Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
editor@qctonline.com
Voters in two districts in Shannon will elect councillors on Nov. 5. Councillors Martin Comeau (District 1) and Ysabel Lafrance (District 2) stepped down earlier this year, leading the municipality to organize a byelection. Both districts are in the northern sector of the municipality, containing parts of the Valcartier military base.
Five candidates will run for the two seats. Former councillor Francine Girard, telecommunications executive Réjean Côté and electrical engineer Patrick Deschamps will con- test District 1 and Dominique Bowles, a lifelong Shannon resident, and Pierre Chamberland, a military retiree, will contest District 2. Other than Girard, who was a councillor from 2013-2021, all are first- time candidates.
Girard said that if elected, one of her priorities would be working with surrounding municipalities to protect wet- lands and green spaces. “We can approve building projects, but we need to pay attention to protecting green spaces too,” she said. A member of the town’s Municipalité amie des aînés (MADA – senior-friendly municipality) committee, she said she wanted to bring ideas from seniors and their families to the council chamber. Originally from Saguenay, Girard said she “can understand some English” but is not bilingual.
Côté owns a local telecommunications firm, Côté Té- lécom. “I’m very involved in the community … and the two councillors who resigned told me they could see me [on council],“ he said. He said there are “major files that need to be moved forward” in Shannon concerning wetlands preservation, public safety (after a spate of thefts earlier this year) and the quality of cell phone service, especially in and around his district. “Although I can’t promise anything, I have a few contacts in the telecommunications industry, and I can try to get that file to move a little faster,” he said. “We can’t lead a frontal attack on all three issues at once [crime prevention, marsh preservation and telecommunications] but I want to help advance things.”
A native of the region who lived in Quebec City for many years, Côté said he isn’t bilingual, but “can manage well in English.”
Improving the area’s communications network is also top of mind for Deschamps, along with road safety. “We need to improve [road] safety for cyclists, pedestrians and pets,” he said. “We [also] need to help people in the north part of Shannon with their telecommunications service; now that there are so many people working from home, it’s an economic necessity. The service is there but the quality is not great. If I’m elected, I’d like to see if we can do some- thing about it.” Preservation of green space is also a key issue for the would-be councillor: “If the city gives more building permits without thinking, more trees will be removed. If people didn’t want [green space] they would have stayed in the city.” Deschamps also wants to improve Shannon’s sports infrastructure, including potentially creating a community gym.
Deschamps said he speaks French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. “We need to follow the law [regarding the prominence of French in town communications] but we have a bilingual cultural characteristic that will decline because of the law, and I think that’s sad,” he added.
District 2
Bowles or Chamberland will become the next councillor for District 2. Bowles, a lifelong Shannonite, is proud of his re- cord of public involvement. His first experience with municipal government was in 2007, when he and other concerned citizens signed a register opposing a condo project, forcing a referendum which resulted in a No vote. “That’s what started it all,” he said. “I’ve attended a lot of council meetings since then, and often, unpopular decisions are passed by one vote, so a councillor can really make a difference.” He grew up in Shannon in a bicultural fam- ily, with a francophone mother and a father with Irish roots, and speaks fluent English with the distinct Irish-influenced cadence of the area. He said his priorities were to reduce speeding on local roads, “help keep taxes as low as possible, protect nature as well as possible and help people as best I can.”
Chamberland, who is originally from Charlevoix, spent much of his professional career in the army, stationed at Valcartier, before retiring to Shannon. He is bilingual and lived in Germany and the Netherlands during his military career. His priorities include addressing speeding and traffic problems and listening to citizens’ concerns. If elected, he said, “I’m in it for the next two years and I hope to bring solutions to the table and listen to people.”
Town clerk Mélanie Poirier said in a statement that residents eligible to vote in one of the two districts should receive proof of registration shortly. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5; there will be one day of advance voting on Oct. 29 from noon to 8 p.m.