accommodate all ages. Tammy Chatterton adds, “We want the legion to be a place that creates shareable memories and continues the important work of educating the youth about the past.”

The Royal Canadian Legion is a nonprofit Canadian veterans organization founded in 1925. In 1935, New Carlisle opened its own charter to become Branch 64 of the Quebec Command of the Legion. From 1935 until 1946, the meetings were held in the old courthouse, with Armistice banquets and parties at the hotel, La Maison Blanche.

Diane Skinner

NEW CARLISLE: Through a new project, Family Ties, a community organization in New Carlisle is equipping its personnel with the knowledge, tools and capacity necessary to support the local English-speaking minority community as it faces future challenges.

The Adapting to Change project, which is being coordinated and delivered by Ann Kelly, is sponsored by the Canadian Red Cross Society through their Community Services Recovery Fund.

The Canadian Red Cross makes funding available to assist community service organizations, such as Family Ties, to strengthen their ways of working and building their resiliency so that they can better support the community which is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Adapting to Change project will provide team training and goal setting which will create awareness of the relationship between individual wellness, a strong organization, and a healthy community.

“This project couldn’t have come at a better time. After being apart throughout the pandemic and then the building renovations, the staff were able to benefit from both individual well-being and team building components to enhance communication and skill sets to better serve the community,” says Heather MacWhirter, Executive Director of Family Ties.

Ann Kelly meets individually with employees of Family Ties and assists them to create and fulfil their goals. She will also meet weekly with the staff as a group to lead them in wellness practices and team building. Four retreats based on a needs assessment conducted by Ms. Kelly are a component of the project, with two already taking place. The first was built around the theme of personal and work well-being and was led by Bianca Briciu from the School of Leadership, Ecology and Equity at St. Paul University. The second workshop for the Administrative Council was also on well-being and led by Bianca Briciu.

In the future, the Tamarack Institute will offer a workshop on navigating challenging behaviours. Ann Kelly states, “In the end, I will produce a Resilience Strategy which will enable Family Ties to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to future situations to support the English-speaking minority community.”
Ms. Kelly states that her overall hopes for this project are: “that Family Ties adopts ongoing wellness practices for staff and the organization as a whole; that community partnerships are strengthened and that the staff and leadership of Family Ties have the tools, knowledge and strategies they need to face the future, whatever it brings.”

Ann Kelly has a very strong interest in well-being: personal, organizational, community and systemic. A person’s health is not just an individual responsibility. It is a collective one, and this project supports and instructs collaboratively and collectively. “This project believes that there is an interconnection between individual well-being, a strong organization, and a healthy community. I hold the same belief. My values line up with the values of this project and of Family Ties,” summarizes Ms. Kelly.

Nelson Sergerie

NEW CARLISLE – The Ministry of Culture is unable to provide a timeline for the restoration work on the Maison René-Lévesque or the associated costs.

In the past, the ministry mentioned that work would be starting this coming spring, but the plans have visibly changed.

By email, the ministry specifies that since taking charge in September 2021, inspections and asset maintenance work have been carried out continuously, including more substantial interventions to secure the premises and stop the deterioration of the building.

“The interventions carried out include securing the premises, repairing the roof (rafters and covering), replacing uprights and top plates, restoring the heating and controlling humidity,” writes the ministry, which indicates that approximately $105,000 has been invested to date to carry out this work and for various expertise.

The ministry plans to carry out new work in the coming months. This time it is aimed at renovating the foundation, as well as restoration and enhancement work on the building.

“To do this, the ministry must call on various experts. These expert consultations and the planning of the restoration work may take some time, but it is necessary to ensure optimal presentation of the René-Lévesque house,” specifies the email.

The ministry is still working on drafting a needs program, which began after receiving the health state record of the house in fall 2022. This document estimated all the work to be carried out at $800,000.
A program is being developed bringing together data on the current building and its planned use, precisely defining its problems and ways to remedy them.

“It is an essential tool for the continuation of a construction project, as well as with a view to future calls for tenders necessary for its completion,” specifies the organization, adding that it is a “long-term work”.

Lack of communication between the ministry and the region

“We were told by the monitoring committee of René Lévesque’s childhood home that the file is still under investigation to assess the state of the house. There is no advance date for the start of the work,” deplores the president of Espace René-Lévesque, Gaétan Lelièvre, who is requesting a meeting of the committee to assess the situation.

“There are partners who ask a lot of questions and who are eager to see the game plan, but especially regarding the purpose of the building. While waiting for the results of the assessment, nothing prevents the ministry from working with partners to find out what the vocation will be in the future,” adds Mr. Lelièvre.
The stakeholders would not like to have a solution imposed on them, hence the request for the meeting, which would only be the second of its kind for the committee.

The discussions and work regarding the potential requalification of the premises are being carried out in collaboration with local stakeholders, including Espace René-Lévesque. Different scenarios are being analyzed, maintains the ministry.

“This is why the total planned budget cannot be disclosed at this time. Ultimately, it is hoped that the final project will ensure the sustainability of the house, while respecting its heritage values,” specifies the ministry.

The ministry ensures that continuous monitoring of the building is carried out, and maintenance work is performed as needed to ensure its preservation. These efforts will continue until the restoration work begins.

Mr. Lelièvre notes that the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, spoke about enhancing the building and providing access to the public.

“Let us hope that this development and this access to the public is done in such a way that as many people as possible have access to it, that it is not just a rental for tourist clientele or offices, which would significantly restrict access to the building,” he mentions.

“The condition of the building is incredibly bad. I can’t wait to see the results of the different experts. Can this building be saved in part, in whole, or will it be a practically complete construction? These are questions that we ask ourselves and we don’t know what’s going on inside,” says Mr. Lelièvre.

As for the words used on the fact that it is “desirable” that the final project ensures the sustainability of the house, Mr. Lelièvre says that we must act quickly.

“This casts doubt about the real capacity to save the building, hence the importance of carrying out the assessments as quickly as possible. The word “desirable” raises doubts in people’s heads,” notes the president of Espace René-Lévesque.

Mr. Lelièvre was informed that the ministry must be convened soon.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The CAQ government still does not intend to designate the Gaspé Peninsula with an exceptional status that would allow the region to maintain two constituencies regardless of the number of voters in each.

A parliamentary commission was held on February 13, 14 and 15 during which the Electoral Representation Commission presented the proposed map. Previously, the unveiling of the new electoral map was delayed causing some criticism.

On February 9, in Gaspé, the Minister responsible for the Gaspésie was questioned about the electoral map revision alongside the announcement by the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.

“If we had pushed back, we would have been told that we were playing politics with this. We followed the committee’s schedule and we made sure to follow the process so that there is good electoral representation. The fact remains that we will continue to make representations to defend electoral representativeness for the Gaspésie to remain with the status quo with two counties,” explains Maité Blanchette Vézina.

In its proposed reform, the Electoral Representation Commission suggests merging Bonaventure and Gaspé ridings and transferring Haute-Gaspésie to the riding of Matane-Matapédia, a constituency located in Bas-Saint-Laurent, which was unanimously denounced by the political level and the citizens of the Gaspé Peninsula during two hearings last fall.

“Ultimately, the government could change the law. That being said, this is one of the potential scenarios, but we will complete the administrative process. We are going to make some necessary representations next week. We will wait for the report to be submitted. At the same time, we will discuss strategies at the caucus level to arrive at the most sustainable solution possible for the entire representative body. Today, we are talking about the Gaspésie. Tomorrow, we will talk about other regions of Quebec,” says Stéphane Sainte-Croix, Member of the National Assembly for Gaspé.

The law will not be changed

“This is a hypothetical question. We will make the decisions when the report is formulated. We are going to analyze it as my colleague said. We will continue representations within the commission to ensure that the weight of the Gaspésie remains,” adds Ms. Blanchette Vézina.

During his visit to the Gaspé Peninsula last November, the Premier of Quebec had the same position and was not ready to put into law an exceptional status for Gaspé and Bonaventure, as is particularly the case for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

“We must look and the Electoral Officer must look to make an exception for Gaspésie because it is a huge territory, even if it means having a few more voters in the other ridings because we cannot increase the number of ridings: 125, it is the same number as in Ontario which has approximately 40 or 50% more voters,” explained François Legault at the time.

The premier prefers not to directly intervene in the independent process.

The electoral exercise is purely mathematical, dividing Quebec into 125 constituencies, each with approximately 51,000 voters, with common characteristics wherever possible.

According to the Electoral Act, a constituency can have up to 25% more or fewer voters than the average, with a minimum threshold of 38,021 and a maximum of 63,368.

As of April 30, the Bonaventure riding had 35,898 voters and Gaspé 30,131, falling significantly below the minimum threshold, with a gap of -29.2% and -40.6%, respectively.

Gaspé thus ranked third among the least populous constituencies, behind Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which has an exceptional status, and Ungava.

Based on the projections from the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, the gap in Gaspé compared to the average is expected to surpass that of Ungava soon.

In 2017, the commission maintained the negative exception status for Gaspé and granted the same status to Bonaventure. However, with increasing inequalities in representation, the commission does not wish to renew this status.

However, the constituencies of Abitibi-Est, with 33,822 voters, and Abitibi-Ouest, with 35,527 voters, will retain their negative exception statuses.

The commission notes that in the Bas-Saint-Laurent-Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, the low growth of the electoral population has accentuated the differences compared to the average of the constituencies for several decades.

The proposed delimitation reduces the number of constituencies with a negative exception situation and decreases the number of six to five.

Thus, in its proposal, Gaspé-Bonaventure would see the number of voters increase to 56,591, or 11.6% more than the average, which would make it the riding with the most voters in Eastern Quebec, ahead of Matane-Matapédia at 51,394.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Minister of Energy is relying on an expert to determine the course of action to follow on the high prices of gasoline in the Gaspé Peninsula.

In a report at the end of January, the Energy Board found that the profit margin in the Gaspé Peninsula was approximately 4 cents higher than the Quebec average.

“We discovered that in a few regions including the Gaspé Peninsula, the retail margin seems higher than the whole of Quebec. I asked Robert Clark who is a professor who was affiliated with the HEC (Hautes études commerciales, Université de Montréal’s business school) and who is now in Ottawa, and who did work in the 2000s and discovered that there had been collusion. Robert will help us look at what we could do at the Energy Board to make changes. The Competition Bureau is federal. They have their own environment,” explains Pierre Fitzgibbon.

The minister reiterates that he is not ready to set a maximum price on gasoline. He asked the Energy Board to make access to information more accessible. “We are going to look at whether the concentration of gas stations is too high. Are we going to open up greater competition? Maybe. There is an interesting debate, but the most important point is to disclose the information. We must disclose the profit margins and the price more easily and people will decide where they are going to go,” says the minister

Blue Economy Zone

The minister is not yet ready to announce the creation of the Blue Economy Zone in Grande-Rivière and Rimouski even though stakeholders were anticipating an announcement before the Christmas holidays.
“I think Quebec deserves to have such a zone. Some components are not yet present but we are working to implement them. We funded an operating budget at the Ministry of the Economy to find these winning conditions. I have no announcement planned, but we would like to make one eventually,” states the minister.

The Blue Zone aims to unite and deploy the blue and sustainable innovation ecosystem in Rimouski and Grande-Rivière, by leveraging expertise in marine resource development, maritime engineering and intelligent navigation.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – Member of Parliament (MP) for the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, Diane Lebouthillier, faces mounting pressure to intervene with the Competition Bureau on the high prices of gasoline in the region.

The Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, sent a letter to his federal counterpart in which he wrote: “You are aware that Gaspesians, in general, pay more for their gasoline than elsewhere in Quebec, even when we compare the price here to other peripheral regions.”

Mr. Sainte-Croix references the recent report from the Régie de l’énergie published at the end of January which mentions that between 2018 and 2023, Gaspesian motorists paid, on average, nearly 4 cents higher per litre than other regions of Quebec.

“The authority’s report offers an in-depth analysis of gasoline price trends in the region and highlights various elements that tend to explain this situation, including the retailer’s margin being higher here than elsewhere,” writes the elected official.

The MNA wants to ensure that the practices of gasoline stores are not “the result of anti-competitive practices, especially since the highest prices are found in the MRCs of Haute-Gaspésie and Rocher-Percé which are the two most devitalized in Quebec.”

Mr. Sainte-Croix also recalls the steps taken last summer with the Competition Bureau with his colleague from Bonaventure, Catherine Blouin, in which the response “did not live up to our expectations.”
A second letter was sent and the response was that “the evidence was not sufficient to rule on the matter and that we would need to provide it to help the Competition Bureau carry out its investigation.”
Mr. Sainte-Croix believes that it is not his responsibility to carry out such an investigation, hence the request to Diane Lebouthillier.

“We ask you to support our approach approved by all local elected officials and citizens to ask the Competition Bureau to investigate. We believe that in your capacity as federal MP and minister, you are the person best placed to help us with our request,” concludes Mr. Sainte-Croix.
In September 2022, Diane Lebouthillier found it unacceptable that retailers were making profits on the backs of Gaspesian motorists.

On the other hand, last July, she made it known that she would not comment on the actions of provincial elected officials, adding that her government was instead working on the electrification of transport.
“I can understand that this is a delicate and complex issue, but it deserves that we take all necessary means to have the most complete idea possible to ensure that Gaspé residents can get the right price,” comments the elected official to the recent assertions of the federal MP.

Despite all the initiatives launched since July, the price of gasoline remains higher in the Gaspé Peninsula than elsewhere in Quebec.

“Prices have a certain stability. But having said that, we are not giving up. We hope that Ms Lebouthillier will contribute to our actions to add some pressure,” underlines Mr. Sainte-Croix.

Diane Lebouthillier will not intervene with the Competition Bureau

In a statement sent by email, she responded to the provincial MNA for Gaspé who asked her to intercede with the office.

Ms. Lebouthillier points out that the organization is independent in the exercise of its functions and cannot therefore be subject to political intervention.

The federal elected official invites anyone who has information about a company or station that colludes to fix prices to report it to the Competition Bureau in complete confidentiality.
Meanwhile, the Competition Bureau visited gas stations in the Lower North Shore and the North Shore during the week of February 5.

In a publication on social networks on February 8, the organization indicates that the objective of the agents was to better understand how gasoline prices are determined and the visit was intended to detect possible anti-competitive behaviour such as fixing prices.

For almost five years, the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, has called for an investigation by the Competition Bureau, just like the CAQ elected officials in the region did last summer.

On February 12, the price of gasoline rose to $1.69 in several areas of the Gaspé Peninsula.

GASPÉ – Unblocking the bottleneck east of Rivière-du-Loup is a top priority for Hydro-Québec.
Minister of Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, emphasized during his visit to Gaspé on February 9, that the latest calls for tenders for wind power were planned near transport lines to generate around 3,000 megawatts of energy by 2029.

“We have reached the end. Now, we need to look at which places in Quebec where there is the most wind and which we need to interconnect. Hydro-Québec submitted its $150 billion to $185 billion plan in November. We are refining the sequence. Transport lines aren’t just here. It is certain that in the Gaspé Peninsula and Rivière-du-Loup there is a problem. I can’t promise this will be the first line they’ll do, but clearly, it’s at the top of the list. Hydro-Québec will have to announce within a month or two what they are going to do,” remarked the minister.

The Government of Quebec wants Quebec content in the wind sector, but the minister is seeking a balance between costs and local content.

“The more predictability we can give to equipment manufacturers, the more open they will be to setting up. A 107-metre blade travels badly,” says the minister, referring to the giant size of some modern windmill blades.

Mr. Fitzgibbon adds he will be tabling a bill that will provide for calls for tender and even private contracting “if the prices are right”. “In this context, we can be more demanding for Quebec content,” he added.
As for future calls for tenders, there are still development possibilities.

“Hydro-Québec’s 2035 action plan targets 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts. If I remember correctly, it’s 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts of wind power alone. That means you have to install four times more. There is a lot of wind power coming in the next 10 years. Now, it will be up to Hydro-Québec to say very quickly, after the bill, what the sequence will be,” indicates Mr. Fitzgibbon.

He also points out the challenges of finding turbines as manufacturers face supply and demand issues on the global market.

In terms of the future of offshore wind power, the minister notes that he stays in contact with General Electric which is building blades in Gaspé for these wind farms, particularly for New England.
“We can imagine on the coasts of the maritime provinces that there is room for offshore. I was skeptical about the cost. And we came out with 5 or 6 cents after the tax credit. We are not far from rate L,” mentions the minister. The L tariff is the business rate charged by the utility.

However, he explained that Quebec’s land potential for wind power is not fully exploited yet.
“There are so many possibilities for onshore wind power in Quebec. We have 4000 megawatts out of 40,000. We can increase that, I hope, to 10,000 more. Nergica could do work and look at offshore costs with a 15-megawatt platform. It’s remarkable what they’re doing today. I am open to that, but we have to balance the marginal cost,” says Mr. Fitzgibbon.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The region’s prefects discussed wind power, fisheries, forests and housing during a private meeting with the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, on February 9 in Gaspé.
Since Mr. Fitzgibbon has assumed the role of Minister of Energy, wind power has been a priority for elected officials, as emphasized during Premier François Legault’s visit to the Gaspé Peninsula in November.
Unsurprisingly, the prefects focused on transportation lines as a key concern, given the bottleneck hindering large-scale projects east of Rivière-du-Loup. Minister Fitzgibbon sought to reassure the prefects, echoing sentiments he shared with the press.

“We wanted to focus on the fact that in Gaspésie, overall, social acceptability is there. We could develop and strengthen existing wind farms provided that we can optimize or add transport lines to major centres. On this, the minister was very open,” stated Daniel Côté, prefect of the MRC of Côte-de-Gaspé.
The elected official says the region can produce more wind energy, a sentiment acknowledged by the minister. Additionally, the prefects advocated for the region’s status as a hub for wind power component production.

“If there are new wind (energy) tenders, there should be some form of content planned for our companies. If there are other companies in the components sector knocking on Quebec’s door, don’t set them up in regions that don’t know this. Install them in the Gaspésie,” demands the prefects through Mr. Côté, even if the region does not have an Innovation Zone designation in this sector.

The Town of Gaspé attempted to establish an Innovation Zone but faced challenges. “We wanted to try it, but it didn’t work. We paid for preliminary studies, but the problem is raising private funds. It must be 75% private investment before the public sector puts in money. On the other hand, even if we do not have the label, we are recognized as the wind energy manufacturing hub of Quebec. In the minister’s mind, if companies come here (to Quebec), this is where he will send them,” says Mr. Côté about the Gaspé Peninsula.

Regarding fisheries, although outside his portfolio, officials raised concerns with Minister Fitzgibbon.
“He is the Minister of the Economy and regional economic development. I found it important to whisper into his ear the difficulties of the fishing sector. He is committed to working with his colleague André Lamontagne on possible solutions to diversify the fishing sector to ensure that the 1,000 jobs on the line can work in this sector while we get through the crisis. The Member of the National Assembly (for Gaspé, Stéphane) Sainte-Croix was also reassuring to the effect that there were discussions between the federal and the provincial,” affirms the prefect of Côte-de-Gaspé who emphasizes that the file remains an absolute priority.

In terms of housing, the region has taken an innovative approach by implementing tax credits at both the Table of Prefects and municipal levels.

“One of the issues we addressed with the minister: he wants to stimulate economic growth. He is still in job creation mode. We even told him if we created 500 new jobs, where would we house them? He said: ‘Can we have a new model where we could work with developers who create jobs to stimulate housing construction?’ This is the kind of thing that we could work on, without being very precise at this time,” says Mr. Côté who believes that the ideas launched by the minister deserve to be worked on.

“The connection is excellent with Mr. Fitzgibbon. I think we will continue to work together,” concludes Mr. Côté.

However, Prefect Côté has barely addressed the issue of high gas prices in the Gaspésie, even though he has been denouncing the situation for five years.

“It’s indeed a fight, but the Energy Board has done its bit of work. It is up to the Competition Bureau of Canada to do the rest of the work, that is, to investigate to ensure that there is no cartel and, if there is a cartel, to dismantle it. The minister agrees with us,” said Mr. Côté.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – Nergica will be housed in a new cutting-edge technology pavilion on the Gaspé campus of the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles.

The new complex will be one of the first in Quebec to be energy-positive, meaning that it will produce more energy than it consumes, notably with the installation of solar panels on the building.
The $12 million complex will be located near the Polytechnic pavilion.

The Quebec government is contributing $10.7 million to the project, while Nergica will pay the remaining balance of approximately $1.2 million.

“Nergica is essential for the advancement of innovation in Quebec. Nergica is one of the 22 CCTTs (Technology transfer college centres) which focus on renewable energies. To achieve our climate ambitions, technology must be there,” mentioned Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, during his visit to Gaspé on February 9 to announce the funding.

“Hydro-Québec wants to reduce existing consumption by 2000 to 3000 megawatts. Michael Sabia’s plan speaks of 8000 to 9000 megawatts by 2035, of which 2000 to 3000 come from consumption. This perhaps requires more efficient wind production, and interconnection with the Hydro-Québec network to complement hydroelectricity. The technological transfer of a CCTT becomes essential,” adds the minister.

“The building will allow us to accommodate more employees. We are talking about around sixty workers. It will also allow us to go further. More and more, we are part of the energy transition. This building is part of the logic and allows us to experiment with new ways of doing things in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. It is an additional research platform to support businesses and communities,” explains the director of Nergica, Frédéric Côté, on the contribution of this new building.

Their current location, which will be left vacant following the delivery of the building towards the end of summer 2025, will be used for educational purposes.

“Over time, Nergica’s requirements and the training needs of the CEGEP have increased, so much so that we found ourselves faced with a lack of space. The teams designed a building suitable for Nergica,” mentions the director of the CEGEP, Yolaine Arseneau.

“Approximately 600 square metres of space in the Polytechnic pavilion will be modified to mainly accommodate courses in Electrical Engineering Technology, Industrial Maintenance Technology, Adventure Tourism Technology, Forestry Technology and Police Technology programs. Changes will be made to the facility to create classrooms, computer laboratories and simulation rooms specific to the programs,” specifies Ms. Arseneau.

Nergica has been operational for 25 years, it employs approximately 40 individuals and is engaged in about 40 projects annually.

Nelson Sergerie

PERCÉ – The Town of Percé, the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) and the Citizens-Commerchants Committee of Percé, have filed their brief with the Court of Appeal of Quebec regarding the appeal on the tourist fee. The Town of Percé initiated the appeal after a decision in June 2023 overturned the regulation.
The Town of Percé and the UMQ filed their briefs in January, while the Citizens-Merchants Committee submitted theirs on February 9.

With all parties’ briefs now with the Court of Appeal, the next step is to schedule a hearing date, which could take several more weeks before proceeding and additional time for a decision to be reached.
The regulation on the tourist fee was invalidated by the Superior Court in a decision rendered on June 16, 2023.
Adopted in the first form on September 28, 2021, and amended on June 14, 2022, Judge Isabelle Germain wrote, in her 24-page decision, that “the Court thinks that both Regulation 575-2021 initially adopted by the defendant and the Regulation 600-2022 are void in that they do not respect the enabling powers prescribed by the LCV (Editor’s note: Cities and Towns Law) relating to municipal fees. This framework indeed allows a municipality to agree to make a third-party collector of the fee, but this role of collector cannot be imposed as in this case. In doing so, she exceeds her powers.”

The judge added that “the Court can only note (…) that the provincial legislature has not delegated to the municipalities the power to regulate the collection of such a fee without prior agreement.”
Consequently, the regulations must be declared void and illegal, wrote the magistrate.
The Town of Percé has suspended the tourist fee until the Court of Appeal renders a decision.
During its only year of application in the summer of 2022, the fee generated $155,000, which is currently frozen until the legal debate is over.

A $1 fee was applied to each transaction of $20 or more in businesses, including restaurants, souvenir sales and recreational tourism activities. Non-taxable products such as alcohol and cannabis were exempt. Hotel stays were taxed at $1 per night.

The legal challenge to the tourist fee cost taxpayers $70,000 in the first instance. The mayor of Percé, Cathy Poirier, mentioned in July an additional bill of $30,000 to $40,000 would be added for the appeal process.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The fundraising campaign launched by the Musée de la Gaspésie to raise funds to create a protective area for the Gaspésienne No. 20 has raised more than $8,000 of its $10,000 goal.

“We have good hope of achieving our objective and this initial fund will be used to set up a formal financing committee because we will enter into a long process to plan how we will shelter this Gaspésienne to preserve it from all and forever,” explains the museum’s director, Martin Roussy.

As soon as good weather arrives, restoration work on the boat and its environment, which suffered damage following a fire last November, will be launched.

“The tenders have been made. The analyses have been set. The insurance procedures are going well. We can move the process forward so that everything is resolved – we hope – before the summer,” says Mr. Roussy.

Subsequently, the phase of protection of the artifact, which was already in the museum’s plans, will be accelerated.

“We can imagine that the project to house the Gaspésienne and connect it to the museum in an architectural ensemble that takes into account the look of the museum, we imagine that will cost around $1.5 million. It’s a very big project that we will build over time to protect it from bad weather and fire,” says the director.

Before proceeding, detailed plans and specifications will be required to determine an accurate cost estimate.

The project to protect the boat was conceived and the Quebec Ministry of Culture was informed of the museum’s plans.

“With what happened, we are going to rush the timetable to achieve it. The outlook is positive,” believes Mr. Roussy.

If all the components align, the protection project will be completed between 2026 and 2027.
“In the meantime, we will try to protect the Gaspésienne. We experienced a fire and it’s quite rare. We will do our best to protect her from this type of incident while waiting for her to be protected in a shelter,” he concluded.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles marks a significant milestone as it celebrates 25 years of distance learning.

It was in the academic year 1998-1999 that the first distance learning course was launched at the École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec at the Petit-de-Grat campus, in Nova Scotia, which was part of the community colleges of New Brunswick. Embarking on such an endeavor was ambitious given the technology and resources at the time.

“The means were rudimentary. We had cathode ray tube televisions, the signal was transmitted by telephone lines. Even the lecture notes were handwritten and had to be manually entered into a computer. We weren’t digital. It was a lot of adaptation and we didn’t know that it would become an extremely important avenue of development for the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles,” notes the director of studies, Serge Rochon.

Today, the institution offers eight programs through distance learning. “We were in the early stages of distance learning. We were among the first and our geographical distance meant that we thought about it to attract new students. It was quickly included in the strategic plans for development avenues. But we didn’t believe at the time that it would be so important,” notes the director.

“Our teachers have adapted their teaching so that the programs are suitable for distance learning. It is because we invested in human resources and technology that we succeeded in this shift,” notes Mr. Rochon.

The deployment of the nursing techniques program with remote sites in Chandler and Carleton-sur-Mer during the 2011-2012 academic year marked a significant turning point for distance education.
“We did not think that such a complex program could be deployed remotely. It was a complex program to put in place and that gave the signal to start,” points out Mr. Rochon.

The program contains laboratory practices, which added to the complexity of developing adequate training.
“Remote training was not invented with the pandemic. For us, it’s been there for a long time. This helped keep programs alive that might have been suspended or closed. Accounting and management in the Magdalen Islands was very fragile; and the nursing program too. This was the case for Medical Archives and Legal Techniques (programs). Eight distance learning programs help promote accessibility to studies for young people in the Gaspésie. These are programs offered both in-person and remotely. We are able to guarantee these programs for young people in the Gaspésie,” notes Mr. Rochon.

Even though technology has simplified the creation of virtual programs, face-to-face training will remain in the long term.

“At eight programs, that’s probably the potential we can afford,” admits Mr. Rochon, considering the ins and outs surrounding distance learning.

“We want to consolidate what we do and we have set ourselves the goal of remaining a leader,” maintains the director of studies. This year, distance learning has 475 students. “We have never had so many students,” he notes.

“I was looking at the Accounting and Management program in the Magdalen Islands. A third of the graduates in the last 10 years are students who are in distance learning. You see the impact,” says Mr. Rochon who estimates that hundreds of students have been trained remotely in a decade.

Moreover, the costs associated with creating virtual classrooms have significantly decreased over time.
At one time it cost $80,000 to create such a class, whereas today it is possible to do it for less than $25,000.

“It costs a lot less than at the time, but we have around forty classes. Equipment must be upgraded regularly but we think it’s worth it,” concludes Mr. Rochon.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – A series of podcasts exploring the experiences of women in politics is being produced by the Gaspé Peninsula Magdalen Islands Round Table of Women’s Groups (Table de concertation des groupes de femmes). The series features interviews with women actively engaged in politics of social movements, aiming to shed light on their experiences in what is still largely perceived as a “man’s world”.

“We had the idea of highlighting women in politics and presenting the testimonies of those who are involved in politics but also women who come from social movements,” explains the women’s health development agent and host of Women and Politics, Léa Blouin-Rodrigue.

Additionally, “we also wanted to see what challenges they face in their work or their involvement.” Recent events, such as the resignation of councillors and mayors, prompted this initiative.

“Why do these women leave? There are various reasons. There are certainly advances being made, but also challenges that women face in the political sphere,” mentions Ms. Blouin-Rodrigue.

Gender parity is an ongoing concern in every election, yet achieving balance remains a challenge. “Women and men’s experiences in politics are shaped by their genders. Politics was made by and for men, making it difficult for women to find their place. Often, women are the primary caregivers of children. Sometimes it’s more difficult to reconcile,” says Ms. Blouin-Rodrigue.

The podcast addresses this issue. “They (women) must prove that they are capable of being a mother and a politician, questions that are not asked of their male counterparts,” says Ms. Blouin-Rodrigue.
“We don’t question women and men on the same subjects. It can be an additional challenge for women to have to prove that they are up to the challenges,” she mentions.

Ten episodes will be presented in this podcast series and the first two were presented on January 24 during a launch in Gaspé.

Former Member of the National Assembly and spokesperson for the Parti Québécois Mégane Perry Mélançon and Charlotte Guay-Dussault, a community organizer, solidarity activist and mother are the subject of the first podcast.

“We also want to highlight that the political implication is vast. It’s not just about running for office and then occupying an elected role. It can be volunteering in a party, organizing demonstrations, or uniting with citizen groups. There are lots of ways to get involved and we wanted to highlight them,” notes Ms. Blouin-Rodrigue.

The podcasts are available on various platforms for broadcast.

The Round Table will share links on social media directing listeners to the Autour de la table channel.
If there’s enough interest, there might be a phase 2.

Nelson Sergerie

PERCÉ – The Town of Percé is still searching for a solution to maintain the Municipal Tourist Information Office, which has been cut due to 2024 budget reductions.

The mayor of Percé, Cathy Poirier, met on February 5 with staff from the office of the Member of the National Assembly for Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, Tourisme et commerce Rocher-Percé, the Rocher-Percé MRC and Tourisme Gaspésie to explore possible solutions to maintain office.

Even if the Town of Percé is prepared to support a buyer to provide the service, the fact remains that the $230,000 in payroll is a significant obstacle to relaunching the office.

“It’s still a considerably high amount for the taxpayers of Percé who already have a fairly high tax rate. We had to cut all departments in the budget. Is the tourist reception office part of our obligations? No. Is snow removal part of our obligations? Yes. Is the fire service part of our obligations? Yes. The municipal council chose this way,” recalls the elected official who indicates that the tourist office represented a tax increase of 4.5%.

“Who should pay for this service? Is it the citizens? The industry? The visitors? We will continue to look to eventually find a solution,” she says.

The mayor plans to meet with Percé merchants. “We planned a meeting with some merchants. We don’t want to have the entire business community. We want to clarify possible solutions and see the interest in the resumption or continuity of operations of the tourist reception office,” explains the mayor.

The situation isn’t causing a significant mobilization in the merchants. “I don’t feel any movement being made. We are talking about it. People are still in shock. We maintain our commitment to participate in this maintenance. What we are asking for is help from the business community,” says the elected official who is still not able to define the form that the recovery will take.

“Are we going to find a hybrid way of doing it? If we can add partners to develop something else? Will it be digital?” wonders Cathy Poirier.

She, however, cautions that there is no government program to fund the operations of a tourist office.
A citizen intervenes

Citizen intervention

The co-owner of the Pit Caribou microbrewery spoke as a private citizen during the February 6 municipal council meeting after attending the January meeting.

“I believe that Percé needs to have this office. On the other hand, the budget is very tight. Incompressible expenses represent up to 90%,” mentions Jean-François Nellis.

In his opinion, the tourist fee was seen as a first step to reduce the tax burden on citizens and maintain infrastructure.

“There are 500,000 tourists who come to Percé every summer. At the moment, the majority of people who pay for infrastructure are citizens,” explains Mr. Nellis.

“That’s why I suggest we sit down and discuss. The fee went to court and was refused. The objective was commendable, but not the method used. The basis was to reduce the tax burden and I consider it important to discuss it,” continues the citizen.

“If we don’t have the tourist fee, what do we do? People come to criticize, but do we provide solutions? I only heard people venting about the town council. I would like us to sit down together and work toward a common goal,” says Mr. Nellis, who sees Ms. Poirier’s outstretched hand as an opportunity to do so.

Citizens present at the council suggested that Mr. Nellis’ intervention had been prompted by someone else. “I am capable of expressing my opinion as an individual and no one is going to control me,” he replies.

Nelson Sergerie

CHANDLER – The Superior Court rejects the motion to declare the Town of Chandler’s behaviour as abusive and dismisses the application instituting proceedings filed last April by former mayor Louisette Langlois.

Ms. Langlois was trying to put an end to the lawsuit filed by the Town of Chandler in January 2022, which claims $230,411 from her in the saga surrounding the 180-day sanction from the Municipal Commission from January to July 2021.

She also claimed $2,500 in damages to compensate for extrajudicial fees in connection with the application.

In support of her request, the former mayor cited the Town of Chandler and its lawyers for their inertia in advancing the case and, in particular, for their failure to promptly provide the various undertakings given during the examination for the discovery of a Chandler representative.

Ms. Langlois’ attorney, Charles Caza, noted in the application several delays since June 6, 2022, in the file, and that, in January 2023, the town’s attorneys filed a new request for an extension to submit the requested documents.

Subsequently, on March 14, “the plaintiff’s attorneys indicated that they were still in the process of gathering responses to the commitments,” the document states.

Ms. Langlois’s attorney argues in the application that “without notice and without having transmitted the commitments, the Plaintiff’s attorneys served a subpoena on April 12, 2023, directly to the Defendant to question her on two separate days, namely for April 20 and 21.

According to Mr. Caza, “such ways of doing things constitute maneuvers to prevent the defendant from having the right to a full and complete defence with the aim of depriving her of having access to all of the documents and other evidence.”

The documents, Mr. Caza argues, “go to the heart of this dispute and are necessary for the preparation of this case.”

For the attorney, “such delays demonstrate dilatory and abusive behaviour on the part of the plantiff.”
In the five-page decision rendered on February 2 following the hearing of the case on December 6, Judge Daniel Beaulieu notes that the parties accuse each other of not respecting certain of the deadlines provided for in the procedure.

He continues by indicating that on several occasions, the courts have been called upon to rule on this concept and the conditions to be met to obtain the dismissal of a request instituting proceedings.
“From these judgments and rulings emerge an almost unanimous consent, i.e. the obligation to act with “caution” before ordering the dismissal of a procedure,” writes the magistrate.

Subsequently, Judge Beaulieu details each of the stages in dispute on both sides and the deadlines which are not respected by both the former mayor and the town.

“In the opinion of the Court, there is no reason here to reject the Town of Chandler’s application to initiate proceedings, due to an abuse of process. Therefore, Ms. Langlois’ request must be rejected, with legal costs,” explains Judge Beaulieu.

“Although the details provided are in no way desirable, it appears that both parties have their respective faults regarding the progress of the case,” continues the judge.

As for the refusal to award $2,500 to the former mayor, the judge recalls “that the extrajudicial fees currently incurred for the representation of Langlois, including those incurred on the current request for dismissal, are assumed by the Town of Chandler. However, all of these sums are the subject of the claim on the merits in this case, a claim that the Court will then assess and award according to the criteria dictated by law and developed by case law,” mentions the decision.

The town launched complaint procedures against Louisette Langlois in January 2022. The resolution leading to the filing of the complaint by the town underlined in particular that the accusations against Louisette Langlois resulted from serious or intentional faults, by predominating her personal interest, from having taken actions in an intentional and premeditated manner, all to get her own way.

The argument was taken up in the request for initiation of proceedings for reimbursement of defence costs.
Chandler’s attorneys noted, in particular, that “the decision rendered (…) on December 21, 2020, is damning against the defendant and makes it possible to establish that the acts or omissions of the defendant are serious and/or intentional and/or separable faults of the exercise of her functions.”
They added that the former elected official “multiplied the procedures, some of which were useless, unfounded and truncated given the present evidence presented before the CMQ (Quebec Municipal Commission)”.

In December 2019, Louisette Langlois was cited for 21 violations of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Chandler elected officials.

After hearings in July 2020, the commission concluded that the former elected official was guilty of 20 breaches, notably conflicts of interest, in December 2020. Before the sanction hearing, Ms. Langlois had tried to obtain a halt to the procedures, contested the notice of sanction issued against her going so far as to ask to reopen the investigation, requests rejected by administrative judge Sandra Bilodeau.

The former mayor took her appeal to the Superior Court where it was dismissed in July 2021 and suffered the same fate in October 2021 before the Court of Appeal.

To date, this saga has cost Chandler taxpayers $353,495. The town of Chandler reserved the right to adjust its claim.

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté is now calling for the possibility of buying back licences for shrimp fishermen dealing with the turbulence in the fishing sector.

Daniel Côté notes that the two principles of not imposing a moratorium on shrimp fishing and lifting the one that was in force on redfish were a good idea.

“On the other hand, when we dissect the figures on granted or pre-granted quotas, the figures are too small to justify our shrimp fishermen taking off this year. No one would certainly have profitable operations this year,” says the mayor.

According to him, fishing companies need a boost for rationalization to remove shrimp fishermen from the fleet.

“So that the piece of the pie is distributed among fewer players rather than among all the current players so that a few can get their heads above water or make money,” says the mayor.

The buyback of licenses is the most likely avenue in his eyes. “There are fishermen who would be ready to get out of the industry and let others try to survive. But there is no desire to move in this direction from the federal government. The fishermen are sounding the alarm very loudly,” notes the mayor.

On the ground, the elected official has felt the economic impacts for almost two years, due to the already precarious situation in the shrimp industry.

“All businesses are suffering. People have less money so they spend less. Therefore, less investment in local shops and businesses. This crisis has a major impact,” says Mr. Côté

If the redfish quota increased to 150,000 or 200,000 tonnes, the elected official believes that shrimp fishermen would convert to redfish and a few would stick with fishing shrimp.

“We might (then) be starting to emerge from the crisis. Currently, this is not the case. People tell me that it’s great to go fishing for redfish, but as long as the markets and the processing capacity are not there, it’s useless. But the capacity for transformation can be done quickly after having spoken with stakeholders,” the mayor is told.

He believes that extra work will have to be done for marketing. “It is a collective challenge to ensure that redfish can find their place on the market. At the same time, if we take the redfish out of the Gulf, we remove shrimp’s largest predator and help restore the stocks. But if it stays at 25,000 tonnes, the fishermen will not convert and we know that we will give way to processing boats and that will not help our economy,” analyzes Mr. Côté

He is under the impression that the years 2024, 2025 and perhaps 2026 will be years of turbulence. “There are so many factors beyond our control. Are we going to succeed collectively?” asks the mayor.
Without a redfish quota announced as the fishing season is fast approaching, the mayor wonders what will happen in the short term.

“I can’t get my head around the quotas and how the fishermen are going to distribute them. If the fishermen do not go out (to sea), there are impacts on the economy,” he says, noting that 1,000 jobs are at stake in the fishing sector of Gaspé.

Diane Skinner

BARACHOIS: On Sunday, January 21 Stephanie Bond, artist and instructor, led a painting workshop that was funded through Vision Gaspé-Percé Now where Stephanie currently works. This one day activity took place at the Barachois Recreation Centre from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.. Participants were delighted that their workshop and all materials including acrylic paint were free of charge. Stephanie reminds future participants that the workshops are quite popular so signing up in advance is recommended because spaces are limited. The workshops are usually full, and the Midnight Deer workshop had 14 participants who were proud to display their finished products.

Though anyone over the age of 14 is welcome to sign up for the activities, the group was composed of all female artists, most of them were seniors and beginning level painters.

One of the participants, Judy Stiles, comments, “I had fun at Stephanie’s workshop. Everyone painted the same picture – but at the end they were all different. Overall, I was very pleased with my painting. Stephanie is a great teacher – she is very motivated and patient and she’s a wonderful artist herself.”
Stephanie says that the art workshops are impactful because, “Art takes our mind off things, and it is so relaxing and fun!” Aside from Vision, Stephanie also offers online painting workshops with other organizations.

About the artist

Stephanie was born in the village of Barachois in Gaspe, Quebec, in 1979. Her passion for the arts led to a degree in Graphic Design from Dawson College in Montreal. After that, she lived in Montreal and worked as a designer for 10 years and then decided to move back home in 2008 to work as a graphic designer in Chandler. During this time, she decided to start painting again, having taken a 10-year break from painting while in Montreal.

After experimenting with various mediums she gravitated more towards painting with acrylics and oils, with a specific interest in landscapes, wildlife, and historic seaside scenes.

Currently she is a full-time employee with Vision Gaspe-Perce Now for almost 10 years. Aside from doing Graphic Design for Vision, she also leads art workshops and takes care of the Barachois Wellness Centre for Seniors.

“Living on the scenic and beautiful Gaspé Coast, I am constantly inspired by our large skies, ancient mountains and breathtaking ocean views. With well over two hundred paintings completed, I hope to continue to represent and promote this unique region of Canada,” she proudly states. She is inspired by the environment and occasionally refers to old historic photos to create her paintings.

Stephanie Bond also makes small crafts for local markets, including Christmas ornaments and painted signs. When asked who her favourite Gaspesian artist is she admits that she admires many local artists but mentions both John Wiseman and Tennyson Johnson.

Looking ahead, Stephanie will continue to offer workshops about every month that will be sponsored by Vision and states that, “No one leaves my workshops with a frown!” She adds, “I still have the interest and drive to continue doing what I love to do – not planning on retirement quite yet!”

To learn more about Stephanie Bond visit her website at: https://bondsteph.wixsite.com/stephaniebond or search “Stephanie Bond” on facebook. Her home gallery is at 858 Rte. 132 East, Barachois. You are welcome to stop by, just make an appointment

PASPÉBIAC – Following heavy rainstorms in June and August, along with the lingering effects of Hurricane Lee on September 16 and 17, the town of Paspebiac will be examining the capacity of its infrastructure against increasingly severe weather events.

Between August 7 and 10, the area received 135 millimetres of rain resulting in damage to several municipal infrastructures and residences.

“It’s a good lesson. It’s when we realise that weather events can take us by surprise. The priority at the moment is public safety,” explains the mayor of Paspebiac, Marc Loisel.

The town wants to make sure that its municipal facilities are well-adapted to withstand intense, short-duration storms.

“We’re looking at the network and analyzing its capacity to handle such situations. It’s obvious that when there’s a sudden downpour like in August, there are municipalities with larger networks than ours that suffer fairly major impacts. The important thing is to ensure that our infrastructure is compliant,” continues the mayor.

Although some damage was recorded, Mr. Loisel does not yet have a precise estimate of the costs incurred by the completed repairs.

The government of Quebec has included Paspebiac in the decree offering financial assistance for towns affected by the rainfall, as published in the Quebec Government’s Gazette officielle. The municipality intends to submit invoices for the repairs in an attempt to obtain compensation for the expenses incurred as a result of the heavy rainfall.

The neighbouring town of New Carlisle experienced more extensive damage. Their mayor David Thibault estimated the cost of repairs to be around $200,000.

GASPÉ – The issue of housing jurisdiction for the MRCs should have been resolved, but new obstacles are emerging, according to the president of the Table of prefects de la Gaspésie.

Almost 18 months ago, the Gaspésie MRCs faced opposition from the Quebec Ministry of Housing, which would not allow them to provide funding or assistance for projects to promote the construction of apartments, one of the regional priorities.

At the time, Gaspé Member of the National Assembly, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, expressed a desire to find a solution to address the issue.

“The MRCs want to support the construction of private rental housing. After some political work, the Municipal Affairs Ministry came up with a proposal. After analysis, this proposal, which is a roundabout way rather than going directly to the field of competence, does not meet the objectives because it is too restrictive,” explains the Table’s president, Mathieu Lapointe.

During discussions in the past year, rather than introducing a bill to grant this competence, it was agreed to go through administrative channels.

As a result, under the existing rules, it would not be permitted to build outside urban perimeters or in areas not served by water and sewer systems.

“A large part of our territory is not served by these services. So, we are back to square one, and we ask that the MRCs be given jurisdiction to intervene,” Mr. Lapointe reiterates.

Again questioned on this issue, the MNA for Gaspé and assistant to the regional minister understands the concerns raised regarding the current rules.

“It’s important to remember that MRCs can delegate this responsibility to municipalities. When you look at the Haute-Gaspésie and the Côte-de-Gaspé, there are some major projects underway. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s possible under the current conditions but, obviously, something isn’t working for the representative of the prefects,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix.

The MNA suggests that the table des préfets president call on the Union of Quebec Municipalities and the Quebec Federation of municipalities to bring the issue to the attention of the Quebec government.

“We understand that, if this is the case, it has an impact on all Quebec municipalities, and I imagine that the Quebec government would listen carefully,” suggests Mr. Sainte-Croix, who understands some of the constraints mentioned by the president of the Table des préfets.

“We don’t disagree with Mr. Lapointe’s position, but there are objectives in terms of land use planning objectives, and Mr. Lapointe would do well to raise the matter with his counterparts,” adds Mr. Sainte-Croix.

The incentives totalling $2 million are working.

Each MRC has $400,000 to stimulate the construction of 40 apartments per territory at a rate of $10,000 per door.

“The entire envelope is reserved for the Haute-Gaspésie and Côte-de-Gaspé. There is still a little room in Avignon, Bonaventure and Rocher-Percé,” mentions Mathieu Lapointe, who expects the entire amount to be used by the end of the program in December 2024.

Despite very significant needs, the Table of prefects has not yet decided on phase 2 of this successful program.

“With the Regional-Rurality Fund, we still have some money left over from Phase 1, but it’s too little to provide the kind of support we have. We are working on other plans hence the idea of the MRC competence which has funds that could be used. We are working in other ways at the moment, and we will also look at the new fiscal pact,” mentions the resident.

GASPÉ – The Marinard shrimp processing plant in Rivière-au-Renard has been purchased by a numbered company formed by Bill and George Sheehan, of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé. They are notably known as shareholders of the firm E. Gagnon et Fils with their father Raymond, who presides over the latter.

The information that had been circulating in the industry for several weeks was transmitted to SPEC on October 30 and confirmed on October 31 in a press release.

“There are still assets and facilities that correspond to our needs. We can talk about the cold room, the laboratories. With the plant, it’s certain that it will be a big challenge with the shrimp crisis, but we’re going to try to meet it,” says Bill Sheehan, Vice-President of E. Gagnon et fils.

The Sheehans are making a bold decision considering the confirmed shrimp crisis.

“A little, yes. Audacious, that’s the right word. Certainly, in the short term, we have storage needs. The warehouse made a big difference in the decision. We also have to think about the employees. If we think of the Gagnon plant, we have more than a hundred foreign workers. We are facing a labour shortage. The 140 employees at Marinard are resources that ensured that the transaction was possible on our side. The 140 people in the current (labour shortage) situation, I think it (the acquisition) is good positioning,” continues Mr. Sheehan.

“We intend to continue with shrimp but we will see what will happen in the coming weeks,” says Mr. Sheehan.

The goal was to restart operations on November 6. They were suspended on September 1 due to a shortage of shrimp to process.

“We will have shrimp coming from outside to conduct tests, and then there will be repackaging. We will do everything in our capacity to allow employees to complete their weeks. This is our priority,” says the vice president..

As shrimp is becoming increasingly scarce and with a possible return of redfish fishery, the plant could be adapted.

“We are always on the lookout for new species. My father got into salted-dried cod. We moved on to lobster, crab, and shrimp. Plants in Gaspésie have always adapted. If the opportunity presents itself, at Marinard, we have the location. The plant has already processed many of them (species). There’s a lot of refrigeration, cooking, flour mills. There’s a lot of possibilities. If the opportunity presents itself and it can be profitable, we will be there,” says Mr. Sheehan

The plant currently has a shrimp processing permit only.

The laboratory’s research activities will be maintained.

The value of the transaction between E. Gagnon et Fils, based in Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé, and Daley Seafoods of Newfoundland and Labrador, which announced the acquisition of the company on December 20, 2021, has not been disclosed.

E. Gagnon will take over the cold storage. A new company will be created to oversee Marinard Biotech, IT (technology branch), the fish market, and the processing plant.

“We are quite proud to repatriate a plant owned by Quebecers and even better Gaspesians,” says Mr. Sheehan humbly.

E. Gagnon is always open to opportunities that may arise.

“But we will still have good challenges to face with this plant which still has good potential,” concludes Mr. Sheehan.

Positive reactions

The political community, the shrimp industry and the workers are all optimistic about the news.

“We understand the intention of the new owners, who are people from the region, is first to secure the employees and ensure they qualify for employment insurance so that they can get through the winter,” says the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté.

Mr. Côté notes that the new owners will be able to better control what happens in the fishing sector and bring the “luster” back to the plant.

“We want to look at other possible solutions to use all of the plant’s facilities. They didn’t buy it for nothing. They are savvy business people. I look forward to hearing about their plans,” the mayor continues.

In the context where shrimp is experiencing a sharp decline, Mr. Côté breathes a sigh of relief. “I have high hopes for the future,” adds the elected official.

The Quebec government was aware of the discussions between the parties and of E. Gagnon and fils’ intentions, however, the provincial government was not called upon to intervene in the matter.

“We’re very happy with the outcome. We understand that this was a priority issue for the riding,” says Gaspé Member of the National Assembly, Stéphane Sainte-Croix.

“We’re proud of the company’s return to Quebec and, more specifically, to the Gaspé region, and for our employees, we’re helping to secure their situation in the short term,” continues Mr. Sainte-Croix. “We didn’t want to lose this asset in the fisheries,” he adds.

The buyer mainly processes lobster and crab, and the purchased plant processes shrimp. If E. Gagnon et fils requested new permits to make the plant profitable, the Quebec Government would be open to assisting.

“We will have to evaluate the ins and outs of all that. We will have to let the committee do its work and make the necessary recommendations. These are discussions which, I imagine, will take place over the coming weeks,” explains the MNA.

The Quebec Shrimp Fishermen’s Office is delighted for the plant’s workers who will be able to qualify for employment insurance.

“We will see what the new owner will do in the shrimp sector which will change over the coming days. It will be interesting to see how the new owner positions himself in the context where the resource will be limited next year,” reacts the director of the Quebec Shrimp Fishermen’s Office, Patrice Element.

“This is very good news, and I think everyone will be happy,” says Luce Jean, the president of the union representing the plant workers affiliated with the CSN.

“I think it should go well over the next year. I hope that the new owners will meet us soon to discuss where we are going and to find out if we are going to work this winter,” continues Ms. Jean.

GASPÉ – What everyone feared has been confirmed: shrimp quotas will be significantly reduced for the upcoming season.

This was the outcome at the meeting of the Shrimp Advisory Committee in Quebec City to discuss scientific surveys and the various scenarios presented by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

As suggested, the worst case scenario would involve approximately 325 tonnes for the Sept-Îles area, 240 tonnes for Anticosti, and 50 tonnes for Esquiman as quotas for next year.

However, there is no assessment available for the Estuary due to a lack of scientific data.

Quebec fishermen should expect the worst, according to the Quebec Shrimp Fishermen’s Office.

“We more or less confirmed the figures we previously had. There are no figures for the Estuary zone. With the decline in other zones, the Estuary will become the most important zone for Quebec fishermen even if historically, it’s the smallest fishing zone. Depending on the minister’s decision, we risk ending up with a quota for Quebec fishermen including First Nations of between 0 and 1,300 tonnes. When we think that there are fishermen who had quotas of 500 or 600 tonnes in 2015, that shows you the scale of the decline or the catastrophe,” states the director of the office, Patrice Element.

“1200 tonnes is not enough to support a fleet of 35 or 40 shrimp boats. We are talking about a handful of fishermen who will be able to go fishing, if it is possible to distribute them among the fishermen. Will a processing plant want to open? When we talk about 1000 tonnes, that’s two million pounds. Last year, which was not a good year, the three processors produced 15 million pounds. If we go back 10 years, each of the Quebec plants processed 13-14-15 million pounds,” explains Mr. Element.

“The question arises: will fishermen be able to go fishing? Will processors be able to open their plants? That’s the question,” the director adds.

The warming of the water, the drop in oxygen levels and especially the rising presence of redfish explain the decrease in shrimp.

“There’s not much we can do with the water temperature or the drop in oxygen. But we can have control over the redfish. We need to start catching this fish as soon as possible,” Mr. Element strongly suggests.

The committee focused on the shrimp situation, but many of the attendees were preoccupied with the redfish fishery.

Given current findings, it is unlikely to see a recovery of shrimp stocks in the coming years.

“In the medium term, if there are fewer redfish, perhaps the shrimp biomass will recover. These small animals are very resilient, and perhaps the shrimp can recover. The redfish will be there next year. Even if we start fishing for them, the water will stay warm and the oxygen will stay low. No, there is no short-term recovery,” Mr. Element concurs.

Faced with these facts, support will be needed for the shrimp industry and also the communities that will be affected in Eastern Canada.

With a quota of 1000 tonnes, would a moratorium be appropriate?

“No one in the industry, and not many people in the federal government, want to consider a moratorium because we are falling into administrative complexities, and we will not be fishing for a long period. It’s difficult to answer this question honestly, but with a quota of 500 tonnes or 1000 tonnes, there are several people who will ask themselves the question you are asking,” says Mr. Element in response to the question.

The stakeholders hope they will receive a quick answer from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Diane Lebouthillier, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands.

“I was able to read the most recent scientific assessment of the state of shrimp stocks in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, which was presented at the advisory committee meeting in Quebec. The conclusions are clear and are a concern. Three of the four shrimp stocks in the region are currently in the critical zone, and only 38% of the total quota has been fished this year,” writes Ms. Lebouthillier.

She mentions that the findings do not come as a surprise but they will allow for the next steps to be taken.

“Over the coming weeks, DFO will finalize the analysis of all scientific data, industry comments, and the economic impacts of the various scenarios before submitting a recommendation to my desk by December,” says the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Ms. Lebouthillier has stated that the game plan will be submitted no later than after the holidays in January, and her department will maintain contact with the industry, as well as with all levels of government while awaiting its decision.

PERCÉ – Serious allegations surrounding the Director of Urban Planning and Land Management for the Town of Percé led to his suspension by the municipal administration on October 30.

According to information obtained by SPEC, Ghislain Pitre is suspected of fraud, theft of large sums of money from the municipality and the falsification of documents, prompting the launch of an administrative investigation.

The executive is suspended with pay while the investigation is being carried out.

The attorney for the Town of Percé, Simon Cossette Lachance, points out that an independent and impartial firm has been tasked to conduct the investigation.

A report is expected to be produced as soon as possible.

Sources indicate that the alleged incidents extend over a lengthy period of time. They also say the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) has taken an interest in the case, a fact that is being denied by the Town of Percé.

When contacted, Mr. Pitre declined to comment regarding the allegations, referring SPEC to the Town of Percé.

This is a delicate situation for the mayor of Percé, Cathy Poirier, considering the fact that Mr. Pitre is her spouse.

Ms. Poirier also refused to comment on the situation.

The Town of Percé attorney says the mayor was not informed of the investigation’s administrative procedures.

NEW RICHMOND – Agricultural production in 2023 has been the worst in 20 years, according to the outgoing president of the Gaspé Peninsula Magdalen Islands Union of Agricultural Producers.

The poor production doesn’t paint a rosy picture for producers. “The impacts of Mother Nature have really been unfavourable. If we talk about hay, vegetables, potatoes, at all levels, it’s really a disaster,” explains the outgoing president of the Gaspé Peninsula Magdalen Islands Union of Agricultural Producers, Michèle Poirier.

“In the last 20 years, we haven’t seen this disastrous temperature as we have this year,” she adds.

Producers are taking measures to adapt to climate change. “They are moving toward regenerative farming. They are changing the way they farm, the way they nourish their soil. They’re going to try to make it soft so that if there are disasters, the soil reacts less abruptly,” stresses Ms. Poirier.

Stakeholders involved in agriculture in the Gaspé Peninsula are prepared to work together to find solutions.

Another factor that will impact agricultural producers is the significant increase in interest rates in recent months. “What worries me are the interest rates because there will be (loan) renewals. I think it will hurt because the rates are very high and the worst is yet to come. We’re not there yet,” analyzes the outgoing president.

She criticizes the Quebec government and the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, for seemingly not understanding the difficulty experienced by producers. “I don’t feel listened to enough by Minister Lamontagne. You know, it’s quite different when you sit in an office and when you work on the ground. I think next year will be decisive,” says Ms. Poirier.

At the next UPA congress in Quebec, Ms. Poirier highlights that pressure will be made in hopes of getting the attention of politicians. “Once they have listened, perhaps they can take action,” adds the outgoing president.

After six years at the helm of the organization, Ms. Poirier completed her term as president of the regional UPA.

The word “succession” is frequently mentioned in her interventions and interactions with the presss

“I’m very proud of that. There is a very good team at the UPA which is capable of transitioning with a new president who will bring new blood and new ways of working. I think it will go well,” says the outgoing president who passed the torch to Sylvain Arbor at the October 30 annual general meeting.

Relations with Gaspésie gourmande, the MRCs, the agri-advisory networks, and field workers are also elements mentioned by the outgoing president. “I believe we have the right tools to organize ourselves,” says Ms. Poirier.

The UPA president is a member of the regional Employment Table. “We are trying to advance agriculture so that we can make a good living from it and be able to feed our world.”

A dairy farm and a beef farm will soon be added to the list of Gaspesian producers. “I think we have big gains coming in agriculture,” says Ms. Poirier.