Mayor of Gatineau meets with press to review first 107 days in office
Sophie Demers
In a February 22 press conference, Gatineau mayor, France Bélisle, went over all activities accomplished in the past 107 days in office. Bélisle made a commitment to put in place a governance framework that prioritizes results, and accomplishing more together. She maintains that she accomplished her plan of creating a new tone for the work of the municipality.
“The study of the 2022 budget was revealing. It was clear that the status quo in how we managed our funding for infrastructure and capital projects was no longer acceptable. We had to reshuffle the cards. From now on, we will go beyond the empty promises we have had for the past eight years; we will make promises in time,” said Bélisle during the press conference. “I am proud of the work accomplished during these first 107 days. Of course, Omicron and the demonstration in the capital kept us on our toes. Over the next few months, we will work to modernize reforms and policies that will make a difference. We have to manage Gatineau like a big city to give ourselves the ability to take better advantage of our growth and continue to improve the quality of our services.”
During the press conference, Bélisle highlighted seven areas where concrete action was taken since the start of her mandate.
Starting with infrastructure, Bélisle committed to providing an accurate image of the state of recreational, sports, community, cultural and road infrastructures. For roads, the budget allocates an investment of $190 million for asphalting work in four years instead of five. Currently, the City states that nearly 50% of Gatineau’s roads are in critical condition.
The budget for the maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure has been doubled compared to the 2021 budget. The work will be spread over several years. The Mayor also highlights the creation of eight new positions that was approved by the Board to improve the delivery capacity of infrastructure projects.
—City invests in centretown
For the downtown area, the Bureau de Coordination du Centre-ville was created to provide an overview of the actions and interventions of all partners in order to better coordinate.
Bélisle also committed to reducing administrative barriers for citizens, associations, organizations and business owners. Since then, Bélisle stated that she has had multiple meetings with several stakeholders and partners in order to identify the obstacles to the possible solutions when working with the City. Additionally, the Mayor has hosted a lunch in collaboration with the Chambre de Commerce de Gatineau which aims to improve the relationship the business community has with the City and advance priority economic development files. This event will reoccur four or five times a year.
—Cook Road site update
The mayor highlighted the work being done for the former Cook landfill site in the Aylmer sector as urgent solutions for the biogas collection system are needed. So far, the City has conducted
analysis and possible solutions are being considered. Bélisle noted that a proposal will be presented shortly and that $1.4 million has been set aside in the 2022 budget to resolve the issue.
An update on the appointment of a new general manager was announced during the meeting. The job posting closed at the end of January; the selection of potential candidates is complete; and, the interview process has begun. According to Bélisle, the General Manager will be appointed in the next few weeks. The draft of performance objectives for this position has been created.
In addition, two new commissions have been created since the beginning of the Mayor’s mandate, and the modifications of existing committees were approved to improve efficiency.
The Commission des Aînés, which was removed in 2017, has been renewed with a new governance and mandate. The Commission sur le Développement du Territoire, l'Habitation et l'Environnement was split into two separate commissions in order to better carry out their mandates. There is now a commission specifically for the environment and another for land development and housing.
The final area of development in the past 107 days was establishing contacts with relevant partners and authorities. The Mayor met with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, as well as all federal and provincial deputies. The first board meeting with the Commission de la Capitale Nationale (CCN) occurred on January 20. Meetings also took place with l'Union des Municipalités du Québec (UMQ), the Fédération canadienne des municipalités (FCM) and the Ministries of Finance, Economy and Habitation with the Quebec Government.
Photo caption: France Bélisle during the February 22 press conference to review progress.
Photo credit: Screenshot from press conference