Gas

Ditch the second car, Communauto is here

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / October 2, 2024 / Chelsea, Chelsea Mayor, Gas, Green Fund, Hybrid Cars, La Peche, Trevor Greenway

By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

After close to four years of planning and negotiating, Chelsea and La Pêche residents will have a new option to get around the Hills.

And they won’t even have to pay for gas.

The Outaouais’ regional counsel on the environment and sustainable development, CREDDO, has partnered with both municipalities to bring a fleet of 16 Communauto hybrid cars to the region. Twelve of them will be stationed in Chelsea, with the remaining four spread out throughout La Pêche.

It’s an initiative that CREDDO president Benoit Delage said he hopes will change residents’ car-centric habits.

“If we want to build a centre village, we can’t have a sea of parking,” said Delage, referring to Chelsea.

He explained that the project is in collaboration with four Chelsea developers: Cargo, Multivesco, DACM Investments Inc. and In Harmony Developments, which will host the cars in their parking lots for the public to use.

With the developers on board, Chelsea changed its urban planning bylaw to bring the minimum number of parking spots per unit for new developments from two, to just one. In the process, it has eliminated several “heat islands” that would have been spread out over Chelsea’s centre village, explained Delage. A heat island is an urban area that experiences hotter than average temperatures than outlying areas due to infrastructure.

Benoit said that the municipality will have 150 fewer parking spots in the village because of the project.

“Can you imagine what the difference will be for what will be our centre village without that parking?” asked Delage. “It’s more trees, it’s more space for people.”

According to CREDDO, 79 per cent of greenhouse gasses in places like Chelsea and La Pêche come from transportation, and the organization said it is confident the addition of 16 community hybrid cars will bring that number down. The organization said it also hopes that the car-sharing initiative will entice residents to ditch their second family car, which will create less impact on the environment and help residents save money.

“It costs residents $12,000 per year to own a car,” said Delage, referring to maintenance costs, insurance, gas and other repairs. With Communauto, residents can sign up for a number of various membership packages from as low $0 per month and $12.75 per hour, or up to $30 per month, which will allow residents to use the cars for just $2.75 per hour. And users won’t have to pay for gas. The packages are built to cover the cost of gas through membership fees. Each car will have a Communauto credit card for users to fill up when they need to. But all the cars are hybrid – 12 Prius’ and two RAV4 SUVs.

Chelsea Mayor Pierre Guénard said the project presents a “decisive turning point for our municipality.”

“This project is perfectly in line with our environmental values, offering Chelsea residents a transportation solution that complements active mobility and Transcollines services,” said Guénard. “Through this initiative, we are creating a more integrated transportation network, helping to reduce our carbon footprint.”

The project relied on $500,000 worth of funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ green fund, with Chelsea chipping in $75,000 and La Pêche contributing another $25,000. The four developers also chipped in a total of $300,000, according to CREDDO.

The vehicles will be available in November and will be parked at the four developments above, as well as at town hall in Chelsea. Two cars will be located somewhere in Masham, and CREDDO said it hopes to station two more in Wakefield.

Residents can take advantage of $45 off of certain membership packages using the promo code: HORIZONS online at: www.communauto.com

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Stéphane Sainte-Croix’s priority is housing

Local Journalism Initiative / The Gaspé Spec / September 18, 2024 / fisheries, Gas, gaspe peninsula, housing, nelson sergerie, Wind Energy

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – As the fall session gets underway at the National Assembly in Quebec City, housing is the top priority for Gaspé Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Stéphane Sainte-Croix.

“We are working with our partners to ensure that we complete as many projects as possible so we can resolve our housing issues for as many customers as possible,” says Stéphane Sainte-Croix, acknowledging that it is a complex problem.

In August, when France-Élaine Duranceau, the Minister of Housing, visited the Gaspé, the MNA discussed the issue of housing with him.

“We looked at our issues, our projects, but it is an ongoing effort that mobilizes several stakeholders and the only way to achieve this is to do everything possible at the municipal, government and private levels to support the projects,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix.

The stakeholders in the region have suggested the possibility of tax credits for construction to the minister. “These are things that we will bring to the attention of our Minister of Finance. These are measures that could contribute to a search for a solution. Everything is part of the National Assembly session,” explained the MNA.

Fisheries Sector

The crisis in the fisheries sector remains a key aspect of the economy of the Gaspé Peninsula. The MNA mentioned the announcement of six million dollars to support worker training made during the first week of September in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. That money will allow them to be resilient in technological changes and processing lines. “This is a step in the right direction to support the fisheries sector but it must not stop there,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix.

The salmon situation also concerns the MNA, as the Federal Minister of Fisheries suggested last week, in Quebec, that action is needed due to striped bass intercepting the species as it enters and exits rivers.

“We have become aware of the low rate of salmon spawning. Striped bass appears to be a problem but also a solution for the fishing industry. The file has been sent to the Environment and MAPAQ (Quebec Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food),” explains Mr. Sainte-Croix.

Analysts are looking into the issue and the Parliamentary Assistant for Fisheries is conducting consultations to document the possibility of a project based and exploratory fishery.

“To see how we could quietly take advantage of this resource to perhaps ultimately arrive at a commercial fishery. But it is complex. We are at the beginning of the process and have been engaged for several months already,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix.

Wind Energy

Wind energy is the third major focus for the MNA, especially since the Premier reiterated his commitment to this energy sector at his party’s caucus last week in Rimouski. Wind power will be a strategic sector in Quebec’s future energy landscape.

There remains the issue of the insufficient capacity of transmission lines in Eastern Quebec to transport energy from the Gaspé Peninsula to major centres.

“It is obvious that the distribution line will have to be considered. It remains to be seen over time when these investments will actually be made but, one thing is certain, they will be dedicated in time and place,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix.

Gasoline Prices

On the issue of gasoline prices, Mr. Sainte-Croix indicated that work is continuing within the government as retailers are collecting profit margins of around 30 cents per litre, compared to the 13 to 16 cents average over the last year.

“We proceeded with the abolition of the floor price. It remains to be seen what part of the information is available to consumers. We are thinking about it and we hope to come up with one or two measures at this level in the near future but, indeed, this is the observation we make regarding the price of gasoline and we are working on it,” said Mr. Sainte-Croix.

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