ACTUAL I TÉ • NEWS
Counties supports idea of AquaHacking group is not just creating another level of bureau- cracy,» said Mayor François St-Amour, of The Nation municipality.
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
The general thought amongmayors in Pres- cott-Russell is that an upcoming confe- rence on the future care and control over the Ottawa River could have a name that sounds a bit less controversial. But they do support in principle the idea behind the AquaHacking Ottawa River Summit in Gatineau at the end of May. The United Counties of Prescott-Rus- sell council (UCPR) gave unanimous sup- port to a motion from Hawkesbury Mayor Jeanne Charlebois to supportThe Gatineau Declaration during the upcoming Aqua- Hacking conference. While the resolution itself passed with little opposition, there was comment from several mayors about the overall purpose of the conference itself and also about the kind of confusion the word «AquaHacking» in the event title could create for the general public. «I just hope this AquaHacking conference
UCPR Warden Robert Kirby noted that the term «hacking» may make some area residents think of cyber terrorismand com- puter virus attacks.The original meaning of the terms «hacker» and «hacking» during the early days of the evolution of the personal computer and the development of the Inter- net used to mean someone who was gifted or skilled in computer programming. Now it means someone who uses programming skills to break into data banks, personal, government or corporate computer sys- tems to steal information, including personal identity details, plant viruses or malware, or steal from bank accounts. The AquaHacking conference is the latest in a semi-annual series of regional conferences dealing with the Ottawa River watershed. Past and present conferences have always involved representatives from the federal, Ontario and Québec govern-
The Ottawa River is an important recreational and eco-tourism resource for Rockland and many other riverside communities in Prescott-Russell. Summer and winter it is popular with boaters, anglers, and even families who like to go hunting for crayfish among the submerged rocks along the shoreline.The upcoming AquaHacking conference will consider all these and other management issues for the river.
ments, environmental groups, businesses, and also municipalities. While the Ottawa River is part of the border between Onta- rio and Québec and serves as the site for Canada’s capital city, there is no specific regional agency responsible for monito- ring its condition the way there are regional conservation authorities inOntario for areas like the South Nation River watershed. The main authority dealing with Ottawa River issues is the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans as the river is a major outflow into the St. Lawrence River which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Charlebois argued that agreeing to sup- port The Gatineau Declaration costs the UCPR nothing and also shows that the Pres- cott-Russell region recognizes the impor- tance of safeguarding the Ottawa River.The Gatineau Declaration calls for future deve- lopment of «an integrated approach to sus-
tainable water management with the Ottawa River watershed» for its future protection. «What I do like is that you’ve got the three levels of government working together,» said Mayor Charlebois. «It’s a step in the right direction.» The last time Mayor Charlebois re- presentedHawkesbury on the UCPR council, she was the counties’ delegate to one of the past regional conferences on the Ottawa River. Champlain Township Mayor Gary Barton threw his support behind Charle- bois’ proposal for UCPR acceptance of The Gatineau Declaration. «It’s a philosophical approach,» he said, «a principle on how you should be looking after your water resources.» Counties administration will prepare a resolution for the UCPR council to vote on during its next regular session before the conference.
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Special training for firefighters A special training session for dealing with toxic spills threatening local water sources saw a good response from local fire departments in the Prescott-Russell region. The South Nation Conservation Authority (SNC) sponsored a one-day Spill Response Training workshop April 25 with 20 partici- pants from fire stations in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell. The workshop follows up on a similar program the SNC provided in 2008 and 2009. Participants learned and practised methods for dealing with a hazardous material spill near a water source and also how to protect themselves while doing so. Representatives from Drain-All Ltd. and the provincial environmental services divi- sion were on hand to provide technical advice. – Gregg Chamberlain
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