Val-des-Monts

Marc Carrière elected to four more years as MRC prefect

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / October 8, 2025 / Cantley, Chelsea, L’Ange-Gardien, La Pêche, Marc Carrière, MRC des Collines, Pontiac, prefect, Val-des-Monts

By Trevor Greenway

Marc Carrière has been reappointed for another four years as prefect of the MRC des Collines, and he says climate protection is among his top priorities.

Carrière was elected by acclamation on Oct. 3 after no one stepped in to challenge him for the prefect seat of the MRC des Collines regional government.

He said his first priority is to continue the climate work he started when he was elected in 2021.

“That will be one big issue for us and the six municipalities: we’re finishing our climate plan with Kitigan Zibi and all the wetlands plan and so on,” said Carrière. “So there’s a lot to do and we have to be resilient with all those environmental changes.”

The MRC des Collines worked with its six municipalities – Cantley, Chelsea, La Pêche, L’Ange-Gardien, Pontiac and Val-des-Monts – to establish a climate commission. One of its first orders of business was analyzing the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. The 2022 study found that road transportation was the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the area, accounting for 62 per cent of emissions. The next largest emitter was off-road transportation, accounting for 24 per cent. In 2022 the total emissions amounted to 318,095 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

Carrière told the Low Down that work is underway to develop solutions to limit these emissions. He said the MRC is building a new eco-centre for hazardous waste and electronic waste drop off in Val-des-Monts, off the corner of Hwys 366 and 307. The $3 million eco centre is expected to be built next spring.

“It’s in the centre of the MRC, so it’s the perfect location,” added Carrière.

The MRC is also looking to become a leader in solar energy, said Carrière, as the land’s topography provides maximum exposure to sunlight. He said the MRC is working hard at building a new solar program that would allow it to sell energy to Quebec as a revenue stream.

“Quebec is looking for more and more energy, sustainable energy,” said Carrière. “We don’t have any potential for windmill power but we have a lot for solar panels. “I think the Outaouais could be a leader in solar energy.”

Other priorities include working on sustainable development and implementing the MRC’s social development strategy, which was finalized earlier this month and will aim to support local non-profit organizations in the region. Carrière said the MRC is also exploring the possibility of amalgamating fire departments, however that study is in its preliminary stages.

Carrière said that he was proud of the work he did in his first mandate, namely helping the region’s police service implement a mental health and domestic violence unit when dealing with sensitive calls or distressed individuals.

The MAINtenant ensemble program, implemented in 2021, sends social workers on domestic violence calls to help de-escalate encounters and ensure kids and women are safe. In 2023 the MRC and local police launched the MAINtenir le lien program, which pairs police officers with mental health experts during distress calls.

“We put on the domestic violence squad and also the mental health issues squad, and that’s a big thing for our citizens,” he said.

Carrière will be officially sworn in within the next 30 days.

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Teens identified in string of car thefts

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / March 10, 2025 / Cantley, car thefts, car thieves, Trevor Greenway, Val-des-Monts

By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

MRC des Collines Police say they have identified four suspects in connection with a string of 30 car break-ins and stolen vehicles in Cantley and Val-des-Monts over the last month.

According to MRC des Collines Spokesperson Martin Fournel, three male teenagers, aged 17 and one adult male, 18, are the main suspects in at least 30 reported break-ins and car thefts. Fournel said that two of the 17-year-old suspects are Cantley residents.

Police seized a vehicle in Gatineau on March 2, believed to be in connection with this string of thefts.

Fournel is urging motorists to lock their doors and to report thefts after his precinct fielded more than 30 complaints regarding vehicle break-ins and car thefts.

“These are opportunity thefts,” said Fournel, explaining that these vehicle thefts are not linked to the rise in car thefts across Canada, in which thieves are using the Flipper Zero gadget that can reprogram key fobs. “Unlocked doors, leaving valuables in the vehicle, and in some cases, the keys were left in the car.”

Fournel said that a lot of Gatineau Hills residents feel that, because they live in a rural setting, they don’t need to lock their car doors while at home or while they are in local villages shopping. However, with thefts on the rise, police are urging motorists to take precautions.

Thieves have become more brazen these days, with locals reporting daytime thefts at their country homes. Masham resident Jean Bernard Bertrand had his 16-foot trailer stolen out of his driveway in October of last year.

Low resident Maggie Early left the Low arena after volunteering only to find that a thief had smashed her rear passenger window and stolen her wallet with “a good sum of cash in it,” along with her credit cards and driver’s driver’s license.

“You try and give back to the community, and this is the thanks I get,” Early, a longtime arena and community volunteer, posted on Facebook Feb. 12. She said her truck was locked, as it “always is.”

Fournel told the Low Down that police have recovered some evidence from the Cantley thefts, including surveillance footage of the suspects, but he is urging more residents to come forward with complaints.

He said that police suspect there could be more culprits and more incidents and he urges anyone who has been a victim of theft to report it to police immediately.

“So if they don’t report it, we cannot investigate it, and maybe in some cases, we could have found some footprints, or, you know, fingerprints,” said Fournel.

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Cop shortages in Hills

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / February 15, 2025 / Cantley, Chelsea, L'Ange Guardian, La Peche, MRC des Collines, Police shortage, Pontiac, Trevor Greenway, Val-des-Monts

By Trevor Greenway

The head of the MRC des Collines regional government says that the Hills’ police force is not the only precinct facing officer shortages, as the problem is also across Quebec and the country.

MRC des Collines Prefect Marc Carrière told the Low Down that staff shortages at the region’s police force are putting pressure on active officers and creating a tension-filled working environment for those on the frontline.

He said that the police force is facing a lack of resources, with senior officers working atypical shifts, and many officers are being forced to work long overtime shifts to make up the shortfall. He added that the MRC des Collines precinct is currently struggling to fill about 12 roles.

“It’s all across Quebec and in Canada,” said Carrière about the shortages, referring to places like Montreal and Gatineau. He noted that, at one point, Montreal was short 400 officers and Gatineau was short 40-50 officers.

“We are at the point where officers are doing forced overtime and that doesn’t please anyone.”

Carrière said that he is working with local police unions to form a recruitment committee to attract more officers to the region. The MRC des Collines police force is the only MRC in Quebec to have a regional police force, with the rest of the province being served by either a city detachment or the provincial force, the Sûreté du Québec.

One of the main challenges for this region’s police force, according to Carrière, is the sheer size of the region. The region covers six municipalities that are spread out over 2,000-plus square kilometres.

According to Quebec’s Police Act, passed in 2000, municipalities with more than 5,000 residents must have their own police force. When the law was being enacted, instead of La Pêche launching its own police force, it banded together with Val-des-Monts, Chelsea, Cantley, L’Ange Guardian and Pontiac to form the MRC des Collines Police.

Carrière said his government is studying the benefits and detriments of switching to an SQ police force in the region but added that those discussions are at the very early stages.

Past problems at MRC precinct

This isn’t the first time the MRC des Collines precinct has had issues. A report by Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) in July of last year found that the work environment under the direction of former MRC des Collines Police Chief Yves Charette was “toxic and unhealthy.”

The report was spawned by a 2021 complaint from a lieutenant who said he was the victim of psychological harassment at work for several years, which caused “major depression and a resurgence of post-traumatic stress.” The report did not name the lieutenant.

“The actions of the police director towards the worker over a period of approximately three years are objectively traumatic, beyond the normal scope of work,” wrote Judge Manon Chénier in the July 2024 decision. “These events do not fall within the scope of a reasonably exercised management right,” the decision emphasizes. “These are events that take place in a toxic work climate, while the worker is constantly criticized, belittled and humiliated.”

Charette left the MRC des Collines Public Security in early 2022 after being celebrated for 40 years of “distinguished service in the police force” during a recognition ceremony. A year and a half later, CNESST released its damning report on Charette.

Despite the past toxic culture, Carrière said he feels like current Police Chief Martial Mallette has cleaned up his precinct.

“We’re not looking backwards,” said Carrière, adding that the issues took place before he was prefect and before Mallette was named chief. “We want to go forward, find a permanent solution and that’s what we are working on.”

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