MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau

Fire ban issued across Hills

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By Trevor Greenway

Don’t toss your cigarette butt out your car window. 

Don’t light that pile of leaves your kids have raked up in the backyard. And don’t, under any circumstances, have an open fire any time in the next week – maybe beyond. 

These things may seem innocuous but they have already caused at least two fires in La Pêche over the past week, according to firefighter and prevention technician Sébastien Lalonde. The province’s wildfire prevention agency SOPFEU has ordered a complete fire ban across the Gatineau Hills at the beginning of October. 

“I would be really, really aware of what I’m doing outside, even if it’s a cigarette, even if it’s a barbecue…” said Lalonde. “At the moment, it’s really dry. We had one little brush fire this weekend and according to the owner of the property it was caused by a cigarette.”

Lalonde said another resident was having a controlled fire in a barrel in Masham Oct. 2 when some embers floated towards a nearby garage and lit it up. The garage was a total loss, however no injuries were reported. 

“So yes, it is really dangerous at this point because it’s really dry,” said Lalonde, referencing a lack of rain over the last month. “So even a cigarette can be a really big hazard at the moment. So it’s really important that people understand that situation. Because even when you drive on the highway and you throw your cigarette through the window, well, that may cause a fire, and we see many, many fires along the main road like that.”

According to SOPFEU, there are two current fires burning in the Gatineau Hills (L’Ange-Gardien and Mayo) and nine across the Outaouais. The fire prevention organization has had a complete ban on open fires since the first week of October. 

While there are no wildfires active in Low or Kazabazua, open fires are also banned in the entire MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau region. 

For more information or for tips on fire safety, visit sopfeu.qc.ca/.

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MRC prefect, province at odds over internet connectivity

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By Trevor Greenway

The Quebec government says it’s the first province to make high-speed internet accessible to every household in the province. 

However, having access to high-speed internet doesn’t necessarily mean you will be connected to it. 

“As part of Operation High Speed launched in 2021, the Quebec government committed to providing the entire population of Quebec with high-speed internet access, not to connecting 100 per cent of households,” wrote Emile Boudreau, spokesperson for the Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs. “So, having access to high-speed internet does not necessarily mean being connected to it. It is important to note that the Quebec government is not an internet service provider. These services are provided by private telecommunications companies.

Since 2021, Quebec has invested $2.08 billion to provide all homes with access to high speed internet, whether through fibre optics or satellite technology. The investment is part of a broader, Canada-wide effort to connect 100 per cent of households to high speed Internet by 20230. 

According to MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Prefect Chantal Lamarche, there are still many dark spots throughout the Outaouais, mainly in the rural areas to the north, that do not have access to high-speed internet – places such as Thurso, Que, east of Buckingham, according to Lamarche.

“The MRC remains very concerned about the situation and is monitoring the matter closely in collaboration with municipal-elected officials,” Lamarche wrote in an email to the Low Down. “The majority of MRC residents are now connected to high-speed internet. However, a minority of households located in more remote or hard-to-reach areas still do not benefit from adequate service. This situation remains a concern.”

Lamarche said that when Quebec launched Operation High-Speed in 2021, it promised to “connect” all households to fibre optic service. She said she’s still waiting for that to happen. 

“The Quebec government committed to ensuring that every home with access to electricity would also be connected to high-speed fiber optic internet,” said Lamarche. “We firmly believe that this commitment must be kept. A sustainable solution requires structural investment and clear political will.”

According to the ministry, while not every home in Quebec is connected to fibre optic, 338,438 additional households have been connected since 2021, including 9,676 via low-orbit satellite.

“Thanks to low-orbit satellite service, all residential, institutional and resort homes now have access to high-speed internet,” added Boudreau. “The goal of providing high-speed internet access to 100 per cent of residential households has been achieved since 2024.”

However, Lamarche is adamant that this is not the case, and said she will continue to work with colleagues to continue to pressure Quebec to improve connectivity.

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CLSC in Low saved

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By Trevor Greenway

The Low CLSC has been spared. It will not close, and it will not be reduced to one day a week, according to the CISSS de l’Outaouais (CISSSO). 

The CLSC in Low was, at one point this spring, on the chopping block to either close or reduce its hours to just one day a week. However CISSSO has confirmed to the Low Down that “there is no change to the CLSC’s service offer” in Low. 

“Local services are important to the population, especially those on the outskirts of urban areas. We are working to maintain them,” Santé Québec spokesperson Marianne Paquette told the Low Down.

This welcome but surprising decision to keep the Low CLSC open comes as part of a wider announcement by Santé Québec that that the initial $90 million that CISSSO was mandated to cut from its budget has been slashed in half – down to $45 million. With CISSSO having already cut $60 million from its budget in January, no more funding cuts are coming to the Outaouais. 

“The CISSS de l’Outaouais has a budget optimization target of $45 million. Given that we have already implemented measures to meet the objectives of the last financial period, no further measures will be implemented in terms of job cuts or major reorganizations,” Santé Québec spokesperson Qeren Boua told the Low Down in an email. “As our efforts in the last period amounted to almost 60 million, the remaining dollars will be used to absorb, among other things, the cost of inflation.”

In mid-March, CISSSO cut $60 million from its budget in an effort to help Santé Québec to slash $1.5 billion from its healthcare network. Those cuts came in the form of 800 health positions being abolished – a majority of them vacant jobs. The actual job cuts were around 100 staff, mostly in administrative positions. Santé Québec’s latest budget will see it cut $1 billion from its health network instead of $1.5 billion.

Paquette said that the province’s centralized health department is using three criteria to finalize and “optimize” budgets across regions, with tightening spending at the forefront. 

Paquette said her agency will have a “complete and more accurate picture of the situation” once its audited financial statements for Santé Québec are approved by its board of directors in June. 

MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Prefect Chantal Lamarche told the Low Down in April that she would “refuse” to see the Low CLSC close. After hearing about Santé Québec’s budget revisions this week, she was much happier.

“This is excellent news for our community, and I would like to highlight the work done in collaboration with the CISSSO to get to this point,” wrote Lamarche in an email. “I remain committed to defending the accessibility and quality of health services in our region.” 

Despite slashing the amount of what needed to be cut in half, advocates say they worry about the current state of healthcare in the region, as a cut of $45 million still puts the Outaouais far below funding compared to other regions of Quebec. 

“Reducing from $90 million to $45 million is not a victory; it is proof that the initial approach lacked nuance and would have unfairly impacted an already vulnerable region,” said SOS Outaouais spokesperson Jean Pigeon in a statement last week. 

He noted that the Observatoire de développement de l’Outaouais has estimated that the Outaouais region faces a funding shortfall of $180 million when compared to other regions in Quebec. 

“It is imperative that the government finally take our regional realities into account,” he said.

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Prefect says she will fight for Low CLSC

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By Trevor Greenway

Chantal Lamarche says that she will do everything in her power to save the Low CLSC from closure. 

The MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau prefect said that she has been told by the CISSS de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) that the up-the-line clinic is on the chopping block and could be closed for good, as the regional health authority looks to cut another $30 million from its budget. 

“As [prefect], I refuse to see the disappearance of this local service, which is essential to our community,” wrote Lamarche in an email to the Low Down. “The building also houses home-care nurses, making it a critical point for our citizens. The chronic underfunding of the Outaouais for over 40 years must end. We demand that decisions take into account the reality of our territories.”

The Low CLSC has already been slashed down to one day a week, which has impacted Low residents, many of whom are elderly and immobile and can’t travel to Wakefield or Maniwaki to see a doctor. Lamarche said she is pressuring the CAQ government to “review these cuts and take into account the specific needs of the region.”

“It is imperative that alternative solutions be considered to ensure adequate funding and effective management of resources, thereby ensuring access to quality healthcare for all Outaouais residents,” she said.

CISSSO CEO Marc Bilodeau refused to comment on the potential closure and directed the Low Down to Santé Quebec for comment. Representatives of Quebec’s new non-partisan health department would not grant an interview and instead sent a statement saying that no decisions have been made on the closure of CLSCs in the province. 

“No changes are currently planned for the services offered at the various CLSCs,” wrote Santé Quebec’s media relations department. “Local services are important to the population, particularly those on the outskirts of urban areas. We are working to maintain them, despite the current difficult budgetary context.”

That “difficult budgetary context” is Santé Quebec’s austerity measures, in which it is looking to slash $1.5 billion from the province’s health budget by spring. The CISSSO already cut 800 health positions in the region earlier this spring. Another $30 million still needs to be cut from the CISSSO budget, which is why CLSCs in places like Low could be on the chopping block. 

SOS Outaouais’ Jean Pigeon told the Low Down that because CISSSO already cut services back to one day a week at the Low CLSC, patient numbers will naturally be down. The president of the regional health advocacy group said he worries CISSSO will use this data to show that the clinic isn’t getting used and therefore should be closed. 

“They test it, and then they say, ‘Well, nobody’s going to this point anymore.’ Of course! You’ve closed four days out of five days which you were open,” said Pigeon. “If there’s fewer services to offer, of course there’ll be less people that can use them. And then you shut it down, claiming that there’s no demand. It’s nonsense.”

Low seniors worry about home care 

With the potential closure of the CLSC in Low, seniors are beginning to worry if they will still be able to rely on home-care nurses who are based out of the clinic. Interim director-general of the Paugan Falls Seniors’ Residence Colette Canavan told the Low Down that she worries that it won’t be feasible for some seniors to grow old in Low. With an aging population, she doesn’t know where many of them will go. 

“What’s going to happen now with the cutbacks in home care, which they’ve cut a lot?” said Canavan.  “We’re going to see residents – seniors who are autonomous, but who need help – we’re going to see a possibility of having to say, ‘Sorry, you have to leave.’ So this is far more serious than what first appeared.”

Low council passed a resolution in late March decrying the cuts and demanding a meeting with local officials, including the region’s MNA, Robert Bussière. The motion touches on the potential closure, as well as language barriers for local residents. 

“[Low] stands united with its citizens in protesting these cuts and commits to advocating to the future well-being of all residents, ensuring transparency and proper communication regarding any proposed changes to local services,” the motion read. It was passed at Low’s council meeting on March 25 . 

Gatineau MNA Bussière did not respond to the Low Down’s questions. It’s unclear if he responded to Low council. 

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