More than $27,000 in bursaries and scholarship awards were given to graduating students.
The VCI Valedictorian, Anna Kouao, received the Governor General’s Academic Medal for graduating with the highest academic achievements of her class.
A $5000 job succession scholarship was given to Nathaniel Gerow, a student promising to return to the Prescott-Russell region for employment after his post-secondary studies.
Town Clerk Myriam Longtin presented council with an eight-page preliminary report on the concept during the June 21 committee of the whole session. The pandemic spurred the town’s administration to explore the idea of a four-day week as one of several options for adapting to the changing labour force conditions.
« Broadly, the COVID-19 forced the administration to rethink working conditions for the employees » stated Longtin, in her report. « Since June 2020, we have experienced the Great Resignation. »
She cited a Dictionary.com reference explaining the term. The Great Resignation refers to « the widespread trend of a significant number of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. »
Longtin noted that many businesses experimented with four-day work weeks to avoid the Great Resignation problem. The concept of the four-day work week involves reducing the number of work days for employees and without also increasing the numbers of hours during their new working day schedule. The goal was to encourage staff to be more efficient and productive during their new, shorter work week in return for having a three-day weekend.
The report also noted that several Ontario municipalities are experimenting with a compressed work week setup. This also involves a four-day work week but with the work days extended by an hour. Results of the compressed work week have been positive for these municipalities. There was less staff turnover and the municipalities had greater success in recruiting new employees for some positions.
If Hawkesbury decided to try a four-day compressed work week pilot project for its staff, it would mean that the municipal ofice would be open to the public until 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. All employees would be assigned to either a Monday to Thursday work week shift, or to a Tuesday to Friday work week shift to ensure municipal business and work programs continued on a normal basis.
Longtin and Chief Administrator Samuel Cardarelli both told council that consultation with all employees would happen first before an actual proposal was made for a four-day compressed work week pilot project.
They emphasized that participation in such a pilot project would be voluntary. There would also be a staff survey for feedback and comments at the end of the pilot project to help determine if there was support among employees for making a compressed four-day work week permanent for municipal operations.
Council members expressed interest in the concept of a four-day work week. But they noted that such a pilot project experiment is neither feasible nor suitable this year when there will be a municipal election in October.
Council directed administration to continue reviewing information on the four-day work week concept for an updated report to council at a future meeting following the election
The Hawkesbury Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are warning residents that a bear was sighted in the Lefaivre area on June 30. The Ministry of Natural Resources was contacted, and the OPP would like to share a few tips to minimize the chances of attracting bears.
Food is the main motivator for bears to wander into human areas, so the OPP recommends that people store their garbage in air-tight containers and only put it out the morning of pickup. They also recommend that people put away bird feeders, pick up fruit and berries to avoid letting them rot on the ground, and clean outdoor grills after each use.
If a bear is showing threatening or aggressive behaviour, call 911 immediately. For non-emergencies, call the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s bear reporting line toll-free at 1-866-514-2327.
Finally, the OPP would like to remind everyone to not approach bears, as they are still wild animals no matter how cute they appear.
Casselman had a grand old time on Canada Day as the J.R. Brisson Complex was filled with games, food, and inflatable bounce houses to celebrate the occasion.
Residents were invited to attend the complex from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., with several different activities for people of all ages to enjoy. Never play structures, pop-up games, face painting, and bingo, all leading up to a disco roller skate at 7:00 p.m.
The roller skating was finished at 9:00 p.m., at which time fireworks were set off from the high school to close up the night.
He wants to be a councillor because he has fallen in love with the area since he arrived in the area three years ago.
“I was attracted to Hawkesbury because of its strategic location, » he said, during an interview June 27. “My roots are in Quebec but I love living in Ontario so this is the best of all worlds. I fell in love with the community and with Hawkesbury, so now I want to give back. It’s an old cliché but that’s what it is. »
What helped Malo fall in love with the town was his job as a journalist, which took him to every corner of the region, and to meet the people who live here.
Before moving to Hawkesbury, Malo worked as a journalist in a French-speaking minority setting in Ontario for over 30 years.
« It was a conscious choice to serve Francophones in a minority setting with the only credible means of information available to them, » said Malo.
For him, the priority issues are the housing crisis, the labour shortage, the environment, culture, but also the political immobility at the local level.
« In general, it is often said that Hawkesbury has a lot of potential, but nothing is happening,” he said. “We assume there is a lot of potential, but what do we do with it? It’s time to do something with this potential, to make it concrete. I will work with the mayor and the other members of the council regardless of their political leanings, I think we can work as a team to move the city forward, which has been in decline for the past 20 years.
According to Malo, the council’s mission is to create an environment conducive to social, economic and cultural development.
« The job of a council is essentially a governance role that consists of setting the table so that investors feel welcome here,” he said, “that they are given the means to do what they want to do for the general good of the community. Both investors and newcomers. We need to attract people because there are jobs to be filled.”
Malo also attaches great importance to the environment and culture.
« The municipality is the level of government closest to the population,” he said. “It is the level of government that must be the most sensitive to the well-being of the population. A municipality must absolutely do everything it can to reduce climate change by doing very down-to-earth things like maintaining or even improving forest cover, protecting wetlands. The municipality can and must quickly electrify its fleet of vehicles, and put in place all sorts of measures that go in that direction. These are things that the municipality can do, should do, but hasn’t really done until now, and we should start doing it. »
Ce projet s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’appel de projets du Programme d’infrastructures Municipalité amie des aînés (PRIMADA), qui vise à soutenir des initiatives qui favorisent le vieillissement actif au sein de la communauté. Les dossiers admissibles concernent la réalisation de travaux de construction, de réfection ou d’agrandissement d’infrastructures.
Le projet de la Municipalité de Grenville consiste à installer du mobilier urbain le long d’un sentier pédestre et cyclable dans le noyau villageois. Les travaux incluent l’implantation de bancs, de tables à pique-nique, dont une adaptée aux personnes à mobilité réduite, de paniers à rebuts, de bollards, de supports à vélos, d’enseignes et d’abris solaires en bois.
La députée provinciale d’Argenteuil Agnès Grondin s’est réjouie du soutien financier accordé au village de Grenville : «Je salue le dévouement remarquable de la Municipalité de Grenville envers les personnes aînées. Je remercie ses élus, son équipe, de même que toute la population d’avoir ainsi à cœur de faciliter la participation des plus âgés à la vie collective, en développant une telle initiative rassembleuse et hautement inclusive. Je salue par ailleurs la ministre Blais et son équipe pour leur soutien essentiel au projet, par l’entremise du PRIMADA.»
Pour la ministre responsable des Aînés et des Proches aidants Marguerite Blais, la subvention du gouvernement permettra de stimuler la participation des personnes de tous âges à la vie publique : «L’épanouissement des personnes aînées, de même que le partage de leurs talents, de leur expérience et de leur savoir, sont cruciaux et doivent être favorisés collectivement. Ce sont là des richesses immenses que nous nous devons de développer. Le programme PRIMADA y contribue grandement en soutenant les municipalités dans leur volonté de créer des environnements inclusifs qui encouragent une vie active chez les personnes de tout âge. Je remercie la Municipalité de Grenville et sa population de travailler en ce sens, et l’assure de notre appui.»
La première phase du projet implique la réparation du mur sur le côté nord du canal, à partir du pont jusqu’au quai fédéral sur une distance de 450 mètres. Des quais seront installés tout le long du canal pour permettre l’amarrage de bateaux. Une quarantaine de bateaux pourront être garés simultanément. La moitié des places seront des places réservées avec service; les places qui restent seront des places temporaires.
C’est aussi durant la première phase du projet que les travaux en plongée sous-marine seront effectués.
Un trottoir sera installé tout le long du canal à proximité de l’eau ainsi qu’au niveau de la rue. L’installation de murs décoratifs avec des pierres Redi-Rock est également prévue, et certaines des pierres actuelles seront réutilisées pour être mises en valeur.
Le projet comprend aussi des aménagements paysagers et l’installation de lampadaires. Les bases des lampadaires seront installées durant la première phase du projet, et les lampadaires seront ajoutés durant la deuxième phase.
« Obviously there is an issue, » said Mayor Robert Kirby, during discussions between council and a delegation of homeowners from the Front Street neighbourhood in Chute-à-Blondeau.
The group met with council during its June 13 session to lodge complaints against the owner of a house at 3481 Front Street and against Airbnb, which promotes the house on its website for temporary vacation lodgings. The owner of the house lives in Ottawa and is not a permanent resident of the place. He rents the property out through Airbnb to families and groups as a Short-Term Accommodation (STA), also known as a temporary vacation home.
The Airbnb listing for the site describes it as suitable for groups up to 16 people and features various amenities, including a hot tub and jacuzzi, an outdoor dining area with a gas barbecue, washer, dryer, dishwasher and other household appliances. The main attraction promoted is the on-site access from the house to the Ottawa River for kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, and other recreational activities.
Since the house was listed with Airbnb there have been several groups of temporary tenants staying at the house. Two parties were three-generation family groups, including grandparents and grandchildren. The delegation of homeowners that met with council said there was no problem with these STA tenants as they were quiet and created no disturbance in the neighbourhood.
Complaints
The problem, council heard, was the other groups who spent their vacation time at the house and proved very noisy during the evenings and nights. Council was told one group was so loud during the night that the noise could be heard four houses away at 2 a.m. one night.
Besides the noise, the delegation of homeowners also expressed concern that the house is not designed to accommodate so many people at one time for any extended periods. Most of the worry focused on the impact of large groups of people on a home sanitary system more suitable for a small family and also on the local aquifer that supplies drinking water to the neighbourhood. The local homeowners also expressed concern what the presence of a temporary vacation house will have on their own property values.
The house and land are zoned Rural Residential. Both the delegation and council wondered if some action could be taken through the local zoning bylaw.
« This sounds like a business, » said Mayor Kirby.
Solutions
Jessy Hoffman, township building inspector, noted that « there were never any renovations » made to the premises when it became an STA. He indicated the municipality may be able to take some action against the owner under the Ontario Building Code sections dealing with sewage disposal.
An STA is different from a standard bed-and-breakfast hostel (BnB). A BnB owner is on-site since often the owner’s home is the BnB. Also guests at a typical BnB either stay just for the night or for a few days. Several Ontario municipalities are reviewing their local zoning bylaws to deal with the issue of STAs.
Several council members noted that East Hawkesbury has had BnBs operating within the municipality in the past without problems. Their operations were approved under the zoning bylaw sections dealing with businesses and the owner of the BnB lived on the premises. Hoffman told council the township must decide whether it wants to ban STAs altogether from the municipality or regulate them through amendments to the local zoning bylaw that would set conditions owners of STAs would have to meet for their operations.
Council directed township administration to review and research the situation and report later in the season with recommendations about possible zoning bylaw amendments to deal with STAs. Meanwhile, Hoffman noted, there may be ways to address the present situation with the Front Street STA through local bylaws dealing with noise and fire protection. He indicated the municipality or neighbouring homeowners can also file a complaint to Airbnb.
« They take care of complaints, » he said, « and they issue fines to the owner/operator. »
Mayor Kirby promised the delegation of homeowners that the township would resolve the problem
Organizers of the Festival multiculturel de Hawkesbury were able to reconfigure the venue space at the Place des Pionniers, both to give spectators a better view and to calm fears of social distancing during the show. As a result, attendees are no longer required to get an advanced ticket to attend.
The Festival multiculturel de Hawkesbury is a free event that will take place from June 30 to July 3. The festival will feature 14 musical acts reflecting various cultures, and plans are still being made to make the festival even bigger. The full lineup and schedule can be found at https://hawkesbury.ca/vivre-ici/festival-multiculturel-de-hawkesbury
