Avec la collaboration de Philippe Pesant-Bellemare

Élue par acclamation dans le district de l’Île du Havre-Aubert, la conseillère municipale, Johanne Lebel, veut être à l’écoute de ses concitoyens et porter leurs préoccupations à la table décisionnelle.

La résidente du village est retraitée depuis six ans et a entre autres occupé le poste de directrice des ports et de l’aéroport de Havre-aux-Maisons pour Transport Canada pendant 10 ans.

Elle affirme entamer son mandat dans un esprit de collaboration dans le but d’avoir des discussions ouvertes.

La nouvelle élue le souligne d’emblée: c’est l’actualité politique municipale de la dernière année et demie qui l’a convaincue de sauter dans l’arène après s’être impliquée lors des périodes de questions et sur Internet.

Johanne Lebel mentionne vouloir travailler sur ces dossiers, se disant préoccupée par la gestion des fonds publics.

Elle martèle qu’elle s’inquiète de l’évolution du compte de taxes, particulièrement pour les jeunes qui veulent revenir s’établir aux Iles et pour les ainés qui désirent demeurer à la maison et qui disposent d’un revenu limité.

La conseillère souhaite aussi reprendre les rencontres publiques avec les citoyens du village pour assurer le suivi des dossiers, déplorant un manque à ce niveau au sein de l’équipe actuelle.

L’assermentation des deux personnes élues par acclamation est prévue d’ici la fin du mois d’août.

Réécoutez le segment diffusé à l’émission Les preuves des faits :

Candidate Jacky Poirier, who is running in the district of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island, has made a name for himself over the past year as a fervent critic of elected municipal officials.

The rental entrepreneur was president of Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine for almost three years, before resigning in 2023 to get involved in the protest movement against the increase in commercial and industrial property taxes.

Having just celebrated his 50th birthday, he now hopes to take part in the decision-making process by sitting on council, and says he looks forward to working with the other elected officials of the Municipalité des Îles.

 “I am not submitting my candidacy to go look for a fight, what I want is openness. I want healthy management. I want the current elected officials to open the books, and to stop telling us when we are at the Council meetings that we have a time limit to ask questions. There are very important and even worrisome issues. So, I go in with an open mind, with a mind of continued improvement. There is nothing wrong, indeed it is very healthy, to constantly re-evaluate.” (Loose translation from audio)

According to Mr. Poirier, the three priority issues for councillors should be to back off the Passe Archipel project, as well as the Cap-aux-Meules eco-district and the new Grande-Entrée community center.

As such, he doubts that Islanders need a new public infrastructure at the extremity of the archipelago.

“They tell us today that we absolutely need a community center. There is La Salicorne, the seniors building, the church that can also be used as a hall. There is also the school gymnasium, and it raises the question as to why they never put money on the Capitole de l’Est, they’ve been working 8 years on this hall, citizens of Grande-Entrée have been asking for 5 years to fix the roof, I don’t understand. When is the last time this hall was used? Is this a real need?” (Loose translation from audio)

The candidate is also of the opinion that there is “room for improvement” in the eco-district project, particularly with regard to the land drainage and decontamination process.

As for Entry Island, he admits that there are gaps in the services offered, and says he is committed to the quality of life of its residents.

To view the original article and listen to the interview (in French):

Qui est Jacky Poirier, candidat pour Cap-aux-Meules–Île-d’Entrée?

Special thanks to the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders for the translation.

Georges Painchaud, candidate for the district of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island, is no stranger to election campaigns.

A former president of the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, Painchaud ran for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in the Magdalen Islands in 2012, and his volunteer work in the community continues to this day.

The 75-year-old deplores the tense atmosphere that prevails at public council meetings, although he believes that some of the fears expressed by citizens are justified.

“Several people I have met since submitting my candidacy for Councillor said to me that I am for the Mayor. No, I am not for the Mayor, I am not against the Mayor, I am for the citizens of the Magdalen Islands, and particularly those of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island. The last word, and my decisions will all be based on one thing: my conscience, no matter what the subject at hand. So I am not on any sides, I am a neutral guy, but when someone comes to me with a given situation, can I verify both sides of the story before giving judgement?” (Loose translation from audio)

Asked to identify the three priority issues for councillors, Mr. Painchaud immediately names the issue of access to public toilets on Entry Island, as well as the difficulties in the tourism sector.

However, he also believes that restoring the municipality’s financial health should be at the top of the agenda.

“There is a rumour, or a will to make citizens believe that we are in a poor financial situation, and that money is being wasted. That needs to be proven. We need to make the difference between doing nothing by fear of having a tax increase, and by the same token decrease the quality of life of citizens, and set back the Islands by not functioning at all. We will always have a need for investments on the Islands, but we need to know if the budget permits it.” (Loose translation from audio)

The candidate “finds it very hard” to justify the high cost of a project such as the future Grande-Entrée community hall to the residents of Entry Island, if the Municipalité des Îles is unable to offer them better public sanitary facilities.

On the other hand, he describes the Cap-aux-Meules eco-district project as “excellent”, although he questions the financial capacity of the archipelago to develop this project.

The by-election for the district of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island will be held on September 8, with advance polling on September 1.

To view the original article and listen to the interview (in French):

Qui est Georges Painchaud, candidat pour Cap-aux-Meules–Île-d’Entrée?

Special thanks to the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders for the translation.

Among the three candidates hoping to represent the residents of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island on the municipal council, Daniel Jomphe introduces himself as a person who wishes above all to listen to his fellow citizens.

The 48-year-old, who works as a homecare attendant, has studied philosophy, trained in mining and worked in the hotel industry.

Although he intends to cooperate with the other councillors in the event of his election, he says he has no desire to impose projects on the Islanders.

“What I have observed without being directly involved, is that there seems to be a lot of tension at the local political level, and my sense is that citizens don’t feel listened to and that their opinions have little impact on the decisions. I present myself as a person who would be ready to listen to citizens opinions before getting them involved in a project.” (Loose translation from audio)

When asked what the three priority issues should be for the municipality’s elected representatives, Mr. Jomphe points to the climate and the cost of food.

He also believes that a municipal agricultural greenhouse project could be developed to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables year-round on the archipelago.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­“What would be nice to see would be to find a project that could look like an agricultural greenhouse that could be operated at the municipal level. We have water originating from the Hydro-Quebec generating station that is used as a source of heat for the hospital and since we are in a planning period, we could work on planning a similar project with a piping system that would give us fruits and vegetable year-round.” (Loose translation from audio)

As for the Cap-aux-Meules eco-district project, the candidate defers to the opinion of the citizens of Cap-aux-Meules before making up his mind.

He also believes that the residents of Entry Island should be listened to more, mentioning in passing the creation of a “more stable” maritime link “officially” administered by the Municipality.

The by-election for the district of Cap-aux-Meules and Entry Island will be held on September 8, with advance polling on September 1.

To view the original article and listen to the interview (in French):

Qui est Daniel Jomphe, candidat pour Cap-aux-Meules–Île-d’Entrée?

Special thanks to the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders for the translation.

Parmi les trois candidats qui espèrent représenter les résidents de Cap-aux-Meules et de l’Île d’Entrée au conseil municipal, Daniel Jomphe se présente comme une personne qui souhaite avant tout être à l’écoute de ses concitoyens.

L’homme de 48 ans qui travaille comme préposé aux bénéficiaires a notamment étudié en philosophie et suivi une formation en extraction minière, en plus d’avoir œuvré dans le domaine de l’hôtellerie.

Bien qu’il ait l’intention de coopérer avec les autres conseillers advenant son élection, il dit ne pas souhaiter imposer de projets aux Madelinots.

Interrogé à savoir quels devraient être les trois dossiers prioritaires pour les élus municipaux, M. Jomphe souligne les enjeux du climat et du coût des denrées alimentaires.

Il est aussi d’avis qu’un projet de serre agricole municipale pourrait être développé afin d’améliorer l’accès à des fruits et légumes frais à l’année sur l’archipel.

Pour ce qui est du projet d’écoquartier de Cap-aux-Meules, le candidat s’en remet à l’avis des citoyens du district avant de se faire une tête.

Il estime aussi que les résidents de l’Île d’Entrée devraient être davantage écoutés, évoquant au passage la création d’un lien maritime «plus stable» et «officiellement» administré par la Municipalité.

L’élection partielle du district de Cap-aux-Meules et de l’Île d’Entrée aura lieu le 8 septembre, avec un vote par anticipation le 1er septembre.

Pour connaître les autres candidats:

• Georges Painchaud
• Jacky Poirier

Pour réécouter le segment de l’émission Les preuves des faits:

Pour en savoir davantage:

• Élections partielles: un scrutin en vue et deux acclamations (9 août 2024)
• Richard Leblanc quitte le conseil municipal (2 juillet 2024)
• Élection municipale partielle le 8 septembre (12 juin 2024)