Mélissa Gélinas LJI Reporter
The Municipal Council meeting on June 10th took place in the auditorium of the Nicolas-Gatineau Polyvalente High School, where underfunding of cultural activities and the fire department were discussed.
Cultural Portrait in Gatineau
Isabelle N. Miron, Councillor for the Orée-du-Parc district, presented the new version of the Support Program for Organizations at the Municipal Council meeting. “I agree that it would be important to invest more to support the City’s cultural organizations,” she said. “By continuing to support our organizations’ initiatives, we can offer several free activities in Gatineau […].”
Although the program meets the organizations’ expectations, the allocated budget remains a concern. “We believe the City of Gatineau has a lot of financial catching up to do in terms of culture,” explained Julie Martineau, Executive Director of Culture Outaouais. “We hope the envelope can reach $3 million for the next 2026 budget, in order to meet the targets of Quebec City and Ottawa.”
According to Martineau, Gatineau’s cultural landscape raises several issues, including a lack of infrastructure, creativity, production, access to financing, burnout, and a scarcity of resources.
“These investments will have to be carefully considered, because the economic benefits are indeed very significant in the cultural sector and must be better,” said Edmond Leclerc, councillor for the Buckingham district.
Gatineau Fire Department
Nearly 100 firefighters were present at the city council meeting to testify and address health and safety issues related to the lack of funding.
Since last February, Nicolas Houle, Vice-President of the Gatineau Firefighters Association, has been sharing information with city council and several levels of management about numerous issues facing the Gatineau Fire Department. “I’ve informed you of the extent of the ongoing problems,” said Houle. “Our fire stations, fleets, pumpers, and aerial ladders are in a deplorable state. Recently, there were no aerial ladders in service anywhere in Gatineau, including Buckingham and Aylmer.” According to Houle, the boats (fleets) have also been out of service for several years throughout the city.
Houle also admitted that the fire department does not have any EpiPens. “This means that in the event of anaphylactic shock, we will not be able to provide assistance,” he said. “Many of these issues directly affect service to citizens,” he continued.
In addition, according to the testimony of Olivier, a human resources employee for the Gatineau Firefighters Association, 15 retired firefighters have developed cancer related to the exercise of their duties. “A cancer committee was set up by the Fire Department management in partnership with our association, to find solutions to improve practices in terms of protection, decontamination, transportation of combat clothing and soiled equipment,” Olivier emphasized. “We were surprised to learn that management rejected all the measures proposed by its own executives in the joint committee, including those requiring no financial investment.” To date, no counterproposal has been received from the department’s management.
“[…] Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are three departments that are non-negotiable [….] We must not negotiate salaries, but pay them,” said Denis Girouard, Councillor for the Lac-Beauchamp district. “I will certainly support your request.”
Photo: Gatineau Municipal Council during their meeting (June 10, 2025) (MG) Photo: Mélissa Gélinas