Author name: The West Quebec Post

Regional health coalition SOS Outaouais is gathering data from residents’ first-hand experiences and their opinions on the region’s health-care system, which has been a concern for some time.

Coordinated by the Gatineau Health Foundation, the regional health coalition brings together organizations and citizens across Outaouais in a collective voice to call on the National Assembly of Québec to remedy the region’s crumbling health-care network.

To better paint the reality of residents in Outaouais, the coalition launched a bilingual online consultation platform in late July. Consisting of two sections, the consultation process will allow SOS Outaouais to get a pulse check and to provide solutions to the challenges facing the health-care sector.

“It’s a pretty neat tool that we’ve been able to put forward and keep that momentum going during the summer,” said Jean Pigeon, Gatineau Health Foundation executive director and coalition spokesperson.

The first section allows users to share their opinions on the government’s efforts, funding allocated to the region, levels of concern, and the possible repercussions of what has been described as decades of neglect and underfunding.

The second portion asks residents to share their experiences with the region’s health-care system. “What we’ve been experiencing so far is a lot of people have some pretty horrible stories about how they’re being affected … because of what we’re dealing with in this region,” said Pigeon.

To help put faces to the numbers, the coalition plans to work with individuals who are willing to come forward and share these experiences with the public.

“What I’m seeing from the platform is a basic reflection of what we thought it was going to be. There’s a lot of people who are worried for themselves, for their families, for their friends.”

As of early August, over 160 individuals have participated in the consultation process. Many condemned the province for the lack of consideration for those in Outaouais, one even stating they were saving money to move across the bridge “to protect (their) future.”

Along with the online platform, the coalition has also been distributing free lawn signs to amplify the movement throughout the region. “I know there’s been a lot of those signs that went out and I’ve actually seen some in my neighbourhood,” stated Pigeon.

Only spanning a few questions, the consultation process takes minutes to complete depending on the amount written. As the situation continues to unfold in the region’s health-care network, the coalition plans to continue utilizing the platform to gauge residents’ opinions.

To lend your voice and participate in the consultation, visit sos-outaouais.v3.cocoriko.org/. For more information on the coalition and to acquire a lawn sign, check out the SOS Outaouais website at sosoutaouais.ca.

Photo caption: To keep the momentum going around the demands to correct the Outaouais health-care network, SOS Outaouais has launched various initiatives to encourage residents to lend their voice to the movement.

Photo credit: SOS Outaouais Facebook Page

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

A series of multimedia exhibitions aimed to raise awareness about the Near Surface Disposal Facility project planned for Chalk River wrapped up at the Aylmer Marina on July 6.

Throughout May and June, Stop Nuclear Waste has organized these exhibits at various locations across the Ottawa Valley to showcase what was at stake with the January 9th approval of a licence for the controversial project by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The decision came without free, prior, and informed consent of the Algonquin Nation, which Kebaowek First Nation argued was a clear violation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“It’s a betrayal of a series of sacred trusts. Anishinaabe aki (land) was not created for business profit. Our Nation was not built to turn the (Kichi Sibi), our great river, into a self-storage unit for nuclear waste,” former Kebaowek First Nation councillor Verna Polson told the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission during the Near Surface Disposal Facility hearing in June 2022.

Kebaowek First Nation is among the 11 communities making up the Omamiwininiwag or the Algonquin Nation, who have spent time immemorial on the land surrounding the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River). The First Nation was also one of four communities involved with Stop Nuclear Waste, a community movement of Indigenous leaders, local members, and allies who wish to hold the government and the Nuclear Safety Commission accountable for years of irresponsibly disposing nuclear waste.

Since its establishment in 1944, the Chalk River Laboratories has been a major research and development site that led to advancements in nuclear technology. A large share of the world’s supply of medical radioisotopes was produced at the site until the nuclear reactor was shut down in 2018. The site was also home to a handful of incidents over the years, the most recent being the discharge of toxic sewage. The incident came months after Canadian Nuclear Laboratories was awarded the licence for the Near Surface Disposal Facility.

The facility would allow the permanent disposal of solid radioactive and non-radioactive legacy waste but would require the removal of the mountainside along the river to make way for the waste disposal facility. According to an Indigenous-led assessment by Kebaowek First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, storing over a million cubic metres of legacy nuclear waste would directly impact the water quality, and ability of animals and plants to live along with other species in the watershed. On top of risks to the waterway, the project would also require the clearing of 37 hectares of old growth forest where Kebaowek First Nation found active traces of wildlife.

Overlooking the Ottawa River, attendees of the exhibition came face to face with images and depictions of endangered and culturally significant species like lake sturgeon, eastern wolves, and bears that would lose their habitats to the disposal site.

Kebaowek member Mary-Lou Chevrier believes she has already seen first-hand the effects of the site’s waste on the surrounding wildlife. Upon conducting a fish study in April, Chevrier was met by what she described as a metallic odour, dead aquatic animals, and “lethargic” lake sturgeons where the Petawawa River meets with the Ottawa River.

“(The sturgeons) were in about 14 inches of water and they were swimming in a circle. This is obsessive compulsive behaviour, and I was able to actually pick them up by hand out of the water,” said Chevrier.

While it was exciting to hold the ancient fish, Chevrier said the moment was also very disheartening because she had spent decades trying to reel one in.

“I think you’re privileged to be able to see one and to be able to handle them in that way, but I felt that something definitely wasn’t right,” she said.

Chevrier noted the sighting was around the time the public finally learned of the toxic sewage discharge that occurred months prior. Although there was no evidence connecting the sewage to the sturgeon’s odd behaviour, Chevrier worried about what the discharge meant for aquatic life.

“In the meantime, I had been coming across a lot of anglers who were catching and eating fish, so that really stuck with me. I felt that there should have been earlier public notification.”

The decision by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was challenged by Kebaowek First Nation in a judicial review in front of the Federal Court from July 10 to 11.

The First Nation presented an oral argument based on both the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Declaration Act. In the spirit of reconciliation and protecting all life, Kebaowek First Nation believed Canada was obligated to carry out free, prior, and informed consent into the consultation process as stated in Article 29.2 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was put into Canadian law by the passing of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in 2021.

Those wanting to support the cause can add their name to a list of signatories demanding the Government of Canada to make no decision in terms of issuing a licence to the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. Stop Nuclear Waste’s petition can be found online at http://www.stopnuclearwaste.com/petition. Contributions can also be made to Kebaowek First Nation’s legal fund by donating to https://gofund.me/7ce16728.

Photo caption: A painting by Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg artist Destiny Cole highlights the speculated relationship between lake sturgeon and hickorynut mussels, which are both included as endangered in the official Species at Risk in Ontario list.

Photo credit: Taylor Clark

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Emergency medical dispatchers working for the Centre de communication santé de l’Outaouais have been on an indefinite strike since June 14.

On behalf of 22 union members, the Fédération des employés du préhospitalier du Québec was seeking improvements to salary and vacation time.

Union affairs agent Stéphane Rainville said the strike was unavoidable since the government was unwilling to waver from its position after 10 negotiation sessions.

“We are currently seeking equity with the public sector. Currently, the Government of Québec has provided offers with the public sector,” said Rainville. “Then we want the same thing in terms of vacations and salary. Currently, the government only offers us salary and not vacation time.”

The indefinite strike was triggered just two months after the previous 14-month strike wrapped up in April. Emergency medical dispatchers from Outaouais joined others in Laurentides and Lanaudière on strike in late January of 2023 after their employment contract expired in March 2022 and negotiations lagged.

“We must put pressure on the Ministry to be able to move the negotiation forward.”

An agreement on essential services maintained in the event of a strike was reached between the Fédération des employés du préhospitalier du Québec and the Centre de communication santé de l’Outaouais in early May. The Tribunal administratif du travail later found the agreement terms “sufficient so that the public health or safety (was) not put in danger during the strike.”

During the strike, the emergency medical dispatchers would continue to respond to all calls received as well as allocating and distributing available prehospital resources. The administration side of things was expected to take a hit as the agreement listed modified tasks or ones that would not be performed altogether like punching in or repairing system breakdowns.

If essential services were to be disrupted, the Tribunal required both parties to work together to find a solution quickly. If they fail to do so, the Tribunal will step in to provide the necessary assistance.

Photo caption: Twenty-two emergency medical dispatchers are striking to put pressure on the Government of Québec to provide better pay and working conditions.

Photo credit: Fédération des employés du préhospitalier du Québec Website

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Demands from Outaouais appeared to have been partially heard as the Government of Québec agreed to expand specific measures aimed at matching overall pay with Ontario to include medical imaging staff from the Papineau and Maniwaki hospitals.

The agreement between the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux and the provincial government was first announced at the end of April and was to only be offered to technicians at the Hull and Gatineau hospitals.

Similar to what was previously announced, the two-year incentive measures consisted of an annual lump sum of $22,000 for those committed to working an additional 2.5 hours a week and a 10 per cent increase in salary during the summer for staff in Gatineau, Hull, and Papineau. On top of the 10 per cent increase, technicians in the Maniwaki hospital would only receive $18,000 if they worked additional hours per week.

Pontiac MP and spokesperson for the official opposition André Fortin had already been critical of the “half measures” put forward by the province and was floored by the exclusion of the Shawville and Wakefield hospitals, stating the extension was “a slap in the face” to imaging technicians left at the wayside.

“As a region, we had clearly asked the CAQ government not to abandon Shawville, Wakefield, Maniwaki, and Papineau. Today, it’s as if their answer is ‘Ok, we’ll just abandon Shawville and Wakefield,’” Fortin wrote to social media.

The decision which Fortin deemed unjustifiable was predicted to destabilize the rural healthcare teams and continue to weaken care in Shawville and Wakefield.

Recently launched health coalition, SOS Outaouais has also claimed the expansion of the incentives still fell short.

“The current crisis of staff shortages in medical imaging is not limited to a few hospitals but affects our entire region,” Jean Pigeon SOS Outaouais spokesperson and Gatineau Health Foundation executive director wrote to Facebook.

With the incentives only expected to last for two years, the coalition called for lasting solutions, “not temporary measures that only delay the real problem.”

Pigeon pointed to the recent investment of $350,000 in recruitment subsidies to improve offers aimed at countering the exodus of technicians to Ontario.

“That’s the community. The community donated $350,000 towards that, and we have our government that’s pretty shy, I believe, to give money from our taxes to come and support this initiative.”

The press release from the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux recognized the agreement was a step in the right direction but there was still a long way to go.

“(The government) must stop managing one crisis after another and instead tackle the problem of labor shortage in medical imaging globally. We must do real workforce planning and put in place solutions to restore the situation in the long term,” wrote Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux president Robert Comeau.

Photo caption: Pontiac MP and spokesperson for the official opposition André Fortin holds a press conference outside the Pontiac Hospital to condemn the CAQ government’s decision to only extend specific incentives to imagery technicians in the Papineau and Maniwaki hospitals.

Photo credit: André Fortin Facebook

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

A group of Algonquin-Anishinabeg and non-Indigenous allies are striving to protect the Gatineau River, or Tenàgàdino Zìbì in Anishinaabemowin, by declaring its legal personhood.

“Our ceremonies and everything else teach us that the water is alive and so is the land. And if it is alive, we need to take care of all of that which is alive,” said Gilbert Whiteduck, former Chief of Kitigan Zibi and co-founder of the Tenàgàdino Alliance. “Colonization viewed it very differently. And colonization allowed many people in this region and elsewhere to become very rich at the expense of nature and the water.”

The Tenàgàdino Zìbì has played a critical role in the identity, history, culture, and economy of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation for thousands of years.

The Tenàgàdino Alliance was created by Whiteduck alongside the director of the Friends of the Gatineau River and Chelsea municipal councillor Rita Jain to ensure the river remained safe from dangers like climate change, biodiversity loss, and contaminants.

“The current regulatory framework does not sufficiently protect the river. Municipalities are currently allowed by the province to dump its effluent at levels more than 10 times higher than that required for a swim advisory,” said Jain. “There are many examples where the current regulations don’t protect enough. We need to flip the paradigm.”

For Jain, the natural next step was to work with Whiteduck to launch a people’s movement to have the Tenàgàdino Zìbì recognized as a legal person.

The concept of declaring a river a legal person is not new to Canada. The Magpie River in northern Quebec became the first river in the country to be granted legal personhood in 2021.

Yenny Vega Cárdenas, lawyer and president of the International Observatory on the Rights of Nature protected the Magpie River in the case. Vega Cárdenas said legal personhood protected an ecosystem by recognizing it as a person rather than an object to exploit.

The approach stemmed from the legal framework of the Rights of Nature which recognized natural bodies like mountains, rivers, or forests as entities that have the right to exist and flourish.

“We don’t know where this adventure is going to take us. We’re starting the formation of the Tenàgàdino Alliance. All I know is that the journey is going to be worthwhile,” said Jain. “It’s going to be a journey of exploration, of knowledge sharing, of reconciliation, and for that, it’s also worthwhile.”

Those looking to be an ally to the river were invited to support the alliance’s statement online at https://tinyurl.com/tenagadinorights. The alliance was also looking for citizens who are willing to roll up their sleeves and join the people’s movement by volunteering, which can be arranged by emailing tenagadino@gmail.com. The alliance encouraged residents to share the initiative with their municipal councillors, mayors, and MRC prefect.

Photo caption: Rita Jain, director of Friends of the Gatineau River and co-founder of the Tenàgàdino Alliance, and Yenny Vega Cárdenas, president of the International Observatory on the Rights of Nature, believe the Tenàgàdino Zìbì can be conserved by becoming a legal person.

Photo credit: Friends of the Gatineau River Website

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

As Outaouais grapples with a “very scary time” for its health-care system, a regional coalition is demanding the National Assembly of Québec rectify what it stated was decades of neglect and underfunding, leaving the regional health-care network to crumble.

“I think it’s fairly simple when we look at the state of where we are. There needs to be leadership at the National Assembly in order for big changes to be made and to ensure our voice will be heard,” said Gatineau Health Foundation executive director and coalition spokesperson Jean Pigeon. “That’s what SOS Outaouais is about, a voice that represents every single citizen that lives in our region.”

Launched and supported by the Gatineau Health Foundation, SOS Outaouais brings together organizations and citizens from across the region in a collective voice to draw attention to the eroding health-care network.

While there has been recent media attention on the region’s lack of imagery technicians driving a shortage of services, Pigeon claimed the whole network was hanging by a thread.

“We’re not providing the care that we should and it’s nothing else, I think, than just not receiving the resources that we need to do that work,” said Pigeon.

According to the region’s catch-up study by the Observatoire du développement de l’Outaouais, even with expenditures in Ontario, approximately $181 million was missing in Outaouais compared to the province’s average health spending in 2021 and 2022.

“We pay the same taxes. We should have the same access to the services, but we don’t. And that is a fact.”

Along with correcting the historical disproportion in spending, the coalition was urging immediate permanent measures like providing pay differentials to compete with the exodus of staff leaving for higher pay in Ontario.

“(We need to) provide those salary conditions for them to work in the region where they reside. If not, they’re going to keep on, and I totally understand why they would cross the bridge every day to go work in an Ontario hospital.”

Those looking to support SOS Outaouais can join the close to 600 other citizens lending their voice to the initiative and donating at sosoutaouais.ca.

Photo caption: The Gatineau Health Foundation organized a press conference on June 6 to launch SOS Outaouais, a regional coalition enacted to focus the National Assembly of Québec’s attention on Outaouais’ eroding health-care network.

Photo credit: SOS Outaouais Facebook

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Pontiac MP and spokesperson for the official opposition on health matters accused the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) of abandoning the Outaouais health care system and its patients after the refusal to hold a travelling parliamentary commission.

“Not only does the CAQ refuse to act, but it does not even deign to come and see the situation and listen to stakeholders in the field,” André Fortin wrote in a press release. “Once again, the CAQ turns its back on Outaouais and prefers to abandon citizens to their fate, even if it means not receiving the health care to which they are nevertheless entitled.”

For the past few months, Fortin has been utilizing the question period during Assembly sittings to address the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, about the catastrophic state of the region’s healthcare network.

In late May, Fortin decided words were not enough and wanted to bring Québec City to Outaouais to allow Dubé and those on the Committee on Health and Social Services to see for themselves the extent of the crisis in the form of a travelling parliamentary commission.

“If those public policymakers and those MNAs from other regions come to the Outaouais and witness just how dire the situation is, they cannot possibly ignore it,” said Fortin.

Yet ignored was exactly what the recent press release from Fortin conveyed, stating “the CAQ categorically refused” the request. The commission would have allowed key players in the field to propose measures to ensure retention and attraction of staff directly to decision-makers.

Fortin said the refusal confirmed the CAQ government’s “total disinterest toward the region and its citizens.”

As the press release was issued, the Minister responsible for the Outaouais region Mathieu Lacombe shared a clip to Facebook of Assembly proceedings, where he highlighted the work that was being carried out by health-care staff in his region.

“Over the past few days, I have travelled through the hospitals of Outaouais to take the pulse of the people who, every day, are there to care for our world,” said Lacombe. “Madam President, I would like to assure you that we will do everything possible to maintain and improve services to the population of Outaouais.”

Photo caption: Pontiac MP André Fortin demands answers for the population of Outaouais from Minister of Health Christian Dubé during Assembly sittings.

Photo credit: Screenshot from the question period during the Assembly sittings on May 22

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

The Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) hopes to create tangible effects on the energy efficiency of the real estate stock in the region with its project Communauté du bâtiment vert de l’Outaouais.

The non-profit organization was awarded $462,000 over 3 years as part of the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program launched by Natural Resources Canada to fund the project.

“With this project, CREDDO is helping to pave the way for greener buildings in Quebec and Canada,” Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson wrote in a press release.

The building industry makes 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, representing a key sector in achieving Canada’s net zero commitment by 2050. More than two-thirds of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built but require retrofitting to be more sustainable.

CREDDO noted energy efficient renovations must be completed at seven times the current rate to achieve carbon neutrality in this sector in 2050. To aid in stimulating the market for energy-efficient renovations, the project will utilize the Dutch concept of Energiesprong to accelerate the pace and scale of renovations by grouping together similar homes to reduce carbon emissions from residential buildings in Outaouais.

“The ecological transition must strengthen, not reduce, accessibility to housing for all. The Communauté du bâtiment vert de l’Outaouais project integrates this vision by ensuring that affordable housing is not only preserved but also improved, thus contributing to a sustainable and inclusive future,” said CREDDO’s general director Benoit Delage.

Twelve regional partners like the Ville de Gatineau and MRC Pontiac have already committed to ensuring the project’s implementation.

“I would like to express my gratitude to CREDDO and its partners for their exemplary leadership in this magnificent project for the Outaouais. Energy-efficient renovations are essential to reducing emissions from our buildings, and we need local initiatives like this project to meet our greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy efficiency goals. This initiative strengthens our vision of a green and prosperous Outaouais, a goal to which I am deeply attached,” said Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel.

Photo caption: The Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais officially launches its Communauté du bâtiment vert de l’Outaouais project with the help of 12 regional partners.

Photo credit: Agatha Rowland Photography

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

The contingency plan announced by the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais has generated sharp reactions from Outaouais elected officials.

“No government in Canada must accept the state of things in the Outaouais region of Quebec,” Gatineau MP Steven MacKinnon said in a video posted to his X account. “People are going to die. People will suffer.”

Wanting to give its limited staff a break this summer, CISSSO chief executive officer Marc Bilodeau announced reductions to services like non-urgent operations and medical imaging, along with a contingency plan which he hoped not to put into action.

“My number one priority is that the contingency plan remains only a plan that will never be implemented,” said Bilodeau.

The contingency plan considered the closure of certain operating lines. Some partial, others total. The same was said for medical imaging.

“I am confident that we have the resources in place to be able to respond to (the needs of the public) during the summer. The plan, ultimately, is just a workaround or a spare tire,” said Bilodeau.

Following the release of the plan, MacKinnon posted a video to his X account, demanding an end to all the excuses.

“This is a situation that must concern the highest levels of the Government of Quebec … Professionals go out of their way to keep this system propped up, but the health situation is a catastrophe,” said MacKinnon.

Hours later, MNA Mathieu Lacombe, the Minister responsible for the Outaouais region, reposted the video, criticizing MacKinnon for making irresponsible comments.

“We must work together, not scare citizens by taking shortcuts. If the federal government wants to help us, rather than lecturing us, it could write us a cheque to increase health transfers, as Quebec and all the provinces have been demanding for several years. It would be more productive,” wrote Lacombe.

MacKinnon was not the only MP sharing concerns at the slash of summer services. The same day, Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel sent a letter to Lacombe and Quebec Minister of Health Christian Dubé calling for “urgent action to avoid a breakdown in health-care services in our region.”

“It is therefore essential that Quebec establish sustainable solutions to ensure the continuity of health services in the Outaouais, including the creation of an action plan for all health personnel in the Outaouais,” read the letter.

The MP went on to highlight solutions put forward by constituents and regional health experts, such as increasing the salary premium and improving working conditions as well as prioritizing interregional equity in the allocation of health resources and funding.

“Health mainly falls under the jurisdiction of Quebec, and this is why Outaouais needs your immediate support to establish an urgent action plan. When a crisis occurs in a region, it is imperative that all levels of government work together to find effective solutions,” wrote Chatel.

Pontiac MNA André Fortin was able to put his questions to the Minister of Health face-to-face during Assembly Proceedings on May 23.

“People in Outaouais are already afraid. The patients are afraid. The doctors are afraid. Madam Speaker, as a resident, I am afraid of the services that we will provide in Outaouais this summer,” he said. “What are you waiting for?”

Similar to what was done in Côte-Nord or Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Dubé said solutions would be found. “We couldn’t be doing more work to find solutions.”

Prior to the proceedings, Fortin held a press scrum alongside Conseil des médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens president Dr. Peter Bonneville to share their concerns about the current contingency plan that Bonneville said would endanger the Outaouais population.

“We are doing what we can with what we have, and it is very difficult,” said the Gatineau emergency room doctor. “I am ashamed of the care we are giving in the Outaouais at the moment … I am ashamed to be in a province where there is inaction regarding what is happening in the Outaouais.”

Bonneville reiterated the demand laid out in the Change.org petition he started in late April, calling on Dubé to implement differentiated compensation “to stop the hemorrhage of departures.”

Later that evening, Lacombe took to Facebook to say he had met with Bonneville and assured the more than 23,000 signatories that they could count on their regional caucus to assert their right to quality health care.

“We will not let the population down. It is our responsibility,” wrote Lacombe.

Photo caption: Pontiac MNA André Fortin is joined by Dr. Peter Bonneville in a press scrum to share their concerns about the CISSSO’s contingency plan that Bonneville believes will endanger the Outaouais population.

Photo credit: Screenshot from André Fortin press scrum at the National Assembly of Quebec on May 23

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

With a difficult summer on the horizon as staffing shortages plague the region’s hospitals, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) revealed a contingency plan was underway that could lead to site closures.

“The goal is to not have to use this contingency plan,” said chief executive officer Marc Bilodeau. “The goal is to resolve our activities to a level adequate to provide emergency care, but not have to embark on the contingency plan.”

The plan was revealed as part of the CISSSO’s announcement to reduce services to allow its limited staff vacation time this summer.

“My number one priority is to maintain access to service for any conditions that require a specific time to respond,” said Bilodeau. “I am confident that we have the resources in place to be able to respond to them during the summer.”

Non-urgent operations and medical imaging will bear the brunt of these reductions. “The goal, therefore, with our reduction measures is not to affect the 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week services that we have in our different environments, but to ultimately ensure the survival of Outaouais residents who are victims of accidents or who need urgent surgeries.”

The reductions were anticipated to only exacerbate Outaouais’ lengthy waitlists, but Bilodeau expected the region’s private clinics would be able to pick up the excess slack.

The decision to delegate thousands of surgeries to private clinics by the CISSSO has put the public agency in hot water. Researcher Anne Plourde with the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques noted the CISSSO was contributing to the crisis it currently found itself in by passing the buck to private clinics.

“The short-term gain made by the CISSSO on the strictly quantitative level of the total number of surgeries performed was to the detriment of the public sector, and the current situation in hospitals of the CISSSO demonstrates that the disastrous consequences of this strategy are already beginning to be felt,” wrote Plourde.

The chief executive officer assured that the Outaouais population was not in danger, as the measures in place would ensure essential services be provided. But in the long-term, Bilodeau said it was undeniable that solutions needed to be found.

“Please note that the Ministry of Health has been involved for several months already … The ministry is in solution mode with us. We are looking for medium and long-term solutions that will allow us to rebuild an adequate workforce to meet the needs of Outaouais. It won’t happen overnight.”

Photo caption: Chief executive officer of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais Marc Bilodeau assures the population that Outaouais will be adequately served this summer despite the reduction in services.

Photo credit: Taylor Clark

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

A Gatineau emergency room doctor is calling for Quebec to intervene in Outaouais’ dire health care situation.

“A lot of people are sort of waking up from their slumber of just accepting mediocre coverage of health care,” said Dr. Peter Bonneville, who also serves as the president of the conseil des Médecins, dentists et pharmaciens of the Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais. “I hope that there will be a movement within the population to try to push politicians in Quebec to do something for us.”

Having practiced in the region for more than 30 years, Bonneville said Outaouais has been an area where maintaining health-care staff, mainly nurses and technicians, has historically been difficult due to the competition of the neighbouring province. This issue was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the pandemic hit, the staffing shortage in the health-care sector was evident across the country but Bonneville said the region was already grappling with low staffing numbers.

“We went from a situation that was barely manageable to right now, a situation where we’re pretty much just trying to avert crisis after crisis,” he said.

With the imminent departure of three radiology technicians from the Hull Hospital, Bonneville said the ship was “pretty much sinking.”

The Hull Hospital’s operation room was staffed at 43 per cent and hoped to achieve adequate staffing for the summer months. The Gatineau Hospital was in more dire straits, with its surgical unit staffed at 29 per cent. With summer vacation around the corner, the hospital was working on contingency plans to have only one of its seven operating rooms running 24 hours per day, which Bonneville expected to only increase the long wait time for elective surgeries and put the sole obstetrics centre at risk.

“If there are two emergencies at the same time, there may be issues with potentially having people’s lives in danger.”

The reason behind the departures was a salary difference of $30,000 to provide their services on the other side of the river, said Bonneville.

Along with the conseil, all department heads at the Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais, the Département régionale de médecine générale and the Association des médecins omnipraticiens de l’Ouest du Québec urged the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, to not abandon the region and “stop the hemorrhage of departures to other provinces.”

“We pay as many taxes as people in all the other regions of Quebec and we are allowed to have as good of healthcare as the other people of the province have.”

The Minister of Health was not the only politician in the hot seat. Another petition by the Syndicat des professionnelles en soins de l’Outaouais called upon Mathieu Lacombe, MP for Papineau and Minister responsible for the Outaouais region, to “exercise his leadership to ensure patients in (the) region get the care and services they deserve.”

“The government’s bad decisions compromise access to quality, safe, and free health care for the entire population of the region,” read the petition.

Already seeing the downward trends in health care, Bonneville said the conseil made the region’s health care an issue for the 2022 Quebec general election. All local candidates were met with and briefed on the worsening situation in September 2022.

“Things have not changed since then and, as predicted, we’ve been losing more people,” said Bonneville.

But Ontario’s pay bump was not the only factor contributing to Outaouais’ current health-care crisis. According to data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services obtained by the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques under a freedom of information request, Outaouais surpassed the rest of the province in terms of privatization of surgeries since the summer of 2020.

Researcher Anne Plourde noted the enormous increase in surgeries carried out in the private sector came at the detriment of the public sector. The number of surgeries at private clinics jumped from 46 in 2020-2021 to 6,601 in 2022-2023, a 14,250 per cent increase. This made Outaouais the region of Quebec that experienced the greatest increase in the number of surgeries performed in private clinics during this period, representing a third of the increase across Quebec.

Plourde pointed the finger back at the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux for delegating thousands of surgeries to private clinics, ultimately contributing to the crisis it was currently experiencing.

“It constitutes a true textbook case for the privatization of surgeries in Quebec and, as we will now see, it also represents a warning of what risks happening at the provincial level if the government continues in this harmful way,” wrote Plourde.

Photo caption: The critical staffing situation at the Gatineau Hospital has left the centre of care with only one of its seven operating rooms available this summer.

Photo credit: Change.org petition by Peter Bonneville

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

A 35-year-old Gatineau man Jonathan Pelletier-Markus was arrested on April 18 as part of an investigation into a serious assault that left a 72-year-old man in serious condition in the hospital.

A week and a half prior, Gatineau police attended the scene of a man with a head injury at an apartment building on rue Mance shortly after 9:00 pm. The 72-year-old man was quickly transported to the hospital. At the time, the man’s life was not in danger but, as the days progressed, his condition deteriorated and was then considered serious.

The officers’ investigation revealed that the man had been a victim of an attack. After meeting with several people, the police uncovered the circumstances leading up to the event and identified the person who committed the attack.

Pelletier-Markus was arrested in the early hours of April 18. He collaborated with the police and was transported to the station to be interviewed by investigators. Pelletier-Markus appeared before the Court of Quebec to face the charge of serious assault and will remain detained until his next appearance. The investigation remains ongoing.

Photo caption: Gatineau police connect a 35-year-old man to a serious assault that occurred in Hull on April 7.

Photo credit: Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau Facebook

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Gatineau made a landmark decision on April 16 to adopt its first-ever bylaw governing the use and sale of pesticides for cosmetic purposes, which will come into force this month.

With the immediate implementation of the ban, the City planned to encourage more environmentally friendly alternatives, while reducing the risk pesticides have on human health and biodiversity within its territory.

For local environmental group Gatineau sans pesticides, the adoption of the regulation marked a historic evening.

“This regulation is a key element for several of your files, namely the environment and the fight against climate change, the biodiversity charter, the City’s environmental policy, and the water management plan. This regulation is also a key element in making our City a healthy city,” Gatineau sans pesticides member Nathalie Gaudet told council during the question period.

While the group was pleased to finally see the bylaw put into place, members wished the ban would extend to the community’s golf courses.

“For the sake of consistency, the regulation should include golf courses. This is important when we know that our City has 12 golf courses and that several are located near residences,” said member Monique Pellerin.

Golf courses will be permitted to continue the use of pesticide products to maintain their greens, but the regulation required the establishments to obtain Audubon certification by 2027. Two golf courses in the community have already completed the certification and the City indicated it will work with golf course owners to guide them through the process over the next three months.

Pellerin questioned when Gatineau would take the second step and include golf courses in the ban for the sake of the environment and the population’s health. Commission de l’environnement et de la lutte aux changements climatiques president Marc Bureau said the matter could be analyzed more specifically by the commission.

Photo caption: Gatineau sans pesticides member Monique Pellerin congratulates the City on taking a first step in regulating pesticides, but urges for the ban to incorporate golf courses.

Photo credit: Screenshot from Séance du conseil municipal du 16 avril 2024

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Those experiencing homelessness have been left with more questions than answers in the case of the demolition of the Robert Guertin Centre.

In late February, the Comité sur les demandes de démolition approved the deconstruction of the 67-year-old building, with work to begin in mid-May. Gatineau assured it would work with stakeholders and local organizations to accommodate what is known as “Tent City” on another site.

With May quickly approaching, the members of the encampment recently learned the demolition work had been postponed, leaving details around the relocation of hundreds of people up in the air.

“I’m asking you, please, what’s going on? This is not just a construction project that is being pushed back and put on hold. These are lives,” president of the Collectif régional de lutte à l’itinérance en Outaouais Alexandre Gallant stressed to the municipal council during the question period on April 16.

The only information Gallant said the group received was that it would take place in July. “We don’t know when in July. We don’t know where we’re going. The only clear thing is that the trailers of people who have struggled to find a place by themselves, to be independent, their trailers will not be accepted at the next site.”

Mayor Daniel Champagne admitted the City knew the mid-May deadline was going to be a challenge from the start. “Rest assured that the City is working hard with partners to find an alternative solution. Some lands have been identified, and validations of these areas are underway,” said Champagne.

Gatineau’s communications department clarified in an email that the call for tenders for the demolition of the arena would be launched in the coming days. An exact start date was not known until the contract was awarded, but the demolition was expected to begin later in the summer.

“It is important to mention that people experiencing homelessness on the Centre Robert-Guertin site will have reasonable notice before they need to travel. Regarding the organized encampment, occupants will receive details of its closure from Devcore representatives directly,” wrote the department.

While the department did not specifically answer whether trailers would be permitted on the new site or not, it was noted that it was “too early” to pinpoint a site and “what form the encampment will take.” Certain options were still being analyzed for pre-feasibility and discussion remained ongoing with partners.

Photo caption: Hundreds of Gatineau citizens experiencing homelessness are left with little information on where they will be moved in a few months as the demolition of the Robert Guertin Centre gets pushed back.

Photo credit: Bulletin Achieve

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

The Ville de Gatineau and the Société de transport de l’Outaouais have reached a compromise on the registration tax on passenger vehicles which has caused public outcry since being introduced by former mayor France Bélisle in late February.

While the Société de transport de l’Outaouais wanted to see a $90 increase, the municipal council lowered the hike to $60 for 2025 but expected to boost the tax again the following year by $30. The $60 increase would absorb the Société de transport de l’Outaouais’ structural deficit but leave users without improvements to service until 2026.

The registration tax will be the same for all types of vehicles and apply to each vehicle registered in Quebec.

“I think we will ultimately be proud of this measure. Of course, going to see citizens and saying that there is going to be an additional tax on cars is not fun,” municipal council president Steven Boivin told reporters during a press briefing on April 16. “But to say that we are going to put it on property tax is not better. We won’t come out ahead with this argument.”

The power to tax vehicle registration came after Quebec passed Bill 39 in 2023, which granted municipalities new abilities to diversify its revenue sources. This allowed municipalities and regional county municipalities to impose a tax on vehicle registration based on fuel consumption.

“For me, it is essential that the City takes its responsibilities with the new tool and absorbs this deficit,” said acting mayor Daniel Champagne. “It’s a bit of a poisoned gift that the province gave us, but unfortunately, that’s what happened.”

Owners of passenger vehicles in Gatineau have been required to pay an annual public transit contribution since 1992. The contribution was $30 per year. The Société de transport de l’Outaouais originally proposed a $90 on top of the $30 to cover its structural deficit and improve its services.

“Public transport, as we say, is collective transport,” said Patrick Leclerc, general director of the Société de transport de l’Outaouais. “It’s for the benefit of the entire community. We don’t ask the same question about education for people who don’t have children, for example. The health system, if you are not sick, you still contribute to it. It’s a collective benefit.”

While some councillors like Mario Aubé rejected the tax altogether, Boivin said he was ready to implement the whole $90 hike.

“I think that what we are doing here is somewhat achieving the objective. That is to say, we believe in public transportation, but not too quickly…. What I’m happy with at the moment is that the message we’re sending is that we believe in public transportation and that we want to offer better service,” said Boivin.

In the meantime, Gatineau’s acting mayor said the City would look at alternatives over the coming weeks and months to see what can be done to raise the necessary amounts to enhance services.

Photo caption: While the vehicle registration tax was lowered to $60 in its first installment, municipal council president Steven Boivin says he was ready to implement the whole $90 increase to improve the Société de transport de l’Outaouais’ services.

Photo credit: Screenshot from press conference on April 16, 2024 – Plenary Committee – Vehicle Registration Tax

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Citizen engagement was at the forefront of many Gatineau residents’ minds during the question period at municipal council on April 16.

Having observed previous council meetings, 20-year-old university student Brandon Ly told council he noticed a lack of citizen participation in municipal politics. “It is a problem because, at the end of the day, it’s municipal politics that affects us the most in our lives,” said Ly.

With the mayoral by-election looming, Ly questioned all the council members on what they would do to improve civic engagement as it continued to dwindle with every municipal election. Over 20 years ago, Gatineau experienced a 53.8 per cent voter turnout in its 2001 municipal election while its 2021 election saw participation drop to 35.1 per cent.

Municipal council president, Steven Boivin, thanked Ly for his question and invited him to share it via email to allow all members to respond individually.

For Daniel Cayley-Daoust, president of the Association des Résidants de l’Île de Hull, citizens’ involvement was at the heart of issues with the Îlot de la Caserne project and what he referred to as “the erosion of tenants’ rights on l’Île de Hull.”

“A large part of this whole situation is caused by the lack of responsibility on the part of the City in a context where tenants are not aware of their rights, which opens the door to abuse,” said Cayley-Daoust. To correct the situation, he suggested Gatineau immediately modify its demolition regulations, particularly the aspect of consulting with the community. “The City must bring back the mandatory notice signed by tenants prior to the demolition request, a notice that covers and communicates all of the tenants’ rights.” Cayley-Daoust stressed the responsibility Gatineau must take to protect and support tenants against these types of abuses and other situations like renovations or rent increases. “You have the power to protect your citizens who are mistreated, who find themselves in precarious situations, and you must take action,” he said.

Hull-Wright district councillor Steve Moran agreed with Cayley-Daoust, stating Gatineau disarmed itself when it came to supporting tenants in such situations. “In 2021, and I affirm this without any hesitation, we made a mistake,” said Moran. “It was our first municipal council for the new ones who had been elected, where we adopted a new bylaw, which was quite big, without having had a presentation from the administration.”

Moran said the City’s demolition request policy was in the process of being reviewed and he would continue to work on the issue. “We must indeed bring back this measure, which required landowners to demonstrate that they respected the rights of tenants in the Ville de Gatineau …. The City has a responsibility to defend the most vulnerable, and we will do so vigorously.”

Photo caption: Association des Résidants de l’Île de Hull president Daniel Cayley-Daoust encourages Gatineau to modify its demolition request policy to require the involvement of affected citizens, as was the case before the policy was modified in 2021.

Photo credit: Screenshot from Séance du conseil municipal du 16 avril 2024

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Gatineau was left frustrated by the tabling of the 2024 federal budget, which lacked specific commitments on the delivery of the long-awaited tramway.

“We’ve been waiting for this for over 10 years. The hiding is over, let’s announce (it), then let’s move forward with the tramway,” acting mayor Daniel Champagne told journalists during a press briefing on April 16.

The absence of a commitment came as a disappointment to the City as Canada’s Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, had implied that funding would be on the way during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on March 21.

Champagne did not exclude the possibility that the needed funding could be found in a different line of the budget. The interim mayor noted that more than $33 billion was invested in public transportation, but did not trust that the necessary amount was in this particular investment.

“It is high time for the federal government to say clearly and precisely, ‘We are moving forward,’” said Champagne.

According to the Bureau de projet Tramway Gatineau-Ottawa website, the Government of Quebec already planned to cover 60 per cent of the eligible expenses in the Gatineau territory. The hope was that the federal government would pay the rest.

If no financing was received from the federal government, Champagne said Gatineau would have to face reality and move on from the project, but he was optimistic that an announcement would be on its way in the coming week, “not in two months, not in two weeks.”

Champagne insisted he would continue to campaign for the relevance and necessity of the tramway. “To this day, no one has told me that they’re pulling the plug on it.”

Photo caption: A rendering of the tramway in the heart of Gatineau’s centre-ville on rue Laurier offers citizens an idea of what the final project could look like.

Photo credit: Bureau de projet Tramway Gatineau-Ottawa website

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Two more candidates have entered the running for Gatineau’s next mayor. Former Gatineau mayor Yves Ducharme and Rémi Bergeron, candidate in the last two municipal elections, will join the five other candidates on the ballot for the by-election on June 9.

After being approached by citizens, Ducharme decided to announce his candidacy at a press conference on April 15.

“I concluded that I could not watch the train go by. We are at a crucial stage in the history of our city. We are approaching a quarter of a century of existence, and we need experience and stability to move several sensitive issues forward at Gatineau City Hall,” Ducharme wrote in a press release.

Ducharme served as mayor of Hull from 1992 to 2001 and was the first mayor of the newly merged Gatineau from 2001 to 2005. He was later defeated by Marc Bureau in a landslide victory, who won 68 per cent of the vote.

“My electoral setback in 2005 made me think a lot. Municipal politics is the one that is closest to the people. With the creation of the new Ville de Gatineau and my eagerness to make it a success, I moved away from the daily concerns of citizens. I recognized it straight away and I regret it.”

With only 17 months between the by-election and the general election, Ducharme said he will prioritize quality municipal services, public finances that respect taxpayers’ ability to pay, and access to more housing during his mandate.

After receiving 2.37 per cent of the votes in 2017 and only 1.05 per cent in 2021, Rémi Bergeron hoped the third try would be the charm. He officially declared his candidacy in a press release on April 15.

Among Bergeron’s priorities was public transportation and the location of Gatineau’s future hospital. Despite the fact that it would fall under provincial jurisdiction, Bergeron would like to see the Centre Asticou become home to the hospital.

Bergeron argued that the rue d’Edmonton site would lead to “one of the worst environmental disasters in terms of sustainable development” with the demolition of buildings, “mostly all in good condition,” and a great loss of property taxes.

Bergeron said he would like to see electric Nova Buses added to the Société de transport de l’Outaouais on reserved lanes along with electric minibuses and taxi buses operating during off-peak hours.

He added that he would also not impose the $90 vehicle registration tax being recommended by the Société de transport de l’Outaouais and suggested the transit service apply to the Prix performance Québec to find other avenues for improvement in their management.

Photo caption: Former Gatineau mayor Yves Ducharme and former municipal elections candidate Rémi Bergeron have thrown their hats in the ring for the upcoming mayoral by-election.

Photo credit: Courtesy of candidates

Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Despite no word from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications on a subsidy, the Ville de Gatineau administration recommended moving forward with the overdue Guy-Sanche Library expansion.

Gatineau submitted a financing request to the Ministère back in September 2023 to pick up $11.5 million of the total $45.9 million cost. Seven months later, the City was still awaiting an official response.

To steer away from even longer delays, on April 9, the administration presented to the Comité plénier three options to continue the project. Of the options presented, the administration favoured the third, which would launch an architectural competition and get a head start on the call for tenders while the City awaits a response.

In this scenario, the City would be on the hook to cover the remaining $34.4 million but would exercise less control over the rigid process. The building was scheduled to be completed by November 2028 but the City will wait for the Ministère’s response before proceeding with any other steps. If Gatineau does not receive the grant, it would be out $40,000 to cover the cost of hiring the professional competition advisor.

“I have confidence that our minister responsible for Outaouais and for Culture (Mathieu Lacombe) shares our ambition and that he will make all the necessary efforts to come and confirm the amounts for us as quickly as possible,” said acting mayor Daniel Champagne.

Buckingham district councillor Edmond Leclerc did not share the same optimism. “When we advance at this speed in a project and the financing is not yet sealed, is not yet secured, because we do not know if we are going to have a grant or not, it is there where I keep a small reservation. Because for me, $11 million is not peanuts. It is an amount that is substantial, and that will be decisive in knowing whether I support the investment,” Leclerc told reporters during a press briefing.

The matter was expected to make its way to the municipal council table for the final say.

Photo caption: While the Ville de Gatineau has yet to hear about the status of financial assistance from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the City’s administration recommends the Guy-Sanche Library expansion project proceed.

Photo credit: Ville de Gatineau Facebook