Municipal politics

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The council room at the town hall in Ormstown has a new chair.

Three students from Ormstown Elementary School presented members of the municipal council with a colourful and highly symbolic Generations’ Chair during the regular meeting on July 8.

The chair, which was designed by Cassandra Bryson, Abby Sauvé, and Livia Banning, with help from teacher David Rosenbaum, will now permanently sit in the council room as a reminder to municipal leaders that decisions made today will impact future generations.

“We wanted this chair to capture the many parts of our community and share our vision for a better future,” explain the students, in a note addressed to council members that details the different elements of their design.

The chair features a rainbow to represent the LGBTQIA2S+ members of the community, while the addition of flowers and butterflies serves to remind leaders of their relationship with nature and their responsibility to make choices with this in mind. A nesting pair of hands was included to represent intergenerational links within families and the community, while the orange uprights recall that “Every Child Matters” and speak to the importance of recognition and reconciliation with First Nation neighbours. Lastly, the chair introduces the notion of “people over profits,” which promotes an interest in a culture of communal care and reciprocity over individualism.

Ormstown mayor Christine McAleer initiated the project after learning of the Generations’ Chair movement while watching an interview with Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand, whose team came up with the concept in 2021. The idea was to symbolically add a place around the executive committee table to represent the expectations of future generations.

The project has since been promoted by the Mothers Step In movement, or Mères au front, that unites mothers and grandmothers across Canada to demand concrete government action to protect children from the impacts of climate change. Over 90 municipalities, mainly across Quebec, have been gifted Generations’ Chairs by children within their communities.

McAleer says the chair and all it symbolizes is in line with many of the council’s priorities. “When the council meets, they keep in mind that they are working for future generations, especially when decisions concern the environment,” she says.

“We have tried, especially when we redid all of our urban planning bylaws, to keep the environment in mind and to promote it in the future development of the town,” McAleer explains, noting the council aims to make changes in a rational way while keeping the environment and the quality of life for both current and future residents at the forefront.

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

For the second time in less than three years, the mayor of the municipality of Havelock has resigned.

Havelock’s director general, Mylène Vincent, tabled Gerald Beaudoin’s official resignation at the start of the May 6 regular council meeting, along with the resignation of councillor number six, Christopher Sherrington. Both positions were subsequently declared vacant.

Beaudoin was elected to the position of mayor during the byelection on November 20, 2022, following the sudden resignation of Stephane Gingras who had won the 2021 municipal election a year earlier.

Beaudoin had previously served as mayor between 1987 and 1992 and he was approached to run again by community members. There were rumblings of some problems at the council table, and he says he thought he could be of some help.

“Last September, I flagged a problem, and suggested several ways to solve this, and unfortunately no progress was made,” says Beaudoin. “I decided skills other than mine were required to rectify the situation,” he adds.

The former mayor admits he was reluctant to resign at this point because he knew it would trigger an election. “At my age, I don’t need to be working in a toxic environment,” he says, referring to the reported atmosphere around the council table. “I thought the sooner we get on with this, the better.”

Beaudoin says he was privileged to have worked with Vincent at the municipality, and he thanks the members of the community for their support during his time as mayor. “I hope there are better days ahead for Havelock,” he concludes.

A byelection for both the position of mayor and councillor seat number six will take place simultaneously in the coming weeks; however, an official date has not been announced. Vincent says the date will be confirmed as early as possible, either during the regular council meeting scheduled to take place on June 3 or during a special meeting later in the month.

In the meantime, the role of acting mayor has been filled by councillor number one, Hélène Lavallée, who was appointed to the position of deputy mayor by resolution during a special meeting on December 19, 2023.

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The final report on an audit of the municipality of Franklin, which was requested by the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) following an investigation, was tabled during the May 6 regular municipal council meeting.

The original investigation expressed concerns about the budgetary process undertaken by the municipality. The final version of the audit report on Franklin’s financial reporting, which focused on activities from 2021 to 2023, was published on April 23.

The audit concluded that “The municipality’s financial reporting does not provide citizens with all of the information they need to fully understand the municipality’s finances.” The audit also found that while the council had access to numerous documents during the budget preparation and adoption process, these documents did not contain all the information required to make informed decisions.

The report, which was produced by the Vice-présidence à la verification, recommended the municipality ensure all the information required for citizens to understand the municipality’s finances are produced and made available in a timely manner. The report also recommended the municipality review and improve the documents presented to the council during the preparation and adoption of the budget, including information on the status of debt and accumulated operating surpluses, and information to help the council understand the choices made and variations in budget forecasts.

The commission has asked the municipality to create an action plan to address the recommendations within three months and will follow up on the recommendations after three years.

In a response included with the final report, the municipality stated that several changes have already been made and that the necessary measures to communicate the municipality’s financial information adequately and effectively will be put in place.