Catégorie : Reflet-News (Russell-Embrun-Casselman)

The Mayor of Russell and Warden of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) officially resigned and was appointed as Chief Administrative Officer of The Nation municipality, following a special closed session council meeting on Tuesday, April 2.  

In a press release following The Nation’s council decision Tuesday night, the municipality of Russell released a statement regarding the Mayor’s resignation, indicating that Leroux’s focus will be “ensuring a smooth handover” and “a seamless transition.” 

“I have complete confidence that our administration and Council will come together,” stated Richard Godin, chief administrative officer of Russell. “On behalf of the Township, I extend our sincere congratulations to Mayor Leroux on his new appointment at The Nation Municipality.” 

Leroux has served as mayor of Russell since 2014 and was first elected councillor in 2010. During that time he has served on the board of the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus and South Nation Conservation.  

Before running for elected office, Leroux owned and operated a convenience store in Casselman, Pierre & Fils Dépanneur/Vidéo.  

In describing his new CAO’s qualifications, The Nation Mayor Francis Brière said Leroux is “a very intelligent man, with experience”, and “he’s a man who understands both sides of the table. » 

“Not many people have the qualifications he has at the moment,” said Brière, adding as Leroux has worked closely with CAOs as mayor, he understands the administrative postion “through osmosis”. 

Leroux refused to answer questions regarding his appointment ahead of The Reflet’s deadline.

Leroux’s last day as Mayor of Russell will be April 18.  

With files from Antoine Messier and Gabrielle Vinette. 

The Mayor of Russell and Warden of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) is being tapped to be the Chief Administrative Officer of The Nation municipality, pending the passing of a by-law to approve the appointment which is expected to be tabled at a special closed session council meeting on Tuesday, April 2. 

Several sources independent of each other confirmed that Mayor Pierre Leroux received the job offer and an announcement is expected to be made early next week. 

Leroux began contacting the mayors of the UCPR on Friday, March 29, to inform them he would be resigning from politics and taking on the new position. 

Other sources within the UCPR said they only heard of Leroux’s job offer on Thursday, March 28. They explained that in the event of the warden stepping down from his position, the council would need to name someone on an interim basis until an official election can be held by council.

The Municipality of Russell would also need to appoint a new mayor.

Any decision regarding Leroux’s appointment must be passed by a by-law voted on by The Nation municipal council. A special closed-door session of council is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2, at 5:30 p.m. 

Position open since January 

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) position in The Nation opened in January after Josée Brizard announced her retirement after six years in the role. 

The job posting, made available on January 4 stated the position offers a salary of $73.15 to $82.80 per hour, and the deadline for applications was January 26. The job posting has since been removed from The Nation’s website. 

According to sources aware of the hiring process at The Nation, two candidates applied for the position, one internal and one external. Leroux did not apply for the position during the initial application window. One candidate was selected, however, they turned down the position in early March. 

Another source indicated that the selection of Leroux came quickly and “as a surprise.” 

Leroux has served as mayor of Russell since 2014 and was first elected councillor in 2010. During that time he has served on the board of the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus and South Nation Conservation. 

Before running for elected office, Leroux owned and operated a convenience store in Casselman, Pierre & Fils Dépanneur/Vidéo. 

The Nation did not respond to Éditions André Paquette’s request for comment.

Complicated time for The Nation 

The revelation comes after a controversial vote at Wednesday’s UCPR council meeting which gave The Nation approval to build a 2,000-unit housing developement along Calypso Road, despite the administration’s objections to the project.

The UCPR council voted unanimously in favour of the project, even though Louis Prévost, UCPR director of planning and forestry, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment warned The Nation that the project would double municipality’s need for water and water services. 

Leroux did not vote on the approval of The Nation’s motion but did speak favourably of the project during the meeting. 

Since the Nation municipality passed a bylaw prohibiting all large-scale renewable energy structures projects for the next year on Feb. 13, 2024, residents have reached out to the mayor and councillors to express their opinions on the ban. 

Jérémie Brisson, a 26-year-old mechanical engineer for STL Engineering since 2020, reached out to Mayor Francis Brière on March 5 to express his concerns and how he finds it difficult to understand why the bylaw would be a good use of the Council’s time and public funds. He also mentions the importance of environmental responsibility and fighting climate change. 

“We all live on earth,” said Brisson. “The earth is finite. There’s just a certain number of resources and if we live like North Americans and then have over 7 billion humans, it doesn’t work.”  

The mayor has not answered Brisson’s email. 

“We have the technologies we need to change our consumption and reduce our consumption, such as consuming fewer material goods and causing less pollution in general, which saves resources for everyone, saves money and improves everyone’s quality of life. It’s something I try to apply in my everyday life. 

“Green energy projects like that are where we need to go in the future, and I find it sad that there aren’t more people pushing for them. And I find it sadder that there are people who oppose and make it difficult to achieve these things.” 

When asked about the reasoning behind the decision, Councillor Tim Stewart replied that it is “as simple as the residents of The Nation have made it very clear to me, the mayor and the rest of council that they do not wish to host any large-scale renewable energy projects.” 

Stewart refers back to 2015 when two private companies wanted to develop wind turbines projects in St-Isidore and St-Bernardin. 

“We went through it in 2015 and tore the community apart. And I don’t know if the community has healed yet. So, we just want to be as sure as we can that that we’re not going to have to go through that again.” 

Stewart said the through the ongoing process, he has gone door-to-door last fall when campaigning and was told by the residents of Ward 1 that they are for the interim bylaw and to make it permanent. 

“We’re in the process of writing up a permanent bylaw and that will come out, I don’t know, sometime in the next year or so,” said Stewart. 

Le 12 mars, Montfort a organisé une consultation publique à Embrun afin que les habitants puissent faire part de leurs idées pour améliorer et compléter le plan stratégique 2024-2028 de l’Hôpital Montfort. 

L’objectif de la consultation publique était de permettre aux résidents ruraux de cette communauté majoritairement francophone d’exprimer leurs préoccupations et leurs idées concernant l’état des services de santé de la région, alors que la population est appelée à croître. Selon le gouvernement de l’Ontario, la population de la ville d’Ottawa et des municipalités des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell (CUPR) augmentera de 244 000 personnes au cours des dix prochaines années. De plus, 75 000 résidents supplémentaires seront âgés de 65 ans et plus. 

La mission principale des huit consultations publiques de février à avril 2024, qui se dérouleront dans la région de Hawkesbury, Rockland et Embrun, est de rédiger un plan stratégique de sept pages qui exprime une vision pour chacune des trois organisations de Montfort, l’Hôpital académique Montfort, Savoir Montfort et Santé Montfort, ainsi que cinq objectifs et 15 résultats à atteindre d’ici octobre 2028, à temps pour le 75e anniversaire de Montfort. 

Parmi les 30 résidents qui ont participé à la consultation publique, deux thèmes principaux sont ressortis tout au long de la soirée. La proximité des services et des cliniques mobiles ainsi que le traitement des travailleurs de première ligne ont été au cœur des préoccupations.  

La dernière consultation publique organisée à Montfort remonte à 2011. Depuis, beaucoup de choses se sont passées, notamment une pandémie mondiale.   

« C’est pourquoi il était opportun pour nous de retourner dans la communauté que nous servons afin d’élaborer un plan stratégique pour l’Hôpital Montfort », a déclaré Dominic Giroux, président-directeur général de l’Hôpital Montfort et de Santé Montfort.   

Leur objectif est d’avoir une ébauche du plan stratégique d’ici l’été, une validation du plan d’ici l’automne et un lancement d’ici le mois de novembre. 

Clarence-Rockland Fire Chief Mario Villeneuve will be taking over the Casselman Fire Department as part of a deal between the municipalities, putting the Chief in charge of three different municipalities simultaneously.  

The Fire Chief of the City of Clarence-Rockland will begin new his duties on May 1 to give Clarence-Rockland time to accept the agreement during a future council meeting. Casselman’s council have already accepted the agreement.  

“For me, it’s a return to my roots since I’m from Casselman,” said Villeneuve. “I feel very happy to go back and work for Casselman. I think it’s a positive agreement for both municipalities. And I’m very happy to be able to go in and bring that support and help to the residents of Casselman and their firefighters.” 

Villeneuve will not get a pay increase for this new position, but with a new title comes added responsibilities. With another fire department under his belt, Villeneuve will now look after budgets, council meetings, firefighter training, purchases and other administrative duties for three municipal fire departments in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, with The Nation already under his charge. The volunteers, equipment, infrastructure and financial decisions remain under the authority of Casselman’s Council. 

Splitting his time and attention across three municipalities has raised concerns about whether or not Vileneuve will be spread too thin. 

“I appreciate the concern,” he said. “We’re doing it because, in Clarence-Rockland, all of our firefighters are certified so I’m confident that I have the staff there and we’re in a position where I can leave that office for about 50 per cent of my time to take care of The Nation and Casselman. 

“Being from Casselman, I know the area, I know the people and I was a firefighter in Casselman 12 years ago,” he said. 

Casselman’s fire department only hosts one station of about 20 firefighters, and Villeneuve feels like it’s “not a big add”. 

Villeneuve will be accompanied by a full-time deputy fire chief and fire provincial officer who take care of The Nation and Casselman. 

Although he is not planning to bring any major changes to the fire department, for 2024, he plans to update operating guidelines and general orders within the Casselman fire department to ensure firefighters know what to do in certain situations. 

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. We want to do something. We bring a lot of knowledge and procedures that are already existing in Clarence-Rockland.” 

Clarence-Rockland will manage the fire chief’s budget, invoicing Casselman $10,841 monthly for the first year of service. The amount is expected to cover 15 per cent of Villeneuve’s time, 20 per cent of the Deputy Fire Chief’s time, 20 per cent of the Prevention Officer’s time, five per cent of a Training Officer’s time, and five per cent of an administrative assistant’s time. An additional 15 per cent is added to the total expenses to cover administrative costs such as human resources and payroll, among others. 

Le Regroupement Autisme Prescott-Russell, maintenant le Regroupement Autisme Prescott-Russell Autism Group, lance une refonte bilingue pour inclure les enfants unilingues anglais. 

Ce dimanche 24 mars, le regroupement a dévoilé son nouveau nom et son logo bilingue au public, intégrant l’anglais, près de 15 ans après sa création. Le site Internet du regroupement est également en cours de traduction afin de garantir que l’information soit accessible dans les deux langues. 

« C’est sûr qu’on ne veut pas que le français disparaisse, a dit Chantal Lavergne, présidente de Regroupement Autisme Prescott-Russell Autism Group. Mais en même temps, on trouvait ça difficile de dire à un enfant qui a besoin du support: non, tu parles anglais, on ne peut pas t’aider. Je trouvais ça pas juste. »  

 Donc, pour contrebalancer cette situation et élargir ses services, le regroupement accepte maintenant les participants anglophones, les employés bilingues et même les employés unilingues anglophones.  

 L’association a été fondée en 2010. En 2020, le regroupement est devenu une organisation à but non lucratif et a obtenu le statut d’organisme de bienfaisance en 2021.   

En 2023, l’organisation a pu soumettre des demandes de fonds car elle avait obtenu son statut de bienfaisance deux ans auparavant, mais celles-ci n’ont pas été acceptées. En même temps, de nombreuses coupures budgétaires ont été effectuées pour de nombreuses demandes de financement. En septembre 2023, cela a incité le regroupement à se restructurer, à devenir plus autonome et à reconsidérer leurs méthodes. Avec l’aide d’un don de 43 000 $ des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell, ainsi que toutes les collectes de fonds ayant permis de recueillir plus de 20 000 $, Mme Lavergne pense que les années 2024 et 2025 seront très positives. « Il faut juste être un peu conservateur. Je pense que le terme approprié est : stabilité. » 

La transformation du regroupement se reflète dans le nouveau logo. Il est représenté par les silhouettes de deux enfants debout sur un symbole de l’infini aux couleurs de l’arc-en-ciel. Le symbole de l’infini vise à représenter le spectre de l’autisme et que chaque personne vivant avec un trouble du spectre de l’autisme ne peut pas être réduite à une seule couleur.

Limoges resident who waited 25 minutes for paramedics after her husband had a heart attack is questioning whether Prescott-Russell’s emergency services meet the needs of the community, as ambulances are often sent to support Ottawa and other neighbouring municipalities. 

Micheline Lajoie, a 59-year-old resident of Limoges, called 9-1-1 at 9:09 p.m. from her home on Beaver Lane in The Nation for her husband who was having a heart attack. The Prescott-Russell paramedic services ambulance arrived at 9:33 p.m., 25 minutes later. They arrived at the Ottawa Hospital at 10:20 p.m. Thankfully, Lajoie’s husband, Emile Lajoie, 59, made it to the hospital on time to receive appropriate care. 

The next day, Lajoie posted to Facebook expressing her anger towards the time she had to wait to get an ambulance. 

“The paramedic told us we were lucky as they had spent most of the evening answering calls in Ottawa,” she wrote in the post. The ambulance who had showed up at her house after the call came from Embrun, a village about 10 kilometres from where Lajoie lives. 

Many people in the comments of the post shared similar experiences. 

Lajoie tagged the mayor of The Nation, Francis Brière on the post. Answering Lajoie through direct message on Facebook, the major said he would “bring it to the attention of the staff member responsible for the ambulance service of the county.” 

“Our current agreement with the city of Ottawa is one that simply doesn’t work for us in Prescott-Russell as the city ends up using our ambulances because of the current system in place,” he added. 

“I don’t know if he can really do anything or not,” said Lajoie in response to the mayor’s message. “Why should I wait over 20 minutes for an ambulance? It seems to me that we should have services a little faster than that. We should look at how to improve the entire service because it’s doesn’t meet the community’s needs anymore.” 

UCPR paramedics supporting Ottawa emergency services 

According to Marc-André Périard, director of the UCPR’s emergency services, there are 11 emergency vehicles covering more 2,002 square kilometres, serving more than 100,000 people. Prescott-Russell emergency services operate seven ambulances around the clock, 365 days per year.  Two more ambulances are available seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday to Sundays, in addition to two paramedic response units patrolling the areas. 

However, the ambulances are also responding to calls for support in neighbouring communities in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and Ottawa. 

In 2023, Prescott-Russell emergency services answered more than 15,000 calls in 2023, with more than 20 per cent, over 3,000, of those calls coming from neighbouring communities. 

Adding to the wait times is the hospitals capacity to take new patients and the availability of emergency department beds, a problem faced by emergency rooms across the province. Paramedics cannot leave a patient they have transported to the hospital before the emergency department can receive them, forcing the ambulance to stay in the ambulance bay with the patient. 

« The paramedics arrive at the emergency room, go see the triage nurse and then as soon as they have a bed they can clear the stretcher and then come back to the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, » said Périard. 

Causing additional delays, under the current system, 9-1-1 calls are either classified as an emergency that requires an ambulance with lights or without lights, with no distinction of the severity between the two. 

« As a result, as soon as an ambulance is free, it has to be sent out on a call that may not be critical. Then a critical call comes in, and that person must wait longer than they should.” 

Changes coming 

During the next UCPR council meeting on Wednesday, March 27, the implementation of a new call prioritization system will be presented which aims to allow dispatchers to gather more information to assess the severity of the emergency and to assign resources to the most critial patients. 

The new call prioritization system is expected to be fully implemneted by April 10, 2024. 

“It’s more effective and it’s more efficient,” said Périard. 

He recommends that if people have any concerns or if the service is not up to standard, they need to reach out to their elected members of municipal council to help make the system better. 

Le département des Travaux publics des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell a produit un rapport pour la construction d’un carrefour giratoire à l’intersection du chemin Limoges et de la route 300. 

En 2020, la municipalité de Russell a engagé BT Engineering pour mener une évaluation environnementale municipale de portée générale (EEMP) concernant plusieurs intersections longeant la route 300 à Embrun. Le résultat de l’étude indiquait qu’un carrefour giratoire à l’intersection du chemin de comté 5 (chemin Limoges) et de la route 300 était la meilleure option. 

Lors des discussions budgétaires de 2024, le conseil avait prévu trois millions de dollars pour la construction du carrefour giratoire. Le montant total des honoraires est estimé à 135 600 $. Ce projet est principalement financer par le Le Fonds pour le développement des collectivités du Canada. 

Puisque BT Engineering a été impliqué depuis le début et a complété l’étude EEMP et la conception du contrat de la municipalité de Russell, les CUPR demandent que cette compagnie continue ses efforts dans le projet et fournisse une proposition précisant les frais d’administration, de supervision et d’inspection. 

« La construction du carrefour giratoire est prévue durer six mois (24 semaines), voire peut-être même plus », a déclaré Jérémie Bouchard, directeur du département des Travaux publics des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell. M. Bouchard explique que si la rue est fermée à la circulation, « ça se passe bien », mais ce n’est pas le cas pour ce projet. Il donne l’exemple du dernier carrefour giratoire et d’une voie de virage sur le chemin de comté 28 (chemin St-Guillaume) et le chemin St-Pierre, qui ont pris deux saisons de construction, soit environ six mois. 

Aucune date n’a été fixée pour le lancement du projet. Le  processus d’appels d’offres à fermer le 19 mars. 

Casselman Mayor Geneviève Lajoie and Russell Mayor Pierre Leroux are speaking out against the harassment they receive on a regular basis as municipal officials. 

On Feb. 22, Lajoie posted to her Facebook wall about her experience on the constant harassment she has been living with as a person in politics. She mentions how she has been subjected to “unspeakable comments and threats that have no place in a civilized society.” Lajoie received remarks that demean women and threats for exercising her duties as mayor, which she believes underlines the systemic abuse rooted in society. 

“This is not just an attack on individuals; it’s an assault on the very principles of equality and democracy,” Lajoie writes in her post. “Let us be loud, be bold, and unequivocally clear: harassment, in any form, against anyone, is unacceptable” 

Lajoie posted the comments the same day the mayor of Gatineau France Bélisle resigned to leave an environment she described as hostile. 

Lajoie urges all individuals who face injustices to raise their voices and “only through our collective outcry that we can hope to dismantle the systemic barriers that perpetuate this abuse.” 

Only three days prior, on Feb. 19, Mayor Leroux posted a more than 12 minute video addressing his sentiments on the issue. The video got over 2,500 views and 60 comments. 

He states that in the last few years, he has noticed that messages he has received and comments on his posts have become very negative. Leroux said he sees a lot of misinformation being spread on social media platforms, people holding grudges, and people who are taking one line from a conversation and turning it into a “clip of the day style weapon” against the township or council. 

Leroux apologises for stepping back on his social media. He expressed hope that the harassment would subside if he wasn’t engaging with the harassment.  

“I felt that if I stopped engaging with those people on social media, I would somehow provide less fuel for the fire. But now I realize: the fire will always be burning, and my absence will mean one less person throwing water on it.” 

Scheduled for the upcoming council meeting on March 25, Russell Township municipal council and administration are preparing to discuss council’s controversial efforts to eliminate Question Period at its meeting and replace it with another way to engage with residents. 

Russell Township Council are returning to the subject to give public the opportunity to bring their opinions and ideas about the municipalities future direction on public engagement policy, according to a press release from the administration. 

“We are dedicated to upholding the principles of open dialogue and active engagement with the community we serve,” states the public notice posted on the Russell Township website. The township encourages public engagement to bring “diverse perspectives” to add to the discussion, and considers the input “essential” to reflect the needs of residents. 

“I am looking forward to it,” said Mayor Pierre Leroux when asked about his thoughts on the upcoming council meeting. “I do have some thoughts and ideas, as I’m sure other members of the Council will as well.” 

The discussion is set to take place on Tuesday, March 25, beginning at 6 p.m. at 717 Notre Dame Street, Embrun.