A Sherbrooke day centre for those at risk of homelessness, Ma Cabane’s clientele numbers are holding steady at around 80 per day but could very well rise. The centre, situated on King East, opened its doors back in Jan. of 2021.
“[Attendance] is starting to go up a little bit,” said General Director Marc St-Louis, referring to the daily clientele at Ma Cabane. This summer they served around 80 people per day. Last February and March they had days with upwards of 140 people. It is not, however, a simple equation, he explained, where warm weather means less people and cold weather means more. The only constant is there are less people at the beginning of the month.
St-Louis worries numbers will get high again this winter. At first, they regulated how many clientele they would let in at a time to a maximum of 10. Now they let in up to 40, “which is too much,” he admitted.
Nurses visit in the afternoons on Thursday, and a woman will begin coming next week to do foot care. His clientele walk a lot, St-Louis said, and their feet are often cold for long periods, so they are not in good shape. “We will see what the response is,” he noted. Ma Cabane offers four or five activities throughout the month, such as bowling and writing workshops.
Food insecurity is ever-present among its clientele. Ma Cabane offers snacks every afternoon they receive from the Rock-Guertin Foundation. They have distributed $15,000 worth this year alone but will likely run out next week until January.
Saint-Louis’ clientele are often on social assistance, which is just under $800 a month. “Do the math,” he urged, you either pay rent or eat but not both. This is “aggravated” by the current rising costs of lodging and food. “It’s difficult.”
All kinds come through Ma Cabane’s doors. Some are housed, some not. Many clients visit to feel less isolated, he noted. Just because you have a house, it does not mean your problems are over, he added. Many are in a precarious situation, and at risk. Often, they do not have a good background to get a job and are uneducated or have mental health issues. “We don’t ask questions,” he said, “if you come here, it is because you need to.”
St-Louis gave an example highlighting the discouraging challenges many of his clientele face. One man was released from prison in 2002 and has not broken the law since. Still, he cannot find a place to live because property-owners will reject his application based on his criminal record alone.
Ma Cabane will take non-perishable foods as donations. They will also take animal food, for many of their clients have pets and have difficulty feeding them. “Obviously, we also take money,” St-Louis said. Their financing is not guaranteed, he explained, but they should be okay for the next three to four years.
Homelessness is a complicated phenomenon, he insisted. By definition, the homeless have more than one problem. Some people say that people choose that way of life, but St-Louis urges us to consider what it is that must have preceded the choice to not know where you will sleep, what you will eat, and to be looked down upon by society. “Be careful with your judgments.”
In a significant medical advancement, the CHUS Research Center (CRCHUS) in Estrie has developed an innovative imaging test for prostate cancer, using the groundbreaking radiotracer 68Ga-PSMA-617. This test, which has already benefited over 600 men, offers unprecedented precision in cancer detection and marks the CRCHUS as the first in Canada to produce the radiotracer gallium-68 on a large scale. The achievement, recognized for its impact and innovation in the 2023-2024 Excellence Awards of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, symbolizes a major stride in bridging laboratory research with clinical practice, greatly enhancing the quality of prostate cancer care.
“It’s a new imaging technology,” Dr. Éric Turcotte, nuclear medicine specialist and researcher-professor at the CRCHUS, explained. The CRCHUS has a more than 23-year history with PET scanners. “We’ve played with that technology since 1998.” It is used for research but also clinically to detect cancer “many times per day”.
Good imaging technology has existed for prostate cancer for a while, Turcotte went on, but not excellent imaging technology. The new technology they have invented is a game changer, he insisted. PET scanners use x-rays to generate three dimensional images of the body. In addition, radioactive liquid, what Turcotte urges us to think of as “lights”, are injected into the bloodstream. These special “lights” seek out prostate cancer cells and “stick” to them. Thus, exactly where the cancer is in the body shows up on the image.
The CRCHUS has effectively invented a new kind of “light”, and has been using it for around a year. “Research is always trial and error,” Turcotte continued, and their institution is not the only one that has been on the lookout for the best way to image prostate cancer. The new tracer allows for a far greater capacity of daily clients. Elsewhere, the average clinic can test two to three patients a day, but this new technology allows for the testing of at least 12 patients a day. “Someone who needs to access this exam will have it on time.”
Turcotte emphasized that many men are afflicted with prostate cancer and that two new scanners had to be installed, as well as modifications made to the layout of the clinic, to keep up with the new possibilities of rapid testing. The whole process has been in development for three years. Many people were involved, from the ground up to the director general of the hospital. “It is very majestic, what the hospital did.” So great is their current capacity that they can now serve patients from as far away as Montreal and Halifax.
Turcotte would like to see the use of the technology expand to other parts of Canada.
Turcotte insisted that he is merely the “tip of the iceberg” of the massive, award-winning team that worked together to make this happen.
Bishop’s University (BU) unveiled an ongoing new documentary project by its Indigenous Student Support Centre. The announcement, held on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 12 p.m. in the McConnell Agora of the Library Learning Commons, focused on the creation and history of Kwigw8mna, BU’s new Indigenous Centre. Shawna Chatterton Jerome, the Coordinator of Indigenous Student Support Services, introduced the filmmaker leading the project, Daniel Brière, and discussed the motivation behind this important initiative. The event concluded with a question-and-answer session, offering further insights into the documentary.
The history
“It was built in 1891,” said Chatterton Jerome, referring to the building that will become Kwigw8mna (formerly known as Divinity House). Conversations about the building’s new role began in 2017; it was in need of major repairs – one option was to simply tear it down.
In 2019, BU received $5.9 million in funding from the Quebec government and was going to fundraise another million on its own to repurpose the building as an Indigenous Support Centre.
Between 2020 and 2021, tensions arose between the Indigenous Club involved in the project and BU administration revolving around the final form the building would take. “We weren’t feeling like our voices were being heard,” Chatterton Jerome recounted.
After “intense” media attention and the show of local support, BU administration began taking some of the Indigenous students’ concerns into consideration, she explained. Initially, the building was meant to house some classrooms, a proposition she and her peers disagreed with because it did not leave enough space for the Support Centre’s other functions.
Things settled down in June 2021 when a plan was agreed upon by all parties. Unfortunately, they hit another speedbump when the construction company they hired told them the final cost of the new building would be $11.9 million, nearly double what they expected.
In June of 2023, the Quebec government agreed to give BU another $4.8 million to complete the project, which began construction just this past August.
The documentary
Struck by the significance of and struggles involved with Kwigw8mna, Chatterton Jerome thought a documentary detailing its history would be appropriate. She and Benjamin Tabah, BU’s Digital Strategy Coordinator, are its producers.
Chatterton Jerome quickly put out a call on Facebook to find an Indigenous filmmaker and found one: Brière, a film-studies teacher at Kiuna College in Odanak, Quebec. Brière is well known in the Indigenous community for his other documentaries, Chatterton Jerome explained.
Filming began Aug. 10, with the funding for it still in the air. Interviews with those involved in the planning of the project will be interlaced with video of the building’s physical transformation. Not everyone involved can be interviewed, she admitted, but she wants avatars of every perspective on the project – Indigenous students, staff, project managers – she hopes former Principal Michael Goldbloom will agree to participate.
Notable construction issues will be included. Preston Hall, a room in the building, which was initially a chapel, has an “extra floor” underneath it “which needs to be dealt with”.
The goal is to have the documentary completed by November 2024; the building itself should be completed in Oct. 2024.
The documentary is being fully funded by the BU Principal’s Office.
During a Bury Town Council meeting Nov. 6, the question period brought to light several key issues of public interest, including heritage preservation discrepancies and concerns about municipal water usage policies. Mayor Denis Savage presided over the meeting, at which around nine residents attended over the course of the night. The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. and lasted just over an hour.
The first question period opened up with a resident highlighting a discrepancy between digital mapping services and the city’s records regarding the existence of the Prescott Cemetery. The council acknowledged the concern and committed to a further investigation into the matter, understanding the importance of heritage sites for both historical value and tourism.
The same man addressed the council with a related issue about a ‘private property’ sign placed across a road leading to the cemetery. The sign had been temporarily removed to allow road repairs after heavy rain, which sparked a discussion on maintaining access to historical sites. The council noted the necessity of ensuring that such sites remain accessible to the public.
Questions about water conservation policies were raised, pointing to the lack of clarity in the municipal regulations regarding the definition of ‘essential’ water use. Citizens expressed confusion over restrictions placed on non-essential water use, like car washing, and the council conceded that clearer guidelines were needed. They indicated a willingness to revisit the bylaws to ensure water resilience and sustainability.
Further, the council was asked about the actions taken based on public suggestions from previous special sessions. The council responded that while public opinions had been collected, no formal decisions or conversions into regulations or resolutions had taken place yet.
The council members were also questioned about the management of the local golf course, revealing a citizen’s interest in forming a committee to enhance and maintain the facility. The council discussed the process for public participation in such initiatives, showing openness to community-led improvements and maintenance of recreational spaces.
A question was asked about the landline telephone in the community centre’s office. It is for emergencies, he was told.
Finally, a question was asked regarding the slight raising of a monthly tax for the populaces’ ability to call 9-1-1 (to 52 cents). The amount is charged on your bill, whether you have a landline or cellphone. Notable on the docket in terms of resolutions were a few exemptions given out concerning building permits, the authorization of drinking alcohol in the community centre for the coming Christmas Market event, and a donation to ‘Les amis des jeux – Estrie’: $100 for 2024. It was suggested by a resident that the profits for the Christmas Market go to a food insecurity charity like last year. It was noted that the Town will now offer the playing of darts in their “salle Victoria”, available through reservation. The room is not accessible by wheelchair.
The meeting concluded with the assurance that the issues raised would be addressed in future sessions and could be always clarified right after the meeting.
Local health authority, the CIUSSS de L’Estrie – CHUS (CdeE), detailed the positives and negatives of its annual report online over Facebook Nov. 2 through Dr. Stéphane Tremblay, its President General Director. Tremblay answered questions from the media and interested viewers after his presentation.
The CdeE has 1,084 hospital beds, 2,340 long-term care and retirement home beds, and more than 100 points of service serving the 507,208 residents of the region. The CdeE employs a team of over 20,000 people, including over 1,500 doctors and pharmacists, around 500 researchers and over 700 volunteers.
The 2022-2023 year (ending in March) had its positives and negatives. There are still things to work on, but they are proud of what they improved, said Tremblay.
This past year, the CdeE added 244,837 hours of service, for a total of 1,843,138, serving 26,567 people compared to 25,718 in the previous year.
In the area of mental health, 269 less people were put on a waiting list for the appropriate services – 1,489 compared to 1,758 last year. This was accomplished by using new practices, and often with the help of related community organizations.
For those struggling with addiction, 3,543 were served – slightly more than the 3,532 served the previous year.
While the population of the region is growing rapidly, the number of family doctors is not keeping pace. Some 347,640 people are registered with a family doctor, down from 360,302 last year. Citizens are moving to other options, like nurse practitioners, to fulfill their frontline medical needs.
Residential services for the intellectually and physically disabled, and those on the autism spectrum, have risen from 991 to 1,059.
The waiting list for non-emergency surgeries, with a six month or above wait time, has gone down to 4,179 from 4,992. After the pandemic, there were thousands more on their waiting lists than previously, and urgent surgeries must take precedence, but the situation is improving, Tremblay insisted. Often, they will offer such surgeries at an alternative hospital with a different surgeon, and they strongly suggest the client agrees for the sake of overall efficiency. He emphasized that all their staff are competent, so the choice is not a “complex” one to make.
All of this is possible because of their personnel, Tremblay noted, though he admitted there are not always enough to meet all the needs of the population. They are improving on this front, with CdeE employees having a 90.45 per cent presence rate last year, slightly up from the 90.17 per cent rate of the previous year.
The CdeE has put in place numerous new activities to improve the overall health of employees involving movement, meditation, and relaxation under the consultation of experts on health and wellbeing. They aim to have their employees “happy at work”. Tremblay has visited many of the CdeE’s points of service over the past year and has personally seen employees “engaged, dynamic and full of ideas”.
They have measured the job satisfaction of their employees in the spring of 2022 and the fall of 2023. The most recent results will come in within the next few days and allow them to improve work conditions further.
Last year, the CdeE recruited 3,063 new members to their team. The CdeE offers a very interesting professional experience, Tremblay stated, and presents its employees with a wealth of possibilities.
The CdeE has recently founded a retirement home in Sherbrooke that began taking clients in Nov. 2022. Work is ongoing to add new homes in Magog, Granby, Coaticook and Lac-Mégantic. A new building in its Fleurimont Hospital, named ‘Pavillon Enfant Soleil’, a “mother-child” centre, will open its doors in Sept. 2025.
This year, the CdeE’s budget amounted to $2.2 billion, with a $5.1 million surplus.
The provincial government has ruled that by Oct. 2025, the CdeE must phase out its use of independent workers. This will require many administrative steps, Tremblay explained, and they may ask “non-traditional” professions to aid in their “change of modality”. Another way of serving more people is expanding their virtual services, he added. It will not be easy, he said, for the needs of the population are changing and they must respond. They have proven they can function without independent workers in the past, he noted.
Common Front public sector unions strike across Quebec Nov. 6
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Some 420,000 Common Front public sector union members went on strike Nov. 6, hundreds of which rallied in front of Complexe Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Sherbrooke waving union flags and chanting slogans. Representatives from the CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS unions took turns addressing the gathering in a show of unity and defiance to the provincial government’s latest offer (including a 10.3 per cent salary increase over five years) after nearly a year of negotiations. If negotiations continue to stall, they will strike again Nov. 21-23.
“We don’t need a little, we need a lot,” CSQ representative Richard Bergevin said. “Do you truly think [Premier Francois] Legault’s offer will attract people to our professions?” He emphasized that public sector professions need qualified new inductees that really want to be there, so they must maintain their solidarity to guarantee a real augmentation of their work conditions. The crowd responded with shouts in unison of, “Solidarity!”
“It’s a historic day… 420,000 have risen up,” FTQ representative Éric Bergeron said. Public sector workers are speaking out to take care of our society, he went on. The government is trying to convince to populace that investing in health and education is an expense. Diligent workers in our schools are building the Quebec of the future. When citizens arrive at school, at the hospital, or the aged at public retirement homes, they deserve the best service possible, which means workers deserve better working conditions.
“Why are we on strike?” CSN representative Denis Beaudin asked rhetorically. The government’s offer, whether nine or 10.3 per cent “is all the same”, means you are impoverished, he exclaimed. The government claims they do not have the ability to pay any more, but to serve the public, they must pay more. The crowd cheered. “Today is just a half-day warning,” he said, but if things do not change, come Nov. 21, 22 and 23, “we are out!”
“It is an investment into Quebec’s economy!” said Danny Roulx, APTS representative. He said he has a message for Legault and Minister Sonia LeBel: we are the personnel that support and accompany our youth throughout their schooling and produce the workers of the future; we are the doctors; we take care of the buildings – it all contributes to the economy. He then led a chant of, “Us! With one voice!” and said they would keep at it until the government finally understands.
About 15 Cowansville residents, including Mayor Sylvie Beauregard, gathered in front of the Centre Femmes des Cantons on Nov. 2 in support of an asylum seeker who faces deportation.
Philomena, 52, whose last name has been withheld for security reasons, is originally from Nigeria and lives and works in the Cowansville area. She arrived in Quebec in 2018 via the now-closed Roxham Road border crossing and applied for asylum. Her application was refused – “her [initial] application, her appeal and even her pre-removal risk assessment [a last-ditch application for a stay of deportation aimed at preventing deportation to an unsafe environment]” – according to Micaela Robitaille, a support worker at the Centre Femmes des Cantons who has launched a petition to stop Philomena’s pending deportation, scheduled for Nov. 9.
“Philomena’s home country, Nigeria, is a country to which the government of Canada recommends avoiding non-essential travel ‘due to unpredictable security conditions throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorist acts, intercommunity clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings’ as indicated on the voyage.gc.ca website,” Robitaille said. “Philomena is afraid because, in addition to the critical political, economic and social situation in Nigeria, she is part of a religious minority that is persecuted in this country. It was the death of her daughter, murdered because of her religious affiliation, which pushed her to try to find refuge in Canada in 2018,” Robitaille said. “At the Centre Femmes des Cantons, we can’t explain the removal order against her. She fled her country to save her life, she’s integrated and appreciated in the community and she has held a job for several years.”
“She came here alone to find refuge, and despite the immense pain following the tragic death of her daughter in Nigeria, she did not give up. She rolled up her sleeves, worked and followed the legal processes to obtain status. We don’t understand why Canada doesn’t recognize the risks she faces by returning to Nigeria or her contribution to Quebec society while we are facing a major labour shortage. It’s inhumane to return a person who fears for their life to a country where we don’t even recommend traveling,” said the centre’s co-ordinator, Josiane Whittom.
Fanny Poisson, communications director at the Ville de Cowansville, said Beauregard attended the vigil because “the lady is a citizen of Cowansville who has become integrated in the community since her arrival.” Poisson said Beauregard was in contact with Brome-Missisquoi MP Pascale St-Onge and had sent a letter to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller, who could use his discretionary power to override the deportation order. No one from St-Onge’s or Miller’s office was able to comment on the record at press time.
Canadian Party of Quebec holds rally in support of Quebec’s English universities
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The Canadian Party of Quebec (CPQ) held a rally in support of Quebec’s English universities, which face a governmental doubling (to $17,000) of tuition fees for out-of-province students starting in 2024, at the Golden Lion Pub in Lennoxville Nov. 4. Party leadership, members and other supporters took turns speaking to a gathering of around 40 people. The event included performances by local musicians Tim Brink and Billy Lidstone.
“We’re here to support our historical, successful and world-renowned universities: Bishop’s, McGill and Concordia,” said CPQ President Liz Campbell; the tuition hike will “decimate” the universities financially. “It’s time for us to stand up and send a clear message to Francois Legault: Hands off our English institutions!”
“My rights are not protected,” Deputy Leader Myrtis Fossey said, after recounting how her parents, of British and Greek descent, immigrated to Quebec in the 60s. “[We] are not ‘pure laine’ enough.” The hyper-focus of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on the decline of French provides “the perfect smokescreen” for their other failures.
It’s not true that English universities are better funded than their French counterparts, said local economist Derek Heatherington. The government has claimed English universities cost the Quebec government $110 million a year, he continued, but the GDP of out-of-province students is over half a billion dollars a year. “The value of English universities in Quebec is much greater than the cost on paper.”
“I’m tired of feeling like a second-class citizen in my home province,” said former Lennoxville Elementary School Principal Dawn Irving. Since the introduction of Bill 101, enrolment has declined in Quebec English primary and secondary schools. The governmental attacks on Quebec’s anglophone schools have been going on for years and “now they are just taking it up a notch”.
Bill 96 is a movement towards “sovereignty-association” without a referendum, said former Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting. Quebec’s English institutions keep their associated culture dynamic and worldly. Everything the CAQ is doing now is part of a plan, he insisted, to undermine English institutions. “We must rise to the occasion,” he said, and protect Bishop’s, the most vulnerable of Quebec’s three English universities. “Welcome to the trenches.”
“People are waking up to the small-minded, petty, cruel and irrational policies that have defined Quebec for nearly 60 years,” said CPQ Leader Colin Standish; language rights are a moral battle.
The rally lasted around two and a half hours and ended with a few speeches by local and Montreal-based supporters followed by some songs by Brink and Lidstone.
Giant Tiger and the Bryson Lionettes will be holding a fundraiser dinner this weekend to generate financial support for Shelley Martineau, a Clarendon resident who is battling cancer.
“She’s fighting the battle of her life,” said Shelley’s sister, Cheryl Martineau.
“Everyone in the community knows her,” said Cheryl. “She’s one of these people that will just drop everything and help out anyone else.”
Martineau, 53, has battled cancer before.
She was diagnosed for the second time in early 2022, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Cheryl said that Shelley is not currently able to work, and so any contribution of financial support is a huge help. “It means so much to us as a family, the outpouring from the community. That’s something that’s hard to find today,” Cheryl said.
“Pontiac is the place for it,” she added. “I tell you, It’s a great, great, great community.” Martineau was a valued employee at Giant Tiger in Shawville for 26 years. “We [staff at Giant Tiger] all wanted to do something for her, and thought this was the best way to raise money,” said owner and manager Brandyn Gauthier.
“We’re a small community, and we’re a family here. We’ve got to take care of our family,” he said. Gauthier spoke highly of Martineau as an employee. The two worked together for three years, and according to Gauthier, had a “very good” relationship. “She always knew what she was doing, she came to work, she did her job, and she was great with the customers,” he said.
Gauthier added that he hopes the fundraiser will raise enough money that Martineau might enjoy Christmas this year, “without having to worry about anything.”
The spaghetti supper will be held at the Bryson Lion’s Hall on Nov. 4 from 4-7 p.m.
Tickets to the fundraiser dinner are $10 per person, and are available for advance purchase at Giant Tiger in Shawville, or at the door on Saturday evening.
Sunnyside Elementary to roll out new, official wellbeing programming this year
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
On Oct. 27, Sunnyside Elementary celebrated becoming an official member of Santé Globale, a holistic healthy lifestyle educational program founded in Sherbrooke in 1998. Students and staff gathered outside for a brief explanation of the new program by Principal Amy Gallant, followed by photo scavenger hunt.
“Sunnyside Elementary is now a Santé Globale school,” Cycle Three Teacher Tania Portelli explained, which involves adding some new aspects to their regular programming.
A main change entails a commitment to outdoor education: one physical education block will be outdoors for each grade, every two weeks throughout the schoolyear, planned and run by their gym teacher with help from a related committee. Cycle Three, for example, will also do some outdoor trips.
Another focus of their new programming is health and wellbeing. The school has always incorporated proper nutrition, for instance, into their teaching, but now, with their own garden and soon-to-be-functional greenhouse, it is much easier to do, Portelli insisted.
“From potatoes, to tomatoes, to peppers… kids were tasting everything, expanding their palettes,” she said, and learning how to cook, plant, and harvest.
Each grade has their own new curriculum which outlines what is expected of them; the school will build novel related elements into their programming year-to-year as they become more comfortable with Santé Globale’s framework.
Sunnyside pays a small amount per child to gain access to Santé Globale’s resources. Representatives from the organization will meet periodically with Sunnyside leadership to help out and keep things on track. The school can now borrow outdoor gear from a warehouse in Magog when they need it, which includes tents, stoves, and other camping equipment.
The outside of their new greenhouse should be finished within a week; Portelli is not sure when the interior will be completed and ready to go. In science class, kids learn about plants’ life cycles, she explained, something they will now be able to do during the winter.
“We want to get kids outside, we want to get kids more active,” she elaborated, speaking on why they signed up to be a part of Santé Globale. Kids are addicted to screens, she noted. Richard Louv coined the term ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ in 2005, an idea that underlies their rationale.
They have two lakes nearby, access to a bike trail and a forest – they must take advantage of these opportunities, she said. “I’m from Toronto,” she expounded, “all I see [and hear] are planes, traffic and ambulances.” She emphasized it has been proven that taking children outside can relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Over 100 community leaders support Bishop’s at gathering in face of tuition hikes
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
In a show of support for Bishop’s University [BU], which is facing a governmental doubling of tuition – to $17,000 a year – for out-of-province students in 2024, over 100 local community leaders gathered for a press conference Oct. 31 in front of a packed crowd at Centennial Theatre. Student, political, educational, and business leaders took turns speaking in support of BU, punctuated by bouts of enthusiastic applause from well over 500 attendees.
“You have here in front of you some of the most influential members of the business, academic, culture-world and elected officials… from the region,” former Sherbrooke Mayor Jean Perrault began, “and we are here for you.” This new tuition measure threatens BU’s very identity, he continued, and is something the community simply cannot accept. He introduced BU Student Representative Council President Sophia Stacey, saying, “She’s from Alberta, studies at Bishop’s, and speaks French.” A ripple of appreciative laughter spread through the gathering.
“The provincial government has failed to consider the legacy of this proposal on [BU],” Stacey said. This undermines students’ autonomy to determine their future educational path. What is ultimately at stake is the loss of a “sense of belonging” to Quebec. BU’s presence does not threaten the French language in Montreal, Sherbrooke or Lennoxville.
BU plays an important educational, cultural, and economic role in the Townships, she continued, but the issue is also “deeply meaningful and personal” for her. Born in Alberta, she has grown to love the French culture. She chose BU for its intimate community, regional location and to strengthen her French, “as many of you did, as well,” she said to the gathering. The crowd erupted into applause.
Raïs Kibonge, Sherbrooke’s Acting Mayor, took the podium next. He emphasized that a community, to develop, needs a heart. The heart of Lennoxville is BU, he said. “We must all work together to ensure a prosperous future for [BU].” He hopes the government will allow an exception to their new legislation for BU, a small-sized university that has had an outsized impact on the region for over 180 years.
Jacques Demers, Mayor of Ste-Catherine de Hatley and Prefect of the Memphremagog MRC, then stepped up to the lectern. He said he was proud to be there and could sense the energy from the students and community members in the room. His children can speak English well, he insisted, though he admitted he did not speak English well enough to address the crowd with it. The Townships has both English and French CEGEPs and universities, which, he thinks, work together well. “There is no fighting in the region… [our bilingualism] is our strength.”
Sherbrooke University (UdeS) Principal Pierre Cossette then stood before the crowd. People tend to think BU and UdeS are in competition, he said, “but we’re good friends”. He emphasized UdeS and BU work together on numerous projects of which he is proud, and the region is lucky to have both an English and French university.
“The real goal now is talent,” he went on. BU is an extremely important facet of the region’s ability to attract talent and are a valued partner in that effort. He noted that this whole situation creates an “issue of perception”, and wanted BU students to know they are welcome in the Townships. “We greatly value your presence among us, and we hope it will continue for a long, long time.”
Sébastien Lussier, President of the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce, then addressed the gathering. He insisted BU has an important economic impact on the Townships, contributing $108 million a year in “direct spending”, $76 million in GDP, and $65 million in wages. The roughly 800 BU students from other provinces spend $21 million dollars in the Townships’ economy. BU provides 1,000 fulltime jobs to Quebecers and is the 8th largest employer in the region.
All the community leaders on stage have signed an open letter in support of BU, Perrault explained, to Premier Francois Legault and The Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry. More than 187 local community leaders signed in total, many of whom could not make the day’s event. The letter underlines the importance of BU to the Townships, an institution that has been a pillar of the community for 180 years. “Bishop’s is not a threat to the French language in Estrie,” he said with conviction, which was followed by a lengthy round of applause. The loss of BU would threaten the “vitality” of the region, and they are asking the government to exempt BU from the new tuition measure.
Speaking last was Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, BU Principal and Vice-Chancellor, who took the stage to a standing ovation. “This is not about me,” he began, “it’s about all of us.” In a moment of need, it is amazing to see so many of the community together in one place, he said. “We are a community that is stronger because we work together.” He thanked the community leaders for their support.
Perrault urged everyone not to forget to write the CAQ’s Estrie representatives to demonstrate the community’s solidarity. “Together, we want to keep BU, and do not want it to close.”
After the conference, Lennoxville Borough Councillor Guillaume Lirette-Gélinas said it was very moving to see everyone gathered “to support this beautiful institution” and keep this “human-sized” organization the way it is.
Former BU Principal Michael Goldbloom said he was gratified to see such a response from the Sherbrooke community. He insisted that the issue is not merely a language one, but a community one. In his 15 years as BU Principal, he never saw the entire region’s community come together like this “in such a forceful way”. “I have to believe the government is going to listen.”
When asked what the government should do instead, Goldbloom is in favour of incentives, such as funding French programs in English universities, rather than restrictions. The simplest thing for the government to do, at this point, would be to withdraw the whole measure, he continued. “[It] doesn’t make sense for anybody, frankly.” The objectives that they have set will not be achieved by this measure. People need to recognize that the threat to BU is “existential”; he doesn’t believe the university can survive if this proposal is not rescinded. “All they are going to do is destroy a university that has been here for 180 years… it’s totally irresponsible.”
Sherbrooke’s Mayor, Évelyne Beaudin, has announced an indefinite leave from her municipal duties due to medical advice. During her absence, Deputy Mayor Raïs Kibonge will take the helm, ensuring that city functions continue seamlessly. A press conference on the issue was held at Sherbrooke’s town hall at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 30.
City officials are keen to emphasize that services to the citizens will remain unaffected. The city council and administration are joining forces to facilitate a smooth governance transition, demonstrating their commitment to the public’s welfare, states a press release.
The Cities and Towns Act necessitates such a move, as it mandates the acting mayor to step in when the sitting mayor is unable to perform their responsibilities. Consequently, Kibonge will not only execute the mayor’s powers but will also represent the office on the executive committee, and Councilwoman Laure Letarte-Lavoie is set to preside over the executive committee during Beaudin’s absence.
Kibonge remarked on the current scenario, saying, “Today’s events underscore that each individual, at some point, faces challenging decisions pertaining to personal and professional well-being. I’m confident in saying that the entire Sherbrooke community sends their thoughts and best wishes to Mayor Beaudin during her recovery.”
Éric Sévigny, the city’s general manager, added, “Both the city council and administration remain dedicated to maintaining service continuity during this period. We extend our wishes for Mayor Beaudin’s quick recovery and express gratitude to the public for their continued respect and understanding.”
Every decision, small or large, that is made by the municipal government has an impact, Kibonge insisted, when asked if he would make any “big moves” in his interim role. He will respect the powers he has been given and work with his colleagues to carry out the objectives of his party.
When a reporter noted people might get the impression the choice to go on leave was due to the “tumultuous” climate at the town hall, such as the criticism Beaudin has recently received on her online budget survey from three independent councilwomen, Kibonge responded that his party has been in power for two years and the situation now is not really any different than it has been in the past.
“I’m blessed to live in a free democracy, so I don’t have specific steps to take,” Kibonge said, when asked what tasks he would need to do in particular, in the coming week, to properly fulfill his new function. He will do what the law dictates and “work with everybody”. “Mrs. Beaudin left the house in order, and I just need to be a good steward.”
“It’s pretty dramatic,” Lennoxville Town Councillor Claude Charron commented afterwards, “when you look at everything that is going on.” The news won’t affect Lennoxville immediately, he insisted, since the pressing issue there is the coming budget, which does not have much to do with the Mayor. Charron, admitting to some speculation, noted he had some difficulty dealing with a complaint against him years ago, and knows the job of a politician can be “a big challenge”.
In a public post on her Facebook page, Beaudin stated (paraphrased for brevity):
I am taking a medically recommended leave of absence from my role as mayor to prevent extreme exhaustion. Everyone handles such challenges differently, and while you may have recently seen me looking well in public, the demands of politics can be taxing. I deeply regret pausing my involvement in cherished city projects, but I trust that the elected officials, managers, and city staff will continue to serve Sherbrooke’s best interests. I urge political opponents not to exploit my absence for gain, reminding everyone of our shared humanity. I can’t pinpoint a specific cause for my need for a break, but the mayorship has been both a rewarding and strenuous journey. In the coming days, I’ll be engaging in activities beneficial to my well-being, and I appreciate the continuous support and trust from the community.
It was asserted during the conference that, from a legal standpoint, Beaudin’s leave can persist for 90 days as of Nov. 7. At that point, the City Council can give her another 30 day’s grace if they so choose.
The apartment blocks being constructed on Richmond’s Adam Street, on the site of what was once a French elementary school, already have their first tenants. According to a rental agent, 11 of the building’s 17 units are now rented. The two other blocks, at different phases of completion, will likely be ready to start housing their first tenants before the end of the calendar year.
Construction work on three more identical blocks is scheduled to start in 2024. These will front on Gouin Street, as St. Michael’s Catholic School once did.
When the project, undertaken by Conception Desrosier, a Magog-based developer, is complete, Richmond will have 102 new rental units.
The apartments, ranging in size from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units, can be visited virtually (www.lardoisier.ca) and can be reserved on-line. They are advertised as having superior soundproofing. Each has its own heat pump, air exchanger, and electrical entrance. Most apartments have a separate small laundry room and a balcony. Some come with two parking spaces.
The promoters point out their proximity, among other things, to the French elementary school, the arena, the bike path, and even the river—which is close as the crow flies but access to it is a little more distant. (The web site shows several appealing photos to illustrate these features, but unfortunately, they are all generic shots rather than photos taken around Richmond.)
It’s likely the units will all be occupied in relatively short order. The construction industry estimates that Quebec currently needs 100,000 units to meet the demand of a growing population. (According to Statistics Canada our population grew by 2.9 per cent between July 2022 and July 2023.) The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which keeps track of housing availability, notes that the accepted optimal rate of 3% vacancy dropped last year by almost half to 1.7 per cent.
Rents are hard to come by, and the L’Ardoisier apartments in Richmond are pristine units. However, it’s hard to say how many of the 102 apartments will do much to ease Richmond’s need for affordable housing. The new apartments range in price from $815 to $1,590/month.
If the old rule of thumb that housing shouldn’t equal more than one third of household income still holds, the family renting a three-bedroom apartment would require a monthly income of $4,770, or almost $60 000/year.
“It’s more than I could afford,” says Gilles Dancause who lives with his son and daughter in a three-bedroom apartment that costs $680/month to rent. Because of a workplace accident more than a decade ago, Gille’s rent check has to come out of a disability pension.
“In fact,” he explains, “I couldn’t afford this apartment if it weren’t for a provincial government program designed to help people, whether they are working or not, who have limited incomes. I get a subsidy of $150/month to defray the cost of my rent. The maximum subsidy is $175.”
With both children at an age when they’re not far from leaving the family nest to live on their own, Gilles has been keeping an eye on Richmond’s rental market.
“My kids are happy here at home,” he says, “but I know that sooner or later they’ll want a place of their own. Apartments in town have become expensive. They’re hard to find, and when they come available, they’re snapped up right away. I noticed a studio apartment for rent quite recently and out of curiosity, I inquired about it. The rent was $375/month, and the next day it was already rented. This was for a very modest space in an old building.”
He continues, “I’ve noticed on Facebook that there are a lot of people who are looking to rent here in Richmond. There were a lot of postings to that effect this summer, and normally there are also a lot of postings between January and March, when people are deciding whether or not to extend their lease.”
“Richmond is conveniently located,” Gilles says. “It’s half an hour’s drive from Sherbrooke, Valcourt, and Drummondville, and not that much further from Victoriaville. It’s been the case for a long time that couples will buy a house in Richmond because it provides a short commute for both of them even if one works in Sherbrooke and the other in Drummondville. What was true for homebuyers has become true for renters. For a couple with a good-paying jobs, the new apartments are definitely an attractive option.”
The new apartment blocks might also be an attractive option for investors, if their pockets are sufficiently deep. The 17-unit blocks cost about $4M each. Fully rented, a block would generate a little over $280,000 in annual income and pay for itself in about 15 years.
“It could be quite a sweet investment,” says Gilles, who invested in property in the past. “As these are new buildings, I believe they are exempt from the regular rental board guidelines on rent hikes, normally no more than a few percentage points per year. If the rental market remains tight, an ambitious landlord might raise his rent by five or six percent each of those first four years and he’ll get his investment back in just over a decade.”
It’s difficult to imagine that rents will become affordable in the immediate future. Landlords who own old buildings will, at best, hold rents at their present level. More likely, they’ll raise the rent according to Quebec’s 2023 housing tribunal recommendations of 2.3 per cent for leases that don’t include heating. That recommendation soars to 7.3 per cent for apartments heated by the landlord if the heating system is oil based.
“It can get worse,” Gilles Dancause points out. “Landlords, looking for bigger profits, undertake renovictions—they evict the tenants, often ones who have been there a long time and pay a low rent, carry out some renovations, and then lease the remodeled apartments at much higher rates.”
“The high demand for rents is also being affected by the fact that even in small towns like Richmond, the demographic is changing,” he continues. “Immigrants are not just moving into big cities. It has always been the case that every year there are a few new faces in town. Recently, some of those faces are from Africa, from the Philippines, and from Central America. One of the places you see that is at the Catholic mass on Sunday morning, where the congregation has started growing for the first time in decades.”
It’s still the case that housing—for homebuyers as for renters—is less expensive in small towns like Richmond than it is in larger centers like Sherbrooke, but the gap is not as great as it once was. L’Ardoisier will likely be an economic success for the developer and for the entrepreneurs who eventually buy the apartment blocks, but it will do little to make housing more affordable in a town which continues to be economically depressed.
Members of the provincial Official Opposition (PLQ) and student representatives decried the planned tuition hike for university students at a press conference held at Bishop’s University (BU) Oct. 27. The hike will nearly double the fees out-of-province students will pay per year at Quebec universities, from around $9,000 to $17,000, starting in the fall of 2024. Over 40 media, students, staff and politicians attended, notably including Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, BU’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
Marc Tanguay, PLQ member and Leader of the Official Opposition, emphasized he was there to demonstrate his support for BU in their cause against the hike. The hike will have a negative effect on all Quebec universities, especially BU, he insisted. Doubling fees for out-of-province students will have a “devastating impact” on BU’s identity and finances. “The cause is just and justified.”
Catherine Bibeau-Lorraine, President of the Quebec Student Union, said the provincial government is raising tuition “for no good reason and no good pretext”, and demanded the hike be canceled.
BU Student Representative Council President Sophia Stacey disputed what she sees as the government’s view that out-of-province students contribute less to the “post-secondary landscape” than Quebec students. The government’s actions “[undermine] the autonomy of young people to determine their educational path”. What is ultimately at stake is students’ sense of belonging to Quebec, she insisted.
Stacey was raised in Alberta, but has grown to love her “French heritage”. She participated in an exchange program to St. Hyacinthe in her youth, which is why she came back to Quebec to study at BU. Her personal story and that of thousands of others outweigh the government’s reasoning for raising tuition, which is not “research-based”. “Education is a right to all,” she said.
Marwah Rizqy, spokesperson for the Official Opposition on matters of education and higher education, said every university has a major role to play in our society. Even if some BU students eventually leave Quebec, they become ambassadors for the province to the rest of English Canada.
“We need to attract… and keep English students,” she insisted. Universities are looking for the most talented people they can get, wherever they can find them. Many French students also believe that any student can find a place here, she noted. She listed off a group of French political and business leaders; it is not just ‘angryphones’ that disagree with the government’s decision.
The government has made no study of what kind of impact this legislation will have, she continued. Come and meet with the staff and the students of these universities, she suggested, addressing Pascale Déry, Minister of Higher Education, to get an idea of the grave consequences, financial and otherwise, of your actions.
During an Oct. 27 public meeting of the Champlain CEGEP Board of Governors in Lennoxville, the Champlain Lennoxville teacher’s union made a statement concerning a recent news report outlining alleged psychological harassment and other problems at the institution, asking “what concrete actions you will take to address [them]”. Board Chair Matthew Mazur presided over the meeting, which started nearly an hour later than advertised and had around 20 members of the public in attendance, including two Higher Education Ministry investigators charged to look into the finances and management of the CEGEP as a whole.
Near the beginning of the meeting, Mazur acknowledged that follow-up questions were sent into the board by the news organization that released the article in question. A board member asked if a response to the allegations would be made during the meeting and was told it would be dealt with during the “correspondence” portion of the meeting. During the “correspondence” portion of the meeting, receipt of the questions was officially acknowledged and a commitment to circulating the follow-up questions among the board and “answering appropriately” was made, but no timeframe was given. No official response to the allegations was given.
Question period- union statement
Geneviève Dufresne-Martin, a vice-president and treasurer of the Syndicat de L’Enseignment du Collège Champlain de Lennoxville (SECCL), represented the union in reading out a statement to the board during the question period, detailed below:
On Oct. 26, a news organization published an article detailing allegations that the head of Champlain Lennoxville, Nancy Beattie, created a toxic workplace and psychologically harassed others. “Since then, there has been a steady stream of faculty members that have communicated their understandable concerns to the union executive of the… SECCL.”
“For many years now, the union has witnessed numerous problems related to the work climate and governance at Champlain College Lennoxville and has brought these to the attention of Human Resources (HR), discussed them in our regular litigation prevention meetings with the representatives of the College Administration, formally relayed our preoccupations to the interim Director General, Mr. Yves Rainville. Despite the union’s many efforts, the issues have yet to be fully addressed and resolved.”
“Unfortunately, many events over the past few years have contributed to the deterioration of the overall climate and have eroded the faculty’s trust in the College Administration. We are therefore turning to the Champlain Board of Governors to ask what concrete actions you will take to address the problems raised in the article and by our union and what timeframe you propose for the implementation of these actions.”
The article was signed by the executive members of the SECCL, the President of which is Brigitte Robert.
Mazur thanked the union for their statement and stated that the situation is “ongoing”. He assured the group that the board is actively cooperating with the investigation and the timeframe for action depends on its results. “Hopefully we find a resolution,” he said, to conclude his response.
A former member of the board in attendance then asked what the board was going to do to “ensure the longevity of the leadership of the college”, regardless of whether or not the aforementioned allegations are true.
“I want to take things in a new direction,” Mazur responded, but he does not have a concrete answer to this question right now. A future action plan will depend on the recommendations resulting from the investigation. Everything will be made public, he assured the questioner, “this is a public meeting, a public forum… everything will go out to you guys.”
Another board member emphasized that the primary objective of the board was to “ensure the longevity of the institution”.
Townships faces high rates of food insecurity, reveals 2023 Hunger Report
By William Crooks Local Journalism Initiative
The battle against hunger intensifies in the Eastern Townships, with the region witnessing an unprecedented spike in food insecurity. A new Hunger Report for 2023 indicates that organizations combating hunger in the Townships have seen their numbers rise dramatically by 67 per cent since 2019. Seven related community organization leaders held a press conference on the issue Oct. 25 at Moisson Estrie in Sherbrooke.
Of concern is the increase in children affected by this crisis. There has been a 73 per cent rise in hungry children since 2019, with a 14 per cent jump from the previous year alone.
With surging demands, community organizations, notably those like Moisson Estrie and Moisson Granby, are feeling the pressure. Economic challenges, including the rising cost of living, heightened interest rates, soaring food prices, and escalating housing costs, are pushing more people towards food assistance. There’s been a 36 per cent surge in individuals seeking help, individuals who, until very recently, were managing without such assistance.
While the data paints a grim picture, the community’s resilience is evident. Over the last five years, there’s been a 31 per cent increase in food donations, and organizations have upped their purchasing budgets by 15 per cent. Yet, the needs far outweigh the available resources.
Looking forward, community stakeholders are taking proactive steps. A significant regional conference is scheduled for Nov. 2, bringing together over a hundred partners from across the nine MRCs. They aim to strategize and develop actionable plans to combat the challenges of food supply and distribution.
Christian Bibeau, General Director of Moisson Estrie, presided over a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the issue of food insecurity. He thanked the other organization leaders who were present, and who are “on the ground” facing these challenges day-to-day, for speaking out.
Patrick St-Denis, General Manager of Moisson Granby, held the floor first. Moisson Granby has helped 8,591 people in their region with food issues so far this year. Demand has increased everywhere, he noted. Every organization is looking for more money to cover its costs. There has been a 17 per cent increase in clients that they usually do not serve: the employed. They are working with the provincial government and locally to better serve their clients.
Pierre Bélisle, Chairman of the Board of Moisson Estrie, spoke next. Moisson Estrie’s biggest current issue is “daily troubleshooting”. Forty per cent of their clientele visits their building directly to help deal with their food issues. In 2019, an average of 250 clients visited them per week, whereas today that number has increased to an average of 450 per week. In the past few weeks, they have served over 500 per week. If you do the math, he continued, they are now helping more than 1,200 Sherbrooke residents per week. They need to be creative, he insisted. He admitted that increased donations are helpful.
Marjorie Tyroler, General Manager of the Coaticook Volunteer Action Center, then conveyed her organization’s situation and concerns. Last year, they distributed more than $600,000 worth of food in their region, which makes up four per cent of the Townships’ population. In 2019, they served 15 clients per week; now, the number is between 30 and 40 per week. It is not easy for them to handle those numbers with their current infrastructure. They serve three categories of clients: 1) those who simply do not have enough money, 2) those with precarious or inconsistent employment, and 3) those who are employed but are having difficulty making ends meet due to other financial responsibilities. More food and money would be helpful, but her organization is facing a “point of no return” in terms of lack of personnel. She hopes they can find a collective solution.
Michel Morisset, Chairman of the Board of the Memphrémagog Food Bank, addressed the gathering. His organization has a grocery store and delivers food. Since April 1, they have served 37 per cent more clients than normal. Some 2,500 to 3,000 people in his region have food issues, and there are many they cannot serve properly due to its size – from Stanstead, up to Magog, and down to Mansonville. It is not reasonable to expect those from Mansonville or Stanstead to make the trip to Magog for food. Serving the many isolated villages in their region is their greatest challenge going forward.
Isabelle Falconetto, Services Coordinator of the Cowansville Volunteer Action Center, gave remarks. Her organization faces an “astronomical” 60 per cent increase in the clientele they serve. “We’ve never seen this before.” Part of the increase is due to there being more homeless in the area. They serve nearly 300 people in total. New registrations for their service are nearly daily, another first. Vincent Boutin, General Manager of “La Grande Table”, then came forward. They distribute frozen meals for $1 a piece – a service begun during the pandemic. In 2020 they gave out zero, last year 65,000, and this year he speculates it will be up to 80,000. Another service they provide involves lunches for school children. They gave out 200 two years ago, 500 last year, and will likely hit the same number this year. They are planning to expand from the 10 schools they serve in Sherbrooke to all 40.
We are saying, together, there is something that is not working, Bibeau said, summing up the conference. “Too many people are hungry.”
The Tillotson Coaticook Region Fund (TCRF) gave out 34 grants to local community organizations at a gathering at the North Hatley Legion Oct. 25. The grants were disbursed one by one, and the recipients said a few words about their projects and thanked the foundation for its donation. Notable was a speech given by David Edgell, Border Curling Club President. Over 60 people attended and socialized, enjoying some wine and cheese during and after the event.
“We were a little glove company in Coaticook,” TCRF President Michael Everett explained, referring to the regional fund’s beginnings. The company employed 50 to 60 people from 1978 until recently. It was owned by Neil Tillotson.
Tillotson was an American who lived in New England and owned a lot of nearby land in both Canada and the United States. He also owned companies all over the world, producing mostly latex gloves.
When Tillotson passed away in 2001, he left quite a bit of money (over $100 million) to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. $3 million was used to start the TCRF. The money is invested, and the returns are distributed amongst community organizations twice a year.
The Fund focuses on helping the community out with its basic needs, like educating kids and services that support the elderly.
Edgell’s speech
David Edgell fondly remembered childhood drives through Dixville Notch, where a well-lit factory stood, believed to produce balloons. Neil Tillotson, who began with balloon manufacturing in Canaan, Vermont, later initiated the Dixville Notch Foundation for environmental and educational causes.
Edgell was inspired by the Tillotson Foundation’s community projects after reading about them in the Sherbrooke Record. In the backdrop of changing economic times, closed factories, and border challenges due to the pandemic, Edgell recognized the need for community rejuvenation. He focused on the Border Curling Club in Beebe, a bilingual club founded in 1955. Edgell sought the Tillotson Foundation’s support for an educational and recreational curling program for elementary school students. The project aimed to foster community interaction, encourage physical activity, and combat youth sedentariness.
With the help of the Tillotson Foundation, the program would debut in Stanstead, combining classroom learning and on-ice curling. Edgell envisioned children sharing their curling experiences with families, thus strengthening community ties. He thanked the Tillotson family and the foundation for their support, emphasizing the importance of community connection and expressing hopes for the project’s positive impact on North Country.
Organizations and grants given
Collège François Delaplace: $2,490
Operation Backpack: $5,000
Centre d’Action Bénévole de la MRC de Coaticook: $10,000
Camp Massawippi: $6,000
Fondation Lampe Foundation: $4,000
Clubs Lions de Compton Inc: $6,000
CÉA Coaticook: $1,000.00
Clinique Médicale de Coaticook: $6,500
Association Sportive du Lac Wallace: $2,000
Musée Colby-Curtis/Société Historique de Stanstead: $2,800
École Saint-Luc: $1,600
Alexander Galt High School: $2,600
Ayer’s Cliff Elementary: $10,000
École Sacré-Coeur: $614
Club de l’âge d’or de Saint-Malo et de Compton: $5,000
Centre d’action bénévole de Stanstead: $4,800 (for three separate projects)
Centre culturel et communautaire de Waterville: $1,300
École Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides: $6,000
École Sacré-Coeur: $3,976
CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS: $8,500
North Hatley Elementary School: $2,000
Phelps Helps: $10,000
Grace Village Care Foundation: $10,000
Bibliothèque Lennoxville Library: $1,022.42 (for two separate projects)
Association du baseball mineur de Sherbrooke: $3,000
Le Renaissance Manoir St. Francis: (not specified)
FADOQ-Coaticook: $4,000
Club de curling Border Curling Club: $3,000
Royal Canadian Legion: $5,000
Sunnyside Elementary: $3,800 (for two separate projects)
Secours Amitié, a local phone helpline organization based in Sherbrooke, is looking for more volunteers to man their phoneline, and financial aid. Their mission is to provide a confidential and anonymous service, in French, for those who need someone to listen to them concerning any issue at all. Secours Amitié employees Sandy Brouillard, Rachelle Lessard, and Micheal Joseph, and volunteer David Alonso manned a kiosk in Jacques-Cartier Park to inform the public about their service and recruit volunteers Oct. 24.
“September 25th, Secours Amitié launched its annual fundraising campaign,” explained Lessard, and them having a kiosk in the park is a continuation of that project. Many have not heard of their service, so they want to bring it to the public. It is a great day to do it, she went on, since it is ‘Journée de l’écoute’, a day set aside in the province for this very purpose.
Secours Amitié has received 10,500 calls so far this year and needs more volunteers to respond to the public’s need for a listening ear. “We need the public’s help to keep this service alive,” Lessard insisted. Their financial campaign aims to raise $20,000 over the next year; they have raised $3,000 so far. It takes a lot more than that to maintain the quality of their service, with expenses such as recruitment and training that need to be covered.
There are currently 54 volunteers working their phoneline, and they are looking for 30 more. Their phoneline is open from 8 a.m. in the morning to 3 a.m. at night, 365 days a year. Each volunteer is meant to work four hours a week. If they meet their new volunteer goal, they will be able to serve twice as many people – nearly 20,000 calls.
Brouillard emphasized that anyone can call for any reason. “There is no bad reason to call,” she went on, whether you want to “vent” about what happened during the day, a fight with your boss or someone in the street, anything.
Secours Amitié also offers training in “active listening”, to other community organizations, for a price. “It is another way to fulfill our mission,” Lessard said.
To become a volunteer, there is first an information session, followed by an interview. The training involves an 18-hour course on active listening. “We believe anyone can learn how to listen properly,” Brouillard noted.
“Everything is in French, for now,” Brouillard continued. One must be fluent in French to volunteer. It is their “vision” to expand into English services at some point, she said, but they are not sure when that will happen.
The organization celebrated its 51st year of existence last week.
Secours Amitié is holding a virtual information session online Oct. 26. More information on this, their other activities, and how to donate, can be found on their website.
At their monthly meeting Oct. 24, Lennoxville’s Councillors universally deplored the recent provincial commitment to double tuition for out-of-province university students. Along with putting forward an official statement in support of Bishop’s University (BU) “to help counter the tuition hike”, the Councillors expressed their personal views on the subject. Two residents attended the proceedings, which were otherwise mostly uneventful, including, notably, BU Student Representative Council (SRC) Student Life VP Olivia Woods. The meeting began at 5 p.m.
Councillor Claude Charron read out the Council’s “recommendation”. BU has existed for over 180 years in Lennoxville, he began. Thirty per cent of the student body is made up of out-of-province students. Losing these students could have a “catastrophic” effect on the functioning of BU as a whole. Many local residents work directly or indirectly for BU, and their employment is now under threat in the medium or long term. Thus, the Council supports BU in their opposition to the tuition hike. The recommendation will be forwarded to Geneviève Hébert, MNA of the Saint-François region.
“I am usually an optimistic person,” Councillor Jennifer Garfat said, giving her personal views on the tuition hike, “but all I could think of is at least this bomb didn’t fall and destroy buildings.” This bomb does not do damage materially, but in another way, she continued. Garfat wore her BU Gaiters sweatshirt to the meeting, overtop of her McGill sweatshirt, of which she is a proud graduate.
University is about learning to keep learning, she said. Meeting people at McGill from all over the world and the rest of Canada was an important part of her experience there. Even if some who study in Quebec do not stay here, they become “ambassadors” for the province when they return home. She has sons who have either graduated from McGill, are there currently, or have graduated from BU.
While she acknowledges tuition could be reasonably raised by a few thousand dollars per year, doubling it sends the wrong message to prospective out-of-province students. “It tells them: we don’t want you here.” She addressed Quebec Premier François Legault, saying “open mindedness is a good thing”.
In response to friends and family that wonder why she does not move out of Quebec, she says “my family has been here for 200 years, why should I move?” She insisted day to day life for English Quebecers is good, especially in the Townships, and not the way it is presented in the media.
Councillor Guillaume Lirette-Gélinas, responding to BU Principal Sébastien Lebel-Grenier’s call for alumni testimonies, said the following:
BU provides a “modern” form of education revolving around small class sizes. This gives students a closer and more engaging relationship with their professors. He fondly remembers gathering with his classmates and teacher at the Golden Lion Pub, reviewing modern music “in between two chicken wings”.
BU provided “revision services” that allowed Lirette-Gélinas to complete his master’s in his second language, English. BU’s commitment to a Liberal Arts education gives its students the flexibility and open-mindedness to have an “advantageous problem-solving capacity”.
BU contributes to Lennoxville like no other institution. BU’s heritage buildings delight foreign visitors. He applauds Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin and other local politicians’ support for BU. “I am a proud Bishop’s alumni, and I still bleed purple.”
The powers of the Council for the Lennoxville Borough are subordinate to the provincial government, Charron noted. The only thing they can do about the situation is to influence public opinion via their resolution. Influencing the CAQ will be difficult, he went on, for they face very little opposition. There is talk of some form of backdoor “compensation” for BU to make up for the money lost, but that would just be a patch.
The CAQ’s reasoning for the tuition hikes is based on information from Montreal, which is not the same as the Townships, he explained. Bills 101 and 96 “chip at our languages issue”. These problems don’t exist in Lennoxville, he insisted, which has a bilingual community that has been living together “for ages”. “It is negative for our community,” he summed up.
Garfat congratulated Sherbrooke’s Société de Généalogie for releasing a booklet, in English, containing the biographies of local English military veterans. This year’s Remembrance Day ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Nov. 5 beside the Borough Office in Lennoxville. There will be a rally against the tuition hike at the Golden Lion Pub Nov. 4.
After the meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m., Woods thanked the Council on behalf of the BU SRC for “supporting [them] fully”. She hopes BU can persevere through this. She reminded the group that there will be a “mobilization” of Quebec’s three English universities in Montreal on Oct. 30.
In the face of upcoming Quebec government legislation set to prohibit the use of independent labour in the Townships by 2025, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS has yet to show a reduction in its reliance on such labour. As of the mid 2023-2024 fiscal year, the hours clocked by independent workers at the CIUSSS increased to 185,000 — 100,000 hours more than the previous year at the same time.
This comes after Marc-Antoine Rouillard, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Communications, and Legal Affairs of the CIUSSS expressed confidence back in February about the organization’s trajectory in reducing its dependence on placement agencies by the stipulated 2025 deadline, especially as it aligns with the upcoming Bill 10 affecting ‘bordering territories’ like the Townships.
Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie released a statement Monday morning regarding the use of independent labour at the CIUSSS.
“It’s discouraging to see that not only are we failing to free ourselves from agencies, but we are also moving away from this goal. I am particularly concerned about the explosion in the use of private agencies for social workers or educators. In social services, especially in youth protection, establishing a trust relationship is fundamental, and this requires stable teams. Using agencies seriously compromises the quality of social services provided to the most vulnerable individuals,” Labrie commented.
“We need as many qualified and competent people as we can get to meet the needs of the population,” Rouillard explained. It is not currently possible to fill these roles with public sector employees alone.
The cause of the Townships’ lack of public sector employees is “multifactorial”, he continued, though he admitted he is not a specialist. One reason is that the population is getting older and requires more complex care. Quebec is suffering a general labour shortage that affects healthcare as well, he added.
We need to work on retaining, making these jobs more attractive, and providing better working conditions, he went on. One positive step they have taken in the Townships is to allow employees to participate in forming their own schedules. Because schedules are planned so far in advance, more difficult periods for making sure there is adequate coverage, like during the summer, have been handled “with good results”. They have also given employees more flexibility in choosing when they can take their vacation. Finally, they have reintroduced surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and get a better idea of where they can improve.
When asked how the CIUSSS would deal with their future inability to hire private contractors in 2025, Rouillard insisted a major factor would be continuing to make the jobs that need filling “as attractive as possible”. The Townships region is better positioned to make up for the lack of staff than other regions, since the percentage of private contractors they use is less (two to three per cent vs. five per cent), he added.
It must be recognized that they face a difficult challenge, he said, but they should be able to meet it together with other regions in a synchronized way. It would be much more difficult if the Townships were the only region facing this dilemma.
An eight-man curling team from Cornwall faced eight from the North Hatley Curling Cub for the ‘Quebec Challenge Cup’ Oct. 20 in North Hatley. The cup is currently held by North Hatley; the team from Cornwall arrived around 6 p.m., shared a meal with North Hatley’s defenders, then both went at it for the bragging-rights of possessing the oldest competitive trophy in North America (since 1874).
Cornwall conceded in the eighth round, losing 8-14.
“It’s a big ladder tournament,” explained Marty Rourke, North Hatley Curling Club VP. Clubs that compete for the trophy can come from as far away as Deep River or Brockville, Ontario and Montreal – any team that is part of the Royal Canadian Branch. It can be five to seven years between the times a club can challenge for the Cup, if they lose.
There are about eight challenges a year. North Hatley’s turn came up last year in late November, travelling to Bedford to compete with the then current champions. The game came down to the last shot and North Hatley won – the first time in the history of their club.
“We win and there’s this massive excitement,” Rourke said. They successfully defended first against a team from St. Lambert, then Sutton, then Dalhousie Lake. Challenges occur about once a month.
The game played is 10 ends, with a break after five. The host is expected to “put on a little bit of a show”. When the game is done, everyone drinks a “rusty nail” out of the Cup, as is tradition. Since the pandemic, their procedure for this has changed – the booze is mixed in the Cup and then distributed among individual glasses.
The eight members of the team can change, Rourke explained, but this game was played with the original eight that won it in the first place. “We’ve got a good little dynamic happening.” Rourke insisted that everyone on the team plays because they enjoy it and it is a way to keep competitive.
The league has probably 50 to 60 teams, Rourke speculated. The next team on the list is the Ottawa Curling Club. If North Hatley keeps winning: Windsor, then Lennoxville. “It’s a nice tradition that keeps going.”
Matt Dupuis, Cornwall’s Skip, fought for the Cup around six years ago. They won and defended it a few times. “It’s a fantastic event,” he added. Their team is composed of two men’s teams that play together regularly. He visited the Townships last year to play for the Cup with a different team but was unsuccessful.
Soundly defeated, Cornwall returned to Ontario Cup-less that same night. One member of their team is a nurse and had to be at work at 7 a.m. the next day.
Cuisines Collectives Memphremagog, an organization that runs communal kitchen sessions all around the Eastern Townships, has opened up a ‘service point’ in Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall in partnership with the local government. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 18, 11 interested residents and organizers gathered for its first session.
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Cuisines Collectives Memphremagog, an organization that runs communal kitchen sessions all around the Eastern Townships, has opened up a ‘service point’ in Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall in partnership with the local government. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 18, 11 interested residents and organizers gathered for its first session.
“[Cuisines Collectives] has been in business for 30 years,” Jonathan Goulet-Abitan, organizer and animator, explained, “it’s our anniversary this year.” They have decided to expand their services further. The organization has numerous service points, their newest being Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall.
Participants in their activities gather in groups of around two to six in a communal kitchen and prepare food. Everyone pitches in; at the end of the activity everything is split evenly among them. Meal choice is made as a group as well, with help from an animator who can suggest menu options.
Sometimes people have special dietary needs or want to cook something inexpensive, Goulet-Abitan noted. Those with similar tastes are usually put together, he added, like vegetarians with vegetarians.
“It is very economical,” insisted Director Lisane Boisclair, because a fair amount of the food used is provided free of charge. This includes many nonperishable and canned items. Every session, participants, after pooling their resources, leave with an entrée, two main courses and a dessert – with portions enough to feed one’s whole family. “It’s at least $15 worth of food per person,” she said.
Cuisines Collectives has two service points in Magog and many in surrounding municipalities. It has also recently begun working with 16 local schools, primarily on recipe-less meals that focus on “cooking hygiene” and the basics. They are starting in Stanstead at Sunnyside Elementary on Oct. 20.
Anyone can participate and there are many good reasons to, Goulet-Abitan said; for the young it could be budgetary, for the old, to socialize. He says they have done basically every kind of meal you could imagine, and what he loves most is helping people fulfill their culinary dreams.
The Oct. 18 session in Ayer’s Cliff was merely a preliminary meeting to talk with those who are interested and make plans.
While visiting for the story, this reporter was offered a choice of three snacks (two sweet and one salty) and was asked to guess what the “base” of all three were. After a little delightful munching, this reporter guessed “egg”. It was not egg, but tofu!
Pilgrimages can be a source for deeply human interactions, says Dr. Jennifer Cianca, Bishop’s University Classics Professor. Cianca recently completed two routes in Spain and France, the latest in a series of pilgrimages spanning 10 years.
“I’ve done a bunch of them,” Cianca said, referring to her penchant for European pilgrimages. The most recent was a return to two separate routes that she has done before, one in 2013 and one in 2019. “I just wanted to revisit them.”
The first route was through the Pyrenees mountains, from France into Spain. The second was through the Cantabrian mountains in Spain’s mid-western region. The routes are not connected; she took a bus in between.
On her pilgrimages, Cianca walks an average of 30 kilometers per day. The distance varies depending on the elevation and difficulty of the day’s path. Along the way she stayed at “albergues”, inns primarily designated for those travelling these venerable routes by foot, bicycle or even horseback.
Upon starting one of these routes, one receives a “little passport”, she explained. Every night one receives stamps proving one has been walking the route, which allows one to sleep over at the next location.
The inns are either run publicly by the church or the local municipality, or privately. All are relatively inexpensive (10-20 euros a night), the public ones even more so. Some church-run inns are by donation only.
Every sixth or seventh day she stays in a private room, “because I’m old,” she said with a chuckle. Normally, the inns are communal with rows of bunks. People snore and it can be hot, she noted.
Since only pilgrims can stay in the inns, it’s a great place to meet and socialize with others doing the same thing. There are often communal dinners, and you can meet people from around the world. “Nobody who is boring decides to go do [this],” she insisted.
Pilgrims are there for different reasons. Some are running away from something, some are retired, some are facing demons, and some just got divorced or lost their job, she explained. Many younger people do it in between years of study. It is one of the least expensive ways you can travel, so it is a very accessible option.
The “Pilgrim Office”, she continued, has already reported 400,000 pilgrims this year as of August. “It’s growing and growing and growing… it’s totally bonkers.” And these are only the ones that walk at least 100 kilometers and report in to get their certificate.
What makes it “really special” is the brief interactions you have with people, she said, but many also form deep, pseudo-familial bonds with each other on their travels. Cianca tends to walk faster than most, and likes to walk alone, so her socializing tends to take the form of brief meals or shared cups of coffee. It is overall a very supportive group, she said, and you get to see a lot of “humanity, when everything is stripped away”.
People tend not to talk much about politics, except for Americans, she joked. English and Spanish are the common languages. Knowing Spanish allows you to talk to the locals. Pilgrims are a large part of these regions’ economies.
Cianca speculates that a still sizable number of pilgrims do it for religious reasons, but many are “post-Christian”. Every town you pass through has a church or fountain of religious or historical significance. Some people stop at all of them, some at none. She always stops at the cathedrals because she loves their architecture.
One of the routes she recently followed has been in existence for over 1,100 years. Along it you can find ruins of hospitals and historical hideouts. Pilgrims were walking it during the times of the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. Anyone interested in religion or history can run into something of relevance nearly every day, she insisted.
“The Pyrenees are spectacular,” she said, speaking on the landscapes she hiked through. “They have a lush… green tree-cover that make them really wonderful.” There is a “particular flavour” to how the Basques region is settled. Imagine red and white tiled houses dotted up the hills with lots of terracing surrounded by pastures. The Cantabrian mountains in the west are different, she said. There are some rolling foothills, but also jagged outcrops.
The middle of Spain, on the other hand, is very flat, and famous for making pilgrims “lose their minds”. In the summer, the landscape is brown, the horizon endless.
There are paths over the peaks of the mountains, but the main routes take the easiest way between two points. There are nearly no climbs or dangerous cliffs involved.
On an average day, she would wake up and leave her inn by sunrise. She was slower than most, but her motto is: “Leave last, walk fast.” Usually, you begin near somewhere you can find something to eat, like a coffee and a muffin. If you are not, a guidebook has likely told you to prepare beforehand.
Pilgrims tend to take a break around 11 a.m. and eat something and rest a bit, then continue on for a few hours. Cianca does not tend to stop much if she can help it; she does not like walking on a full stomach. An average day involves six to eight hours of walking for her.
At the end of the day, you do your laundry and hang everything up, then look around for a place for dinner. The public inns normally have a “lights out and silence by 10 p.m.” policy. The doors are locked, and you cannot come back in if you are late. Sometimes, if everyone knows the next day will be hard due to terrain or weather, the upwards of 15 people all sleeping together will agree on a time when everyone will officially awake.
Cianca’s pilgrimages have taken place in May, June, August, and September. June and August can be very hot, while May and September are normally more temperate. This time, she had three days of rain. She has a rain jacket and cover for her pack and keeps walking. The only thing that stops her is lightning, which is uncommon, she said, except in the mountains.
There is nothing much you can run into that will phase a Canadian, she said with a laugh. You can find a lot of Quebecers on the trails, mostly retirees.
She has “whittled down” how much she carries with her in her pack over the years. It is never more than about 12 pounds, minus food and water.
Cianca has walked more than 3,000 kilometers in Spain alone. She feels like she may be done there for a while, maybe forever. “I feel like I’ve got maybe what I have needed.” There are routes in southern Spain that she has not walked, she admitted, so “never say never”. She is looking forward now to other places, such as Iceland next year.
She does not think that there is really any better way to “divest of everything else that is going on in life”. She finds the encounters she has had with people on her travels precious in a way that she has not found anywhere else. “There’s a purity of spirit”; exhausted people meeting vulnerable heart to vulnerable heart.
Local healthcare administrators are calling for improvements in the coordination of ambulance services at Sherbrooke’s Emergency Department. Recent discussions between CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) concluded that although there’s no need to amplify the number of ambulance services, there is a pressing need for quicker release of ambulances held at emergency centers. Christine Labrie, Sherbrooke MNA, questioned this narrative and the Health Minister recently at a meeting of the National Assembly.
This push for improved efficiency has received support from the Cooperative of Ambulance Workers of Estrie (CTAE), which has already partnered with healthcare facilities to devise potential solutions.
Insights from recent data analysis highlight that:
Ambulances in Sherbrooke have an overall utilization rate of 53.42 per cent, reflecting the time they are occupied with a call.
The availability rate for ambulances to attend to new calls stands at 46.6 per cent.
For high-risk cases, such as potential cardio-respiratory arrests and life-threatening situations, the average ambulance response time is just under 10 minutes. Moreover, in 65 per cent of these high-risk cases, ambulances reach patients in less than eight minutes.
These figures make Sherbrooke an exemplar, said a press release, as its response times are notably quicker than the Quebec average of 12 minutes and 37 seconds.
Residents can access the detailed response times for ambulance services across all municipalities in Quebec via the MSSS dashboard.
However, the health department also underscores the fluidity of situations. Depending on the urgency of a call, priority levels can be reassessed and modified. For instance, a patient might initially be tagged with a lower priority but can be upgraded to a high priority if their health deteriorates, ensuring that they receive timely medical assistance.
Labrie questions narrative
“Last Sunday, for three hours, there was no ambulance service for the entire territory of Sherbrooke,” Labrie stated during a recent question period at the National Assembly. This morning, she went on, “someone in immediate risk of mortality had to wait for 58 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. This is not a unique occasion and paramedics have been saying for years that Sherbrooke is lacking ambulances. Yet, the Minister of Health has denied the addition of one more ambulance to Sherbrooke’s fleet.” Referring to the CHUS’ assertion that the problem was a question of efficiency, Labrie questioned whether “faster ambulance release” was really the substantive issue and asked the Health Minister again for another ambulance to serve the Sherbrooke area.
Health Minister Christian Dubé responded by saying certain facts needed to be re-established regarding the Estrie region. First, he continued, Estrie’s residents are very well served. The average wait time for an urgent ambulance call is nine minutes. Second, he said, Estrie was given $4.5 million last year towards their ambulance services.
Labrie replied that some locations, like East Angus, are 23 kilometers away and are certainly not well served.
Dubé explained that they are closely following the recommendations of a recent report and will come out with clear new proposals, in the next few weeks, to improve ambulance services across Quebec, including the Sherbrooke region. One must focus on the general picture, he concluded.
Exceptional cases can cost people’s lives, Labrie responded, and asked yet again why the Health Minister wouldn’t agree to give Sherbrooke another ambulance.
“Unfortunately, there are exceptions,” said Dubé, but he believes the government’s commitment to the Sherbrooke region is clear from what he had already mentioned.
ANAF Unit 318 (The Hut), in Lennoxville, will be hosting the launch of a booklet volume of military veteran biographies Oct. 19. Heather Keith, member of the Genealogical Society of Sherbrooke that had the booklet commissioned, and translator, will emcee the event.
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
ANAF Unit 318 (The Hut), in Lennoxville, will be hosting the launch of a booklet volume of military veteran biographies Oct. 19. Heather Keith, member of the Genealogical Society of Sherbrooke that had the booklet commissioned, and translator, will emcee the event.
“The Genealogical Society here in Sherbrooke,” Keith explained, “published a bunch of volumes called ‘Hommages à Nos Militaires’.” The three volumes include genealogical and biographical information on local soldiers and were initially available only in French.
When Keith joined the Society, they wanted to translate all their material into English, but she suggested they start with these volumes first, since they were on the soldiers they knew were English and from Sherbrooke. They decided to put out self-published booklets that include 15-20 biographies each, with coloured pictures, and distribute them amongst the local small museums and historic sites. The booklets will cost $15 each. Keith did the translations herself.
The launch of the first volume will take place at The Hut Oct. 19, at 7p.m. Many have been invited, including local 103-year-old veteran Ralph Benson and numerous Lennoxville military members. They expect 150 to attend.
Keith enjoyed learning about the military while translating and is proud to emcee this event. We are nearing Remembrance Day, she said, and people should know more about their military and its history.
Healthy Lifestyle Day launched in Sherbrooke to promote well-being in the community
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The organizing committee for the 58th Finale of the Jeux du Québec – Sherbrooke 2024 held its inaugural Healthy Lifestyle Day Oct. 17 in Sherbrooke. This initiative was established in collaboration with the Sherbrooke Alliance for Healthy Youth, aiming to encourage the city’s residents, including its youth, to embrace healthier living through a diverse array of activities offered to employees of local businesses and organizations, stated a press release.
The central goal of Healthy Lifestyle Day is to foster the adoption of healthier habits within the Sherbrooke community. This includes promoting physical activity, maintaining a balanced diet, and practicing mindful screen usage, all of which are integral to good health.
This event builds on the organizing committee’s commitment to promote healthy living. Previous initiatives include the “Course Lumineuse” held in February, workshops in day camps and schools, and the dissemination of informative web capsules and columns.
At Cégep de Sherbrooke (CdeS), organizers planned out a series of walking routes on campus to encourage students and staff to take “active breaks”. They suggested walking at least 4 km/h for periods of five to fifteen minutes between classes to help keep active.
CdeS Kinesiologist Claude Demers, who helped man their kiosk and handed out pamphlets, explained that the walks would allow people to get a breath of fresh air and need not be too lengthy; the important thing is to keep moving. Walking benefits one’s joints, muscles, tendons, and cardiovascular system, stated their handout.
CdeS Student Life Advisor Nancy Roy said they do events like this regularly on all sorts of related topics like mental health, sexual health, and nutrition. CdeS has a large committee of related experts that set the year’s program on these issues ahead of time.
According to organizers, these initiatives are particularly important in today’s society, where sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary choices have become prevalent. Healthy Lifestyle Day seeks to address these issues by inspiring individuals to make positive changes in their lives.
The projects that are a part of Healthy Lifestyle Day are primarily intended for the “internal audiences” of organizations that have enthusiastically embraced the challenge. These activities will be showcased extensively on social media platforms to inspire and engage the broader population.
The event involved a diverse range of engaging activities designed to promote health and wellness. Some of the Oct. 17 highlights included:
EXP’s Local Orchard Apple Distribution: EXP distributed apples from a nearby orchard, promoting the consumption of fresh, locally sourced produce.
Cégep de Sherbrooke’s (CdeS) Walking Route and Awareness Kiosks: Participants enjoyed designated walking routes while also gaining valuable insights into healthy living through informative kiosks.
Standish’s Zumba Session: An energetic Zumba session led by Standish had participants moving and grooving to the beat.
Desjardins’ Meditation and Mindfulness Conference: A conference on meditation and mindfulness led by Desjardins offered attendees tools to reduce stress and enhance well-being.
City of Sherbrooke’s Active Challenges and Intra-organizational Competitions: The City of Sherbrooke hosted active challenges and competitions to encourage teamwork and physical activity.
“Un Fermier Dans Mon Quartier” Farmer’s Market Booth: The Center for School Services of the Région-de-Sherbrooke (CSSRS) featured a farmer’s market booth, promoting local, fresh produce.
Bishop’s University (BU) Principal and Vice-Chancellor Sébastien Lebel-Grenier characterizes the Quebec government’s proposed 2024 tuition hike at English-language universities for out-of-province students as “catastrophic”. Starting in 2024, new out-of-province students will have to pay around $17,000 per year in place of the $9,000 current students pay now. Furthermore, a new minimum will be set for international students, much of which will be “confiscated” and used to support programs to strengthen French in the province.
The provincial government is putting forward two measures, Lebel-Grenier confirmed, both of which “are going to have a hit on [BU]”.
The first is the most detrimental – a proposal to double the tuition fees for out-of-province Canadian students. Presently, these students are paying roughly $9,000 per year, which is comparable to the average tuition they would have to pay elsewhere in Canada according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.
The new fees will increase starting next September and affect all three English-language universities in Quebec. Out-of-province students will be priced out, Lebel-Grenier insisted; the fee increase will be “prohibitive”. He expects BU will lose much of that category of student, which makes up around 30 per cent of the BU student body. “Do the math,” he said, “it’s catastrophic for us.”
The second measure applies to international students. The government will be imposing a new minimum on tuition fees for them: $20,000 per year. This will not directly impact BU’s capacity to attract these students, he continued, because BU and other English-language universities are already charging more than that. BU’s international fees amount to around $25,000 a year, and McGill can charge quite a bit more depending on the program. However, he said, the government plans on additionally “clawing back” a portion of that money and distributing it amongst francophone universities and other institutions, which constitutes a “direct financial hit”. This will impede BU’s ability to provide its programs and services to all its students, he went on.
The exact overall impact these new regulations will have on BU is not completely worked through and they are running different scenarios based on limited information. It is not clear, for instance, exactly how many less students they will attract, but they project losing one quarter of their revenue, probably a lot more.
Lebel-Grenier has been speaking regularly with the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry. The Minister understands that BU will be the most severely impacted, he relayed, and the intention is not to endanger BU’s very existence. Conversations are ongoing. This is “cold comfort” for BU, Lebel-Grenier admitted, since the consequences of this new legislation will be “fundamental”.
It will also have an impact on BU’s identity as an institution, he added; BU is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year and is a historic pillar of Quebec society. “It is an essential institution for [Quebec’s] diverse anglophone communities.” BU has been welcoming students from throughout Canada for its entire existence. If out-of-province students cease attending BU it will affect the very nature of the community BU has built over the years. BU thrives on a “diverse student body”, which is core to the educational experience it offers.
Lebel-Grenier hopes the government will come to understand the extent of the damage this will cause. He emphasized that BU recognizes Quebec is a predominately francophone province and there exist legitimate concerns surrounding the preservation of its French language. BU sees itself as a partner in this effort with the province to give its non-francophone students the opportunity to learn French and more about the Quebec community.
He thinks many out-of-province students attend BU because they are curious about Quebec and the French language. Many choose to stay in Quebec and are important and productive members of its society. BU helps welcome people to Quebec and make it a place where “talent wants to stay”.
The government claims there is a $110 million gap between what they receive from out-of-province students and what it costs to educate them. “I’d like to see what data the government is basing [that number] on,” Lebel-Grenier responded. He has asked the Minister for that data and did not receive a reply. These students spend “orders of magnitude” more than the ultimate funding the government provides to universities for their education. BU is currently working out its own exact specific numbers, but the conclusion will be the same.
Out-of-province students are already paying three times as much as Quebecers, which he thinks is fair. They are not taking advantage of Quebec, he insisted, but bringing a lot to Quebec society.
Lebel-Grenier does not agree with the government’s view on the French language being in danger on the island of Montreal. They are basing their worries on data about French being spoken in the household, he noted, but, in an increasingly diverse community, it is obvious that less French will be spoken at home. He thinks mandatory study in French for students (besides the historically English), a law already in place, is appropriate and enough. Young people on the island of Montreal are all bilingual, he said. What should be focused on is French as the common language of the province.
Making their flagship institutions weaker, he continued, is not the way ahead. McGill, for instance, “contributes immensely” to Quebec society as a spearhead of research and innovation. As he understands it, McGill is going to announce a $50 million program to bring French to their non-French speaking students, which is “an amazing initiative… the way we should be going.”
Lebel-Grenier understands Townshippers’ concern about what these new developments will mean for BU. He promises he is working hard to get adaptations to the new rules that will account for BU’s special circumstances and is hopeful they will find a way out of this difficult situation.
He emphasized that it is very important that the local community, anglophone and francophone, band together and support BU by talking about the role BU plays for them. “We’re stronger together.”
Annabelle McIntosh is an out-of-province, fifth-year education student at BU. She is disappointed to see such a “very, very large” tuition hike. Losing so many non-Quebecer students would be devastating, she said, because they make up almost half the student body and add a lot of different perspectives. “More diversity in the community is wonderful… it is so special.” She would “definitely” not have come to BU if the tuition were double what it is now and is not sure if it would have been even feasible using provincial loans.
Sophia Stacey is the President of BU’s Student Representative Council (SRC). The SRC unequivocally opposes the massive increase to tuition for out-of-province students, which, she said, will make education for them here largely unaffordable. Many of these students are French speaking, she noted. Affordability is already an issue for many prospective students, and this constitutes a further financial barrier and introduces even more “social inequity” than there already is.
As conflict continues in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, around 300 people participated in a “peace walk” in Sherbrooke for the embattled region of Gaza Oct. 15. The walk began near Lac-des-Nations and wound its way through the city to Sherbrooke MP Elizabeth Brière’s office front door.
The walk was intended as a protest against “the violence and aggressions that are happening in Gaza affecting civilians. They are asking Canada’s federal and provincial governments to intervene and provide humanitarian aid.
A wine and cheese and dedication of the new “Dean Jellicoe Memorial Library” was held at St. George’s Lennoxville Oct. 14. Quebec Anglican Bishop Bruce Joseph Andrew Myers presided over the ceremony and blessed the new plaque commemorating the occasion. The event was preceded by an Evensong, in which local soprano Melinda Enns sang a variety of pieces. Around 50 clergy, donors, project leaders and other interested parties attended.
Stanstead Township celebrated the opening of a new fire station Oct. 12, marking a decade of discussions, planning, and construction efforts. The project was backed with funding from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH). Over 100 attended.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mayor of Stanstead Township, Pierre Martineau, remarked, “This is a significant day for the Memphrémagog East Fire Board, but especially for our municipality. We’ve been requesting a new fire station for many years. This goes back even to the previous administration, whom I want to thank.” He also expressed gratitude for the critical funding from the MAMH.
Echoing these sentiments, Jody Stone, Chairman of the Memphrémagog East Fire Board, said, “Today is an important moment for the Board as we inaugurate the most modern fire station to date in the served territory.”
Gilles Bélanger, MNA for Orford, shed light on the commitment of the regional government. “Throughout Quebec, our government supports the municipal community in realizing infrastructure projects that offer essential services to the population.”
Located at 394 Remick Road, the fire station has the capacity to accommodate four fire trucks. Inside, it boasts essential facilities like lockers, showers, a dining room, storage space, a workshop, and designated offices. Such facilities aim to optimize operations and ensure the comfort and readiness of the fire crew, said a press release.
Stanstead Township, which encompasses Fitch Bay and Georgeville, spans 113.93 square kilometres and, as per the 2021 census, is home to 1,148 residents. With the new fire station now operational, Stanstead Township equips itself better to handle potential emergencies and to ensure the safety of its inhabitants.
After the event, Battalion Chief Brian Wharry emphasized the value of the new station to the firefighters and the community.
The new station is safer, he said, and explained the ease with which they can now decontaminate after being out on a call. Initial decontamination is done at the site of intervention. The station itself is divided into red, yellow and green sections. The garage is considered red (contaminated), and a second round of decontamination procedures is done there. Showers are then taken in the yellow section. Nothing from the red section ever enters the green section (offices).
The new station now has a washing machine for their gear on site and inspections can be done in their capacious new garage as opposed to outside in the weather. “The working conditions are better,” Wharry insisted, “and happier firefighters are better firefighters.”
Wharry noted that proper decontamination is essential, because the risk for contracting certain forms of cancer is much higher among firefighters.
Wharry was happy with the inauguration, mentioning that many attendees stuck around and checked out the new equipment and enjoyed the food provided. “It was wonderful.”
