Election in Chéticamp: “I’m not happy with how we were treated here”

In the October 19 municipal elections in Nova Scotia, three candidates are vying for the favor of voters in a district that includes the Acadian community of Chéticamp, in Inverness, Cape Breton.

Chris Poirier, Claude Poirier and Joeleen Larade are the candidates for district 1, that of Chéticamp / Pleasant Bay / Meat Cove.

Chris Poirier, 36, is a buyer of fishing products on the quays of Chéticamp.

His community lacks many things, he recalls, and he thinks that elected officials forget this too often and have poorly represented them.

In almost 40 years, the district has had only three councilors. Before the 2022 by-election, Daniel Boudreau was in office from 1985 to 2012, followed by Alfred Poirier for a decade.

We had people in positions for too long sleeping up there. I’m not happy with how we got treated here.

I want to be able to speak for the community, speak for the people, the world that has difficulty expressing itself, the world that has difficulty getting what they want.lance Chris Poirier.

There are people who should go into politics withincentive to make money, that should be theincentive to help peoplesays the young man who is a candidate for the second time.

He says he is ready for the task if he is elected. My priorities? Well, that’s precisely it: that the community lacks nothing! he said.

Joeleen Larade is the first woman to run in this district. Chéticamp has been ready for a woman for a long timeshe said.

The 44-year-old candidate says basic services are lacking.

We don’t have any compostshe begins. Hundreds of people passing by, where do they put their trash? It stays there! It is up to the municipality to put out trash cans and collect them.

If I can just do this in four years: compost, trash and recycle, it will help our community a lot.she believes.

Joeleen Larade deplores the persistent food insecurity in Cape Breton. The cost of transportation is reflected in the price of food and the body Meals on Wheels feeds 66 elderly people in precarious situations three times a week.

When I tell you that seniors eat ketchup sandwiches because it’s the only thing that can “address” them, it’s sad.

We are a long district with Gaels, Scots, Acadians. We haven’t been well served for a long time. I would like to put municipal French services in our communityshe also said.

Outgoing municipal councilor Claude Poirier is seeking a full mandate this year.

He received the confidence of voters in a by-election in March 2022.

At 70, he wants to see infrastructure improved to better face the future: installing streetlights, but also improving emergency shelters and training volunteers.

We know there are going to be disasters. At this time, if you have storms, it’s much bigger than what we had before.

Claude Poirier says he wants to continue his unfinished projects for the district. My greatest success would be the Foyer Père Fiset. I’m not the only one who worked on this.

This is a project for a new 72-room care center for people losing their autonomy. In 2027 it would replace the overcrowded one.

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The Inverness County Municipality Council is made up of six members. This year, three are elected by acclamation. In three other districts, voters have to make a choice.

The municipal election is also election day for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (New window) (TENTACLE), responsible for 23 French-language schools, which welcome 6,500 children across the province.

For the Inverness district, school trustee Philippe Haché was elected without opposition.

According to the report by Stéphanie Blanchet