“the last three years, a missed appointment”

“The last three years give the impression of a missed opportunity,” he said during the municipal council meeting on Tuesday noon.

For context, the way in which the library file in the Saint-Édouard church was handled by Julie Dufour was criticized by the stakeholders involved who mentioned in secret terms that they had no other choice than to abandon it.

Afterwards, some said they felt “trapped”, starting with Raynald Simard who still regrets this decision.

Its release on Tuesday confirmed the malaise that has persisted for two years.

Julie Dufour responded that she cannot take all the failures on her shoulders.

“I am sincerely sorry if you feel like you are being left out. I treat files in the same way for everyone. We’re meeting for development, PFAS, landslides. We’re even here for the striped bass. Now when you change your mind several times it becomes complicated. It wasn’t me who made the decision for the library.”

Legal notice

Tuesday was the first public meeting of elected officials since nine councilors asked the mayor to temporarily withdraw from her duties due to her problems with the Chief Electoral Officer.

And the question of the second legal opinion still loomed. Julie Dufour’s right-hand man, Michel Potvin, replied that they had still not received it.

Remember that the legal proceedings will begin on December 10.

Dissolution of the railway zone committee

Chicoutimi elected officials have a short fuse when it comes to the development of the railway zone. A recommendation from Julie Dufour as president of the municipal commission for land use planning, engineering and town planning bothered Marc Bouchard.

This proposal is to dissolve the monitoring committee set up in November 2021. “I have the impression that this file is being managed without any rigor. Between November 18, 2021 and today, apart from the decontamination of the land, there is no development,” mentioned the elected official.

Mireille Jean, for her part, recalled the initial objective of this committee. “He had to prepare a grid to supervise the types of projects and the development of the railway zone. This committee is important, we just have to reactivate it and give it the resources so it can do its work.”

The mayor tried to defend her recommendation, indicating that a new committee would be created with the sector councilor, stakeholders, citizens and a budget, but the idea was not popular. She ended up saying that the current committee will be maintained.

“What is happening now is not helping anyone. We are attracting internationally and in the province. We have dozens of developers lined up for the port area. The municipal council has committed to investing 350 million. Nothing has happened for 25 years. You participated in strategic planning. You feel like you’re losing control, but inevitably, it’s going to go to the city council. We have a lot of work, so having more meetings and micromanaging is not the model we have chosen in 2021,” said Julie Dufour to try to close the discussion.

In burst…

Update of the strategic plan

An update of the city’s 2017-2030 strategic plan has been adopted. An essential exercise with the pandemic and the acceleration of certain phenomena such as the housing crisis, climate change, homelessness and armed violence.

“Sustainable development today is an objective in itself with the reduction of the impacts of climate change,” said the general director of Saguenay, Gabriel Rioux, during the presentation of this guide which has four orientations: sustainable development and environment, economic development and prosperity, strategic and efficient government as well as an enviable citizen experience

Economic development also remains a priority for the city, which wishes to expand more sectors, including digital and the industrial-port zone.

Maison Martin-Matte

Maison Martin-Matte, which will be part of a project of 106 housing units from the Municipal Housing Office, will be built on the land of the former Saint-Joachim church, in Chicoutimi.

A sector ideal for the mixed clientele who will stay there, underlined the municipal councilor, Jacques Cleary. He named the many services located nearby, including a grocery store, a pharmacy, a school and a bus stop.

Striped bass

A resolution to allow recreational fishing for striped bass was adopted. The “massive” arrival of the species is worrying and risks disrupting the balance of aquatic fauna.

Fishing and hunting associations as well as other municipalities have endorsed resolutions to this effect, underlined Martin Harvey in submitting his own.