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Place Mont-Roc to remain closed until Fall
ged y , the first fatal fire in Hawkesbur y since 2008. The ho m e did not have a sprinkler s y ste m . Under Ontario law, the facilit y , which was built in the 1980s and passed a Hawkes- bur y Fire Depart m ent inspection in March, was not required to have such a s y ste m . 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 i m petus to a ca m paign for obligator y sprinkler s y ste m s in ho m es for the aged in the province. Since 1980, there have been 48 fire-related deaths in Ontario’s long-ter m care facilities. The nearb y Prescott-Russell Residence, where so m e Place Mont-Roc residents were te m poraril y housed, does not have sprinklers, either. But the united counties of Prescott-Russell, which own the ho m e 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 pro m pted the regional govern m ent to begin plans for the replace m ent of the facilit y .
HAWKESBURY | Displaced Place Mont-Roc residents will have to wait until Fall before returning to the Hawkesbury retire m ent ho m e where two people were killed in a May 25 fire. Repairs to the Spence Avenue facilit y are expected to be co m pleted b y Septe m ber or October, sa y s Ma y or René Berthiau m e. About 85 people were forced to find alternate acco mm odations in the wake of the blaze that clai m ed the lives of Marie- Anne Bonin, 84, and her husband, Jean-Paul Bonin, 87. The town is awaiting a report fro m the building’s owner, Putna m Hall Retire m ent Residences, of Oakville, before the m uni- CALUMET | Grenville-sur-la-Rouge coun- cil cannot even consider long-ter m de- velop m ent of the m unicipality because of a “leadership vacuu m ,” Mayor John Saywell said at a recent m eeting. During the question period, Sa y well was asked when the m unicipalit y would prepare an overall strateg y for growth in the m unicipalit y . “I cannot answer; I do not know,” replied the m a y or. “We have a proble m to work together and we do not look to the future. We have a leadership difficult y ; there is a vacuu m of leadership.” Meanwhile, four of the seven coun- cil m e m bers have tried to assure cit- izens that the m unicipalit y is in good hands. “As y ou notice, our bills are paid, resolutions are approved, ad m inistra- tion of the subsidies is ongoing and develop m ent of projects, within the law, is progressing,” according to a “news bul- letin” fro m Deput y m a y or Diane Monette and Councillors Noël Baril, Alain Carrière and Pierre Lessard. “We work hard to co m - plete our m andate on a positive note. The projects defined b y the council, which had been, for one reason or another, replaced since Dece m ber 2010, started to see the light of da y again. For a few m onths now, we have been looking at the future.” The bulletin underscores the chas m be- tween the four and Sa y well and Council-
Photo Richard Mahone y
cipalit y can issue a per m it for repairs to proceed, relates Berth- iau m e. The structure sustained extensive da m age during the tra-
“A leadership vacuum’’ plagues GSR, says mayor lors Teresa Fore m an and Daniel Gauthier. Citing the “deep conflict” within council, Sa y well has asked the Québec m unicipal af- fairs m inistr y to appoint a trustee to oversee the m unicipalit y . “I believe that this is the onl y re m aining solution to allow our m unicipalit y to recover and m ove on fro m the current crisis,” said Sa y well in a recent m essage to ratepa y - ers. The m a y or noted that Baril, Carrière, Les- sard and Monette now assu m e “total respon- sibilit y for the resolutions and b y -laws of the m unicipalit y . Councillors Daniel Gauthier and Teresa Fore m an, as well as my self, the Ma y or, are s y ste m aticall y excluded fro m the elabora- tion of priorities or an y m eaningful vote taken at council.” Sa y well faces legal action ai m ed at forcing hi m to step down. This follows a vote of non-confidence earlier this y ear. Plus, June 12, while Sa y well was out of the countr y , council voted to na m e Monette as Sa y well’s replace m ent on the MRC d’Argenteuil coun- cil. Sa y well used his veto to quash that m ove. At the sa m e ti m e, the m a y or has filed a griev- ance against Baril, clai m ing a breach of the m unicipal code of ethics. According to a legal opinion Sa y well sought April 5, he would have difficult y proving Baril has a conflict of inter- est. The m a y or has contended that Baril has a conflict because he is a shareholder of Les Sources Véo, the Rouge River water bottling fir m where Baril is e m plo y ed and which has a road cost-sharing agree m ent with the m unici- palit y . The legal opinion states that since Baril is not in fact a shareholder, there would be lit- tle chance of the m unicipalit y proving a con- flict allegation in court. But the m a y or has not accepted the conclusion, contending it based on h y pothetical circu m stances. “This opinion doesn’t m ean an y thing,” he said. The m a y or sought the legal advice fro m the Laval legal fir m of Dunton Mainville before m e m bers expressed opposition to the expense. At the last m eeting, council refused to pa y the $3,788.43 bill. Sa y well had said that so far this y ear, legal fees for all cases have reached $85,770.
R.B.Q. 81017600-00
INC.
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