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Place Mont-Roc to remain closed until Fall
gedy, the first fatal fire in Hawkesbury since 2008. The home did not have a sprinkler system. Under Ontario law, the facility, which was built in the 1980s and passed a Hawkes- bury Fire Department inspection in March, was not required to have such a system. It is not clear whether sprinklers would have saved the lives of the couple who died after the fire broke out on the third floor of the building, Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office investigators have said. The deaths gave new impetus to a campaign for obligatory sprinkler systems in homes for the aged in the province. Since 1980, there have been 48 fire-related deaths in Ontario’s long-term care facilities. The nearby Prescott-Russell Residence, where some Place Mont-Roc residents were temporarily housed, does not have sprinklers, either. But the united counties of Prescott-Russell, which own the home for the aged, have taken steps to have sprinklers placed in the Cartier Boulevard resi- dence. The absence of the devices is one of several defects that have prompted the regional government to begin plans for the replacement of the facility.
HAWKESBURY | Displaced Place Mont-Roc residents will have to wait until Fall before returning to the Hawkesbury retirement home where two people were killed in a May 25 fire. Repairs to the Spence Avenue facility are expected to be completed by September or October, says Mayor René Berthiaume. About 85 people were forced to find alternate accommodations in the wake of the blaze that claimed the lives of Marie- Anne Bonin, 84, and her husband, Jean-Paul Bonin, 87. The town is awaiting a report from the building’s owner, Putnam Hall Retirement Residences, of Oakville, before the muni- CALUMET | Grenville-sur-la-Rouge coun- cil cannot even consider long-term de- velopment of the municipality because of a “leadership vacuum,” Mayor John Saywell said at a recent meeting. During the question period, Saywell was asked when the municipality would prepare an overall strategy for growth in the municipality. “I cannot answer; I do not know,” replied the mayor. “We have a problem to work together and we do not look to the future. We have a leadership difficulty; there is a vacuum of leadership.” Meanwhile, four of the seven coun- cil members have tried to assure cit- izens that the municipality is in good hands. “ As you notice, our bills are paid, resolutions are approved, administra- tion of the subsidies is ongoing and development of projects, within the law, is progressing,” according to a “news bul- letin” from Deputy mayor Diane Monette and Councillors Noël Baril, Alain Carrière and Pierre Lessard. “ We work hard to com- plete our mandate on a positive note. The projects defined by the council, which had been, for one reason or another, replaced since December 2010, started to see the light of day again. F or a few months now, we have been looking at the future.” The bulletin underscores the chasm be- tween the four and Saywell and Council-
Photo Richard Mahoney i r
cipality can issue a permit for repairs to proceed, relates Berth- iaume. The structure sustained extensive damage during the tra-
“A leadership vacuum’’ plagues GSR, says mayor lors Teresa Foreman and Daniel Gauthier. Citing the “deep conflict” within council, Saywell has asked the Québec municipal af- fairs ministry to appoint a trustee to oversee the municipality. “I believe that this is the only remaining solution to allow our municipality to recover andmoveon fromthe current crisis,” said Saywell in a recent message to ratepay- ers. The mayor noted that Baril, Carrière, Les- sard and Monette now assume “total respon- sibility for the resolutions and by-laws of the municipality. Councillors Daniel Gauthier and Teresa Foreman, as well as myself, the Mayor, are systematically excluded from the elabora- tion of priorities or any meaningful vote taken at council.” Saywell faces legal action aimed at forcing him to step down. This follows a vote of non-confidence earlier this year. Plus, June 12, while Saywell was out of the country, council voted to name Monette as Saywell’s replacement on the MRC d’Argenteuil coun- cil. Saywell used his veto to quash that move. At the same time, the mayor has filed a griev- ance against Baril, claiming a breach of the municipal code of ethics. According to a legal opinion Saywell sought April 5, hewould have difficulty proving Baril has a conflict of inter- est. The mayor has contended that Baril has a conflict because he is a shareholder of Les Sources Véo, the Rouge River water bottling firm where Baril is employed and which has a road cost-sharing agreement with themunici- pality. The legal opinion states that since Baril is not in fact a shareholder, there would be lit- tle chance of themunicipality proving a con- flict allegation in court. But the mayor has not accepted the conclusion, contending it based on hypothetical circumstances. “This opinion doesn’t mean anything,” he said. The mayor sought the legal advice from the Laval legal firm of Dunton Mainville before members expressed opposition to the expense. At the last meeting, council refused to pay the $3,788.43 bill. Saywell had said that so far this year, legal fees for all cases have reached $85,770.
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