Environment

A public meeting was held in Otter Lake on Saturday (May 4) regarding the spread of an invasive species of water plant, Eurasian milfoil. The plant is easily spread and can choke out native species and impede swimming as well as boat traffic. Its decomposition during the winter can lower the oxygen levels in lakes […]

With the MRC’s proposed waste incineration project in the political spotlight at the moment, there have been many questions from the public regarding efforts to reduce the overall waste tonnages that the region produces. CHIP 101.9 set out to quantify the amount of household waste the Pontiac is sending to landfill, and look at the […]

The Quebec government has provided funding to municipal bodies to quantify their greenhouse gas emissions and implement a plan to reduce them. The program to accelerate the local climate transition (ATCL), as it is called, is an investment of $500 million from the province as part of their 2030 green economy plan. At the MRC Pontiac […]

Around two dozen members of the public attended a special meeting of the MRC Pontiac council of mayors Monday morning (April 29) at the MRC office in Campbell’s Bay. The special sitting had been called by Warden Jane Toller for the purposes of appropriating $3,000 for the distribution of a newsletter on a proposed waste […]

The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board is advising residents that the river’s levels will rise this week, with the possibility of flooding in low-lying areas. In a press release issued on April 14, the board notes that heavy rain in the upper portions of the watershed between April 11 and 13 have caused an increase […]

This story has been updated from its original version to include a response from MRC Pontiac. Less than 24 hours after being uploaded to the MRC Pontiac website, links to two reports on a proposed waste incinerator project in the region have been removed. The documents were produced by consulting company Deloitte and subcontractor Ramboll, […]

The TCRA Hall in Ladysmith was packed on Saturday (April 6) for an exchange of seeds and knowledge among Pontiac’s gardening and environmental community. Called “Seedy Saturday”, the event drew 22 vendors to the hall selling food items and various products, as well as environmental groups offering information on local issues. Organizer Carrie Ann Watson […]

St-Joseph Hall in L’Isle-aux-Allumettes was near capacity on Monday night (March 25) for the first of several town hall meetings hosted by MRC Pontiac on their proposed waste incineration project. The meetings were first announced just five days before at the MRC council’s monthly public meeting on March 20, where a contingent of around 40 […]

It was standing room only as more than 40 people crowded into the Elsie Gibbons Room and spilled out into the hallway at the MRC Pontiac public council meeting on March 20. The group of citizens were present to voice their opposition to the MRC’s proposed waste incineration project, mainly due to concerns about its potential […]

Back in 2009, exasperated by the number of power outages in his area, L’Isle-aux-Allumettes farmer David Gillespie started keeping track of the electrical grid servicing the Upper Pontiac, documenting the length and frequency of its failures. After 15 years, numerous discussions with elected officials and Hydro-Quebec representatives, it appears that the numbers are trending in […]