Madeline Kerr

By Madeline Kerr

The number of Hills’ residents without a family doctor is expected to rise, and the shortage “won’t get better any time soon,” according to a long-time Wakefield physician.

There are already over 6,000 residents in the region waiting for a family doctor – and 72,000 in the Outaouais, according to the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO). 

Last fall, Dr. Amani Ben Moussa, who was practising at the Clinique médicale des Collines in Wakefield, left to join a private practice in Gatineau. And in the coming months, two family doctors who have both served the community since the 1980s, Dr. Curtis Folkerson and Dr. Gary Satenstein, will retire without a plan to be replaced. 

While the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) said that it could not confirm how many people are affected by the departure of these doctors, Dr. Folkerson recently told the Low Down that he has well over 600 patients on his active caseload. 

He estimated that his colleague, Dr. Satenstein, has more than 700 patients in his care. 

These patients will soon be doctorless, although Folkerson explained that the clinic is trying to accommodate the roughly 1,400 individuals left without a family doctor by offering them appointments with other MDs at the clinic if available. 

“It’s not going to get better any time soon,” Dr. Folkerson told the Low Down. He said that his decision to retire after 42 years at the Wakefield Family Medical Centre was a difficult one, but he said he believes that even if he were to wait a few more years, there still wouldn’t be anyone available to replace him. 

The reasons for the shortage, Folkerson explained, are wide-ranging and can be traced, at least in part, to the federal budgetary deficits of the 1990s. 

He explained that cuts to transfer payments led provinces to slash healthcare spending, which resulted in fewer doctors being trained at universities like McGill, leaving a dearth of family doctors for generations to come. 

Folkerson said rising administrative obligations – too much red tape, in other words – and the need to pass French language exams have also added to the shortage. 

Plus, medical professionals can usually expect to earn more across the border in Ontario, making western Quebec especially susceptible to losing trained doctors. 

Camille Brochu-Lafrance, a spokesperson for the CISSSO said one resource for patients who are without a doctor is the Primary Care Access Point, known as GAP, which helps Quebecers find health services even if they don’t have a doctor. 

“[This] will be the entry point for people who have lost their family doctor. The GAP assesses the person’s needs and makes an appointment with the right professional depending on the person’s condition,” Brochu-Lafrance said. 

The average waiting time for patients registered with the Quebec Family Doctor Finder (GAMF) in the MRC des Collines is 575 days, or over a year and a half, CISSSO reported. 

However, anecdotally, some individuals told the Low Down that they are left waiting much longer. Recently, Liberal MP for Pontiac Kitigan Zibi, Sophie Chatel, who lives in Gatineau, said she has personally been waiting 10 years for a family doctor. 

The shortage of family doctors is dire province-wide: According to the Montreal Gazette, around 40 physicians left the public network in Quebec last year, contributing to the shortage of more than 1,200 family doctors. Even worse, a quarter of all family doctors in the province are already over the age of 60, suggesting there will be a surge of retirements in the decade to come.

A spokesperson for the CISSSO said that “the regional department of general medicine (DRMG) in collaboration with doctors from each of the local service networks (RLS), is in the process of continuous recruitment. A team is dedicated to medical recruitment.” 

The spokesperson affirmed: “If a candidate is interested in a practice in the RLS des Collines, [they] will be welcomed without delay.”

By Madeline Kerr

madeline@lowdownonline.com

Gatineau Hospital will go down to just one operating room this summer, and an ER doctor is raising the alarm about what this could mean for anyone giving birth who may require an emergency cesarean section.

Dr. Peter Bonneville, who works as an emergency room doctor in Gatineau and is the president of Conseil des médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens (CMDP) of the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre of Outaouais (CISSSO) explained that Gatineau is “the only hospital in the area that does obstetrics now. And we may not have good 24-hour-a-day coverage for cesarean sections, which is a nightmare.” 

He added, “I’m very concerned about the safety of those women.”

Bonneville told the Low Down that the hospital has seven operating rooms in total, but not enough staff to run them.

“If you go back about seven or eight years ago, all seven were working every day,” he said. “But right now, we’re down to two per day. Sometimes with retired people coming to help, we can get three operating rooms a day.”

However, over the summer “the nursing staff, because they are allowed, like any human being, to have vacations…we’re going to be going down to pretty much one operating room. And that operating room is going to need to work, obviously, 24 hours a day because you can’t function [otherwise].”

“So those nurses for the summer, they’re going to be either on vacation or working non-stop,” which Bonneville admitted doesn’t make for a “great lifestyle.”

According to CBC News, the Gatineau birthing unit delivered more than 2,300 babies last year. The only other hospital in the Outaouais with a birthing unit is the Pontiac Hospital in Shawville. 

In Quebec, a little more than one in four births results in a c-section, according to the not-for-profit organization Naître et grandir. A portion of these are planned in advance, but some are unplanned or emergency c-sections, which require surgery to be done immediately once a doctor has determined it’s necessary. 

However, if the operating room is already in use, Bonneville said there will be nowhere else in the hospital for the woman to receive that necessary surgery.

When asked what hospital staff would do in this event, Bonneville said, “We’re trying to work on contingency plans.”

For now, he said, “We’re going to make sure that the government understands there’s a sense of urgency to this. I mean, I’m totally against Band-Aid solutions, but we’re going to need a Band-Aid here until [the government can] manage the complete problem.”

“I think most women right now do not realize that that is the case,” he said, adding that part of his plan is to alert the public to this situation.

According to the CISSSO, five hospitals in the Outaouais can perform emergency surgeries, including Gatineau, Hull, Papineau, Pontiac and Maniwaki hospitals.  In December 2023, CBC News profiled the Gatineau birthing unit, calling it a rare success story in a healthcare system otherwise struggling with a lack of resources. At that time, the unit had 28 vacancies without replacement out of the total 188 positions. 

A doula’s perspective

Local doula, Kaëlla Charette, told the Low Down the news that Gatineau Hospital will go down to just one operating room this summer is “definitely concerning.”

A doula is a trained professional who supports parents during childbirth. 

According to Charette, emergency c-sections are relatively rare. In her five years of experience, she has assisted more than 100 births including many at Gatineau Hospital. She said that only two of the births she’s attended as a doula have resulted in what is known as a “P0” cesarian, or a c-section that needs to be performed without any delay. Most c-sections are less urgent, she explained, although typically surgery is performed within 30 minutes to two hours after a doctor deems it necessary. 

She pointed out that research by the World Health Organization has found that countries where more than 10 per cent of births result in c-section do not see any increased benefits in maternal or newborn mortality rates. Currently, Quebec’s rate of c-sections is around 28 per cent. Charette hopes that, in the face of an operating room shortage, health care providers will focus on “evidence-based care” that is proven to reduce the need for a c-section. 

“Some c-sections are absolutely life-saving and necessary,” Charette said, “but lowering the overall number [of c-sections] will lessen the burden on the system.”

By Madeline Kerr

Luigi’s Pizza in Wakefield is closing for good, but it still needs your money.

In an interview with the Low Down on March 22, Pizza de Luigi co-owner Marie-Josée Baril confirmed that despite a GoFundMe call to the community for donations to “Save Luigi’s Pizza!,” the shop will serve its last slice at the end of the month.

She told the Low Down that she still needs $35,000 to pay suppliers and her 10 employees who she called “troopers.”

“It’s a question of integrity…it’s the right thing to do and the only option, really,” Baril said. “My suppliers have been there for me over the years and I need to back them up.” She added, “And most importantly, I need to look after my employees.”

The $35,000 she is asking for – down from the original ask of $75,000 – will go towards supplier debts and vacation pay for her soon-to-be former employees.

Baril said that she is devastated to say goodbye to her family business, admitting that the hardest part was breaking the news to her workers.

“It was so hard, but I had to be honest with them,” said an emotional Baril.

She told the Low Down that “a complication of factors” have led to the business being forced to close its doors on March 31.

Baril explained that sales have taken a serious hit in the last year, which she believes is the result of Canadians’ collective belt-tightening as the cost of living soars. She said that she’s also struggled to find enough staff and can’t afford the minimum wage pay increase of 50 cents per hour that is coming into effect in Quebec on May 1. 

On top of that, the cost of making a pizza has skyrocketed since the pandemic: before, Baril said that one shipment of pepperoni would cost her $90; just a few years later, the cost has doubled to $180 for the same volume. 

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans that were offered to small businesses during the pandemic are now being called in by the federal government at five per cent interest – another expense that Pizza de Luigi can’t absorb, Baril explained.

Last year, Luigi’s moved from its home of nearly 10 years at 12 Ch. de la Vallée-de-Wakefield and now rents the former home of Sur la Lune Ice Cream Shop just a few doors down and across the street. At the same time, Luigi’s took over the ice cream parlour and began offering both sweet and savoury treats. 

The move was an effort to save the business, which Baril said was already facing financial difficulties, but ultimately, it didn’t pay off. 

Baril, who works a full-time job besides managing Luigi’s, said that she’s faced criticism from some for not being open on certain days of the week. But she said that she doesn’t regret staying closed, even on profitable days like Sunday, because it meant she could spend time with her family. 

“There will always be some people who are quick to judge, but until you’ve been in this business, until you’ve done this kind of work, you really can’t say anything…[because] you have no idea what it’s like,” she said.  

In recent years, Baril worked alongside her daughter, Kassandra McNeill, and son-in-law, Michel Houle, who she said “make an amazing team.” She watched with pride as the two worked together to churn out a whopping 50 pizzas every Thursday morning in order to supply lunch for the Wakefield Elementary School. 

Across the province, too, the situation is bleak: In September last year The Suburban reported that 20 per cent of Quebec restaurants have closed since the start of the pandemic. 

“I’m hopeful that other businesses can keep thriving in Wakefield because we have some amazing eateries here,” said Baril.  

“I really want to say a big thank you to [the community] for the continued support, the memories, and the laughs over the years,” she added. “I’ve always fought to keep going, even maybe, in retrospect, when I shouldn’t have,” Baril said, holding back tears. “I know that when one door closes, another opens…there is something else out there for me, and this has been an amazing experience in a lot of ways.”

Baril’s GoFundMe has received $1,375 in donations by the time of publication. Luigi’s will officially close its doors March 31.

By Madeline Kerr 

Cantley’s Mayor David Gomes says he wants residents to understand that when he became mayor in November 2021 he inherited a financial mess. But, he adds, he is doing the hard work necessary to clean it up. 

The Low Down recently sat down with the mayor to discuss a range of issues, during which finances became a focal point.

Just a few months ago, Cantley was forced to borrow more than $3 million in order to help cover a nearly $4 million deficit. Gomes was adamant that this deficit was the result of poor financial management and a freeze on taxes by previous councils dating back almost a decade. 

“For 10 years [there was] zero augmentation of tax. …For years politicians here were saying ‘no augmentation of taxes, no higher taxes’, so when I arrived [as mayor] and I saw the financial situation, I said ‘f–k,’” an impassioned Gomes exclaimed. 

He showed the Low Down a ledger of financial statements, which indicates that in 2016 Cantely’s surplus sat at over $5 million. Every year since then, the municipality has been running a deficit and taking from the surplus to balance the budget. 

By 2022, not only had Cantley eaten its own surplus, the municipality was a whopping $3,961,395 in the hole. 

Gomes told the Low Down that the former council would regularly take from the municipality’s surplus to cover discrepancies in the budget. 

Unlike the other two levels of government, municipalities are not allowed to run a deficit. In November 2023, Cantley passed a loan bylaw allowing it to borrow $3.26 million with an interest rate of 5.5 per cent. Taxes were also raised 4.95 per cent this year, about three quarters of which is needed to help pay off the loan. 

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing [MMAH] opened an investigation into the municipality in late 2023 after some residents cried foul over the state of the municipality’s finances. 

“The same people were calling all the [newspapers] and saying ‘Gomes has put Cantley in the shit.’ They called Mr. [MNA Robert] Bussière, they called all the deputies, they called the ministry of municipal affairs two or three times to say they should make a denunciation of me, of Cantley…you can see I’m really pissed off,” he said, laughing.  

“With a lot of complaints, the [MMAH] doesn’t have a choice except to call my DG [director-general] and ask, ‘What is happening in Cantley?’” 

He claimed that the investigation has since concluded, and that he has been cleared of wrong-doing.

Gomes admitted that his council is responsible for a further $700,000 deficit accumulated in 2022, but he maintains that he is doing his utmost to reverse Cantley’s situation. In 2023, he raised taxes almost 14 per cent, an unpopular move at the time but one that he said he believed was necessary to help balance revenue and spending. 

“I’ve corrected a lot of things inside. The financials now are back on track. What I’ve said to people is that we’ve cleaned the house here in Cantley,” Gomes explained. 

‘This is democracy’

One of the ways that Gomes said he hopes to bring in greater revenue for the municipality is with the development of a sports complex, which he originally hoped would be connected to the municipal community centre on Chemin River. He said the complex was designed to include a soccer field, a mezzanine for indoor walking, a climbing wall and an outdoor skate park. 

In August 2023, council passed a resolution to expropriate a historic farm next to the community centre for these purposes. But a large number of residents pushed back; 556 signed a petition and over 60 showed up to a council meeting on Sept. 19 demanding that the farm be saved. Five of the six councillors reversed their decision, and the resolution was overturned. 

“The population debated, and we decided not to go any further. A lot of people confronted us, and councillors changed their decision. This is ok, this is democracy, and so we changed the program,” Gomes said. 

He didn’t say where the complex would be relocated, but explained that new plans for the building are smaller than the original. 

He insisted that, although a great initial expense – he estimated between $7 million and $12 million to build – the sports complex would end up paying for itself, something which current municipal infrastructure does not do, he added.

Ambitious plans

Gomes told the Low Down he believes that environmental issues are “very, very important,” which is why he is happy his council formed the municipality’s first environmental committee two years ago. 

“We also [made] a resolution to protect 51 per cent of the [municipality’s greenspace],” he explained. “Quebec says it has to be 30 per cent that’s protected, but we made it 51. It’s ambitious…right now we are working with the MRC des Collines and different [agencies] of government to see if we can buy some land.” 

He said he believes his plans for protecting Cantley’s environment is a step above some neighbouring municipalities, though he wouldn’t name which ones. 

He added that Cantley has “stopped all development outside the urban perimeter.” 

A sizable chunk of Cantley greenspace was recently protected thanks to the efforts of a group of locals who’ve helped conserve an ecologically delicate, hundred-acre parcel of land known as Ginns Eco Park. 

In the past, members of the organization Friends of Ginns Eco Park have voiced concern that Mayor Gomes is not on their side, but Gomes insisted during the interview, “We have protected Ginns Park from the beginning.” 

He declined to comment on the ongoing legal battle between Cantley and Ginns’ neighbour, Sylvain Lafrenière, the owner of the mountain biking centre Domaine Kanewe, who wants to build a road through the park. The court date was originally set for Feb. 19 and 20 but has been postponed. 

Next steps: ‘a clear vision’ forward  

According to Gomes, Cantley does not have a master plan in place, but he said he is keen to develop one as soon as possible. He said he’s hoping to persuade council to put $25,000 towards creating a master plan, something that he said some councillors are reluctant to do. 

“We don’t have a vision, and we need a clear vision for everybody,” he said. “This is about the long term, and the next elected officials who come in after the next election need to have something in place. If it’s not going to be me, then I want to be able to leave something after me,” adding that he has four kids and campaigned on change. 

“The first responsibility of our council was to clean house financially, now we have to do good maintenance for the future,” he added, stating that citizen engagement is a top priority.

“For me, the biggest strength in Cantley is the citizens,” Gomes said, although he noted that, while important, discussions are “polarized these days.” 

Mayor Gomes is in his third year as Cantley’s mayor. The next election will be held in 2025. 

By Madeline Kerr

Killian Charles, the president and CEO of Brunswick Exploration, says he understands why residents in Low are concerned that his company has been making scores of mining claims on their land. But, he adds, there is almost no chance anyone in the region is living on top of a future mine.

Active mining claims throughout the Outaouais have doubled since 2019. There are now over 20,000 approved claims, with a high concentration of these centered around Low and Kazabazua, totalling 15,000 acres of land as of mid-January.

Residents have expressed concern over this boom in claims. At a council meeting on Jan. 8, Low councillors passed a resolution to protect “agriculture, forests, recreational properties, as well as lakes, streams and the Gatineau River,” from mining claims.

In Quebec, anyone can purchase a mining claim for as little as $75. Some claims in Low and the surrounding area have been made by individuals, but the vast majority come from mining companies, including Lomiko Metals and Brunswick Exploration.

The Low Down reached out to both companies; Lomiko Metals declined to speak with us directly, but Charles responded immediately and was eager to offer his perspective.

Exploration process explained

Brunswick Exploration is what is known as a “junior” mining company, meaning that for now, it is only in the business of staking claims and exploring for minerals. If it discovers a major, economically viable deposit of minerals, it could decide to set up a mine or sell to an established mining company, according to Charles.

He explained that Brunswick is mainly focused on finding lithium, which is an essential part of EV batteries.

“People hear ‘mining claim,’ and they immediately think ‘mining,’” Charles said, but he insisted that this is rarely the case.

“A claim, 99.99 per cent of the time – that’s a real statistic – simply does not contain anything of interest and is simply dropped or expired,” he explained.

When companies like Brunswick begin the exploration process, they will purchase a large number of claims in areas where they have reason to suspect there may be mineral deposits.

“We truly have no idea where to go [at first],” Charles explained. “Think about looking for a needle in a haystack, now put that haystack 100 metres underground…We might know that a broad region contains something, but we don’t necessarily know where in that region we need to focus our efforts. So companies will often stake a lot.”

Geologists, if they are granted permission to do so, will first survey land on foot, examining whatever outcroppings of rocks they’re able to find.

“If we were to decide to do work in the Low township, it would mean that a geologist would be there for two weeks,” Charles said. He added that if that geologist decides “there’s nothing in this entire area for us, then that’s it – that’s the last time you’ll hear about Brunswick Exploration in the area. That’s pretty much how it’s been for most of our work experience.”

By way of illustration, Charles said there are currently over hundreds of thousands of hectares of claims throughout Canada, but only four areas – one in New Brunswick and three in the James Bay region – considered “key”; the remaining claims will be allowed to expire.

If a geologist does detect something during their initial survey, drilling could take place, he said, explaining that a drill rig, half the size of a tractor-trailer, could take a sample of rock for analysis – a process that takes roughly a few weeks. Once that’s completed, the company packs up and leaves, replanting any cleared trees and only returning to drill if the sample contains the “concentration” they’re looking for. He pointed out that, even then, mining is still unlikely since the concentrations might not be high enough to be economical.

But, he insisted, “Before anything happens…consultations happen throughout this whole process. It’s not like we’re ignoring people here.”

Bringing lithium mining to Canada

For Charles, bringing lithium mining to Canada is a moral imperative.

“…Over the last 20 to 30 years we’ve pushed the pollution and the processing onto [other] countries,” he said, citing places like China and the Congo – places that don’t have the same environmental or human rights protections like Canada, he added.

“We can do things better [here],” he continued. “It may mean that we have mines in areas we might not necessarily want to, but as a society we have to make a hard choice and ask ourselves what’s better.”

He also pointed out that mining in one country and shipping minerals to another creates pollution.

Though he is a proponent of homegrown lithium mining, Charles said he doesn’t blame anyone for having questions.

“It’s a weird industry, it truly is. That’s why I don’t fault anyone for having questions…” Charles said, adding that he plans to address those questions in person in the coming months.

“No matter what, at some point in the spring, I’m going to Low [to] talk to people,” he insisted, adding, “There are no dumb questions.”

By Madeline Kerr

Are cellphones a major distraction for students or an invaluable resource for education? It’s a question being asked by many in light of the recent decision by the Quebec government to ban cellphones in classrooms.

In August 2023, Quebec’s Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, announced that the government would be implementing a directive to ban cellphones in all public elementary and secondary classrooms beginning on Dec. 31, 2023.

The directive does offer some flexibility for teachers to include cellphones or other personal devices for pedagogical purposes.

By Dec. 31, schools must have made a policy detailing specific parameters for cellphone use on campus.

The Low Down has seen the policies in place at three regional secondary schools: St. Michael’s in Low, Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright in Hull, and Des Lacs in Masham.

Here’s how each institution is handling the challenging task of managing teenagers’ cellphone use during the school day.

St. Mike’s and Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright

Although there are very slight variations between their policies, for the most part St. Mike’s and Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright, which are both part of the Western Quebec School Board, have a nearly identical approach to dealing with cellphone use in school.

Both schools offer exceptions to the ban, including if teachers require personal devices to be used during a lesson; if a cellphone or other personal device is deemed necessary for a student’s health; or to accommodate a student’s special learning needs.

At both schools, departments are responsible for deciding what constitutes appropriate use of a personal device for educational purposes.

If a student needs to have a phone or other device with them for health reasons, it is up to parents to contact administrators to arrange this.

At St. Mike’s, a student’s special needs are determined by the content of their Individual Education Plan, whereas at Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright parents need to make a request to administrators for accommodation.

Consequences for inappropriate cellphone use at both schools include: a warning for the first offence; a 25-minute detention for the second; a 50-minute detention and a note home to parents for the third; a 50-minute detention and one hour of community service for the fourth; and a one-day suspension for the fifth offence.

Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright’s policy states that devices used without permission will be confiscated and remain in the office for the remainder of the school day.

St. Mike’s policy states that students must have their phones turned off and kept in their pockets unless given express permission otherwise.

Des Lacs Secondary School

“At Des Lacs Secondary School, the possession and use of personal electronic devices [including smartwatches and listening devices] is prohibited in the classroom during class hours. Students must place their devices in their locker before coming to class,” the school’s cellphone policy states, according to regional school service centre communication’s director Maude Hébert.

A modification to the rule of conduct was added on Jan. 15 stating, “However, an electronic device may be permitted when use is required by the educational intervention methods taken by the teacher, by the state of health of a student or by the particular needs of a student with disabilities or who is struggling.”

Hébert did not disclose consequences for students who break the rule. Unlike the policies at St. Mike’s and Hadley Junior & Philemon-Wright, Des Lacs does not appear to outline the procedure for determining when cellphone use is considered necessary for a student’s health or to assist a student’s special educational needs.

By Madeline Kerr

Employees of IGA Famille Charles in Chelsea will see their salary increase by 24 per cent over the next seven years thanks to a new collective agreement signed with the local division of the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW).

It’s a notable victory in an industry that has been under heavy scrutiny lately following reports that Canada’s top grocers made record profits of over $6 billion in 2023, while many grocery store workers’ wages haven’t even kept up with the pace of inflation.

Besides higher wages for all unionized employees, department supervisor bonuses will increase from $0.65 to $1 per hour worked. The union’s dental plan will continue to be fully paid for by the employer, and three new regular positions will be created. Spokesperson for UFCW Roxane Larouche told the Low Down that these improvements will help the store attract and retain workers.

Negotiations took place over just two meetings, which Larouche described as having “a harmonious climate.” She explained that approximately 80 employees will benefit from the collective agreement, which came into effect on Dec. 12, 2023.

IGA stores are supplied by Sobeys, the second largest grocer in Canada after Loblaws, and are owned by Empire Company Limited. Empire’s CEO Michael Medline made more than $8.6 million in total compensation in 2022, up from just over $7.4 million the year before, according to the Canadian private sector union Unifor.

Loblaws’ CEO Galen Weston Jr. made a staggering $11.9 million in compensation in 2022. Unifor concluded in a report published in April 2023 that the average grocery store employee – who at the time earned $18.97 per hour according to Statistics Canada – would have to work 340 years to earn Westen’s pay in just one year.

Local UFCW president Antonia Filato said in a statement that the latest salary raise for IGA Famille Charles workers is a good example of how “collective agreements ensure that our members obtain fair and equitable recognition for the work accomplished for their employer.”

By Madeline Kerr

If you want to give help to others, cash is king.

That’s the message from Cédric Tessier, the executive director for Centraide Outaouais, a local food aid organization, who told the Low Down: “At this time of the year, the best way to help us is to make a donation online.”

Marie-Pier Chaput, the director general of another local food aid organization, Le Grenier des Collines in Val-des-Monts, echoed that sentiment. She said her organization appreciates all of the food donations that it receives, but cash donations offer Le Grenier greater flexibility to purchase the food they need. She explained that often the food bank receives discounts for bulk purchases, meaning that a cash donation can go even further than you think.

“Inflation has caused real financial problems for people in the lower middle class and they now need services they didn’t need before,” Tessier said.

Centraide, which is often known as United Way in other parts of Canada, is a federation of nonprofit organizations that seeks to combat poverty and improve lives for some of the most vulnerable in society. It provides money and services to 88 community agencies, Tessier explained, which have all seen an increase in demand this year.

That increase means that this year the organization, which is headquartered in Gatineau, helped 88,000 people, according to Tessier – that’s roughly 20 per cent of the region’s population.

Tessier confirmed that supply has risen too.

“We collected 3.8 million dollars last year and this year, our goal is 4 million dollars,” he said. “We don’t know yet if we will reach that goal, but we’re on the right path to reach it.”

Tessier encouraged folks who want to give to Centraide Outaouais to consider entering the 50/50 draw on the organization’s website, where regular donations can also be made.

Linda Bardell, a volunteer with the Wakefield Food Pantry and Community Fridge, said that her organization, which runs out of the Shepherd of Good Hope church on Riverside Drive in Wakefield, has seen a lot of new faces this year, including an influx of young families.

While demand has gone up, Bardell said jokingly, “we don’t need crowd control yet.”

That’s because donations have been able to rise to meet the needs of the community. The Food Pantry was collecting cash and non-perishable donations on Dec. 9 at this year’s annual Wakefield Christmas Market and Bardell said, while she didn’t want to disclose the exact amount, “we did extremely well and we’re very happy.”

Food can be dropped off any time at the Wakefield Community Fridge located outside the Shepherd of Good Hope. The most desirable items are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as commercially packaged meals and meat before its “best date.” Condiments, soups and homemade goods like jams and baking should not be donated to the Fridge.

Bardell said the organization is also welcoming donations by e-transfer to gsw@anglicansinthehills.ca. Be sure to write “food pantry: in the memo.

Food banks across the country are seeing an all-time high of people using their services. According to a recent study by Food Banks Canada, 2023 saw the highest food bank usage since the company began collecting data in 1989.

By Madeline Kerr

Everyone knows a cat has nine lives, but few may be aware that an unspayed female cat can have around 12 kittens in a single year.

This is part of the reason why some residents of La Pêche say they worry that if nothing is done to address the growing number of feral cats in the municipality, the issue could get out of hand, causing both cats and other local wildlife to seriously suffer.

A petition put forward by La Pêche resident Natasha Sabolotny is asking residents to show their support for a humane solution to the problem. At the time of publication, Sabolotny’s petition on Change.org has garnered 3,915 signatures.

In part, the petition states, “It’s time to demand that the municipality of La Pêche take responsibility for the ethical treatment of all pets.”

Part of the problem, Sabolotny’s petition explains, is the fact that the company employed by the municipality to deal with animal control does not provide services for stray cats. Starting in 2021, the municipality of La Pêche ended its former agreement with the SPCA and signed a two-year deal with a local company Anitek.

Unlike the SPCA, Anitek’s services are mostly limited to stray dogs, meaning there is little help available when it comes to stray cats.

Anitek’s services also come with a larger price tag: while the municipality spent a little more than $31,800 in 2019 to work with the SPCA, this year its contract with Anitek costs $41,900. La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux justified the expense of Anitek’s services over SPCA saying that the number of dogs registered in the municipality has doubled thanks to Anitek’s services – namely his digital dog tag registrar, which helps offset the cost.

On Nov. 7, a group of residents, including Sabolotny, met with Lamoureux to discuss their concerns. Wakefield resident Justine Nolan attended the meeting, where she explained to the mayor the scope of the feral cat problem and put forward possible solutions to resolve it.

Nolan said that she and others believe there are close to 200 cats living in a colony near Burnt Hill in Edelweiss and another 35 cats at a colony in Lac-des-Loups. Feral cats are by nature skittish and hard to count, making it difficult to get exact numbers, she said, adding that there are likely to be several other pockets of feral cats throughout the municipality.

Part of the problem is that feral cats poach birds and other wildlife, which can have a negative impact on local ecosystems, Nolan explained. Unvaccinated cats can also spread disease to domesticated pets they come in contact with.

“Cruelty towards animals is also one of the biggest concerns,” Nolan said. “People put [kittens] in bags, suffocate them, drown them…the population getting out of control sadly means that [this kind of] behaviour is more likely.”

One solution, residents like Nolan and Sabolotny say, would be to implement a Trap, Neuter, Release and Maintain program (TNRM) through any area clinics offering neutering, ideally with funding from the municipality.

Another solution is to attract more veterinarians to the municipality, according to the group. Currently there is only one vet, Dr. Penny Wootton, working at the Wakefield veterinary clinic, who also works in Chelsea, meaning few can access vet services in the area.

Yet another possible solution, according to Nolan, includes discounts for La Pêche residents who want to spay or neuter a pet.

Lamoureux has said he recognizes that cats are underserved by the current arrangement. He told the Low Down the municipality has been in touch with the SPCA to enlist their help dealing with feral cats in the region but has been told that due to lack of human resources and limited space in their facility, they are unable to provide support.

“I am periodically in touch with the director of the SPCA to see if the situation evolves,” he added.

By Madeline Kerr

Hundreds of families, thousands of hours, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

These numbers represents just a slice of the community’s contributions to securing, building and maintaining the 20 acres of recreational land in the centre of Chelsea village, owned and operated by the Chelsea Foundation, according to its president, Fiona Duguid.

On Oct. 30, Chelsea council voted to move ahead with plans to try and acquire part of that land in order to build a new French-language elementary school, which the municipality and the local school service centre say is imminently needed.

One of The Chelsea Foundation’s first acts after its creation in the mid-1990s was to raise money and purchase a plot of land in Old Chelsea from Elizabeth Meredith, who hoped it would remain a recreational green space to be used by the community. The Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that seeks to promote sport, culture and leisure, as well as foster a sense of community in the municipality.

After buying the land, Duguid said, “over $600,000 was fundraised from the community to cover land transfer costs, road development and field development. The in-kind donations of heavy equipment, landscaping expertise, project management and materials were also essential, along with the thousands of hours of sweat-equity provided by community members to literally break ground for the soccer fields to be developed.”

All of which contributed to the creation of a recreational hub that Chelsea families have been able to enjoy for the past 20 years.

“Every child in Chelsea has played on these fields with parents and grandparents coaching, cheering and playing too,” Duguid said. “In essence, it is an example of the community coming together for a common cause.”

Using registration data from 1998 to 2019, Duguid estimated that an average of 556 Soccer Chelsea players use the Foundations’ fields from May to September each year. This number does not include summer camps, tournaments or any other events held on the fields, she explained.

Besides this, Duguid listed a number of other uses of the fields on a regular basis, including: gym classes; orienteering; track and field meets and other special events by students at Chelsea Elementary and Chelsea Montessori; adult recreational soccer in the summer; and Vibrant Ultimate frisbee games from May through October each year.

Duguid said that the Foundation first heard about the municipality’s desire to acquire part of the land – specifically one of its soccer fields – on Aug. 16, 2023. On Sept. 6 the municipality informed the Foundation that it wanted to acquire approximately four acres of its 20 acres of land.

In an email to the Low Down, Chelsea municipal spokesperson Maude Prud’homme-Séguin explained that, “Very early on in the process, the municipality offered to relocate the soccer field, at its own expense, on one of its properties, in order to reach a win/win agreement, which the Foundation refused.”

At the council meeting on Oct. 30, Mayor Pierre Guénard explained that the municipality was asked to provide the local French school service centre (CSSPO) with a list of all lots in the urban perimeter with a surface area of over 25,000 square metres serviced by a water system.

He explained that the municipality made it clear they favoured other sites for the school building, including behind La Fab sur Mill on Mill Road, but this suggestion was rejected by CSSPO based on a lengthy list of criteria it uses to determine suitable sites for future schools.

Some residents at the meeting implored council to push back against CSSPO’s decision, but Mayor Guénard and several councillors made it clear they feel their hands are tied.

“We have to consider both the Foundation’s needs and those of the population,” Prud’homme-Séguin later explained. “This school will enable 300 students a year to continue their education in a modern school on Chelsea territory.”

On Oct. 30, the council voted to enlist the services of RPGL Lawyers in Gatineau to move ahead with acquiring the land.

By Madeline Kerr

Chelsea councillors have voted to approve more funding for further work on River Road, which has been undergoing a major renovation since July.

At a council meeting on Nov. 7, councillors voted in favour of additional spending to replace a culvert and install road slopes.

The total budget for the rehabilitation of the road is now $13.7 million, although Chelsea municipal spokesperson Maude Prud’homme-Séguin told the Low Down that, to date, the municipality has spent around only $5.5 million.

“Unless there’s a major surprise, we don’t expect any cost overruns by the end of the project, despite other additional expenses to come,” she said.

When it was initially announced early last year, Chelsea had earmarked $12.4 million to complete the entire project, which will include full reconstruction of over six kilometres of road from the border with La Pêche to Hwy 105, as well as widening the road near the Cascades Club and upgrading more than 20 culverts.

The council meeting on Nov. 7 was not live streamed or recorded due to a power failure, according to the municipality’s website. The minutes of the meeting will become publicly available after they are officially adopted at a future council meeting.

By Madeline Kerr

After years of uncertainty during the pandemic, regional schools are breathing a sigh of relief that enrolment numbers are steady and predictable this year.

According to George Singfield, the director-general of the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB), the slight increase in the number of students registered with his board’s 31 schools was no surprise. Singfield reported that the WQSB welcomed 7,990 students from K4 through Grade 11 this year, up from 7,909 last year.

Homeschooling numbers, which Singfield said used to hover around 70 students who were registered with the school board but receiving their education at home, jumped up to 300 during the pandemic but have settled to 117 this year.

“There’s always a little bit of fluctuation,” said Singfield. “The ministry gives us good projections.”

The region’s French school board, the Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l’Outaouais (CSSPO), has seen similar growth across its 25 schools, with an increase of 352 students this year. CSSPO communications coordinator Maude Hébert told the Low Down that the jump to 18,261 total students across the region was expected.

Recently, Chelsea municipality announced that it was one step closer to building a new French language elementary school, which it hopes to do by 2026. A spokesperson for the municipality told the Low Down that the number of students requiring placement in a French school in Chelsea will climb by 300 by 2026. Until then, CSSPO plans to accommodate surplus students at Grande Boisé, currently Chelsea’s only French elementary school.

Both WQSB and CSSPO report that all schools in the region are currently fully staffed, despite an announcement by Quebec’s Education Ministry at the start of the school year that the province faced widespread teacher shortages.

Earlier this month, news outlets reported that violent incidents were on the rise in Quebec schools. Regionally, that is not the case, according to local school authorities. Neither Singfield nor Hébert reported heightened concerns regarding violence in their schools.

“Thank goodness we have not seen this [increase in violence] at our school,” added Hadley Junior and Philemon Wright High School principal Dodie Payne.

By Madeline Kerr

Pic II, the tugboat-turned play-structure that’s sat outside Chelsea Elementary school for the last 30 years, briefly took flight on the morning of Friday, Sept. 29.

Before the school day began, Roy’s Crane Service from Gatineau was gearing up to hoist the 60-year-old, 15-tonne boat onto a flatbed truck to be moved to a designated spot in Morrison’s Quarry — a temporary resting place before it is moved to a more permanent location along the community trail in north Chelsea sometime next year.

The move was paid for and coordinated by the Western Quebec School Board. Former Chelsea Elementary principal, Andrea Gage, was instrumental in ensuring the historic boat would be preserved, after the school board deemed it unsafe to stay on the school playground, where it was beloved by generations of children.

Pic II was originally used to help the log driving that took place along the Gatineau River until the early 1990s. When the log drive ended, a group of parents at Chelsea Elementary worked to have the boat saved and brought to the school grounds. This past June, students gave a heartfelt farewell to the old boat with a school-wide ceremony.

Cynthia Boyko is a former student of Chelsea Elementary and now the parent to third-grader Gabriel. She said her son loved the boat and was sad to see it go. Boyko took videos of the Pic II being raised into the air to show her son later. “It meant a lot to the students here,” she said.

Sentier Chelsea Trails board member and Les Amis de la Voie Verte Chelsea president Sandy Foote was present as well and remarked that his two grown-up children also had fond memories of playing on the boat when they were young. He said he is pleased that Pic II, emblematic of the region’s history, will remain in the community.

The Pic II has seen it all now: from water to land to flight. After so many years of service, it’s easy to imagine the old boat is looking forward to its retirement overlooking the Gatineau River from the edge of the Chelsea trail.

By Madeline Kerr

Three separate fire-related incidents displaced 17 residents from Le Manoir seniors residence and shut down Wakefield village on Oct. 11.

At around 9:30 a.m. the fire department first visited Le Manoir, located at 775 Riverside Dr., after a small electrical fire in the building’s laundry room was detected. The first was deemed under control at the time, but a couple of hours later, firefighters returned following a report that thick smoke had begun to spread through part of the building.

MRC-des-Collines Police spokesperson Martin Fournel told the Low Down that there are approximately 60 residents housed in the building who were all safely evacuated. No injuries were reported and a statement released by the municipality of La Pêche said that Le Manoir’s emergency plan was implemented effectively.

Nine fire trucks, multiple police cars and an ambulance made the road impassable until mid-afternoon. Residents of three out of four sections of the building were allowed to return to their rooms later that same day, but 17 residents from one section of the building had to be temporarily relocated as their rooms required clearing after having been filled with smoke.

Health authorities with Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) took charge of caring for the displaced residents.

That evening, fire trucks once again returned to Le Manoir following a report that someone in the building smelled smoke. No fire was detected at that time, and residents were able to remain in the building without incident.

The cause of the fire has been deemed accidental and electrical in origin.

Le Manoir first opened in 1997, but part of the building is well over 150 years old. Once the site of the Wakefield Hospital – prior to its move up the hill on Burnside Drive – the original building was a manor house built by the MacLaren family in the 1860s, according to the Gatineau Valley Historical Society.

By Madeline Kerr

It’s been called “magical,” “iconic” and “essential.” It’s a destination for out-of-towners and indispensable for numerous locals. It’s been threatened and defended and discussed more times in the pages of this newspaper than we can count. And, at the time of publication, it remains under a boil-water advisory that has stretched on for months.

It’s a local truism: Wakefielders love their spring. The natural water source is fed by the hills that surround it, and thousands of residents have come to rely on its steady flow as their main source of water, either year-round or during power outages, which have become increasingly frequent.

The spring, located on Valley Drive near the Hwy 105 roundabout, was closed through much of this summer due to contamination from coliforms, and since Aug. 18 it’s been under a boil-water advisory that La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux said cannot be lifted until two back-to-back tests confirm a total absence of coliform particles. Coliform bacteria, which includes e-coli, are organisms that are present in the environment and in the feces of all warm-blooded animals and humans. Testing for coliforms, including for e-coli, is conducted twice a month; the results are made public via the municipality website.

Although the cause of this specific contamination is unknown, many have worried about – and some have fought fiercely to protect – the spring’s health over the years. To bring newcomers up-to-date and to give long-timers a refresher, here is a brief history of Wakefield’s love affair with its spring.

The spring is moved, 1986

Few seem to know that the spring is officially named “The Lorne Shouldice Spring” after the late municipal councillor who helped secure its safe relocation when the source was threatened by road construction on Hwy 105 in the 1980s. Shouldice and others worried that the spring was being contaminated by pollutants seeping from the construction site and also feared it would be paved over by the Ministry of Transportation Quebec (MTQ) if it wasn’t routed elsewhere. Shouldice’s resolution was ultimately successful and in 1986 the MTQ agreed to move the spring to its current location on Valley Drive using pipes that fed it under the road for approximately 100 metres.

Save our Spring, 2009

The extension of Hwy 5 posed serious concerns for environmentalists in the Hills during the 2000s. Around 2009, well-known photographer Helene Anne Fortin founded Save our Spring (SOS) Wakefield, a committee that pledged to, well, save the spring. At that time, locals feared that the rock blasting required to extend the highway would pollute the aquifer that feeds the spring and many nearby wells. In 2010, Natural Resources Canada concluded that the dynamiting would have an impact, which SOS used to put pressure on the council and MTQ to carry out more environmental studies. The report also estimated that the highway development would decrease the aquifer’s supply by 25 per cent.

Mock funeral, 2012

In 2012, SOS organized a mock funeral to protest the “death of the spring,” which they feared would be the result of excavation of the sandpit near Rockhurst Road. Around 50 locals, dressed in black, formed a procession behind a black wooden casket, carried by six young pallbearers. Masham resident Bettina Koschade attended the funeral with her whole family. She recalled there was a shared feeling that “the [spring] is a vital source for a lot of people, and community forms out of gathering places that are open to everyone…what would we do if it was gone? We were protesting the reckless treatment of something so essential.”

Bussière sees dollar signs, 2014

Two years later, former La Pêche mayor and current MNA, Robert Bussière put forward a plan to bring in an outside company to bottle some of the water from the spring. He said that funds raised from selling the water could be put towards community projects. SOS sprung into action again and protested the idea. Speaking to CBC News at the time, SOS chair Peter Andrée said he believed “some things should be kept in common…and celebrated in common as our common resource.” Eventually the notion was rejected and a resolution was adopted that included many of SOS’s proposals, such as keeping the spring free for all to access, prohibiting the use of de-icing calcium on Valley Drive upstream of the spring, maintaining the structure surrounding the spring and carrying out regular testing of the water.

A deluge of stories

The spring has sourced countless rumours over the years. One, divulged by Wakefield Coun. Claude Giroux with the caveat that it may only be an “urban legend” is that a regional wine-maker used to drive up to the spring at night and take away 450 gallons of water to supply all of his wine-making. In 2015, the Low Down reported that two individuals alleged they saw the spring, which has had a constant flow for as long as anyone can remember, stop running for several minutes. And of course, the rumour that Wakefield’s spring is the freshest, best-tasting water around (when it isn’t under a boil advisory) has reached to far-off places, bringing in an estimated 300 cars a day at times from Ottawa and beyond. Although, as locals know, that isn’t just a rumour — it’s the truth, and it’s worth protecting.

By Madeline Kerr

A notice to all lead-footed Chelsealites: the stretch of Hwy 105 that runs in front of the Chelsea Montessori school has officially been reduced to 30 km/h during the school day.

Notice signs were installed on Aug. 22 to warn road users of the change, which was adopted by the Chelsea municipal council during a regular meeting on Sept. 5 this year.

In a press release, the municipality explained that: “following the recommendations of the Public Works and Infrastructures advisory committee and the Active and Sustainable Mobility committee, the municipal council officially adopted the bylaw modifying the speed limit on this section of the road.”

The 30 km/h speed limit will be in effect from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., from Aug. 15 to June 30 each year.

Chelsea Montessori is a private elementary and preschool that has been operating in the village since 1997. The school’s director-general, Nancy Courchesne, told the Low Down that, although the school did not advocate to the municipality for the speed change, she is glad that it’s been made.

“Because some of our kids walk to the library and they have to cross that road, I think it’s a great thing,” she said.

Speed limits along various sections of Chelsea’s Hwy 105 have been a point of contention for years. In February 2022, the Chelsea Ward 2 Residents’ Association and Sustainable, Active, Fun, Equitable (SAFE) Chelsea conducted a study of 20 crosswalks along Old Chelsea Road, Kingsmere Road near Old Chelsea, Scott Road, and part of Hwy 105 and found problems with most of them. The report also provided suggestions on how to make the crossings more visible to drivers and therefore safer.

In March this year, the death of 74-year-old Emilian Dragulescu from Burnett, who was struck by a car while walking his dog along the highway, sparked an outcry from the community and led to a petition asking the government and Chelsea council to lower the road’s speed limit. The petition garnered 389 signatures and helped lead to the council’s adoption on May 2 of a reduced speed limit – from 70 km/h to 50 km/h – along the stretch of Hwy 105 within Chelsea’s boundaries.

At the time, councillors said that Hwy 105 had transitioned from a highway to a residential road, explaining that the road’s dynamics have changed as well. Speed changes are one way to reflect that the road is now frequently used by pedestrians and cyclists.

By Madeline Kerr

Property values are going up an average of 46 per cent in Chelsea, according to the latest triennial assessment roll in the MRC des Collines.

The latest assessment, released Oct. 19, is based on the region’s real estate market as of July 1, 2022, and although the increase is high, Chelsea is assuring residents not to expect a similar increase on their tax bills next year..

“Council has not yet determined the tax rate, but we would like to reassure residents that this does not mean they will be taxed to the extent of the roll increase,” Chelsea Spokesperson Maude Prud’homme-Séguin told the Low Down. “Council will adjust the tax rate downwards to remain reasonable and strike a balance between the increase of the assessment roll, the cost of living, and the needs of the municipality.”

The property assessment roll is a summary of the inventory of buildings and vacant land located within a municipality, assessed on the same basis and on the same date. The assessment roll, which is in effect for three municipal fiscal years beginning on Jan. 1 of the year after the assessment is completed, is the basic tool for calculating the amount of municipal and school taxes in a municipality.

An information session will be held on Oct. 27 at 7:00 p.m in the basement of 220 Old Chelsea Road to explain the reasons for the increase, outline the process for requesting a review and answer questions residents may have, according to municipal Prud’homme-Séguin

She added that “the Municipality is in the middle of the budgetary period. The tax rate will be announced in December when the budget is officially adopted.”

Vacant land values in Chelsea saw the greatest increase, rising in value 54 per cent, while condominiums rose 37 per cent in value. Single-dwelling houses rose 46 per cent in value – the same as the average across all properties in the municipality. The average price of a single-dwelling house in Chelsea is now $663,800.

By Madeline Kerr

A housing development that was first proposed in 2019 has finally been approved by Chelsea council, but how much of it will be considered affordable is still up for debate.

During the Oct. 3 council meeting, Chelsea Mayor Pierre Guénard told the crowd that up to 15 per cent of the new units in Phase 2 of the Chelsea Creek development, which will add 72 multi-residential units and 16 semi-detached houses, would be set aside as “affordable” housing.

Municipal communications officer Stéphanie Deforges explained after the meeting that the definition of affordable “remains to be determined officially as part of a future affordable housing policy.”

“Affordable usually means the rental cost is equal or less than 80 per cent of the regular market rental price, or that the housing cost represents less than 30 per cent of an individual’s monthly expenses,” she added.

Multivesco CEO François Juneau, the company behind Phase 2 at Chelsea Creek, said that his company intends to make a percentage of the units affordable by such definitions, but ultimately “it will be the decision of the builder and owner of the multi-residentials. It is not Multivesco’s final decision.”

Deforges told the Low Down that the municipality “will encourage the project’s builders to uphold the developer’s promise,” but did not specify how it would do so. She added that the municipality is waiting to receive funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund before developing an affordable housing policy that will impact future projects.

The results of a triennial assessment of taxable property values in Chelsea, made public on Oct. 19, show that the average cost of all property types has increased by 46 per cent. The average taxable value of a single-family dwelling in Chelsea is $663,800.

Currently, there are 164 single-family and semi-detached homes in the Chelsea Creek subdivision, which sits behind Isabelle Ménard Pharmacy on Old Chelsea Road.

‘Frustration’ over back and forth requests (Text break)

The process of approving the Chelsea Creek development has involved “back and forth” discussions between the developers, the municipality and residents, according to Juneau.

Three public consultations have been held, during which Multivesco heard from residents and business owners and made modifications to their plans based on feedback, Juneau said.

Key elements of that feedback, according to Juneau, included ensuring accessible housing for seniors, so they can remain in their community; integrating seniors’ units into the design of each building (originally seniors were going to be separated); and ensuring that young families could find housing in the village that’s less expensive than a single-family home.

“We were implored to include multi-residential units in the project, which we agreed to do, based on the idea of being inter-generational,” Juneau explained.

Density was another priority.

“A lot of comments we received were geared toward the environment; people wanted a lot of greenspace,” said Juneau, who added that this resulted in the decision to include underground parking beneath some of the buildings.

“People recognize the need for density,” he said, “but there was a real resistance to offering buildings more than three [stories high].” He said his company eventually gave up on planning taller than three stories because “it seems there was no social acceptance of it.”

Following more delays due to the pandemic and the municipality’s new master plan, which was completed in November 2022, Juneau said his company finally approached the current council with their plans and received yet more feedback and requests.

“This is why, at the presentation [on Oct. 3] you might have seen a certain level of frustration because of all this back and forth…we asked the council to take a position and decide if they want the project or not.”

Juneau said the project could take some time — up to a year just to bring power to the subdivision.

“Hopefully we’ll see some work by the second half of 2024,” he said.

Juneau said that it is too soon for his company to estimate the average rental or sale price of units in the new Chelsea Creek development, and he also could not confirm the size of the units, although plans show that there will be a combination of two and three bedroom, single and multi-story apartments.

“We know there is a housing crisis,” said Juneau, “but it’s taking much longer to work with municipalities nowadays. And this is a project that is 100 per cent compliant [with bylaws], so for projects that are not compliant, it can take even longer.”