I’m responding to the letter from Robert Wills titled “Smaller projects; bigger impact”.
I was surprised with his remarks that the only way open plenary meetings could be fair to the mayors is if the audience was silent the entire meeting.
The Council of Mayors meet twice a month: the closed plenary meeting and the public MRC meeting. In 2017, I changed the time of the public meeting from the afternoon to the evening to allow more citizens to attend. At this point, the majority of mayors feel Council needs this closed meeting to meet informally without a public audience.
Although much has been written about the need to open plenary meetings, Mr. Wills implies residents wouldn’t benefit. His reference to meetings as “mind and butt-numbing one-way talk-a-thons” doesn’t accurately describe our agendas. We have two or three presentations from various groups and individuals as well as updates on projects, programs and ideas in progress.
In Ontario, all council and committee meetings are open to the public. It was an interesting adjustment to the Quebec process where plenary meetings are closed. In 2025, we plan to place more items and presentations on our public meeting agenda. It would be great to hear the discussion of the mayors, their questions and opinions.
I thank Mr. Wills for using the example of the solar farm project, but clarification is needed. The motive and desire for this solar opportunity came from within the MRC Pontiac through the MRC Renewable Energy Committee. Regular updates are provided to the mayors and several mayors sit on the committee. We’re in the driver’s seat; we’re not being solicited by companies, and we work closely with CREDDO.
MRC Pontiac is the most ideal location for a solar farm because we receive the most hours of sunlight in Quebec. We’ve worked on this proposal for many months and one company has met our social, economic and environmental mandates and criteria: Innergex. The MRC Pontiac will make no financial investment.
The land used for a potential solar farm will be zoned commercial/industrial and won’t have future development potential for other industries.
There’s no need for expensive, long transmission of electricity; this company will plug power directly into local hydro lines beside the farm.
Finally, to address Mr. Wills’ preference for residential panels on homes, they’re unfortunately no longer subsidized in Quebec. The Canada Greener Homes Loan offers interest-free financing to make homes more efficient. Hydro Quebec, through the Logis-vert and Reno Climate programs, offers financial assistance and subsidies for retrofits for better energy efficiency.
We’re referred to as the pioneer of solar energy in Quebec. I’m proud the MRC Pontiac
will be a leader in the province!
Jane Toller
WARDEN, MRC PONTIAC
