LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
February 20, 2020
Open letter
Thank you Hudson!
Mount Pleasant Elementary School’s E-waste drive concluded last week when the last cages were picked up at the local IGA. We would like to thank everyone who participated and contributed to making this a very successful E-waste Drive.
Over 600 lbs of electronics were recycled thanks to the Hudson community. We are especially grateful to the IGA Déziel in Hudson and their manager Shawn Simpson for their invaluable support and contribution.
Thank you for helping us make this event a success!
Julie Pepin
Hudson
February 20, 2020
CAQ education Bill 40 and building new schools
Dear Editor,
On February 8 the Legault government adopted school board reform Bill 40 which basically transforms outdated elected school boards to modern service centres to provide better support for our children.
However, there were amendments attached to the bill that displeased some people. One of them was that land had to be ceded by municipalities - for free - to service centres to build new schools. This would only apply if an agreement could not be reached between the parties within two years.
Naturally, mayors were upset by this. But let's back up a few years to understand and appreciate where the government is coming from with this amendment.
Consider the years of horrendous long term planning by the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) that turned a proposed off-island elementary school project into a "multimillion dollar mess."
About 13 years ago, the Vaudreuil-Dorion area was the fastest growing English communi...
February 13, 2020
Speak up against climate change
Dear Editor,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet decision on a massive new oilsands mine (Teck Frontier) is due at the end of February. It's their first real ‘climate test’ since the election, when the Liberals promised us they would work to reduce greenhouse gasses by 30 per cent.
There are three main reasons the Liberals should reject building the Teck Frontier mine:
1) Teck Frontier is incompatible with our government’s promise to reduce greenhouse gasses.
We have less than 10 years to limit climate catastrophe and we must act quickly to cut carbon emissions. The Teck Frontier mine will emit approximately six megatonnes of carbon emissions per year, making it one of the largest oilsands mines – if not the largest – to ever be built in Alberta. According to political economist Gordon Laxer, the oilsands are Canada’s fastest-growing source of emissions. Their growth is going to make it virtually impossible to meet our 2030 Paris climate t...
February 13, 2020
Thank you Mr. Tremblay
Dear Editor,
We want to thank Saint-Lazare District 3 Councillor Benoît Tremblay for his short time within council. He was a great contributor to our team and town.
The residents of District 3 were well represented and he was appreciated for his extra efforts in the Vallée Chaline file. His resignation is a big loss for the five remaining councillors.
We sincerely wish him all the best.
Geneviève Lachance District 1, Pierre Casavant District 2, Michel Poitras District 4, Richard Chartrand District 5, Brian Trainor District 6
Saint-Lazare
February 13, 2020
Walking Safely
Dear Editor,
I have lived in Hudson for over 30 years. I arrived from the city where there were always sidewalks so we didn't have to walk on the road. However, here in Hudson, aside from the village, there are no sidewalks. I love to walk so almost daily I see people on the roads who do not know that one should walk facing the traffic. I have seen mothers with strollers, parents with small children, dog owners and many teens walking with the traffic. This is dangerous as you cannot see what is oncoming. And then there are folks who walk at night without reflective gear or a flashlight. Drivers cannot see pedestrians until they are within a few feet. These walkers are an accident waiting to happen. On page 5 of the Hudson Voice there is a piece called Walk Safe This Winter but no mention of walking facing traffic. This is law but it is obviously not well-known or enforced.
Marlene Donegan
Hudson
February 13, 2020
Generation education
Dear Editor,
I’m neither a Millennial nor a Gen-Z.
I’m somewhere between Boomer and Gen-X, depending on who is setting the parameters. What my kids otherwise refer to as ‘old.’
But I’m happy to read about the viewpoints of each generation and commend your bi-monthly ‘Millennial Viewpoint’ contributor Kelly Miyamoto for her insightful columns and intelligent writing.
From Kelly’s Keyboard, I’ve learned about things like ‘Cancel culture’ and read with interest on topics including teen activism, self-care, and social medial influencers.
As the father of two millennials and a ‘Zoomer’ myself, I appreciate the unique viewpoints young people have of today’s world and their approach to navigating the new climate and economic realities.
They’re not going to have an easy time of it but judging by the caliber of some of the young people I encounter – including in the pages of The Journal – the future is in good hands.
Martin Roloff
Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot
February 6, 2020
APPELE-QUÉBEC is no real friend of the Anglo community
Dear Editor,
On Monday, February 3, the public was invited to attend a press conference concerning the Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec (CAQ) School Board Reform Bill 40. The meeting was instructive and revealing. I also felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
The talks by the speakers were almost identical to speeches criticizing Liberal School Board Reform Bill 86 - four years ago. The bill also called for the scrapping of commissioners and school boards. Seeing MNA David Birnbaum and former MNA Geoffrey Kelley slamming the CAQ's plan, which they strongly supported as Anglo Liberals, was surreal.
Putting aside the threat of am, "…costly and prolonged court battle," made by Geoffrey Kelley, the chair of the APPELE-QUÉBEC coalition, I found the reason for this possible challenge to the education reform Bill 40 very disappointing.
Since decisions involving students will be made at the school level, i...
January 30, 2020
Hopeful and inspiring
Dear Editor,
The January 28 public consultation meeting in Saint-Lazare was hopeful and inspiring. Hopeful because this council, unlike any other, is putting the goals and strategies of the Plan De Conservation into by-laws which will render it enforceable. Inspiring in the plea of a 7-year-old girl who asked and thanked all present to protect her future.
The by-law seeks to protect the old growth forest and wildlife corridors. The west end has one of the most significant contiguous forested zones in the region.
Even more poignant is that this by-law, inadvertently, protects one of the main recharge areas for our aquifers.
Did you know that the Sainte-Angélique municipal well complex, that supplies 80 per cent of Saint-Lazare's water, is reaching maximum capacity in a few years? This is why the town is planning on building three new wells in the west end. This is one of the last viable sites left in Saint-Lazare to source water.
Protecting the forest of the recharge...
January 23, 2020
Open letter
The revision of the PMAD – a priority
The issue of "urban sprawl" has been in the news for several days following the publication, by the Observatoire Grand Montréal, of a note on urbanization in the regions bordering the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM). Several mayors have already made their reactions known to the observations surprisingly issued by the Observatory, itself linked to the CMM.
I read with interest the open letter from Saint-Colomban Mayor Xavier-Antoine Lalande.
As mayor of a CMM-member municipality and representative of the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges on the CMM board, I agree with my colleague from Saint-Colomban.
It is clear today that the Plan métropolitain d’aménagement et de développement (PMAD) of the CMM has not fulfilled its promises to limit the exodus of young families to the suburbs. Quite the contrary.
Before going further, we need to focus.
The PMAD came into force in 2012 after rapid discussions and a phase of consultation...
January 23, 2020
Blood drive backlash
Dear Editor,
There is a level of societal hypocrisy with Lazare Councillor Chartrand being punished for a ‘conflict of interest’ when he held a blood drive at his place of business, as reported in The Journal, January 16, page 3.
Mr. Chartrand, a lifelong resident of Saint-Lazare, is passionate about Saint-Lazare and the people who live here – check his profile on town website.
Mr. Chartrand has been involved in humanitarian work, in Saint-Lazare/Vaudreuil, long before most people now living here knew Saint-Lazare existed. Distinctions in acknowledgement from Premier Lucien Bouchard for his assisting Saint-Lazare during the 1998 Ice Storm, recognition certificate from Héma Québec, a Member of the Board of Directors for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital Foundation, none of which sounds like a person who would intentionally promote his business or try to make a few dollars, by holding a blood drive at his place of business.
The Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) clas...
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