Carl Hagar

Carl Hager
Local Journalism Initiative

MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC – About 30 residents attended an information meeting at the Luskville Community Centre on August 11 to voice concerns about proposed zoning changes in Pontiac.

Mayor Roger Larose, councillors, and consultant Stefan Doré of Cardo Urban outlined a plan to rezone some residential areas for commercial use on private roads maintained by residents. Many objected, saying it would harm quality of life, reduce property values, and worsen poor roads with traffic. “The roads, bad as they are, would be worsened by noisy trucks and tractors,” said residents Alan Tanguay and Carolyne Blaine.

Resident Luc Boucher submitted a document signed by 30 people to the Quebec Municipal Commission, arguing the plan does not comply with the Act respecting land use planning and development. Others, including resident Josey Page, questioned the consultant’s credentials and said the process lacked consultation. She left a seven-page brief for the mayor.

Some residents raised concerns about Airbnbs in quiet neighbourhoods. Larose acknowledged divided opinions, noting Pontiac has no hotel and few rentals. While some oppose short-term rentals, others want the chance to operate them. Approval from the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land of Quebec (CPTAQ) is required before any such rental can open.

The mayor stressed Pontiac’s limited land for development, with nearly half its territory controlled by the National Capital Commission and much of the rest zoned agricultural.

At its meeting on August 12, council approved Notice of Motion #25-08-5691, mending Zoning Regulation 11-24 to remove commercial uses from private beach roads. More meetings will be held before final adoption.

CARL HAGER
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE

SHAWVILLE – Four side-by-side all terrain vehicles valued at more than $100,000 were stolen from Campbell’s Polaris on the evening of July 26. Owner Steve Gilpin said one has since been recovered.

Gilpin, who has operated his Shawville business for 15 years after a decade in Wyman, said this is the first theft at his well-secured shop. Security measures will be strengthened, and Gilpin believes the theft was carried out by experienced criminals. Police have security camera photos from the scene.

The missing vehicles include a blue Can-Am Maverick, a green A-19 Polaris Ranger, and a black 2024 Polaris RZR 1000. Gilpin urges anyone with information about the theft or the vehicles’ whereabouts to contact him or the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in Campbell’s Bay.

The SQ communications department confirmed no arrests have been made but said leads are being pursued.

Carl Hagar
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE

QUEBEC – This past June, the Quebec government again demanded significant budget cuts for public school boards across the province. In December 2024, boards had already been asked mid-year to slash approved budgets. This time, the government called for $570 million in cuts for the 2025–2026 school year, unleashing public fury and a mass petition. The backlash forced the government to scale back its demand to $30 million instead.

Joanne Labadie, Chairperson of the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB), criticized the move. “These are desperate government actions. We’ve just started to feel good coming out of the pandemic and the government unleashes another attack on the security of the school system. Students need all the help they can get, and the government threatens cuts to the services they need. We need budget increases and resources instead.”

WQSB Director General George Singfield said savings are being sought by eliminating temporary positions, relying on attrition, and cutting the recreational technician position. “We took a massive budget hit last year and that cut is recurrent. We’re not allowed to use any surplus money, and we must produce a balanced budget given the new parameters we have to work with,” he told the Journal.

Most of the school boards’ budgets are tied to negotiated contract salaries, making savings difficult.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville defended the cuts, saying the goal is to ensure boards manage budgets carefully by reducing administrative expenses. “The government has made historic investments in education, and we want to see services to children unaffected.”

Meanwhile, English-language boards under the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) are fighting the government in court over financial autonomy, particularly concerning surplus funds. With a provincial election about a year away, boards fear the government may seize surpluses to improve its financial picture.

Carl Hagar
Local Journalism Initiative

OTTAWA – Protests, rallies and debates marked the Not-The-Nuclear-Lobby Week day of action in Ottawa against the Canadian government promoting Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMNR) as the answer to fighting climate change. Over the years, the Canadian government has given billions to the nuclear industry in subsidies. In the morning at the eternal flame on Parliament Hill, speakers included Dr. Susan O’Donnell, spokesperson for the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick. “The nuclear energy industry, led by US and UK corporations and start-ups, has been lobbying and advertising heavily in Canada to convince Canadians that new, smaller reactor designs will somehow address the climate crisis and overcome the exorbitant cost, toxic radioactive waste and nuclear accidents that have plagued the nuclear industry for decades,” she said.

At noon, four Members of Parliament representing the Liberal party, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party spoke about their concerns. Jenita Atwin, Liberal MP for Fredericton, said, “Radioactive waste management is an unsolved concern and the risks are ultimately unmanageable.” The NDP’s Alexandre Boulerice, MP for Rosemont La Petite-Patrie, remarked, “Eliminating greenhouse gases should not come at the expense of the environment by creating waste that’s even more dangerous.”

The final event of the day was a debate between Dr. Gordon Edwards, president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, and Dr. Chris Keefer, president of Canadians for Nuclear Energy. The subject was “Do we need to scale up nuclear power to combat climate change?”

Dr. Edwards pointed out that SMNR’s take a decade or longer to start up and are four times as expensive as renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal. He noted that one of the by-products of nuclear power is plutonium, not found in nature, a key component of nuclear bombs. He also worries that expanding the nuclear industry occurs while Canada still does not have a cogent waste disposal plan for nuclear waste.

Dr. Keefer repeatedly remarked that the risk-reward ratio for implementing SMNR’s is worth it; nuclear reactors produce no carbon dioxide and the dangers of radioactive pollution are exaggerated.

The debate was followed by a question and answer session. An indigenous person from northern Ontario pointed out the extreme cost of the nuclear industry, including health, economic and cultural concerns. Catherine Emond of the NDP Pontiac said we have to be better caretakers of the earth’s resources by finding more sustainable ways of doing things.

The on-going saga of licensing for the Chalk River nuclear site, just west of the Pontiac on the Ottawa River, to create nuclear dump will not be resolved until at least this coming summer. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is conducting hearings with Indigenous groups prior to making a final decision.