Six Lion Electric buses covering ten routes with the New Frontiers School Board were back on the roads this week, after they were abruptly pulled from circulation and sidelined on September 10. Electric buses covering nine routes with the Centre de Services Scolaire de la Vallée-des-Tisserands were also temporarily grounded.
In a September 14 communication to NFSB families, the school board confirmed the buses had been inspected and transport companies were waiting on government approval before they could return to service. The companies were required to provide a certificate of compliance to school boards and service centres following the inspection, which dragged on over the week. In the meantime, parents were required to find alternative transport for their children while boards and service centres were able to do little more than provide regular updates to affected families.
According to the NFSB, the boards and service centres received instructions from the education ministry to review evacuation procedures with students by screening a provided safety video and by posting evacuation process posters in buses. Affected NFSB schools, including Hemmingford, Howick, Mary Gardner, St. Willibrord, and Centennial Park elementary schools as well as both Chateauguay Valley Regional and Howard S. Billings high schools, were advised to be more flexible with arrival times and to expect more car and foot traffic in drop-off areas.
The NFSB encouraged parents to speak with their children, as this situation like many other busing issues happened without advance notice, and to ensure that children know what to do in the event their school bus does not arrive.
The prevention of bullying and violence in New Frontiers School Board schools is among the top priorities identified by director general Mike Helm for the 2025-2026 school year.
The decision to prioritize the reduction of bullying and violence stems from a report submitted in June, by members of a task force established last year in response to mounting concerns over the increasing number of incidents within NFSB schools and centres. The document includes a series of 19 recommendations and concrete measures to reduce bullying and violence within the system.
“I was able to take some time over the summer to really read through the report, and to digest it,” said Helm, who presented the task force’s findings to the council of commissioners on August 26. “There was a tremendous amount of work done by this team in gathering all these different elements,” he added, noting the board will report on its progress regularly as administrators work to implement the recommended measures.
The task force included a cross-section of around 13 individuals including staff members, teachers, principals, special education consultants, and custodians. The committee met numerous times and held several public consultations, community nights, and town hall meetings to gather as much information as possible.
“The idea was to consult with our community to build a plan specific to New Frontiers, knowing that it is a priority for us, but also a priority for the Ministry,” said NFSB assistant director general Joyce Donohue, who led the task force. “Our summary of recommendations is over the short, medium, and long term so that it’s digestible for the board, should we have the capacity to implement all 19,” she explained. The measures span between a timeline of one to two years for easily managed cost-effective solutions, and up to four years or more for those that involve cultural shifts within the system.
Donohue acknowledged there is not anything especially new or groundbreaking included in the recommendations. “We are already doing a lot of great things. It’s a question of ensuring these are done across the board and choosing what it is that we want to continue to move forward with,” she said. For example, the first recommendation involves ensuring each school has an anonymous reporting system in place, where students can report incidences of bullying or violence without fear of retaliation.
Another short-term recommendation involves ensuring each school is implementing the protocols included in a new anti-bullying and violence template provided by the Education Ministry consistently and in the same manner.
The report also references the NFSB’s Commitment to Success Plan which sets an objective of increasing a sense of belonging among students. “Part of that is students feeling safe in their environment,” said Helm. “So, if we put these strategies in place and create a greater sense of belonging and citizenship with students, that is going to have an impact, and there will be less violence and less bullying taking place in our buildings.”
With just under a week remaining before students return to class, the New Frontiers School Board has filled all 400 of its available teaching positions, making it the only service centre or board not looking to hire in the Montérégie.
“We are doing great in terms of what our needs are for the startup of the school year, both on the adult and the youth side,” said the NFSB’s director general, Mike Helm. The board still has some vacant positions, and schools may be looking to fill additional resource or support roles, he explained, but hiring is being closely monitored due to budget reductions and restrictions.
“For our support staff starting out right now, we are in very good shape,” Helm confirmed. “But we have to take it case by case as we move forward,” he cautioned, noting the board must maintain a balanced budget and stay within its allocated quota for full-time equivalent positions (ETCs).
According to the provincial government’s education dashboard, the Centre de Services Scolaires de la Vallée-des-Tisserands was short around 15 teachers out of 883 positions when the system was last updated on August 18. The data on available posts for support staff and educational professionals was not available as of press time.
Overall, the NFSB is starting the year with budget compressions that amount to around $800,000, including the $511,000 carried over from last winter and $280,000 from reductions announced in the spring. As a result, the school board is aiming to reduce travel expenses, professional development costs, and overtime hours to recuperate these funds. This involves monitoring any activities and initiatives that take place throughout the year that require overtime to be paid. “We need to take that inventory and make the best decisions for each of our communities,” said Helm, before emphasizing the goal is to reduce but not eliminate overtime work.
According to Helm the budget is manageable at this time, but he acknowledged the situation could change rapidly if there are sudden needs to be met within any of the schools. “Right now, we are looking at a balanced budget, and we have put controls in place to monitor our ETCs,” he said.
Helm jokingly referred to the past few months as a working summer, while maintaining that many employees from schools and centres enjoyed the time away and are ready for the start of the year. “We have a lot of great initiatives that came out of last year that we are moving forward with,” he explained.
“We need to be focused on positive elements,” said Helm, noting that this came up during the first meeting with school administrators last week. “Yes, we have these restrictions that we are dealing with, and we need to take things one step at a time, but we can’t dwell in the negative,” he added. “We need to do what is best for our students and their success!” he exclaimed, saying he is feeling optimistic heading into 2025-2026.
Administrators at the New Frontiers School Board are breathing easier, following a provincial government decision in mid-July to invest an additional $540 million into the education budget.
The NFSB is expecting to receive just under $2 million in additional funding through newly announced measures that directly impact student services, which will help tremendously to balance the budget. Finalized government budget rules still require the board to find savings, but the NFSB’s director general, Mike Helm, said these cuts will be much less dramatic.
“For us, it is now a small reduction overall in the system,” Helm explains, saying the board now expects to come up with a balanced budget. “We are in a position where we should be able to move forward and provide the services that we need to provide,” he confirmed.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville stated that the funds allocated as part of the new measures must be used to provide direct services to students, and that to be eligible, each service centre or board will have to demonstrate that efforts have been made to reduce administrative expenses.
The government continues to insist that school boards and service centres post a balanced budget without tapping into any accumulated surplus. The NFSB Council of Commissioners chair, John Ryan, acknowledges that while the administration is still crunching numbers, it looks encouraging.
In a message sent to all NFSB families, Ryan thanked all those who wrote letters, signed petitions, shared the school boards story, and contacted local MNAs when the news broke about potentially devastating budget reductions earlier this summer.
Ryan maintains that if the earlier budgetary rules and parameters had remained in place without this new injection of funds, the NFSB would have been in a very difficult position. Instead, he pointed out, the government listened to both the public outcry and local MNAs, who were aware of the realities on the ground after having met with NFSB representatives.
The New Frontiers School Board is investing approximately $5.2 million in four major construction and renovation projects over the summer.
NFSB director general Mike Helm says the projects are being carried out according to the approved 2024-2025 budget and are not affected by current government reductions.
Two of the projects are taking place in Ormstown, where the washrooms on the main floor at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School are being completely renovated and updated. The tiles on the gymnasium floor at Ormstown Elementary School are being replaced, and work is continuing to renovate the second-floor hallway and certain classrooms.
Exterior brickwork is being done at Hemmingford Elementary School, while renovations to the school’s front entrance and walkway are also taking place.
Finally, a second phase of work to replace windows at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay is underway.
Helm notes that while they are pleased to be completing these projects over the summer, there is some concern about how budget restrictions may impact school renovations in the new year.
The government generally allocates a spending target for such renovations as part of the NFSB’s budget parameters. At the moment, Helm says the board is looking at a steep reduction for the 2025-2026 year to around $1.8 million.
“We are anticipating there will be fewer projects,” confirms Helm.
The Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO) has been granted an exemption to the law governing the use of personnel placement agencies or independent labour to fill staffing shortages over the summer.
The Quebec government passed legislation to phase out the use of staffing agencies within the public healthcare system in 2023. Under section 669 of the Act respecting the governance of the health and social services system, service providers must apply to the Ministry of Health for an exemption on exceptional grounds to call on private agencies to fill staffing vacancies.
A spokesperson for the CISSSMO’s communications and public affairs department has confirmed the regional health authority made this request earlier in the year.
“This exemption has been granted to the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest for a maximum of 51.3 full-time equivalents (FTE), the majority of which are evening, night, and weekend shifts for the period between May 31 and September 30, 2025,” said the spokesperson in an email.
Historically, there is an increase in staffing pressure on health care providers across the province during the summer months due to staff vacations. The exemption provided to the CISSSMO pertains solely to the number of FTE positions and does not correspond to a budget increase. The CISSSMO is also not required to fill all the available positions.
“The exemption is reserved for exceptional situations. It is a last-resort solution to avoid service disruptions if internal measures, such as contingency plans or overtime, prove ineffective or insufficient,” explained the spokesperson.
According to the CISSSMO, only 0.07 per cent of the hours worked since April 1 have been performed by independent workers.
New Frontiers School Board director general Mike Helm says thoughts of summer vacation are far from top of mind for school administrators, as boards and service centres continue to grapple with government-imposed budget reductions.
The NFSB is facing what could amount to a $4.9-million adjustment once the government’s final budgetary rules and parameters are received. The NFSB had been anticipating these figures in early July to begin seriously crunching numbers; however, as of press time, the parameters had not been delivered.
Helm says he is hopeful the government will have revised its position following feedback provided by school boards and service centres after plans to reduce education funding by at least $510 million dollars. “Reductions may be needed but maybe not to this magnitude,” says Helm. “Maybe we could spread it out over a couple of years instead of trying to take it all out in one year. That would certainly make it a little easier than what we are going through right now.”
As it stands, Helm says he is fairly confident the NFSB can meet its target for full-time equivalent positions, but he is less certain there will be enough funds to cover all the other expense categories. “That is where our bigger concern is now,” he admits.
Considering this uncertainty, the council of commissioners held an extraordinary meeting on July 8 where a motion was passed that calls on the government to withdraw its budgetary rules, withdraw the cuts, and reinstate the rule allowing boards to access any accumulated surplus. The resolution argues it is “neither feasible, nor responsible to fully implement the proposed cuts,” and mandates the NFSB administration to request authorization from the education ministry to run a deficit budget.
“This does not mean that we are not going to be prudent in the budget,” says the NFSB council of commissioners chair, John Ryan. “We are going to be as responsible as we can. Obviously, the government is short on funds, but we have an obligation to provide the services that we do,” he explained.
Helm says he is grateful for the council’s support as they wait for the final parameters. He has spoken with school administrators, and everything is on hold for the moment. “We are going to wait until we know where we stand,” he explains, noting that if reductions are necessary, the board will have to balance these with the potential impacts on students.
“We are dealing with some challenging times, but our intention is to provide to the maximum all of the services, programs and opportunities that we possibly can,” says Helm.
Public outcry continues
Both Ryan and Helm say they are encouraged by the public’s response. “It is not about English or French schools. This is impacting everybody equally. That’s why we are seeing so many different people speaking out in different ways on this,” says Helm, who suggests the cuts could lead to long-term impacts depending on how the boards and service centres manage the situation.
A petition sponsored by Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé on the National Assembly website has now been signed by over 157,000 concerned citizens. The “Ensemble, unis pour l’école” (Together, United for Schools) coalition representing teachers, support staff, education professionals, and administrators, including those at the NFSB, has also continued to grow.
At least seven new groups have joined the coalition, including École Ensemble, the Quebec English School Boards Association, the Association of Administrators of English Schools of Quebec (AAESQ), the Quebec Intellectual Disability Society, the Association Montréalaise des directions d’établissement scolaire (AMDES), the Coalition de parents d’enfants à besoins particuliers du Québec (CPEBPQ), and the Fédération québécoise de l’autisme (FQA).
The Centre de Services Scolaire de la Vallée-des-Tisserands has not commented publicly on the budget restrictions potentially impacting their schools and centres; however, the Syndicat du Champlain, which represents CSSVT teachers and support staff, issued a statement to its members on June 26 denouncing the measures. The union has also joined the coalition and is demanding school service centres stand up to the government by refusing to implement the proposed budget restrictions.
“This is a desperate time for education in Quebec,” said the New Frontiers School Board council of commissioners chair, John Ryan, in a statement denouncing the provincial government’s plans to reduce funding to school boards and service centres by at least $510 million dollars.
According to consultative budget parameters received by the NFSB on June 12, the board’s share of this “negative adjustment” could be as high as $4.9 million. Administrators were given little more than a day to react and provide feedback to the government.
“We are expecting to receive the actual parameters towards the beginning of July, so we are hopeful that some adjustments have been taken into consideration, but we are looking at a significant reduction,” confirms the NFSB’s director general, Mike Helm.
When added to reductions imposed earlier this year – amounting to more than $510,000 – as well as a hiring freeze that has been in place since last November, these compressions could place the NFSB in an untenable position. “This goes beyond looking at little pockets,” said Helm, before noting the targeted amount represents over five per cent of the board’s overall budget. “At this point, it is going to impact our schools and centres.”
Helm confirmed that the government has forbidden boards and service centres from adopting a deficit budget or using accumulated surplus funds to balance their books. He pointed out that approximately 80 percent of the budget is allocated to human resources, while another five per cent or more is dedicated to transportation. There is little left in terms of flexibility.
The timing of the government’s announcement further complicates the situation. “We have already made plans and commitments for the next year, and those are contractual obligations,” said Ryan. “Our budget wasn’t extravagant. It was already severe because we were anticipating more reductions,” he insists.
“Having to cut in areas that are going to affect students is very difficult to swallow,” Ryan said. “This is going to affect them for life,” he added, before declaring it will take a lot of pushing for the board to go that far. “It is not what we are here for.”
Reductions, not cuts
In a statement issued June 26, Education Minister Bernard Drainville responded to growing public concern over budget cuts, pointing out the budget has increased by $1.1 billion to $23.5 billion.
“While the needs are endless, we cannot solve all problems with money alone. Record amounts have been invested over the past seven years, and now we must use them more effectively,” Drainville said.
At the request of the NFSB, Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette and Chateauguay MNA Marie-Belle Gendron met with Helm, Ryan, and assistant director general Joyce Donohue on June 27. Following the meeting, Mallette said she and her colleague are waiting on the NFSB to provide them with more information and data so they can better understand their concerns.
“We will be sure to check with the ministry to ensure that the budget increase, as announced, will be fairly distributed,” Mallette explained, noting her office maintains a positive relationship with the NFSB.
Ryan acknowledged the meeting with the MNAs was positive but suggested it’s unclear whether the ministry and government officials fully understand how the impacts and effects of what they are asking could play out on the ground.
Growing public concern
A petition posted on the National Assembly website, sponsored by Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé, argues that the reduced spending targets will directly affect services to students, particularly those with special needs or learning difficulties. Support staff, including special education technicians and attendants, could see their positions reduced or eliminated. As of press time, well over 118,000 individuals had signed the document, which demands the government call off its restrictions so direct student services are not affected.
All the major unions representing teachers, support staff, education professionals, and administrators have come together to form the “Ensemble, unis pour l’école” (Together, United for Schools) coalition. Statements issued by the different unions refer to the cutbacks as alarming, while noting that important elements such as extracurricular and cultural activities, books, and various support and training measures could be threatened.
“The rope is just not long enough,” concluded Ryan, who has appealed to the NFSB community for support. “If these budget reductions remain in place, your children – our students – will indeed suffer,” he said.
There are laws in place in Canada that protect the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) people, including the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), which was amended in 1996 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation; Bill C-38, which legalizes gay marriage; and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees equality of rights for everyone.
That being said, there are still massive amounts of hate and discrimination that queer and trans people face in Canada. Statistics Canada reported a 69-per cent increase in hate crimes towards people based on their sexual orientation from 2022 to 2023. On top of this, eagle.ca (an organization that fights for equality for queer people) says that “from 2016-2023, police-reported hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation have increased a staggering 388 per cent.”
The numbers have risen so dramatically that even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has made a statement about it. In February 2024, CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam said in an email to CBC News that “CSIS assesses that the violent threat posed by the anti-gender movement is almost certain to continue over the coming year, and that violent actors may be inspired by the University of Waterloo attack to carry out their own extreme violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community or against other targets they view as representing the gender ideology ‘agenda’.” This was in response to the June 2023 stabbing of multiple people in a University of Waterloo gender studies class by a former student. Balsam goes on to say, “CSIS assesses that exposure to groups and individuals espousing anti-gender extremist rhetoric could inspire and encourage serious violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community, or against those who are viewed as supporters of pro-gender ideology policies and events.”
Very recently, there have also been book bans proposed in schools in Alberta for containing “inappropriate content.” Three out of four of the publications in question have queer themes and are being banned for being age-inappropriate, even though they were written as coming-of-age stories.
2025 election
During the 2025 federal election, topics regarding the queer and trans community were hardly mentioned, which was surprising considering how much of a talking point they were during the 2024 U.S. election. However, many queer voters were alarmed with Pierre Poilievre’s stance that minors should not have access to hormone blockers. Hormone blockers are gender-affirming medications that are widely regarded as safe for trans kids (and even some cis kids) to take, and are reversible in the event that someone decides to de-transition.
Poilievre also has a history of voting against queer rights, and specifically against gay marriage, even though his adoptive father is gay. That being said, he was on record this election saying he would not rescind gay marriage if he was prime minister.
In Quebec
Looking a little closer to home, there has been some controversy with the official Fierté Montreal this year. In response to the city’s mainstream programming, a new event – Wild Pride – will be its own, more inclusive festival. The reasoning behind this new festival is due to accusations that Fierté Montreal has a history of being racist and sexist.
Earlier this year, ten community groups signed a letter to Fierté Montreal cutting ties in response to its appearance of valuing of corporate sponsorships over community organizations. Yara Coussa, a board member for Helem (a Lebanese queer organization) expressed in a recent Montreal Gazette article that Fierté has become too corporate and they feel frustrated by its affiliation with companies that support Israel. Ray Traboulsi of Sapphix, a lesbian event-planning organization, also mentions frustration with Fierté’s willingness to allow pro-Israel groups in the parade.
In response, Fierté executive director Simon Gamache said that Pride is expensive, that they need corporate sponsorships, and added that they only work with organizations that support the queer community and avoid any companies blacklisted by the United Nations.
Gamache hosted a Zoom meeting on May 20 to speak with members of the community; however, Coussa and Traboulsi did not feel like their concerns were heard. Gamache said he felt as though certain attendees took up too much of the floor and wished for more unity between organizations. That being said, he did say, “We need more alternative queer scenes,” and said that Wild Pride is a good idea.
Coussa saw a huge outpouring of support for Wild Pride when the plans were announced and said, “We really want to do a ‘Fierté’ that’s for everyone. Not just a party.” The focus will be on diversity and inclusion, and will feature events like “workshops, tea times, drag story time, and parties.”
The Breakfast Club at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School (CVR) regularly serves 140 students a day, and that number is expected to climb by next year.
Faced with the increasing demand, the group of students in the Work Oriented Training Program (WOTP) who manage the club realized that another fridge was necessary. Lorelei Muller, the school’s community development agent, reached out to the Breakfast Club of Canada (BCC), which agreed to provide a new fridge and to cover a significant portion of the associated costs.
Serendipitously, the Carrefour Jeunesse-Emploi Huntingdon reached out to the Ormstown-based high school soon after to offer support for the Breakfast Club. The organization agreed to donate $500, while Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette chipped in an additional $500 to cover the remaining cost.
The new fridge was unveiled on April 28. Principal Lynn Harkness thanked all those involved in the initiative as well as the students who work to ensure the school community starts each day with a healthy breakfast.
Amanda Imbriglio, a program coordinator for BCC, was pleased to help. “We support schools with food deliveries or with financial support,” she explained, noting that her organization works with the Complices Alimentaires to provide breakfast foods at CVR.
“It’s full service,” Imbriglio added, noting that BCC not only provides food and equipment, but aprons and other sanitary and hygiene items along with all the necessary permits and training.
Volunteer WOTP students have been involved with the breakfast program for around 10 years. Student William Bryson said the new fridge will make things easier as the current fridges are often overfilled.
“There will be less stress,” added student Christopher Paulin, who enjoys being part of the program. “It is a good thing CVR is doing,” he added.
As part of a series of measures to reinforce safe and respectful school environments, Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville announced a complete ban on cellphones on school grounds that will come into effect at the start of the new school year.
Starting in September, the use of cell phones, headphones, and personal mobile devices will be prohibited from the start to the end of the school day, including during breaks and lunch hour. This follows restrictions on cell phones in the classroom that were imposed in January 2024.
Drainville made the announcement during a May 1 press conference, saying the decision stemmed from recommendations included in an interim report by a special commission on the impact of screens and social media.
“We know that cell phones are too often used to mock, provoke, or intimidate others. By banning them from school during the entire school day, we are addressing the root cause of many conflicts and, ultimately, allowing students to socialize better with each other,” he said.
There will be some exceptions to the ban for educational purposes, health reasons, or special needs. Drainville explained that it will be up to each school to decide how best to implement this change, while noting about 400 institutions have already moved to restrict cell phone use on school property across the province.
Chateauguay Valley Regional High School (CVR) is among those schools to have already enacted a cellphone ban on campus. The CVR staff and administration went cellphone-free at the start of the current school year and never looked back.
“Our whole message was to disconnect to reconnect,” said principal Lynn Harkness, who referred to the decision as a “100-per cent-plus success.”
Harkness said the impact is clearly visible. “Kids are talking to each other. Kids are interacting; they are looking at each other,” she explained, noting there are more students enjoying the outdoors or participating in school activities during breaks.
Harkness acknowledged that while some of the challenges with social media and cyber-bullying remain, they are much less present within the school. “The pressure has been lifted,” she said, while admitting she is still pleasantly surprised by how well the students have complied.
“It’s not like we are hiding behind corners to catch people like vigilantes,” Harkness said with a laugh, before suggesting that out of a student population over 700, less than 50 students have had their phones confiscated.
Harkness credits her staff, saying the decision to go cellphone-free came from wanting kids to get back to learning. The province-wide ban just reinforces that CVR was already on the right track.
Quebec Premier François Legault met with representatives from the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA), as well as representatives from Agropur, the Solio Cooperative Group, and the Conseil de la Transformation Alimentaire du Québec during a visit to the Huntingdon riding on April 10.
Legault spoke with the different agricultural organizations about the potential impacts of tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration, and about the eventual renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement.
Following this, the premier toured the family-run Ferme P.Cécyre dairy farm in Sainte-Martine, where he talked with owners Pierre and Philippe Cécyre and their families about the farm and its history, their production, and the use of robotic milking technologies. “They work hard. It is seven days a week,” said Legault, after visiting the dairy barn. “We need to thank our farmers,” he added.
In an exclusive interview with The Gleaner, the premier spoke candidly about the importance of supply management and of defending the interests of farmers in trade negotiations.
Legault acknowledges there were concessions made in 2017 that impacted dairy farmers. “I made a commitment that there would be no de facto concessions on supply management,” he insisted, noting he was pleased to see federal leaders doubling down on this commitment during the election campaign.
“If we want to be able to continue to have small farms across all the regions of Quebec, we must protect supply management,” Legault maintained.
In Quebec, the supply management system regulates production through the allocation of quotas to match market demand. This provides financial stability to farms while ensuring a steady supply of local products, by establishing prices based on production costs and other factors and by controlling imports. Supply management affects the production of milk and dairy products, chicken, turkey, and eggs.
According to the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation, there were more than 5,360 quota-holding producers operating in Quebec under the supply management system in 2023. These farms produced 3.48 billion litres of milk, 409,000 metric tons of chicken and turkey meat, and 178.7 million dozen of eggs.
The province was entirely self-sufficient for chicken meat, fluid milk, and dairy products apart from cream. Quebec farmers produced almost 100 per cent of our turkey consumption and met around 80 per cent of the demand for eggs and cream.
Quebec Premier François Legault visited the FMS Fresh Produce facility in Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington on April 10 to announce a $5-million investment to process and package baby carrots.
The funds will go towards the completion of a $25 million project to build a 70,000-square-foot carrot conditioning and packaging plant, making FMS the largest carrot producer in the province and the first to produce locally grown baby carrots.
Legault said the funds from Investissement Québec would help “strengthen Quebec’s food self-sufficiency while reducing the province’s dependence on goods imported from the United States.”
Along with the funds from the provincial government, Desjardins is contributing over $17 million in financing to the project, part of which is guaranteed by Export Development Canada (EDC).
Baby carrots currently account for 39 per cent of fixed-weight carrot sales in Canada, representing annual sales of $377 million. Until now, the washed and ready-to-eat carrots were entirely imported from the United States.
This type of production and processing requires substantial investments in infrastructure, as well as the precise management of growing conditions including the soil and climate.
FMS Fresh Produce is a family-run business co-owned by siblings Marc-Olivier and Steven Daigneault. “This project is so much more than just producing baby carrots. It’s about building a sustainable business model for the future of our industry while honouring our commitments to the environment and our community,” explained the brothers.
The project is part of the long-term vision for the Daigneault family, and aligns with efforts to minimize the agri-food sector’s carbon footprint.
FMS cultivates over 5,000 acres and manages a team of over 200 employees. The company relies on water-efficient equipment and responsible resource management, and plans to repurpose its rejected carrots.
The first bags of baby carrots are expected to hit grocery stores this summer.
Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette pointed out that the production of the vegetables will contribute to the Monteregie’s economic development while strengthening the province’s food self-sufficiency and increasing exports, which she referred to as priorities given the current context.
Legault ended the press conference by announcing a new advertising campaign aimed at encouraging Quebecers to buy local. He then issued a call to the province’s innovative agricultural producers and processors. “Now is the time to come and see us with your ideas, your expansion plans, and tour diversification projects,” he announced.
The tariffs imposed by the United States as part of a trade war with Canada are impacting the regional economy. The MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, the MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry, and the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville have all announced concrete actions to support local businesses while minimizing the impact on the economic vitality of the region.
“The MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent is actively supporting local entrepreneurs,” says prefect Louise Lebrun, who is also the mayor of Sainte-Barbe, noting the MRC is concerned about the consequences of the tariffs and their impact on property owners and workers as well.
The MRC anticipates presenting an economic diversification plan for the Haut-Saint-Laurent region in the coming weeks. Lebrun says the plan will make it possible to identify sectors with optimal potential to revitalize the economy.
The document will also be used by the MRC’s economic development advisors to identify promising diversification activities and niches that could help certain businesses to better cope with the impacts of the tariffs.
“The MRC is the gateway to business services for all entrepreneurs in the Haut-Saint-Laurent,” says the MRC’s director general, Pierre Caza. “We have experts ready to advise businesses in the Haut-Saint-Laurent region. Whether they need representation before political authorities, help creating or strengthening ties with Investissement Québec or other national, regional, or local resources, or information on support programs available at the MRC, we can help them get through this challenging period,” he explains.
A regional monitoring committee
The MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry has formed a strategic monitoring committee in response to the trade war. The initiative aims to support local businesses affected by American tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs, while serving as a lever to strengthen the region’s economic resilience.
The committee, which currently includes at least 14 members, allows for a rapid response to present-day challenges as well as the ability to better anticipate future economic issues. “The committee is a catalyst. It was born out of an urgent need, but its relevance goes far beyond tariffs,” says Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague mayor Yves Daoust, who chairs the MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry’s economic advisory committee.
The recently created monitoring committee met for the first time on April 3. The members will work together to analyze the impacts of tariffs on local businesses, direct entrepreneurs to appropriate assistance programs, encourage regional cooperation to catalyze innovation, and establish a replicable intervention model for addressing other economic issues.
The committee includes representatives from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Beauharnois, the MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry, Commerce International Québec Montérégie-Ouest (CIQMO), the SADC Suroît-Sud, Services Québec, the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Beauharnois-Valleyfield-Haut-Saint-Laurent, CÉGEP de Valleyfield, and the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie. Representatives for both Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette and Beauharnois MNA Claude Reid are also part of this committee, as well as outgoing MP for Salaberry-Suroît, Claude DeBellefeuille.
By summer, the committee plans to develop a regional portrait of the economic impact caused by the tariffs. The members also aim to implement a monitoring and resource sharing system, and to develop regional recommendations to be forwarded to the different levels of government.
A source for support and solutions
Entrepreneurs in the Jardins-de-Napierville region can also turn to their MRC’s economic development team for help.
The MRC is also coordinating a strategic committee to support the regional economy with initiatives tailored to the volatile economic situation. Members include political and economic stakeholders from the region who have come together to help businesses face current and future challenges.
“In the current context, it is essential that businesses in our region feel supported and accompanied in their efforts,” says prefect Yves Boyer. “We are determined to facilitate access to available resources and programs in order to stimulate growth, innovation, and market diversification for businesses in the Jardins-de-Napierville. Together, we can build a strong, resilient and forward-looking regional economy.”
The provincial government is weighing its options when it comes to Bill 40.
In an exclusive interview with The Gleaner, Premier François Legault confirmed that his government has not yet decided whether to appeal the April 3 judgment by the Quebec Court of Appeal. The judgment upholds a Superior Court ruling that several provisions of the beleaguered bill are unconstitutional.
“No decision has been made,” he stated, while acknowledging the courts had not ruled in the government’s favour. “We believe that English speakers have the right to go to school and to have services in English, but it is not threatening to have service centres instead of school commissioners, especially when the participation rates [in school board elections] are below 20 per cent,” he insisted.
“We are working on analyzing the judgment to see if we would have a chance of winning if we go to an appeal,” Legault said.
The appeals court sided with the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) and the province’s nine school boards – including the New Frontiers School Board (NSFB) – who argued that the legislation strips the English community of its Charter right to manage and control education services.
Legault said that no matter the eventual outcome of the court battle, it will not impact the government’s ability to work constructively with school boards and the English-speaking community.
Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette pointed out that she works with three school service centres in her riding as well as the NFSB. She said her interactions with all four organizations was the same, before noting that she works particularly well with the NFSB due to the board’s vision of the community. “It is something that speaks to me,” she said.
For John Ryan, the chair of the NFSB council of commissioners, this broad sense of community is precisely what they are trying to protect by challenging the legislation’s constitutionality.
“School boards are the voice of the community. There is no one person who can have the impact or the same level of knowledge as the community, and this is always important when it comes to making decision than affect our community,” he said. “It makes a big difference, and this would be lost,” he maintains, in the event elected school commissioners were replaced with a service centre board.
“We have to protect this now. It is stressful and a lot of work, but it is not for today. It is for the tomorrows coming,” said Ryan, suggesting that challenges to English language rights are likely to continue.
Among the other major political parties, the New Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the People’s Party of Canada have all named their candidates in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH) and the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville ridings.
The NDP nominated first-time candidate Tyler Jones to run in the BSSH riding on January 24. A passionate advocate for workers’ rights and environmental protection, the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield resident is campaigning during evenings and weekends while continuing his work as a courier. He has been busy on the ground, going door-to-door and working the phones, saying he wants to get a feel for every part of the riding.
“My number one priority for my campaign is agriculture,” says Jones, noting he has spoken with many farm families about the current realities facing area producers. Climate change is also high on his list of priorities, as is lowering the cost of living and building affordable homes. While the trade war with the United States is a concern, he prefers to focus on the riding’s constituents and less on what Donald Trump has to say.
Jones says he has a special affinity for the Chateauguay Valley, having lived briefly with his family in Ormstown. He and his wife are big supporters of the buy local movement, and can often be found at local restaurants, markets, and activities.
Hannah Wolker will run for the NDP for a second time in the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding. The party has only very recently confirmed her nomination. She is a grassroots organizer with deep roots in the riding.
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party has named Kristian Solarik as the candidate for the BSSH riding. He last ran for office in the 2022 provincial election as a candidate with the Green Party of Quebec. He currently serves on the executive committee and the shadow cabinet for the party at the provincial level as the transportation critic. He advocates for forward-thinking policies that prioritize environmental sustainability, accessibility, and innovation.
Originally from Montreal, Solarik has lived in the riding for 15 years with his partner and nine-year-old son. He works as a sales representative for a Quebec-based company that provides rolling stock and safety equipment to businesses throughout the Suroît region. He says his background in transportation and safety have afforded him a practical perspective and solution driven approach to the challenges facing his community.
Solarik maintains his campaign is “rooted in the belief that bold, green leadership can drive meaningful progress for families, businesses, and the environment.”
Martine Desrochers has been confirmed as the Green Party of Canada’s candidate in the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding.
People’s Party of Canada
The People’s Party of Canada has nominated Martin Lévesque in the BSSH riding. He says he is driven by a deep commitment to defending his community and the fundamental values of freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness.
Lévesque says he believes that “Canada can regain its prosperity and give power back to the people, if we have the courage of our convictions.”
Nicolas Guérin will run in the neighbouring Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding for the PPC. An electrical engineer and family man, he says he champions reforms rooted in freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect. “Citizens need to take charge of their country to stop the plundering of our wealth and secure our children’s future,” he says, while arguing that all citizens must unite against globalism.
Raised in Quebec with Scottish, French, and Indigenous (Pekuakamiulnu) roots, Guérin served three years in the Canadian Armed Forces. While working full-time as an engineer, he also runs a farm where he produces pasture-raised eggs with his family, including his three children.
Guerin says he prioritizes policies that would “pause immigration, deport illegals and criminals, and prioritize jobs and housing for Canadians.” He also believes the Canadian Multiculturalism Act should be repealed, and rejects equity, diversity, and inclusion as well as gender-based ideology. He believes Canada should work with Donald Trump to “free the economy,” and aims to protect national sovereignty by leaving the United Nations and strengthening national security.
The Conservative Party of Canada has declared that Priska St-Pierre and David De Repentigny will represent the party as candidates for the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon riding and the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding in the upcoming federal election on April 28.
St-Pierre is a businesswoman, and a national trainer in a patient support program in the field of coverage for specialized medications. She has lived with her partner and two chocolate Labrador dogs in Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka for the past twelve years. She is a mother of three children, and grandmother of eight grandchildren.
“I am honoured to have been chosen as the party’s official candidate,” says St-Pierre, who is vying to represent the constituents of Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon. “I am convinced that Canada must be governed differently, and with a serious and thoughtful approach,” she adds, noting it is time to put the government in order.
Napierville resident David De Repentigny is running to represent the neighbouring riding of Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville for the Conservative Party.
De Repentigny has worked with the Canada Border Services Agency for nearly twenty years, where he notes his work in various departments, including management, health and safety, union management, and employee assistance led to the installation of defibrillators at border crossing points. He is also a member of the Napierville Fire Department.
“Whether through blood drives, food bank collections, or other community events, I have always made sure to involve my children in these volunteer efforts, instilling in them the essential values of solidarity and civic engagement,” says De Repentigny, who intends to prioritize responsible budget management, economic stability, and security.
Recently, De Repentigny stepped away from the campaign for a day to walk in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chateauguay, which was presided over by his daughter Olivia who was named queen by the Chateauguay and Valley Irish Heritage Association.
“I want to make politics more accessible, but more importantly, I want to take real action for our families, our seniors, and our children, ensuring we leave them a land and a country in better shape than it is today,” says De Repentigny of his decision to run in this election.
Claude DeBellefeuille launched her seventh election campaign on April 3 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield with her eyes set on a fifth term in Ottawa – this time representing the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH) riding.
DeBellefeuille said she was motivated by the positive energy in the crowd of over 150 supporters as she took to the stage at the Microbrasserie du Vieux Canal, referring to this election as one of the most significant in her 19-year career as a politician. She thanked her team, her family, including her father, René, who looked on proudly, her supporters, and the 150 volunteers working on her campaign.
A social worker by training, DeBellefeuille has worked as the director general for the Centre d’Action Bénévole de Valleyfield, and with the Centre Intégré de Santé et Services Sociaux de la Montérégie Ouest (CISSSMO). She was first elected to parliament as an MP between 2006 and 2011, where she held various responsibilities within the Bloc Québécois as deputy critic for agriculture and agri-food, as critic for natural resources, and culture and heritage critic. She was appointed as the party’s deputy whip in 2008, and chief whip in 2010.
DeBellefeuille reprised her role as whip after she was re-elected in 2019 and in 2021. After stepping down from the position in December 2024, she most recently took on the role of public security and civil protection critic within her party.
Since announcing her candidacy, DeBellefeuille has spoken out in support of protecting supply management and agriculture in trade agreements, promising this would be the subject of the first bill proposed by the Bloc Québécois as soon as parliament reconvenes following the election in June. “During international negotiations, all countries can protect a certain number of products, and we must ensure that our dairy, eggs, and poultry are not affected,” she insists, noting there are more than 1,000 farms and over 2,000 agricultural producers in the BSSH riding. “It is a pillar of the Quebec agricultural model, and we must not give anything up,” she says, referring to anticipated trade negotiations with the U.S. administration.
DeBellefeuille has also promised to defend and protect the economic interests of small and medium-sized businesses in the riding in the context of the trade war with the United States. “In the coming weeks, I will be criss-crossing the constituency to remind people that it is inconceivable to abandon Quebec’s specific economic interests in the context of negotiations with our American neighbors,” she says, noting entrepreneurs are already feeling the impact of tariffs.
The experienced candidate has been meeting with entrepreneurs, most recently during the annual general assembly for the Association des Gens d’Affaires d’Ormstown et des Environs on April 1, to gain a better understanding of the impacts being experienced on the ground. She is also working with the different economic development departments at local MRCs and is part of a monitoring committee initiated by Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
“Since the election of Donald Trump, the world we live in has changed. In the face of the tariff threats and the difficult negotiations to come, the danger is that Canada’s economic interests will be prioritized over Quebec economic sectors,” she explains, noting “It is the Bloc Québécois that defends our workers, our businesses, our farmers, and our seniors.”
Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville
Patrick O’Hara opened his campaign headquarters on March 29 in Chateauguay, where he is running for the second time representing the Bloc Québécois.
O’Hara was born in British Columbia and was adopted by a family of farmers who eventually settled on Montreal’s North Shore. It was a passion for hockey that first led O’Hara to discover Chateauguay. It was here that he opened his first business before joining the La Cage aux Sports group, where he worked as a shareholder-operator in Saint-Constant for several years. Eventually he joined the Chateauguay-based distributor Entreprises Robert Thibert as vice-president of business development, marketing, and public relations for North America.
O’Hara has also played an important role in the community, serving on the board of directors for the Fondation Gisèle Faubert in Mercier, the Centre Horizon in Léry, and the Fondation Anna-Laberge in Chateauguay.
In 2021, O’Hara lost the election to Liberal incumbent Brenda Shanahan by 12 votes following a judicial recount. He says he is returning with the same determination to become an MP “who is close to the people of this constituency that I love so much.”
Liberal candidate Nathalie Provost launched her campaign to represent the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding on March 29, while inaugurating her campaign offices in Chateauguay in the presence of volunteers and supporters.
An engineer and gun control advocate, Provost was among the survivors of the 1989 École Polytechnique shootings who founded the PolySeSouvient advocacy group. Her work as an activist for gun control and the prevention of violence against women and children led her to serve as vice-chair of the Canadian Firearms Registry from 2017 to 2019. She now holds senior management positions in the civil service of the Quebec government, where she is currently on leave from her position with the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte Contre les Changements Climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs.
The mother of four young adults, Provost has maintained close ties with the Châteauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding both professionally and through family connections. She says the riding is similar to her hometown in the Berthier-Maskinongé region, which is also very agricultural. “It is the same environment in which I was born,” she says, noting she is very comfortable in both the rural and urban worlds.
Provost is also very aware that her riding runs along the border and that security and trade issues are very important. “I worked with my counterparts in my past job with New York State representatives and I know we can work together and that the quality of our relationship with our neighbors. Even if it’s very, very strange at the higher levels right now, we have to work on the ground,” she says.
She adds that she is pushing the Liberal Party to talk about the issues facing the farming community. “We are talking about industrialization, we are talking about productivity, but we are not really talking about agriculture,” she points out.
Provost insists that if elected, she will make sure the voices of those from the southern part of the region, including the municipalities that until very recently were counted as part of the former Salaberry-Suroît riding, will be heard in Ottawa. She says it will be important despite the vast territory covered by the riding. “With the pandemic, we learned to work with distance,” she explains, noting that accessibility is a priority for her campaign.
Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon
A soon-to-be engineer has thrown his hat in the ring for the Liberal party in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon riding. Miguel Perras is a third-year mechanical engineering student at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, where he is involved in the university debate club and parliamentary simulations.
The 21-year-old says that while his candidacy may be somewhat unconventional, he is driven by a “strong desire to represent my region and defend the issues that affect our daily lives.”
Perras grew up on a small family farm where he says he learned the value of hard work, resilience, and commitment. He says that having worked on both the factory floor and in engineering offices within the metallurgy industry, he has seen the impacts of the economic conditions created by current trade relations.
He joined the Liberal party, but suggests he believes many of the issues facing the region transcend party lines. Perras admits that while he had always planned on becoming more directly involved with politics, he did not think the day would come so soon.
The Ministère de la Culture et des Communications is investing $172,499 in the cultural development of the Huntingdon riding.
Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette made the announcement on behalf of Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe on March 24, noting the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent will receive $78,354 while the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville will see $94,145 in cultural investments.
The funds have been granted through the Ententes de Développement Culturel Municipales et Régionales, which will provide funding over a three-year period ending in March 2027.
“I am particularly pleased with our government’s support for the cultural initiatives led by our MRCs,” said Mallette, while pointing out that the development of cultural initiatives contributes to the region’s vitality.
The funds granted through the cultural development agreements are generally 50 per cent co-financed by the municipalities and MRCs, but this can reach as high as 60 per cent in devitalized regions.
In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, $18,000 will be used to create participative musical workshops for seniors living in long-term care residences. At least $42,549 will be used for cultural development initiatives including an update to the MRC’s cultural policy, as well as the creation of video capsules and workshops to promote the work of area artists. A cultural heritage project highlighting four cemeteries in Havelock with informative panels will receive $17,805 in funding as well through this agreement.
Nancy Brunelle, the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent’s cultural coordinator, said she is pleased with the amounts accorded in the agreement. She confirms the MRC will contribute $58,000 towards the completion of these initiatives.
The MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville will dedicate $30,000 of this funding toward the development of cultural activities for seniors, while $42,549 will be used to for cultural development projects. At least $6,677 will be spent on cultural heritage initiatives, while $14,919 will be used to develop youth-oriented projects within the MRC.
John Ryan, the chair of the New Frontiers School Board Council of Commissioners, says a recent decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal on Bill 40 is reason to celebrate.
In a ruling issued on April 3, the appeals court upheld a previous Superior Court judgement that found many provisions of Bill 40, which aimed to amend the Education Act regarding school organization and governance, are unconstitutional.
The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), along with the nine school boards including the NFSB, challenged the legislation after it was introduced in 2020. The bill brought profound changes to the way primary and secondary schools are governed in the province, largely by transforming school boards into service centres. QESBA argued that the bill infringed on Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives linguistic minority communities the right to manage and control education services.
QESBA president Joe Ortona says the association is thrilled that the rights of the English-speaking community have once again been recognized. “We truly hope that the government will decide not to take this crystal-clear decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa,” he adds.
The ruling, which was issued by judges Robert M. Mainville, Christine Baudouin, and Judith Harvie, essentially upholds the findings of constitutional invalidity included in the 2023 ruling issued by Superior Court judge Sylvain Lussier.
The case focused on the scope of the rights guaranteed by Section 23 of the charter, and who can exercise these rights. The Court of Appeal agreed that Bill 40 severely limits the abilities of the English-speaking community to choose representatives and to determine how government funding is used. The ruling also broadens the definition of rights holders to include “all individuals comprising the linguistic minority,” after the government argued that only parents of students enrolled in English-language institutions held these rights.
“It is as big, if not bigger than the Lussier judgement we received,” says Ryan, who refers to the ruling as a vindication. “It is a very strong judgement,” he adds, noting that both sides are now reviewing the 86-page document. “We have to dissect it, understand it, internalize it, and then look at our relationship with the government as school boards and how we can work together,” he explains.
“We were told one of the reasons that it worked well was the tremendous amount of work put into the original case,” Ryan says. “The work was very strong, and it was a well-argued case,” he adds, before noting that while they were confident in their arguments, the outcome could have gone the other way.
“It shows the value of citizenship, the value of participating in a democracy, and standing up for things when they are not going right,” says Ryan. “It reinforces the value of truth,” he continues, “and we need that today for obvious reasons.”
A government directive to cut over $510,000 from its operational budget will not keep the New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) from completing some much-needed renovations at area schools over the summer.
Four summer projects under the Building Maintenance Measure were approved during the February 4 meeting of the NFSB council of commissioners. The investments total over $3.88 million at the two regional high schools as well as two elementary schools.
These include plans for washroom renovations at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School in Ormstown that are expected to cost $646,300 before taxes, as well as a fourth phase of interior renovations at Ormstown Elementary School estimated at $664,985.
The third phase of a project to replace windows and doors at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay was approved at a cost of $1,243,324, while a second phase of renovations at Hemmingford Elementary School expected to cost around $1,327,494 will take place over the summer.
The chair of the NFSB council of commissioners, John Ryan, says the projects were chosen because they were highest on the priority list. “It is a considerable investment,” he acknowledges, while admitting the envelope is smaller than in previous years.
“We still have a budget in terms of upgrading our buildings. We are trying to get them up to that satisfactory level across the system,” says NFSB director general Mike Helm. “We are doing the most that we can with the money that we have,” he maintains.
Other areas of spending on buildings have, however, been affected by government cuts to education. Proposals for expansion projects at Gault Institute in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and at one of the four Chateauguay elementary schools, as well as the Chateauguay Valley Career Education Centre, are all on hold. “I don’t anticipate that we will hear anything on these until the fall,” Helm concedes. “2025-2026 will be status quo for us in terms of those projects that are required.”
Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille says the Canada Summer Jobs envelope allocated to the riding once again falls short of the demand.
In a letter to applicants within the current Salaberry-Suroît riding, DeBellefeuille announced that the available funds for this season have been pegged at $812,000. She points out this represents only a slight increase over the $806,791 that was allocated in 2024.
DeBellefeuille expressed her disappointment, noting that the federal government’s allotment for the program does not meet the funding requests made for 2025, which total $1,179,179.
“It is the region’s young people who will suffer, as they will be deprived of many job opportunities,” DeBellefeuille lamented, while pointing out she disagrees with the decision. “We are currently making representations to inform the minister responsible of the needs within our communities,” she concluded.
Local businesses and organizations who responded to the program can expect to receive a notification soon regarding the status of their application.
According to Employment and Social Development Canada, last year’s funding helped to create 161 summer positions with 88 different businesses and organizations in Salaberry-Suroît.
In the neighbouring riding of Chateauguay-Lacolle, 68 businesses and organizations received a share of $752,091, which led to the creation of 204 jobs.
Across Quebec, at least 14,620 jobs were created through the Canada Summer Jobs program last year at a cost of $61,612,035. The program covers between 50 to 100 per cent of wages for full time employees for up to 16 weeks.
Election signs are already going up throughout the Valley as area candidates launched their campaigns over the weekend.
Across Canada, voters will head to the polls on April 28 after a 37-day campaign. At five weeks, this is the shortest allowable campaign period under Canadian law. Advance voting in both ridings will take place over the Easter weekend from April 18-21.
Area voters will now select representatives in the Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH) riding and in Chateauguay-Les-Jardins-de-Napierville following the most recent electoral district redistribution. The boundaries for the ridings were enlarged to account for population growth and demographic changes across the region.
The candidates vying to represent the BSSH riding include frontrunner Claude DeBellefeuille, who is looking for her fifth term in office for the Bloc Québécois. She is running against Miguel Perras of the Liberal Party, as well as Tyler Jones for the New Democratic Party (NDP). Kristian Solarik will represent the Green Party, while Martin Lévesque stumps for the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). As of press time, the Conservative Party had not confirmed its nominee.
Change will be coming for the Chateauguay—Les-Jardins-de-Napierville riding as current MP Brenda Shanahan has stepped away. The candidates looking to take over this seat include Bloc Québécois nominee Patrick O’Hara, David De Repentigny for the Conservative Party, newcomer Nathalie Provost for the Liberal Party, and Nicholas Guerin, who represents the PPC. The NDP and the Green Party had not confirmed their candidates as of press time.
The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) has cut over $510,000 from its operating budget for the remainder of the year following a directive issued by the provincial government.
NFSB director general Mike Helm was called to a meeting on December 13 where administrators from across the province were informed that the Ministry of Education was clawing back $200 million from school boards and service centres by March 31.
This translated into a budget cut of just over $510,552 at the NFSB, with less than three months to recover the funds.
The Ministry of Education indicated that budget surpluses could not be used, and that cuts could not directly impact services. As a result, the NFSB council of commissioners adopted a revised budget providing for revenues of $93,655,481 and expenses totaling $93,579,463. The same surplus amount of $76,018 was maintained from the initial budget passed in September.
“It was extremely difficult, because the majority of our budget is human resources,” says Helm. “So being told halfway through the school year that you have to make these reductions, you’re actually working with a very small amount of money,” he explains, noting that some of the flexibility within the budget had already been spent.
“In order for us to not hit the classroom, we really had to look at it from several different pockets as opposed to just trying to take it from one area,” he says.
With only three months to react, the NFSB moved to reduce or restrict travel, professional development, and overtime. Funds will be strategically managed moving forward, and purchasing will be limited to the essentials.
“One of the biggest areas in terms of us finding the monies was, in essence, not replacing people who went on a leave of absence,” says Helm. He acknowledges that keeping some vacancies open will save some money, but “It comes at a cost, as those duties and responsibilities now have fallen onto the shoulders of a number of people.”
The NFSB Council of Commissioners chair, John Ryan, admits the government directive came as a surprise and quite a shock. “The professionals took the time to look at it and run the numbers. They came up with a series of steps that added up to the right amount,” he says.
“We were able to do it, and I have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the people that worked on it and made those decisions with the lens of protecting our students and our clientele as much as possible,” Ryan says, while suggesting it has amounted to extra stress on everyone.
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has been holding pre-budget consultations in preparation for the 2025-2026 provincial budget. Helm says that all indications are pointing toward uncertainties regarding the 2025-2026 school year. “I believe we are going to see a reduction, and then that will be proportioned out through all of the school boards and school service centres,” he says.
In the meantime, the rest of the school year will play out within very slim margins.
The Quebec government is working to address the problem of bullying in schools. Education Minister Bernard Drainville has announced the first week of a plan to prevent violence and intimidation in schools will take place from March 17 to 21, in schools throughout the province.
As part of the Plan de Prévention de la Violence et de l’Intimidation à l’École (Plan to Prevent Violence and Intimidation in Schools), the week will include a series of activities aimed at students, staff, and parents. The theme for the week will focus on “Strengthening Respect and Good Citizenship in our Schools.”
“In all classes in Quebec, pupils will simultaneously put down their pencils and start a discussion with their teachers on how to prevent episodes of violence and intimidation that they have experienced (or are still experiencing) and to reinforce good citizenship and respect at school,” said Drainville, in a statement issued by the Ministère de l’Education.
The week will start with a province-wide moment of reflection and guided discussion following the broadcast of a video featuring Drainville, who will address students and staff in elementary cycle two and three classrooms as well as all secondary classes. Preschoolers and elementary cycle one students will also be expected to take part in the discussion, using a simplified activity adapted to their level.
Adult general education centres, vocational centres, and private educational institutions are also invited to participate in the initiative.
The government is providing a variety of activities for the remainder of the week as well, including classroom workshops, educational podcasts, and information sessions tailored to students in all grade levels, as well as parents and school staff.
“We have been assured that as many materials as possible will be available in English,” confirms the New Frontiers School Board’s assistant director general, Joyce Donohue. She says the NFSB reminded the education ministry that pedagogical materials needed to be provided in English for students and for parents as well.
Donohue says the board is expecting to receive the necessary information for the various activities at some point this week.
The Quebec government has also introduced a model plan for combatting violence and intimidation in schools. Use of the plan is expected to be mandatory in all schools for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
“School is there for our children,” says Drainville, who notes that as a father and as minister of education, he is deeply concerned about the violence and intimidation suffered by Quebec students.
“Respect and good citizenship should not only be taught; they should also be experienced on a daily basis. This responsibility begins at home with the parents and continues at school,” he says, noting all those in the school community are invited to participate in this national week to root out bullying.
The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) has been listening and learning more about the extent of bullying and violence within its schools and centres.
Nine members of the NFSB’s Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying and Violence were present at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School on February 27 for the second of two public consultations. A previous meeting took place at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay earlier in the month.
The representatives for the task force, including school principals, school board administrators, special education technicians, teachers, caretakers, and the NFSB’s assistant director general, Joyce Donohue, gave a brief presentation before giving the floor to a small group of parents in attendance.
Questions about security and supervision were raised, with one parent suggesting that some children do not feel safe at school. “They should have a right to come to school and to feel safe and to graduate!” she exclaimed. “That is not where we are at,” she lamented.
“One thing that we want to do as a focus group is to protect everyone,” said one task force member. “As a school board and as a school, we have to find solutions,” they added.
Screens, exposure to social media, and peer pressure were also raised by those present as important topics to be addressed.
“At both consultations, we were able to have rich exchanges with members of our community, who generously provided their insights and feedback that we will be able to consider for our recommendations,” says Donohue, who is heading up the task force. She credits the expertise and passion exhibited by task force members for providing these opportunities to exchange with parents and the school community.
Following the public consultations, which have also included an interactive ThoughtExchange survey, the task force will prepare a report summarizing the various strategies, tools, measures, and resources brought forward to address the issue. The report is expected to be delivered by the end of this school year.
Along with those who attended the in-person consultations, there have been 122 participants in the ThoughtExchange survey. At least 114 thoughts were contributed, and these were rated at least 1,261 times. Key words have emerged from the process, including “communication,” “parents,” “resources,” and “safe.”
The public consultation in Ormstown was also attended by the chair of the NFSB council of commissioners, John Ryan, who says the fact this forum is in place represents a good step. “We wanted to get out there and do as much research and brainstorming for our own community, with our own realities, to see what we can come up with,” he explains. “It is extremely rich and rare to sit and talk about any one topic for that length of time. You never lose by doing that,” he adds.
Ryan also notes how rare it is for the public to hear what those being bullied are going through. “It’s a very personal thing, and people on the front lines hear a lot about it, because they are meeting people who come in and who talk with them; but we normally don’t get to hear this,” he says. “When you are exposed to these stories, your basic instinct or response is to say that we have to do something. We have to help.”
An election call in Canada is expected to be announced in the coming days, once Mark Carney is sworn in as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and as prime minister.
The election will usher in many changes for the country. At the local level, candidates in the current Salaberry-Suroît riding will find themselves running to represent the constituents of Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulanges-Huntingdon (BSSH). The Chateauguay-Lacolle riding will also change names, becoming Chateauguay-Les-Jardins-de-Napierville.
The new riding boundaries, which were announced following the 2022 redistribution of federal electoral districts, will see the Haut-Saint-Laurent split in two – where the Town of Huntingdon, as well as the municipalities of Elgin, Hinchinbrooke, Ormstown, Saint-Anicet, Sainte-Barbe, and the township municipalities of Dundee and Godmanchester, as well as Akwesasne, will be part of the BSSH riding.
The Chateauguay-Les Jardins-de-Napierville riding will include all the municipalities in the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville, including Hemmingford Village and Hemmingford Township, as well as the municipalities of Franklin, Howick, and Saint-Chrysostome, and the parish municipality of Très-Saint-Sacrement.
Salaberry-Suroît MP and Bloc Québécois candidate Claude DeBellefeuille has already announced she will seek a fifth term in the next election. She says that while it is not ideal for an MRC to be divided between two federal ridings, the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent was one of only a handful of MRCs that had not been split in some way prior to this election. “When there is a redistribution every ten years, and the demographic growth is happening outside of the Haut-Saint-Laurent, at a certain point the electoral commission has to create a boundary somewhere,” she explains.
DeBellefeuille says she would not be surprised, given the demographic growth predicted in Vaudreuil, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Beauharnois and Soulanges, if the Haut-Saint-Laurent were to be reunited in ten years following the next redistribution process, but towards the Chateauguay-Les-Jardins-de-Napierville riding.
The new BSSH riding will be the second most populous in Quebec after the new Vaudreuil riding. DeBellefeuille says she is more concerned about the upcoming election than the change in boundaries. “A quick election call is in everyone’s interest,” she insists, suggesting the government is not being taken seriously by the United States because parliament is not sitting.
“If we want to do our job properly, it is absolutely essential that the election be called quickly so a legitimate and democratically elected government is in place,” DeBellefeuille says, while pointing out that the U.S. administration is seeding uncertainty, which is not good for Quebecers. She says the next few weeks will be very interesting.
Tyler Jones, the newly acclaimed candidate in the BSSH riding for the federal New Democratic Party, agrees. “Everything is up in the air right now,” says the first-time candidate, who is growing his team of volunteers while introducing himself to the many communities in the riding.
Jones knows the Chateauguay Valley well, and says he is disappointed that the Haut-Saint-Laurent was separated between the two ridings. He says he would work to ensure common ground is found between the two ridings and that the area is properly represented as a whole, despite the boundary line.
He says he is also concerned about the upcoming election with so little time to prepare. “It is just a question of connecting with voters, and getting out and hearing their concerns and frustrations,” he adds, while acknowledging there is a lot of territory to cover and a lot of different issues at hand.
The official candidates for the federal Liberal and Conservative parties in the BSSH riding were not named as of press time. Kristian Solarik will run once again for the Green Party of Canada, while Martin Lévesque will run for the People’s Party of Canada.
None of the main federal parties have announced the names of their candidates in the Chateauguay-Jardins-de-Napierville riding.
Recently, the New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) launched an initiative as part of its commitment to reconciliation towards the Indigenous students at its schools. Both Howard S. Billings and Chateauguay Valley Regional (CVR) high schools have opened a Cedar Room as a part of this: a space where students can learn about and celebrate Indigenous culture.
Isabelle Arsenault is an Indigenous (Inuk from Iqaluit) teacher at CVR and is the leader of its Cedar Room. She explains that the goal of the space is “to provide academic and social emotional support to our Indigenous community and to educate and to provide cultural information to the whole school community.” Arsenault also asked fellow CVR teacher Brittany Marlin to help with the Cedar Room, since it does require quite a bit of time, energy, and paperwork.
Though the Cedar Room is a place where Indigenous students can feel represented, it welcomes all CVR students. “It’s just a small step for our school that is working towards reconciliation, and I think it’s important that it’s open to both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students so that everyone is getting the same information … working together is very important,” Marlin says.
The Cedar Room hosts a variety of activities, but it is also a cultural centre where students can go to relax and have tea. Arsenault explains that they have done activities like beading (including making beaded ornaments), making monthly bannock (a traditional Indigenous bread), having tea gatherings, and collaborating with Billings to organize an outing for Indigenous students to participate in an event organized by Native Montreal. Last May, they also had a ceremony for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Marlin shares that this year they hope to continue these activities and potentially invite a guest speaker to the school.
Arsenault says that it is important to have a space like this at CVR because it “brings awareness to Indigenous culture and to have a safe space for everyone to learn together.” Marlin emphasizes that education is often the cure for prejudice, saying that “People are more comfortable and open-minded to things that they understand, and if they can gain some kind of understanding, appreciation, or feel some kind of connection from coming to the room, then people feel more protective and open-minded.”
Though this initiative is fairly new, they have already done a lot of great work and have plans to keep growing and sharing Indigenous culture with the CVR community.
The New Frontiers School Board director general, Mike Helm, says he can’t remember a time when schools were closed two days in a row because of a snowstorm.
Few will forget the ice storm of 1998 and the resulting school closures, but that was different. What fell between February 13 and 16 was just snow, but there was a lot of it, and when mixed with high winds, it quickly became dangerous.
The NFSB called three snow days in the aftermath of the back-to-back storms, which means three conditional pedagogical days scheduled for March 21, April 11, and May 20 will now become regular school days.
Students at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School missed an additional day on January 27 due to plumbing equipment failure, which, Helm admits, has made for a challenging start to the term.
“There will be some juggling with teachers, but for the most part things are OK within the system for having missed this many days,” Helm says. “Our staff are working with their curriculum throughout the course of the year, and built into that curriculum is opportunity for remediation and enrichment time. They may end up having to change some of those things right now.”
There were only three conditional ped days in the school calendar, which have now been used. Helm admits that if the schools are forced to close again for weather or other circumstances, “then every day becomes more challenging from this point on.”
Helm says interruptions caused by snow or freezing rain are sometimes called in advance, as was the case on February 16 when parents were informed the night before that schools would be closed. This happens when the NFSB has reliable information guaranteeing difficult conditions in the morning.
In cases such as February 17, the NFSB waited until the morning before cancelling classes, and this was done in communication with the transport companies.
“Severe winds and blowing snow had created white ice. There were road closures on our main highways, and in some of our rural areas we would not have been able to get to the student to bring them in,” he says, noting the transporters were uncomfortable with the conditions.
Helm says that in the aftermath of the storms, maintenance workers were asked to verify the rooftops of the different buildings and to check for drifting snow against structures to ensure there were no emergency situations. The greenhouse at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay collapsed, but no other damage was reported.
With all signs pointing toward an election being called once parliament returns from prorogation in late March, the parties are already gearing up for a spring vote.
Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille has already thrown her hat into the ring, announcing on January 7 that she will seek a fifth term representing the region as a member of the Bloc Québécois in Ottawa.
DeBellefeuille’s first term in office stretched from 2006 to 2011. She ran in both the 2011 and 2015 elections, before regaining her seat in the House of Commons from 2019 to the present.
During this last year, DeBellefeuille said she continued to bring people together to find solutions to challenging issues. She specifically mentioned convening the Comité d’Action de Suivi pour la Voie Maritime, which she initiated in 2019, to mitigate the planned closure of the Larocque Bridge at the start of last year.
DeBellefeuille also highlighted efforts to bring the RCMP and border municipalities together over border control issues. The deputy was instrumental in the creation of a single telephone number that citizens could call to reach the RCMP, the circulation of an informative leaflet to border residents, and new aluminium panels to be installed with the phone number to reach the RCMP.
She also noted the Bloc Québécois’ support for seniors, and the party’s hard push to withdraw supply-managed products from trade negotiations with Bill C-282, which passed all stages in the House of Commons before stalling in the Senate.
Salaberry-Suroit MP Claude DeBellefeuille has announced she will run again in the next federal election, which is expected to be called sometime this spring. (PHOTO Facebook MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent)
DeBellefeuille said she is determined to continue this work in her riding. “I’m extremely happy in my role as MP; it’s a position that fills me with happiness,” she stated, noting it is an honour to serve the citizens of Salaberry-Suroît.
“My work in Ottawa isn’t over yet, and I’m determined to keep on making things happen,” she added.
Regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on January 6, DeBellefeuille acknowledged his commitment to the public, before adding she believes he made the right decision to step down.
“Regardless of the leader, regardless of the circumstances, there must be an election in the spring of 2025!” she exclaimed.
Once called, this election will mark DeBellefeuille’s seventh campaign. If re-elected, she will take office for her third consecutive, and fifth term in 18 years.
The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) is among the school service centres and school boards to receive additional funding to restart francization courses that were shuttered in November after government funds ran dry.
The Quebec government announced in early December that $10 million would be allocated to school service centres and boards across the province based on the needs in different regions.
According to Louisa Benvenuti, the manager of administrative and communication services with the NFSB, the board has been given an allotment for 13 full-time equivalent student places for French-language courses expected to run between January and March. This will allow the NFSB to register approximately 50 part-time students at the NOVA Career Centre in Chateauguay.
Benvenuti says there is a possibility the NFSB will be able to offer another round of courses accommodating around the same number of students from April to June.
The students will be referred to the NFSB by Francisation Quebec, a government-mandated agency established through the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation, et de l’Integration to oversee French language courses offered for free to newcomers to the province.
Francisation Quebec will prioritize students who are currently on waiting lists; however, Benvenuti suggests that past students attending courses through the NFSB may not be referred back to the board.
The Centre de Services Scolaire de la Vallée-des-Tisserands was not included on the list of service centres and school boards to receive additional government funding to restart courses. As a result, the suspended francization courses being run through the Centre de Formation Générale des Adultes des Tisserands will remain closed for now.
As of December 1, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO) ceased to exist. Local health services will now be provided by Santé Québec Montérégie-Ouest (SQMO), which is part of a provincial network of health-care agencies organized under the newly created crown corporation.
Claude Jolin, who chairs the CISSSMO’s board of directors, referred to the change in governance as an important milestone and major transformation, during the organization’s annual general meeting and public information session on November 27. “We have begun to prepare ourselves to ensure a smooth transition and to continue to offer excellent care,” he confirmed.
Representatives from the CISSSMO talked about the transition to Santé Québec on November 27 during the organization’s annual general meeting and public information session. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)
CISSSMO’s deputy president and CEO, Dominique Pilon, explained that while there will be a significant adjustment period, he considers the changes to be positive. “This is not the end. It is the beginning of a great adventure for the entire network,” he said.
Johanne Fleurant, the assistant director of social programs, rehabilitation, and public health at the CISSSMO, then presented the details relating to this change and what it will mean for the local health network.
She pointed out that sweeping healthcare reforms tend to happen in Quebec around every nine or ten years. The last major upheaval was in 2015, when the integrated health and social services centres (CISSS) were first introduced.
The main change this time around is that Santé Québec is a crown corporation that will become the single employer for healthcare workers in the Quebec’s public sector. “We don’t yet know the full extent of the changes this will bring,” admitted Fleurant. Santé Québec will be responsible for coordinating all health and social service resources, as well as strategic planning. It will then be up to health-care establishments to put these plans into operation based on the resources and healthcare needs of the population.
The current board of directors for the CISSSMO will remain in place until June 2025 to ensure the transition to the new governance structure goes smoothly. The board will then become an institutional board of directors with an advisory role, made up of users, representatives from the research community, healthcare facilities, human resources management, the business community, and the various hospital and support foundations.
There will also be certain criteria for the composition of boards, including a requirement that two-thirds of all members be independent, and 40 per cent of seats must be filled by women. Boards will also be required to reflect Quebec’s diversity while taking the socio-cultural, ethno-cultural, and linguistic composition of the territory into account.
Fleurant explained that the transition will allow the SQMO to access best practices from across the network and export them to the Montérégie-Ouest. She noted the change will also allow for resources to be pooled across the province, while allowing for greater staff mobility across different sites at the more local level.
Beyond returning to a balanced budget, Fleurant said that over the next several months the SQMO will be rolling out a new integrated plan to improve access by March 2025, coordinate services, and support the major transformations currently underway.
The 85 members of Valleyfield local 460 of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have been waving flags and handmade signs during daily demonstrations outside the Canada Post depot on Victoria Street in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
The local represents Valley postal workers from Hemmingford to Dundee as well as the city of Valleyfield. Its members, along with the 55,000 other postal workers across Canada, walked off the job as part of a nationwide general strike on November 15.
Negotiations with a government-imposed mediator have been taking place since November 19 with both the urban and the rural and suburban mail carriers (RSMC) bargaining units. The CUPW has rejected a proposed 11.5 per cent wage increase over four years, asking instead for 22 per cent over the same period.
Talks between the RSMC union representative and management have focused on issues such as pay stability, validation, hourly rates, and maintaining hours. The urban units have focused on issues such as salary, minimum hours for part-time workers, and weekend delivery demands aimed at competing with “gig-economy” platforms that deliver parcels as cheaply as possible. The union is concerned this could impact full-time carrier routes on weekdays.
Postal workers with Local 460 in Valleyfield have been demonstrating in front of the Canada Post depot on Victoria Street in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield since the general strike was called on November 15. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)
According to daily negotiations updates posted by the CUPW there has been some progress, with sides exchanging proposals; however, a lot of ground remains.
The federal government ended past work stoppages in 2011 and 2018 by legislating postal workers back to their routes. Jonathan Theoret, the president of Local 460, said he hopes the government will let the employees fight this one out. “We had a 98.5 [per cent] strike vote. That’s really strong,” he said, noting this is the first general strike since 2011.
“We have had special legislation every four years for 20 years,” he explained, noting that the workers signed a contract extension without negotiation two years ago during the pandemic. “Now is the time to ask for what we want,” he continued, noting that salary-wise, employees want to return to the same purchasing power they had in 2020.
Theoret said that so far, support from the public seems strong. “I understand that the market has changed in the past six years. I think the public likes Canada Post, and it is here to stay. It is a service we offer to everyone, even in the North,” he commented. “I understand there are financial challenges, but we all have to face this together,” he added, suggesting Canada Post needs to change as well.
No pickup or delivery
The work stoppage has shut down Canada Post operations entirely. The Crown corporation has said that mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered during the strike, and some post offices will be closed. No mail will be accepted, and service guarantees for items already in the network will be affected.
According to Canada Post, items will be delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume on a first-in, first-out basis, though it cautions that processing and delivery may take some time to return to normal.
The uncertainty around Canada Post’s ability to deliver the sizeable backlog of mail in a timely matter once the strike ends has some consumers holding off on purchases. Christina Fasoula, the owner of the Tricot Laines Studio yarn store and gift shop in Huntingdon, relies on Canada Post to receive and ship her products and has already lost sales due to the strike.
“It is not like we are in Montreal where there are other options. There are multiple companies that you can use to ship without Canada Post, but they are in larger towns. For us, it is not an option,” she explained, noting those options can also be expensive.
Fasoula says that while the strike is causing some complications for small businesses, she is hopeful that locals will consider doing their holiday shopping closer to home, where they can skip the stress of waiting for delivery.
Travellers who frequently use the Trout River or Herdman border crossings to enter the United States are in for a shock.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Monday that it would be adjusting the service hours at 35 land ports of entry across the country as of January 6, 2025. This is being done in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is adjusting its service hours at 38 ports of entry.
In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, the hours of service at the Trout River crossing, which connects the municipality of Elgin to Constable, New York, will permanently be reduced by half – from the current 24 hours to 12, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Herdman crossing, which links the municipality of Hinchinbrooke with Chateauguay, New York, will also be limited to between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The Lacolle Route 223 border crossing at Rouses Point in New York will similarly see its hours reduced, from 24 hours to 12: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Trout River border crossing in Elgin is one of three area crossings that will see its operating hours reduced by half, following a collaborative agreement between the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The reduced hours at the Trout River, Herdman, and Lacolle Route 223 (Rouses Point) ports of entry will start on January 6, 2025. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)
In a statement, the CBSA said the changes will enhance overall security for both countries. “It will allow the CBSA to use its resources more efficiently by deploying officers at busier ports of entry. This will support the CBSA’s ability to process travellers and goods as well as to manage enforcement activities.”
The service hours at the three connecting U.S. ports of entry will now align with the Canadian hours of operation. The CBSA said this “will allow both countries to return inadmissible travellers and goods to the other country, which is more difficult when one side of the border is closed while the other remains open.”
The CBSA maintains the change is based on an “analysis of operational pressures, peak periods, and services required at the ports of entry, to minimize the impacts on border communities.”
According to the CBSA, the ports of entry process an average of two or less vehicles or commercial trucks per hour during the period they will no longer be in operation. The CBSA notes that alternative border crossing options exist within a 100-kilometre radius, notably at the Dundee-Fort Covington and the Hemmingford-Mooers ports of entry.
‘A misguided decision’
The Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), which represents CBSA officers and personnel, is demanding the agency reverse its decision. Union president Mark Weber referred to the move as an “incredibly misguided decision.” In a statement, the CIU said the decision was made without consulting frontline officers working at the affected ports, or the border communities in which the crossings are located.
A CBSA employee, who spoke with The Gleaner on condition of anonymity, confirmed that employees at the affected border crossings were given no advance warning of the reduction in hours. They said that officers were told they would not lose their jobs, but that some would be relocated to larger ports. “Our personal and family lives will be sacrificed because of this,” they added, noting the long commute that may be imposed on border service agency officers.
“Most locals think this is temporary, but it’s not. It’s permanent,” they pointed out, noting that while the custom offices will be closed at 6 p.m., travellers should not expect to cross up to the last minute. “It will be more like 5:30 or 5:45 p.m.”
The officer is concerned that security along the border will be impacted as well. “We are actually stopping people from coming in, criminals, drugs, and guns,” they said, while questioning how leaving a nearly 80-kilometre stretch of the border less secure overnight improves security.
Impact on families and the economy
Elgin director general Guylaine Carrière said the CBSA contacted her about the reduced hours. She says members of the council expressed their disappointment with the decision when she relayed the news, noting it will be a discussed during the regular meeting in December.
“I find it very, very early,” said Carrière of the 6 p.m. closing. “It will have a major impact on a lot of the families here in Elgin,” she added, while suggesting there will no doubt be consequences for the local economy as well. She was also taken aback by how soon the changes will come into force, noting the timeframe does not give people and businesses much time to adapt.
Carrière said she spoke with the CBSA about the fire-rescue mutual aid agreements that exist on both sides of the border, and was told a procedure would be put in place to allow first responders to cross at all hours in the event of an emergency. She admitted that while this is positive news, there were delays in response times when the border was closed during the pandemic.
The reduced hours are problematic for those who live on one side of the border but who work on the other, or who cross regularly for work. For Rick and Kenny Van Winden, who own land and farm in Chateauguay and Burke, New York, the new hours will be particularly challenging.
“They have been combining there for the last couple of weeks, and they are not home until 11 or 12 at night,” said Natalie Wattie, who is married to Kenny. “It is going to cause some problems, because while some springs and falls are ok, some are not. If you are planting and missing that window because you can’t cross, then you can’t get your crops in on time,” she explained.
“There is never a time when they are done at 5:30 p.m.,” Wattie added, noting the detour to Hemmingford or Dundee on a tractor would be “insane.”
Politicians express concern
New York State senator Dan Stec issued a statement on November 21 blasting the decision. “You can’t have a part-time border!” he exclaimed; while highlighting the disruption this will cause to the unique relationship that exists between communities, referring specifically to the mutual-aid pacts in place. The senator also pointed to the “turmoil” created in the region by irregular immigration, to suggest the move will impact the safety of those living along the border.
New York governor Kathy Hochul has publicly stated her opposition to reducing operating hours at the border, calling on the CBP to reverse its decision.
On the Canadian side, Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille has also come out against the CBSA’s decision. “I cannot support a reduction in service that will have an impact not only on citizens, but also on businesses in our region,” she said, while decrying the lengthy detours this will entail. “I am already getting calls from businesses expressing their dissatisfaction,” she added.
“We know that there are major issues at the border,” said DeBellefeuille. “It strikes me as an odd time for the Border Services Agency to cut their services.”
The MP is now asking citizens and businesses who are affected by this announcement to contact her team so they can document the impact of the CBSA’s decision in the region.
Those interested in sharing their story can contact DeBellefeuille’s office by email at: claude.debellefeuille@parl.gc.ca.
The Barrie Memorial Hospital was at the forefront of medical imagery in 2010, when a new CT scanner was installed at the Ormstown-based facility. Though still useful, that CT scanner is becoming obsolete.
“The replacement of the CT scanner is scheduled for the near future,” confirms a representative for the Communications and Public Affairs Department at the Center intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO). She says that while the decision has been made to provide a new scanner, the regional health authority is not yet able to provide a precise timeline for its arrival.
The current CT scanner and the associated expenses to renovate the medical imaging department in 2010 cost $1.94 million. At least $350,000 was contributed by the Agence de la Santé et des services sociaux de la Montérégie, which eventually became the CISSSMO, as well as $150,000 from the Québec Foundation for the Barrie Memorial Hospital. As was previously reported, the bulk of the funds necessary to secure the purchase of the scan came from the Barrie Memorial Hospital Foundation (BMHF), which contributed $1.44 million to the project.
The CISSSMO considers the foundation to be an essential partner when it comes to developing the hospital. “Its ongoing commitment and interest in supporting projects enables us to enhance the quality of care and services offered at the hospital for the benefit of patients and employees alike,” says the representative.
“The foundation’s work, as well as that of the Women’s Auxiliary, with whom we also work very closely, is of great value to the community, as they actively and dynamically contribute to improving our care environment,” she added.
Philippe Besombes, the vice-president of the BMHF, says the organization will soon begin fundraising to cover the costs associated with accommodating the new technology. He estimates the costs for this part of the project will be around $250,000.
The New Frontiers School Board was among the five English-language school boards to hold elections across the province on November 3.
Anne-Marie Yelle was elected as the commissioner of ward number 6, which includes the territories of Beauharnois, Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois, and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The ten other positions, including nine commissioners and the chair, were all elected by acclamation.
All members of the council of commissioners will be sworn in during a special meeting on Tuesday, November 19, at Howard S. Billings Regional High School in Chateauguay. The council now includes John Ryan, who will serve a second term as chair, as well as Raymond Ledoux, Karin Van Droffelaar, Lina Chouinard, Kenneth Crockett, Cristian Espinosa-Fuentes, Dianne Eastwood, Peter Stuckey, Barbara Ednie, and Connor Stacey.
Following the release of the annual Bilan Faim report by the Banques Alimentaires du Québec on October 28, the Moisson Sud-Ouest food bank says it continues to see a considerable increase in demand for food aid.
In the last three years, the number of requests for food aid in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, Beauharnois-Salaberry, Vaudreuil-Soulanges, and Roussillon regions has grown by 30,206.
The statistics suggest the number of individuals and families in need is similarly growing across the country. Food Banks Canada says that a six-per cent increase in visits to food banks was registered nationally compared with last year – representing a 90-per cent increase since 2019. Organizations partnering with the network of food banks across Quebec are now responding to 2.9 million food aid requests per month – an increase of 13 per cent over last year’s numbers.
Over 35 per cent of those benefiting from food aid through one of the 80 food pantries and organizations served by Moisson Sud-Ouest are children. In addition to the food aid being distributed to homes with children, over 35,000 snacks are distributed each month. The organization reports that over 1,000 food baskets per month are distributed to employed individuals, and over 10 per cent of those relying on food baskets own their home.
In a press release, Moisson Sud-Ouest points out that the $30 million granted by the government in the last budget allowed the network of food banks to purchase more food to meet the demand. It notes that while the government’s recently released action plan to fight poverty and social exclusion is a step in the right direction, even stronger public policy is needed to fight poverty and hunger before the most vulnerable in society will see any concrete impacts.
“For the first time, the issue of food security has been recognized in the government’s action plan to combat poverty. However, we need to do more to reduce the enormous pressure exerted by the growing need for food aid,” says Yan Ouellette, the director of communications and philanthropy at Moisson Sud-Ouest. He suggests the government must act now to help those facing food insecurity by attacking the root causes of poverty. “We have recognized the state of emergency; now we must act to help the most vulnerable and reverse the trend we are facing,” he notes.
According to the Bilan Faim, 72 per cent of the organizations served by Quebec food banks faced shortages, and 54 per cent were forced to purchase food to meet the demand.
“Our organization is doing all it can to meet the demand, notably by setting up initiatives in collaboration with several partners in the region to increase the volume of foodstuffs we distribute, or by holding recurring fund-raising campaigns, but that’s not enough,” says Moisson Sud-Ouest director Stéphane Spisak. “We will continue to do all we can to support those in need, but alone, we cannot solve the problem at the source.”
The annual Guignolée des medias du Suroît fundraiser for Moisson Sud-Ouest will run from November 22 to December 31.
The Barrie Memorial Hospital Foundation (BMHF) has been covering the costs of providing free internet access to emergency room patients for the past several years. Now, hospitalized patients and their families can also benefit from reliable wireless internet access, thanks to the foundation.
“More and more people bring their computer or tablet when they are hospitalized,” says BMHF vice-president Philippe Besombes. The foundation reached out to the Centre intégré de santé et services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO), which agreed to allow the foundation to install a router on the third floor.
According to Besombes, the Barrie Memorial is not the first of the three hospitals in the Montérégie-Ouest to offer free WiFi services to all its patients. “For us it is a big plus, and it was one of the things we really wanted to do for the well-being of patients at the hospital,” he explained, noting that while many now have data plans included with their phones, many do not have unlimited access to the internet through their devices.
Besombes says the next big project for the foundation revolves around the hospital’s current CT scanner, which was installed in 2010 and is due to be replaced. The CT scanner and necessary renovations to the medical imaging department at that time cost $1,94 million, to which the BMHF contributed $1,44 million.
“When we bought this scanner for the hospital, it was the most powerful scanner in the region,” Besombes says, “but now it is at the end of its life.” This time around, the foundation will not finance the equipment but will finance the necessary renovations to the department. “We are planning to spend around $250,000,” he reveals, suggesting the foundation will soon begin fundraising for the project.
The Gleaner reached out to the CISSSMO to confirm the regional health authority was planning to replace the CT scanner, but did not receive a response by press time.
“We think it is at least two years away,” says Besombes, noting the authorization and procurement process with the CISSSMO will no doubt take some time.
PHOTO Sarah Rennie
The president of the Barrie Memorial Hospital Foundation, Robert Greig, and vice-president Philippe Besombes tested the Wi-Fi signal on the third floor of the hospital last week. Hospitalized patients and their families can now benefit from free wireless internet access throughout the hospital.
Over 200 representatives from the agricultural and agrifood industry demonstrated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on October 10, to demand that the senate immediately adopt Bill C-282 which protects supply management.
Protesters were joined by elected representatives from all five major political parties, including Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille and several senators, as they rallied in support of the private members’ bill that has now been stalled for over a year.
Martin Caron, the general president of the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA), called on the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade to support the bill, which was adopted by a majority of MPs in the House of Commons in June 2023.
Canada has conceded nearly 8.4 per cent of its dairy production and processing during the last three international free-trade agreements it has signed, including the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
Caron argues that supply management is just as important for dairy and poultry producers as the government’s risk-management programs are for other production sectors.
“Supply management in Salaberry-Suroît represents over 350 family farms that generate more than 3,100 jobs,” said DeBellefeuille. Across Quebec, around 6,500 supply-managed farms create 116,000 jobs and are responsible for $8.7 billion in GDP and $2.1 billion in tax revenues.
“Supply management brings vitality to our villages,” added DeBellefeuille, who noted the quality products and expertise of the agrifood industry as well as the high environmental standards that ensure the quality of agricultural products. “The fact that two unelected senators are preventing C-282 from being adopted is not only unacceptable, but contrary to democracy!” she exclaimed.
Caron pointed out that Canada will no doubt continue to negotiate trade agreements, suggesting it was important to send a clear signal to trading partners who are similarly protecting their own sensitive sectors, such as sugar and cotton in the United States or rice in Japan.
Registered voters in the Valleyfield, Beauharnois, and Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois electoral division will be called to the polls on November 3 to elect a representative to join the New Frontiers School Board council of commissioners.
Ten of the eleven available positions, including that of chair, were declared filled by acclamation when the period for submitting nomination papers closed on September 29.
The two candidates running for election in district number 6 are Corrine Kane and Anne-Marie Yelle. Those whose candidacy went uncontested include Raymond Ledoux, Karin Van Droffelaar, Lina Chouinard, Kenneth Crockett, Cristian Espinosa-Fuentes, Dianne Eastwood, Peter Stuckey, Barbara Ednie, Connor Stacey, and John Ryan, who will sit for a second term as chair.
Now that an election has been declared, NFSB director general Mike Helm says it is very important that those on the electoral list take the time to vote. “We really need people to come out,” says Helm, noting that a high voter turnout would benefit the English population.
“The concept of elections is probably more important now than ever, because we are under threat of losing that right to represent our community in the same way we have over many, many years,” says Ryan.
The provincial government attempted to abolish English school boards when it passed Bill 40 in 2020 which converted all French boards to school service centres. A 2023 ruling by the Quebec Superior Court determined that several of the provisions in Bill 40 relating to English school boards are unconstitutional. The government is appealing this decision.
“It is extremely important to vote, because if we don’t stand up and defend what we have, we are going to lose it,” says Ryan. “We have to protect it now, and keep it,” he says of the English-speaking community’s right to maintain elected councils. “Otherwise, there is no going back.”
A wet August followed by a warmer-than-usual September has become a perfect combination for an extended mosquito season.
Besides being a nuisance, mosquitos can transmit dangerous diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV) and the California serogroup virus, as well as eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), which has surfaced locally this summer in horses despite generally being considered quite rare.
Chantal Vallée, a senior advisor with the communications and public affairs department at the Centre intégré de santé et services sociaux de la Montérégie-Centre, confirms there have been no human cases of EEE reported in the Montérégie to date. She notes, however, that an increase in WNV infections has been detected in the region.
WNV has been endemic or regularly occurring in Quebec since 2002. It is a mandatory reportable disease in Quebec, and the number of cases identified each year are recorded by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. The number of WNV infections tends to increase cyclically every four to five years, and the province is anticipating cases may continue to rise this fall.
As of September 26, there have been 61 cases confirmed across the province, and of those, 26 were diagnosed in the Montérégie. Only 20 cases of WNV were reported in Quebec in 2023, including six in the Montérégie.
Vallée says the Direction de Santé Publique de la Montérégie (DSPM) issued a call for vigilance in August to alert health-care professionals throughout the region to the potential risks posed by these infections.
“In the presence of symptoms affecting the nervous system, health-care professionals are being encouraged to look for these infections by performing the appropriate tests,” says Vallée.
The DSPM also encourages the adoption of preventive measures, especially for people at greater risk of serious illness, including individuals over 50-years-old, and those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.
Vallée confirms it is important people protect themselves against mosquito bites as long as mosquitos are active this fall.
The Montérégie-West Community Network (MWCN) hosted the region’s first employment roundtable focused exclusively on the five MRCs that make up the Montérégie on September 26 at the wellness centre in Huntingdon.
Around 25 representatives from local employment-oriented organizations as well as regional development groups participated in the meeting, which included a presentation by the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) on employment statistics in the region.
“We want to talk about the issues and try to find solutions to employability issues within the region,” said Joanne Basilières, the MWCN’s employability and mental health coordinator. She invited PERT to present the findings of its recently released employment profile of English speakers in the Montérégie, and to start a dialogue amongst the group on meeting the challenges facing this community.
Chad Walcott, the director of engagement and communications for PERT, opened his presentation by acknowledging English speakers are facing growing challenges in the labour market, with higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and persistent barriers to accessing essential French language training. These are the main findings of the report, which also notes a widening gap in the unemployment rate between English and French speakers in Montérégie.
Since the 2016 Census, the unemployment rate for English speakers has increased from 7.5 per cent to 9.1 per cent, while the rate for French speakers has remained steady at 5.8 per cent. The stats are showing a consistent trend, says Walcott. “The gaps are there, and they are persisting,” he said, noting that while some of the data from the 2021 census may have been influenced by the pandemic, the gaps have been present since 2011 and even earlier.
In the Montérégie region, the English-speaking population accounts for 13.3 per cent of the total population, while in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, English speakers make up 30.4 per cent of the population. This is the second highest percentage after Vaudreuil-Soulanges, where 34 per cent of the population identify as English-speaking.
The unemployment rate among French speakers in the Haut-Saint-Laurent sits at 6.8 per cent, while 8.2 per cent of English speakers are unemployed. In Beauharnois-Salaberry, 5.9 per cent of French speakers are unemployed, while 9.1 per cent of those who speak English do not have jobs.
In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, English-speaking visible minorities are at the greatest disadvantage, where 25.8 per cent are unemployed. This figure is twice as high as in every other MRC in the Montérégie. Across the region, the unemployment rate for visible minorities is 10.9 per cent.
Walcott noted that along with a higher unemployment rate, English speakers were also earning less. In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, for example, English speakers earn roughly $3,800 less per year than their French-speaking neighbours, while visible minorities who speak English earn $9,000 less per year.
Walcott explained that even though English speakers are participating in the job market, there is a blockage. “The fit is not there for the job market,” he said, noting that this holds true despite the fact English speakers are generally more educated and are more likely to identify as bilingual.
For example, 80 per cent of English speakers in the Haut-Saint-Laurent have at least a secondary school diploma or equivalency certificate, while 72 per cent of French speakers have attained this level of education. The bilingualism rate for English speakers is 66.7 percent, while 50.9 per cent of French speakers identify as bilingual.
During the discussion that followed Walcott’s presentation, one participant noted that many want to work with the English-speaking population, but the resources are simply not there. “It is easier to hire someone who is handicapped than it is to hire someone who is unilingually English,” she pointed out.
Many suggested more funding for work-integrated learning programs would help English speakers gain professional skills while improving their French-Language skills on the job. Others pointed to a lack of funding for industry-specific language training as an issue, as well as the integration challenges facing English speakers working in French environments.
Elections are set to take place this November at the nine English school boards across Quebec.
Notice was officially given on August 22 by the New Frontiers School Board that all eleven positions, including the chairperson and ten commissioners, will be up for election. Nomination papers for those interested in representing an electoral ward must be filed in person at the board office in Chateauguay by 5 p.m. on September 29. Should two or more candidates present themselves for one position, an election will take place on November 3.
“This is about making sure that the voices from the community are being heard, and this comes through the electoral process,” says NFSB director general Mike Helm. He says this public representation is especially important because it allows the board “to respond to the different needs in terms of ensuring the teaching and learning that is going on within our buildings.”
John Ryan, the current chair of the NFSB council of commissioners, says these elections are “probably more important now than ever, because we are under threat to lose this right to represent our community in the way we have over many, many years.”
Ryan has already announced his candidacy for re-election. He says it will be extremely important for eligible residents to vote if an election takes place. “We are the only elected voice for the English community at the provincial level,” he adds. “If we don’t stand up and defend what we have, we are going to lose it.”
All parents of students who were or are currently enrolled in an NFSB school should automatically be eligible to vote. Returning officer Louisa Benvenuti says it is important for recent graduates to check their status. She says several 18-year-olds recently noted that although they graduated from an English school, they had been automatically excluded from the list.
Those who do not have children or whose children do not attend an NFSB school are by default not included on the electoral list. Those in this situation who would like to vote in school board elections must complete a notice of change form, which is available on the NFSB’s elections page on their website (nfsb.qc.ca/elections)
