municipality’s long-term economic
The island
development strategy. The venture would
be undertaken in harmony with nature,
Mayor René Berthiaume has said. At the
Casino. It is one of those words that can
same time, the mayor stressed, “The people
quickly get a reaction and polarize opinion.
will be consulted on what they want to be
So, what comes to mind when you think
done with the island.”
of gambling? Sin, fortune, easy street,
Over the decades, the “Do Nothing”
heaven, hell, easy money, ill-gotten
option has proven to be the most popular
these parts, usually when somebody talks,
earnings, the Devil, sin, Armageddon,
of real estate in the Ottawa River had
course of action.
again, about doing something with
avarice, addiction, end of the world as we
resurfaced.
You will remember that over the years,
Hawkesbury’s Hamilton Island.
know it, harmless formof entertainment, all
Presented to the municipality about six
many possible vocations for the island have
A fewweeks ago, we reported that a $100
of the above?
years ago, the development dream is being
been tossed around, and discarded. This is
million plan to build homes on the idle piece
The C word pops up periodically in
discussed again as part of the
not surprising, considering the missing link
— the absence of a bridge — is a huge
obstacle.
For instance, in 1990, the town had
considered pouring tax dollars into the
construction of a bridge to Hamilton Island.
The span, which would have cost $2
million, was thought to have been crucial to
the town’s attempts to secure a campus of
*
La Cité collégiale. The bridge was never
built; La Cité collégiale set up shop in town
anyway.
A few years ago, the idea of a gaming
house being set up on the island bobbed up
again at a town council meeting. Again, the
notion was raised during a discussion of
the municipality’s inability to exploit its
waterfront.
Again, that idea tanked before it barely
left the dock.
Why does the casino idea keep popping
up? For one thing, it is a lot more fun to
envisage Vegas of the Far East than
PURCHASE FINANCING F OR UP TO 0 % 72 † ON MOST NEW 2012 ESCAPE AND F-150 MODELS APR MONTHS
contemplate the construction of multi-unit
residential buildings. Sure, people have to
UPTO $ 4 ,
000 ‡ ONNEW 2012 ESCAPEAND F-150 500 †† 2012 F-150 5.0LAMOUNT SHOWN
live somewhere but on the excitement scale,
MANUFACTURER R E BAT E S
what ranks higher – rouletteor cookie-cutter
condos?
Alas, economic development and
planning are not supposed to be “fun.”
These are serious matters that require
discussions, consultations, concertation,
$ 1 ,
concentration, designs, graphs, tables and
a lot of technical stuff. Fail to plan; plan to
fail. A lack of planning and/or consultation
ELIGIBLE MEMBERS RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL
can be blamed for many of the problems of
the world.
The merits of a cohesive long-term
strategy can never be overestimated.
Tree-covered Hamilton Island
continues to represent the promise of the
waterfront.
Like many others, Berthiaume is
confident that, eventually, something
good is going to happen on this special
piece of real estate. “We have something
that few others have. We have an island
a short distance from our downtown
area,” he noted recently.
Given the nature of the site, it will be
some time before anything concrete can
take place on the island. One indirect
benefit of any renewed interest in
2012 F-150
2012 ESCAPE
Hamilton Island would be the chance to
becomemore familiar withHawkesbury’s
PLUS ELIGIBLECOSTCOMEMBERSRECEIVEANADDITIONAL $1,000 ‡ $ 4 , 500 †† INMANUFACTURERREBATESON5.0L 0 % 72 † PURCHASE FINANCING MONTHS FORUPTO APR ONMOSTNEW 2012 F-150MODELS
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past, which is linked to the Hamilton
family, whose roots date back to the early
1800s. Hawkesbury Mills were huge back
in the day, around 1810 when William
and George Hamilton bought islands
(there were more than one before the
Carillon Dam was built) and set up one of
the most productive lumber operations
in the province. If all goes as planned,
Hawkesbury ought to have a new long-
AND YOU STILL GET ON MOST NEW 2012 FIESTA & FOCUS PURCHASE FINANCING MONTHS FOR UP TO 0 % 72 † APR
term socio-economic strategy in place
by 2013. So Hawkesburgers still have
plenty of time to float ideas about the
future of the big island
R.B.Q. 81017600-00
2012 FIESTA $ 1 ,
000 †† INMANUFACTURERREBATES EXCLUDESFIESTAS
2012 FOCUS $ 1 ,
INMANUFACTURERREBATES EXCLUDESFOCUSSANDELECTRIC 250 ††
INC.
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