Residents will not be able to attend the public meeting tonight (May 6)
Residents will not be able to attend the public meeting tonight (May 6)
The Municipality of l’Île-du-Grand-Calumet has sent a communication indicating that it is impossible to find a way for citizens to participate in the public meeting of the municipal council which will take place this Wednesday, May 6th. Several citizens expressed their disappointment with this decision.
Recently, via the municipality’s Facebook page, citizen Sylvie Landriault asked a question about this evening’s agenda. “Item 5 of the agenda: Response to the concerns of citizens. If we cannot speak, how can you respond to our concerns?”, asked this citizen of the municipality.
The municipality responded in its communication: “We are aware of zoom & of team and we are looking for a way to make the discussion with our citizens possible while keeping control, because if we are 50 people who try to speak at the same time it is impossible to inform the population on some points”.
Sylvie Landriault does not share this opinion. “I think there could be a democratic way for citizens to express themselves. The Zoom platform has an application for writing questions. A person could be responsible for sorting out the questions. Elected officials could then respond. Several political organizations are using it all over Quebec today,” said the concerned citizen.
To which the municipality of Ile-du-Grand-Calumet replied: “We are always trying to have virtual meetings, we are looking for solutions. In order to allow citizens to participate in our meetings, we are looking for a solution to manage all this. Google duo only allows the council and not the population,” said the municipality.
Radio silence on the situation of Mayor Newberry and Councilor Meilleur
The incident reported last week between Councilor Réjean Meilleur and Mayor Serge Newberry, the subject of a complaint to the Sûreté du Québec, stimulated public interest. For the moment, Serge Newberry and the other members of the council have not answered questions from CHIP 101.9 on that matter.
Remember that late last week, citizens of Île-du-Grand-Calumet asked for a vote of confidence towards Mayor Newberry.
The Director General on sick leave
Also in the communication issued on Wednesday, the municipality indicated that the director general is currently on personal sick leave. “Her leave started on April 16th for a week, however on April 23rd she had a second visit and her absence is extended until May 22nd. We have had confirmation that the Director General will return on schedule. As indicated, the item will be discussed during the extraordinary meeting on May 6th, 2020,” the communication wrote.
