In the face of upcoming Quebec government legislation set to prohibit the use of independent labour in the Townships by 2025, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS has yet to show a reduction in its reliance on such labour. As of the mid 2023-2024 fiscal year, the hours clocked by independent workers at the CIUSSS increased to 185,000 — 100,000 hours more than the previous year at the same time.
This comes after Marc-Antoine Rouillard, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Communications, and Legal Affairs of the CIUSSS expressed confidence back in February about the organization’s trajectory in reducing its dependence on placement agencies by the stipulated 2025 deadline, especially as it aligns with the upcoming Bill 10 affecting ‘bordering territories’ like the Townships.
Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie released a statement Monday morning regarding the use of independent labour at the CIUSSS.
“It’s discouraging to see that not only are we failing to free ourselves from agencies, but we are also moving away from this goal. I am particularly concerned about the explosion in the use of private agencies for social workers or educators. In social services, especially in youth protection, establishing a trust relationship is fundamental, and this requires stable teams. Using agencies seriously compromises the quality of social services provided to the most vulnerable individuals,” Labrie commented.
“We need as many qualified and competent people as we can get to meet the needs of the population,” Rouillard explained. It is not currently possible to fill these roles with public sector employees alone.
The cause of the Townships’ lack of public sector employees is “multifactorial”, he continued, though he admitted he is not a specialist. One reason is that the population is getting older and requires more complex care. Quebec is suffering a general labour shortage that affects healthcare as well, he added.
We need to work on retaining, making these jobs more attractive, and providing better working conditions, he went on. One positive step they have taken in the Townships is to allow employees to participate in forming their own schedules. Because schedules are planned so far in advance, more difficult periods for making sure there is adequate coverage, like during the summer, have been handled “with good results”. They have also given employees more flexibility in choosing when they can take their vacation. Finally, they have reintroduced surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and get a better idea of where they can improve.
When asked how the CIUSSS would deal with their future inability to hire private contractors in 2025, Rouillard insisted a major factor would be continuing to make the jobs that need filling “as attractive as possible”. The Townships region is better positioned to make up for the lack of staff than other regions, since the percentage of private contractors they use is less (two to three per cent vs. five per cent), he added.
It must be recognized that they face a difficult challenge, he said, but they should be able to meet it together with other regions in a synchronized way. It would be much more difficult if the Townships were the only region facing this dilemma.
An eight-man curling team from Cornwall faced eight from the North Hatley Curling Cub for the ‘Quebec Challenge Cup’ Oct. 20 in North Hatley. The cup is currently held by North Hatley; the team from Cornwall arrived around 6 p.m., shared a meal with North Hatley’s defenders, then both went at it for the bragging-rights of possessing the oldest competitive trophy in North America (since 1874).
Cornwall conceded in the eighth round, losing 8-14.
“It’s a big ladder tournament,” explained Marty Rourke, North Hatley Curling Club VP. Clubs that compete for the trophy can come from as far away as Deep River or Brockville, Ontario and Montreal – any team that is part of the Royal Canadian Branch. It can be five to seven years between the times a club can challenge for the Cup, if they lose.
There are about eight challenges a year. North Hatley’s turn came up last year in late November, travelling to Bedford to compete with the then current champions. The game came down to the last shot and North Hatley won – the first time in the history of their club.
“We win and there’s this massive excitement,” Rourke said. They successfully defended first against a team from St. Lambert, then Sutton, then Dalhousie Lake. Challenges occur about once a month.
The game played is 10 ends, with a break after five. The host is expected to “put on a little bit of a show”. When the game is done, everyone drinks a “rusty nail” out of the Cup, as is tradition. Since the pandemic, their procedure for this has changed – the booze is mixed in the Cup and then distributed among individual glasses.
The eight members of the team can change, Rourke explained, but this game was played with the original eight that won it in the first place. “We’ve got a good little dynamic happening.” Rourke insisted that everyone on the team plays because they enjoy it and it is a way to keep competitive.
The league has probably 50 to 60 teams, Rourke speculated. The next team on the list is the Ottawa Curling Club. If North Hatley keeps winning: Windsor, then Lennoxville. “It’s a nice tradition that keeps going.”
Matt Dupuis, Cornwall’s Skip, fought for the Cup around six years ago. They won and defended it a few times. “It’s a fantastic event,” he added. Their team is composed of two men’s teams that play together regularly. He visited the Townships last year to play for the Cup with a different team but was unsuccessful.
Soundly defeated, Cornwall returned to Ontario Cup-less that same night. One member of their team is a nurse and had to be at work at 7 a.m. the next day.
Cuisines Collectives Memphremagog, an organization that runs communal kitchen sessions all around the Eastern Townships, has opened up a ‘service point’ in Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall in partnership with the local government. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 18, 11 interested residents and organizers gathered for its first session.
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Cuisines Collectives Memphremagog, an organization that runs communal kitchen sessions all around the Eastern Townships, has opened up a ‘service point’ in Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall in partnership with the local government. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 18, 11 interested residents and organizers gathered for its first session.
“[Cuisines Collectives] has been in business for 30 years,” Jonathan Goulet-Abitan, organizer and animator, explained, “it’s our anniversary this year.” They have decided to expand their services further. The organization has numerous service points, their newest being Ayer’s Cliff’s community hall.
Participants in their activities gather in groups of around two to six in a communal kitchen and prepare food. Everyone pitches in; at the end of the activity everything is split evenly among them. Meal choice is made as a group as well, with help from an animator who can suggest menu options.
Sometimes people have special dietary needs or want to cook something inexpensive, Goulet-Abitan noted. Those with similar tastes are usually put together, he added, like vegetarians with vegetarians.
“It is very economical,” insisted Director Lisane Boisclair, because a fair amount of the food used is provided free of charge. This includes many nonperishable and canned items. Every session, participants, after pooling their resources, leave with an entrée, two main courses and a dessert – with portions enough to feed one’s whole family. “It’s at least $15 worth of food per person,” she said.
Cuisines Collectives has two service points in Magog and many in surrounding municipalities. It has also recently begun working with 16 local schools, primarily on recipe-less meals that focus on “cooking hygiene” and the basics. They are starting in Stanstead at Sunnyside Elementary on Oct. 20.
Anyone can participate and there are many good reasons to, Goulet-Abitan said; for the young it could be budgetary, for the old, to socialize. He says they have done basically every kind of meal you could imagine, and what he loves most is helping people fulfill their culinary dreams.
The Oct. 18 session in Ayer’s Cliff was merely a preliminary meeting to talk with those who are interested and make plans.
While visiting for the story, this reporter was offered a choice of three snacks (two sweet and one salty) and was asked to guess what the “base” of all three were. After a little delightful munching, this reporter guessed “egg”. It was not egg, but tofu!
Pilgrimages can be a source for deeply human interactions, says Dr. Jennifer Cianca, Bishop’s University Classics Professor. Cianca recently completed two routes in Spain and France, the latest in a series of pilgrimages spanning 10 years.
“I’ve done a bunch of them,” Cianca said, referring to her penchant for European pilgrimages. The most recent was a return to two separate routes that she has done before, one in 2013 and one in 2019. “I just wanted to revisit them.”
The first route was through the Pyrenees mountains, from France into Spain. The second was through the Cantabrian mountains in Spain’s mid-western region. The routes are not connected; she took a bus in between.
On her pilgrimages, Cianca walks an average of 30 kilometers per day. The distance varies depending on the elevation and difficulty of the day’s path. Along the way she stayed at “albergues”, inns primarily designated for those travelling these venerable routes by foot, bicycle or even horseback.
Upon starting one of these routes, one receives a “little passport”, she explained. Every night one receives stamps proving one has been walking the route, which allows one to sleep over at the next location.
The inns are either run publicly by the church or the local municipality, or privately. All are relatively inexpensive (10-20 euros a night), the public ones even more so. Some church-run inns are by donation only.
Every sixth or seventh day she stays in a private room, “because I’m old,” she said with a chuckle. Normally, the inns are communal with rows of bunks. People snore and it can be hot, she noted.
Since only pilgrims can stay in the inns, it’s a great place to meet and socialize with others doing the same thing. There are often communal dinners, and you can meet people from around the world. “Nobody who is boring decides to go do [this],” she insisted.
Pilgrims are there for different reasons. Some are running away from something, some are retired, some are facing demons, and some just got divorced or lost their job, she explained. Many younger people do it in between years of study. It is one of the least expensive ways you can travel, so it is a very accessible option.
The “Pilgrim Office”, she continued, has already reported 400,000 pilgrims this year as of August. “It’s growing and growing and growing… it’s totally bonkers.” And these are only the ones that walk at least 100 kilometers and report in to get their certificate.
What makes it “really special” is the brief interactions you have with people, she said, but many also form deep, pseudo-familial bonds with each other on their travels. Cianca tends to walk faster than most, and likes to walk alone, so her socializing tends to take the form of brief meals or shared cups of coffee. It is overall a very supportive group, she said, and you get to see a lot of “humanity, when everything is stripped away”.
People tend not to talk much about politics, except for Americans, she joked. English and Spanish are the common languages. Knowing Spanish allows you to talk to the locals. Pilgrims are a large part of these regions’ economies.
Cianca speculates that a still sizable number of pilgrims do it for religious reasons, but many are “post-Christian”. Every town you pass through has a church or fountain of religious or historical significance. Some people stop at all of them, some at none. She always stops at the cathedrals because she loves their architecture.
One of the routes she recently followed has been in existence for over 1,100 years. Along it you can find ruins of hospitals and historical hideouts. Pilgrims were walking it during the times of the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. Anyone interested in religion or history can run into something of relevance nearly every day, she insisted.
“The Pyrenees are spectacular,” she said, speaking on the landscapes she hiked through. “They have a lush… green tree-cover that make them really wonderful.” There is a “particular flavour” to how the Basques region is settled. Imagine red and white tiled houses dotted up the hills with lots of terracing surrounded by pastures. The Cantabrian mountains in the west are different, she said. There are some rolling foothills, but also jagged outcrops.
The middle of Spain, on the other hand, is very flat, and famous for making pilgrims “lose their minds”. In the summer, the landscape is brown, the horizon endless.
There are paths over the peaks of the mountains, but the main routes take the easiest way between two points. There are nearly no climbs or dangerous cliffs involved.
On an average day, she would wake up and leave her inn by sunrise. She was slower than most, but her motto is: “Leave last, walk fast.” Usually, you begin near somewhere you can find something to eat, like a coffee and a muffin. If you are not, a guidebook has likely told you to prepare beforehand.
Pilgrims tend to take a break around 11 a.m. and eat something and rest a bit, then continue on for a few hours. Cianca does not tend to stop much if she can help it; she does not like walking on a full stomach. An average day involves six to eight hours of walking for her.
At the end of the day, you do your laundry and hang everything up, then look around for a place for dinner. The public inns normally have a “lights out and silence by 10 p.m.” policy. The doors are locked, and you cannot come back in if you are late. Sometimes, if everyone knows the next day will be hard due to terrain or weather, the upwards of 15 people all sleeping together will agree on a time when everyone will officially awake.
Cianca’s pilgrimages have taken place in May, June, August, and September. June and August can be very hot, while May and September are normally more temperate. This time, she had three days of rain. She has a rain jacket and cover for her pack and keeps walking. The only thing that stops her is lightning, which is uncommon, she said, except in the mountains.
There is nothing much you can run into that will phase a Canadian, she said with a laugh. You can find a lot of Quebecers on the trails, mostly retirees.
She has “whittled down” how much she carries with her in her pack over the years. It is never more than about 12 pounds, minus food and water.
Cianca has walked more than 3,000 kilometers in Spain alone. She feels like she may be done there for a while, maybe forever. “I feel like I’ve got maybe what I have needed.” There are routes in southern Spain that she has not walked, she admitted, so “never say never”. She is looking forward now to other places, such as Iceland next year.
She does not think that there is really any better way to “divest of everything else that is going on in life”. She finds the encounters she has had with people on her travels precious in a way that she has not found anywhere else. “There’s a purity of spirit”; exhausted people meeting vulnerable heart to vulnerable heart.
Local healthcare administrators are calling for improvements in the coordination of ambulance services at Sherbrooke’s Emergency Department. Recent discussions between CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) concluded that although there’s no need to amplify the number of ambulance services, there is a pressing need for quicker release of ambulances held at emergency centers. Christine Labrie, Sherbrooke MNA, questioned this narrative and the Health Minister recently at a meeting of the National Assembly.
This push for improved efficiency has received support from the Cooperative of Ambulance Workers of Estrie (CTAE), which has already partnered with healthcare facilities to devise potential solutions.
Insights from recent data analysis highlight that:
Ambulances in Sherbrooke have an overall utilization rate of 53.42 per cent, reflecting the time they are occupied with a call.
The availability rate for ambulances to attend to new calls stands at 46.6 per cent.
For high-risk cases, such as potential cardio-respiratory arrests and life-threatening situations, the average ambulance response time is just under 10 minutes. Moreover, in 65 per cent of these high-risk cases, ambulances reach patients in less than eight minutes.
These figures make Sherbrooke an exemplar, said a press release, as its response times are notably quicker than the Quebec average of 12 minutes and 37 seconds.
Residents can access the detailed response times for ambulance services across all municipalities in Quebec via the MSSS dashboard.
However, the health department also underscores the fluidity of situations. Depending on the urgency of a call, priority levels can be reassessed and modified. For instance, a patient might initially be tagged with a lower priority but can be upgraded to a high priority if their health deteriorates, ensuring that they receive timely medical assistance.
Labrie questions narrative
“Last Sunday, for three hours, there was no ambulance service for the entire territory of Sherbrooke,” Labrie stated during a recent question period at the National Assembly. This morning, she went on, “someone in immediate risk of mortality had to wait for 58 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. This is not a unique occasion and paramedics have been saying for years that Sherbrooke is lacking ambulances. Yet, the Minister of Health has denied the addition of one more ambulance to Sherbrooke’s fleet.” Referring to the CHUS’ assertion that the problem was a question of efficiency, Labrie questioned whether “faster ambulance release” was really the substantive issue and asked the Health Minister again for another ambulance to serve the Sherbrooke area.
Health Minister Christian Dubé responded by saying certain facts needed to be re-established regarding the Estrie region. First, he continued, Estrie’s residents are very well served. The average wait time for an urgent ambulance call is nine minutes. Second, he said, Estrie was given $4.5 million last year towards their ambulance services.
Labrie replied that some locations, like East Angus, are 23 kilometers away and are certainly not well served.
Dubé explained that they are closely following the recommendations of a recent report and will come out with clear new proposals, in the next few weeks, to improve ambulance services across Quebec, including the Sherbrooke region. One must focus on the general picture, he concluded.
Exceptional cases can cost people’s lives, Labrie responded, and asked yet again why the Health Minister wouldn’t agree to give Sherbrooke another ambulance.
“Unfortunately, there are exceptions,” said Dubé, but he believes the government’s commitment to the Sherbrooke region is clear from what he had already mentioned.
ANAF Unit 318 (The Hut), in Lennoxville, will be hosting the launch of a booklet volume of military veteran biographies Oct. 19. Heather Keith, member of the Genealogical Society of Sherbrooke that had the booklet commissioned, and translator, will emcee the event.
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
ANAF Unit 318 (The Hut), in Lennoxville, will be hosting the launch of a booklet volume of military veteran biographies Oct. 19. Heather Keith, member of the Genealogical Society of Sherbrooke that had the booklet commissioned, and translator, will emcee the event.
“The Genealogical Society here in Sherbrooke,” Keith explained, “published a bunch of volumes called ‘Hommages à Nos Militaires’.” The three volumes include genealogical and biographical information on local soldiers and were initially available only in French.
When Keith joined the Society, they wanted to translate all their material into English, but she suggested they start with these volumes first, since they were on the soldiers they knew were English and from Sherbrooke. They decided to put out self-published booklets that include 15-20 biographies each, with coloured pictures, and distribute them amongst the local small museums and historic sites. The booklets will cost $15 each. Keith did the translations herself.
The launch of the first volume will take place at The Hut Oct. 19, at 7p.m. Many have been invited, including local 103-year-old veteran Ralph Benson and numerous Lennoxville military members. They expect 150 to attend.
Keith enjoyed learning about the military while translating and is proud to emcee this event. We are nearing Remembrance Day, she said, and people should know more about their military and its history.
Healthy Lifestyle Day launched in Sherbrooke to promote well-being in the community
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The organizing committee for the 58th Finale of the Jeux du Québec – Sherbrooke 2024 held its inaugural Healthy Lifestyle Day Oct. 17 in Sherbrooke. This initiative was established in collaboration with the Sherbrooke Alliance for Healthy Youth, aiming to encourage the city’s residents, including its youth, to embrace healthier living through a diverse array of activities offered to employees of local businesses and organizations, stated a press release.
The central goal of Healthy Lifestyle Day is to foster the adoption of healthier habits within the Sherbrooke community. This includes promoting physical activity, maintaining a balanced diet, and practicing mindful screen usage, all of which are integral to good health.
This event builds on the organizing committee’s commitment to promote healthy living. Previous initiatives include the “Course Lumineuse” held in February, workshops in day camps and schools, and the dissemination of informative web capsules and columns.
At Cégep de Sherbrooke (CdeS), organizers planned out a series of walking routes on campus to encourage students and staff to take “active breaks”. They suggested walking at least 4 km/h for periods of five to fifteen minutes between classes to help keep active.
CdeS Kinesiologist Claude Demers, who helped man their kiosk and handed out pamphlets, explained that the walks would allow people to get a breath of fresh air and need not be too lengthy; the important thing is to keep moving. Walking benefits one’s joints, muscles, tendons, and cardiovascular system, stated their handout.
CdeS Student Life Advisor Nancy Roy said they do events like this regularly on all sorts of related topics like mental health, sexual health, and nutrition. CdeS has a large committee of related experts that set the year’s program on these issues ahead of time.
According to organizers, these initiatives are particularly important in today’s society, where sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary choices have become prevalent. Healthy Lifestyle Day seeks to address these issues by inspiring individuals to make positive changes in their lives.
The projects that are a part of Healthy Lifestyle Day are primarily intended for the “internal audiences” of organizations that have enthusiastically embraced the challenge. These activities will be showcased extensively on social media platforms to inspire and engage the broader population.
The event involved a diverse range of engaging activities designed to promote health and wellness. Some of the Oct. 17 highlights included:
EXP’s Local Orchard Apple Distribution: EXP distributed apples from a nearby orchard, promoting the consumption of fresh, locally sourced produce.
Cégep de Sherbrooke’s (CdeS) Walking Route and Awareness Kiosks: Participants enjoyed designated walking routes while also gaining valuable insights into healthy living through informative kiosks.
Standish’s Zumba Session: An energetic Zumba session led by Standish had participants moving and grooving to the beat.
Desjardins’ Meditation and Mindfulness Conference: A conference on meditation and mindfulness led by Desjardins offered attendees tools to reduce stress and enhance well-being.
City of Sherbrooke’s Active Challenges and Intra-organizational Competitions: The City of Sherbrooke hosted active challenges and competitions to encourage teamwork and physical activity.
“Un Fermier Dans Mon Quartier” Farmer’s Market Booth: The Center for School Services of the Région-de-Sherbrooke (CSSRS) featured a farmer’s market booth, promoting local, fresh produce.
Bishop’s University (BU) Principal and Vice-Chancellor Sébastien Lebel-Grenier characterizes the Quebec government’s proposed 2024 tuition hike at English-language universities for out-of-province students as “catastrophic”. Starting in 2024, new out-of-province students will have to pay around $17,000 per year in place of the $9,000 current students pay now. Furthermore, a new minimum will be set for international students, much of which will be “confiscated” and used to support programs to strengthen French in the province.
The provincial government is putting forward two measures, Lebel-Grenier confirmed, both of which “are going to have a hit on [BU]”.
The first is the most detrimental – a proposal to double the tuition fees for out-of-province Canadian students. Presently, these students are paying roughly $9,000 per year, which is comparable to the average tuition they would have to pay elsewhere in Canada according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.
The new fees will increase starting next September and affect all three English-language universities in Quebec. Out-of-province students will be priced out, Lebel-Grenier insisted; the fee increase will be “prohibitive”. He expects BU will lose much of that category of student, which makes up around 30 per cent of the BU student body. “Do the math,” he said, “it’s catastrophic for us.”
The second measure applies to international students. The government will be imposing a new minimum on tuition fees for them: $20,000 per year. This will not directly impact BU’s capacity to attract these students, he continued, because BU and other English-language universities are already charging more than that. BU’s international fees amount to around $25,000 a year, and McGill can charge quite a bit more depending on the program. However, he said, the government plans on additionally “clawing back” a portion of that money and distributing it amongst francophone universities and other institutions, which constitutes a “direct financial hit”. This will impede BU’s ability to provide its programs and services to all its students, he went on.
The exact overall impact these new regulations will have on BU is not completely worked through and they are running different scenarios based on limited information. It is not clear, for instance, exactly how many less students they will attract, but they project losing one quarter of their revenue, probably a lot more.
Lebel-Grenier has been speaking regularly with the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry. The Minister understands that BU will be the most severely impacted, he relayed, and the intention is not to endanger BU’s very existence. Conversations are ongoing. This is “cold comfort” for BU, Lebel-Grenier admitted, since the consequences of this new legislation will be “fundamental”.
It will also have an impact on BU’s identity as an institution, he added; BU is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year and is a historic pillar of Quebec society. “It is an essential institution for [Quebec’s] diverse anglophone communities.” BU has been welcoming students from throughout Canada for its entire existence. If out-of-province students cease attending BU it will affect the very nature of the community BU has built over the years. BU thrives on a “diverse student body”, which is core to the educational experience it offers.
Lebel-Grenier hopes the government will come to understand the extent of the damage this will cause. He emphasized that BU recognizes Quebec is a predominately francophone province and there exist legitimate concerns surrounding the preservation of its French language. BU sees itself as a partner in this effort with the province to give its non-francophone students the opportunity to learn French and more about the Quebec community.
He thinks many out-of-province students attend BU because they are curious about Quebec and the French language. Many choose to stay in Quebec and are important and productive members of its society. BU helps welcome people to Quebec and make it a place where “talent wants to stay”.
The government claims there is a $110 million gap between what they receive from out-of-province students and what it costs to educate them. “I’d like to see what data the government is basing [that number] on,” Lebel-Grenier responded. He has asked the Minister for that data and did not receive a reply. These students spend “orders of magnitude” more than the ultimate funding the government provides to universities for their education. BU is currently working out its own exact specific numbers, but the conclusion will be the same.
Out-of-province students are already paying three times as much as Quebecers, which he thinks is fair. They are not taking advantage of Quebec, he insisted, but bringing a lot to Quebec society.
Lebel-Grenier does not agree with the government’s view on the French language being in danger on the island of Montreal. They are basing their worries on data about French being spoken in the household, he noted, but, in an increasingly diverse community, it is obvious that less French will be spoken at home. He thinks mandatory study in French for students (besides the historically English), a law already in place, is appropriate and enough. Young people on the island of Montreal are all bilingual, he said. What should be focused on is French as the common language of the province.
Making their flagship institutions weaker, he continued, is not the way ahead. McGill, for instance, “contributes immensely” to Quebec society as a spearhead of research and innovation. As he understands it, McGill is going to announce a $50 million program to bring French to their non-French speaking students, which is “an amazing initiative… the way we should be going.”
Lebel-Grenier understands Townshippers’ concern about what these new developments will mean for BU. He promises he is working hard to get adaptations to the new rules that will account for BU’s special circumstances and is hopeful they will find a way out of this difficult situation.
He emphasized that it is very important that the local community, anglophone and francophone, band together and support BU by talking about the role BU plays for them. “We’re stronger together.”
Annabelle McIntosh is an out-of-province, fifth-year education student at BU. She is disappointed to see such a “very, very large” tuition hike. Losing so many non-Quebecer students would be devastating, she said, because they make up almost half the student body and add a lot of different perspectives. “More diversity in the community is wonderful… it is so special.” She would “definitely” not have come to BU if the tuition were double what it is now and is not sure if it would have been even feasible using provincial loans.
Sophia Stacey is the President of BU’s Student Representative Council (SRC). The SRC unequivocally opposes the massive increase to tuition for out-of-province students, which, she said, will make education for them here largely unaffordable. Many of these students are French speaking, she noted. Affordability is already an issue for many prospective students, and this constitutes a further financial barrier and introduces even more “social inequity” than there already is.
As conflict continues in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, around 300 people participated in a “peace walk” in Sherbrooke for the embattled region of Gaza Oct. 15. The walk began near Lac-des-Nations and wound its way through the city to Sherbrooke MP Elizabeth Brière’s office front door.
The walk was intended as a protest against “the violence and aggressions that are happening in Gaza affecting civilians. They are asking Canada’s federal and provincial governments to intervene and provide humanitarian aid.
A wine and cheese and dedication of the new “Dean Jellicoe Memorial Library” was held at St. George’s Lennoxville Oct. 14. Quebec Anglican Bishop Bruce Joseph Andrew Myers presided over the ceremony and blessed the new plaque commemorating the occasion. The event was preceded by an Evensong, in which local soprano Melinda Enns sang a variety of pieces. Around 50 clergy, donors, project leaders and other interested parties attended.
Stanstead Township celebrated the opening of a new fire station Oct. 12, marking a decade of discussions, planning, and construction efforts. The project was backed with funding from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH). Over 100 attended.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mayor of Stanstead Township, Pierre Martineau, remarked, “This is a significant day for the Memphrémagog East Fire Board, but especially for our municipality. We’ve been requesting a new fire station for many years. This goes back even to the previous administration, whom I want to thank.” He also expressed gratitude for the critical funding from the MAMH.
Echoing these sentiments, Jody Stone, Chairman of the Memphrémagog East Fire Board, said, “Today is an important moment for the Board as we inaugurate the most modern fire station to date in the served territory.”
Gilles Bélanger, MNA for Orford, shed light on the commitment of the regional government. “Throughout Quebec, our government supports the municipal community in realizing infrastructure projects that offer essential services to the population.”
Located at 394 Remick Road, the fire station has the capacity to accommodate four fire trucks. Inside, it boasts essential facilities like lockers, showers, a dining room, storage space, a workshop, and designated offices. Such facilities aim to optimize operations and ensure the comfort and readiness of the fire crew, said a press release.
Stanstead Township, which encompasses Fitch Bay and Georgeville, spans 113.93 square kilometres and, as per the 2021 census, is home to 1,148 residents. With the new fire station now operational, Stanstead Township equips itself better to handle potential emergencies and to ensure the safety of its inhabitants.
After the event, Battalion Chief Brian Wharry emphasized the value of the new station to the firefighters and the community.
The new station is safer, he said, and explained the ease with which they can now decontaminate after being out on a call. Initial decontamination is done at the site of intervention. The station itself is divided into red, yellow and green sections. The garage is considered red (contaminated), and a second round of decontamination procedures is done there. Showers are then taken in the yellow section. Nothing from the red section ever enters the green section (offices).
The new station now has a washing machine for their gear on site and inspections can be done in their capacious new garage as opposed to outside in the weather. “The working conditions are better,” Wharry insisted, “and happier firefighters are better firefighters.”
Wharry noted that proper decontamination is essential, because the risk for contracting certain forms of cancer is much higher among firefighters.
Wharry was happy with the inauguration, mentioning that many attendees stuck around and checked out the new equipment and enjoyed the food provided. “It was wonderful.”
