The long-awaited moment is tonight at 6:30 p.m.: Presentation of the municipal administration’s master plan.
Obviously, you know my biased opinion about the current municipal administration. Tonight, once again, there was a nice surprise in the middle of the election campaign. The presentation of a master plan with lots of computer-generated images (no doubt) that outlines the ideal development of the entire North Hatley area. All this thanks to a $122,000 investment in a specialized development firm through a completely anonymous donation (perhaps made public recently). I have no doubt that the municipal administration has worked very hard to build a master plan that aims to make North Hatley sustainable and prosperous.
However, the three most important construction projects are already underway, even before the master plan has been presented. These include: demolition and reconstruction of the Plage building, construction of a refrigerated ice rink in Rivière Park, and construction of 22 housing units on Mill Street, also in Rivière Park. I also hope that putting nets and soccer goals on the soccer field is part of the plan!
I quote the municipality on its website:
Driven by a vision that environmental development and economic development can and should be interdependent forces, our village has the opportunity to create beautiful green spaces and integrate ambitious environmental goals while bringing new prosperity that citizens at all levels can enjoy.
D’ailleurs, c’est la première fois cette année qu’une rencontre du conseil de ville sera disponible à la fois en présentiel et en virtuel. Pardonnez-moi de voir encore une fois un biais monstre de l’administration municipale qui favorise cette présentation au dépens des conseils municipaux qui sont beaucoup moins “sexy” à présenter à toute la population.
In fact, this is the first time this year that a city council meeting will be available both in person and virtually. Forgive me for once again seeing a huge bias on the part of the municipal administration, which favors this presentation at the expense of city council meetings, which are much less “sexy” to present to the entire population.
Furthermore, the minutes have not been updated since last April (six months ago). However, in order to be aware of the municipal administration’s decisions, it is necessary to be able to read the minutes. They must also be adopted from one city council to the next.
However, it is much more pleasant and favorable, especially during election season, to present innovative projects than to talk about the municipality’s challenges and problems, including the 2024 financial statements, which are still not available (even though they were required by June 30), debt, skyrocketing administrative costs, and a workforce that has doubled in recent years.
Unfortunately, most citizens are not interested in municipal politics, even though it is the politics closest to them and the politics that has the greatest impact on their daily lives. As a result, the current municipal administration mainly presents the positive aspects of its current term of office, as clearly shown in its PowerPoint financial presentation of September 16.
Will we soon see citizens threatened with legal action to silence them? When you add up all the actions taken by the current municipal administration, I wonder what kind of politics we are dealing with in North Hatley.
I hear a lot of criticism of American politics. Many are outraged, while others say that the results in the United States are good, which justifies the means.
I invite you to take an interest in our municipal politics to ensure that it works for our collective good and respects noble principles and values. Moreover, it is the role of citizens to monitor the work of the municipal administration.
For my part, I am biased, but I have a strong feeling that my SLAPP or gag lawsuit is coming soon to silence me. By the way, have any of you received threats lately? Please let us know so that I can talk about it.
On that note, happy voting on November 2!
Definition of SLAPP (ChatGPT)
A SLAPP lawsuit (or gag lawsuit in French) is an abusive legal action brought with the aim of silencing, intimidating, or discouraging a person or group exercising their freedom of expression, particularly in matters of public interest (environment, human rights, journalism, etc.).
SLAPP stands for:
Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation
