Deux casernes fermées à Noël
Julie Murray
La caserne du Plateau a été fermée pendant 24 heures, les 25 et 26 décembre, soit à quelques jours de la date d’échéance de la convention collective fixée au 31 décembre – les lieutenants ne se sont pas présentés au travail. Les résidents du secteur Gatineau ont aussi été privés, pendant quatorze heures, des services d’urgence de la caserne St-René. « Les lieutenants devaient rentrer travailler et ne se sont pas présentés sans donner de motif. Nous avons appelé des lieutenants en renfort, mais aucun n’a répondu à l’appel, nous avons donc fermé les casernes et transféré le personnel dans celles voisines », explique le directeur du service des incendies, André Bonneau. Le camion à grande échelle ainsi que trois pompiers du Plateau ont été redirigés vers la caserne Wilfrid-Lavigne à Aylmer.
Heures de travail excessives, dit le syndicat
Les heures supplémentaires de travail exigées ont épuisé les lieutenants, prétend le président du syndicat des pompiers, Denis L’Écuyer. « Certains en font quatre, et plusieurs refusent de faire du remplacement pendant leurs journées de congé puisqu’ils savent qu’ils devront aussi faire du temps supplémentaire. Une fois rendu à la caserne, un lieutenant qui refuse de travailler des heures supplémentaires peut se voir imposer des mesures di sciplinaires. » Il croit que la fermeture des casernes n’était pas nécessaire. « Plutôt que de les fermer, ils auraient pu faire rentrer des gestionnaires, comme le fait le service ambulancier. La fermeture d’une caserne ne doit être qu’une solution de tout dernier ressort puisque cela pourrait impliquer des délais importants en cas d’incendie. » Toutefois M. Bonneau explique que les gestionnaires étaient déjà épuisés; deux d’entre eux venaient tout juste de faire un 24 heures.
M. L’Écuyer dit qu’il y a une pénurie de lieutenants à la ville. « L’été dernier, à cause de la pénurie de lieutenants, plus de 680 des quarts de travail l’ont été en temps supplémentaire. » Selon un rapport soumis en août 2006 par l’ancienne vérificatrice générale de la ville, Sophie Lachance, la ville aurait dépensé 1,3 millions$ pour payer le temps supplémentaire des pompiers en 2005, soit deux fois plus que le montant prévu au budget.
Selon le conseiller Frank Thérien, la fermeture de casernes ne doit pas même compter parmi les options possibles. Celui-ci dit avoir reçu de nombreux appels de citoyens préoccupés par ces fermetures. « Le service d’incendie doit être considéré comme un service essentiel. Vous pouvez vous imaginer la responsabilité de la ville si une maison était la proie des flammes et qu’il y avait des mortalités? Nos assurances nous couvriraient-elles? Certaines gens tentent de nous tenir responsable des dommages causés par l’incendie de la Plaza Glenwood. »
Incendie à Wychwood
De fait, le 25 décembre, une famille de Wychwood a dû se réfugier chez des parents à Ottawa après que leur demeure de la rue Pine fut complètement rasée par les flammes vers mi nuit. « Nous étions installés au sous-sol pour regarder la télévision quand nous nous sommes aperçus que la maison était en flammes. Quinze mi nutes plus tard, il n’en restait rien », dit Sébastien Provost, qui a passé le lendemain à tenter de récupérer quelques choses parmi les restes de l’incendie. C’est une voisine, Monika Jasinska, âgée de treize ans, qui a remarqué les flammes et appelé les pompiers. Heureusement, la fermeture de certaines casernes n’a pas eu d’impact sur l’incendie de Wychwood puisque ce secteur est desservi par la caserne sur Wilfrid Lavigne.
Le temps des fêtes est une période à risque
La fermeture de ces casernes correspondait à la période de l’année où il y a le plus de risques d’incendies. Selon Émile Thérien, chef du Conseil canadien de la sécurité, « Les risques sont plus élevés durant la période des fêtes—les gens sont à la maison et cuisinent beaucoup, on retrouve plus de matériaux inflammables dans les alentours, en plus des arbres de Noël qui parfois se dessèchent. Il y a aussi plus de consommation d’alcool; le feu et l’alcool vont souvent de pair; les systèmes électriques sont surchargés, ce qui peut aussi être un facteur important. »
Selon le ministère des Affaires municipales de l’Alberta, les incendies causées par des bougies augmentent de 140% durant la période des fêtes; les décès et les blessures qui en résultent sont dus au fait que les gens vont se coucher sans éteindre les bougies, croyant que les portes-bougies sont bien solides. Dans un rapport de l’Administration des incendies aux Etats-Unis, soumis en novembre 2000, on peut lire : « Entre le 24 et le 26 décembre, les mortalités, les blessures et les pertes matérielles causées par des incendies augmentent respectivement de 50%, 61% et 43%, en moyenne. » En plus des bougies, d’autres facteurs augmentent les risques d’incendies, tel que le mauvais filage des lumières décoratives ainsi que les arbres de Noël naturels desséchés. « Un lieutenant comparait un arbre de Noël desséché à une ‘bombe’ au beau milieu de notre salon », mentionne le rapport, puisque le feu peut prendre et se répandre très rapidement.
« La fermeture de casernes de pompiers ne peut être tolérée, en particulier à ce temps-ci de l’année », ajoute le conseiller Thérien. « C’est sérieux. Nous devons trouver les responsables de cette situation et prendre les mesures appropriées. Si le syndicat en est responsable, il faut le poursuivre en justice. »
(Trad.: C.B.)
L’Opération Nez rouge
47 000 $ pour le sport amateur
GATINEAU: La 23e édition de l’Opération Nez rouge Outaouais qui a pris fin la veille du Jour de l’An a permis d’amasser plus de 47 000 $ dollars pour le sport amateur. Cet argent sera redistribué par Loisir sport Outaouais, maître d’oeuvre de l’Opération Nez rouge Outaouais, par la remise de bourses à de jeunes athlètes et le financement de clubs sportifs de la région.
« En plus de sensibiliser les gens aux dangers de la conduite d’un véhicule avec les facultés affaiblies, l’Opération Nez rouge permet aussi de développer le sport amateur dans notre région » a déclaré la directrice générale de Loisir sport Outaouais, Catherine Grenier.
Les 246 raccompagnements effectués le 31 décembre par 53 équipes portent le nombre total de raccompagnements pour 2007 à 2 646. Il y en avait eu 2 653 en 2006. Malgré le manque de bénévoles dans certaines régions du Québec, l’Outaouais s’en est bien sortie encore une fois avec plus de 2 250 participations bénévoles.
Michel Mayrand, propriétaire de Canadian Tire, s’est dit très heureux d’avoir eu la chance de contribuer à la réalisation de cette 23e édition en tant que président d’honneur. « Je tiens à remercier tous les bénévoles ainsi que les nombreux commanditaires et partenaires de leur appui et j’invite la population à choisir la bonne manière de partir tout au long de l’année 2008 : appeler un ami, un taxi, prendre le transport en commun ou avoir un conducteur désigné. »
(FR)
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Two city fire stations closed on Christmas
Julie Murray
On December 25 and 26, just days before December 31 expiration of the union’s collective bargaining agreement, the fire station in the Plateau was closed for 24 hours because fire lieutenants did not show up for work. Gatineau sector residents were also without service for fourteen hours when the St. René station was shut down. Fire Chief André Bonneau explained to the media, “The lieutenants were supposed to come in for work, but they didn’t show up and they gave no explanation. We called backup lieutenants, but no one responded to the call. So we had to close the stations and transfer our personnel to neighbouring stations.” Fire fighters are not allowed to strike. Along with the ladder truck, three Le Plateau firefighters were rerouted to Aylmer’s Wilfred-Lavigne fire station.
Overworked, says union
Because of excessive overtime requirements, the city’s fire lieutenants are overworked, Firefighter Union President Denis L’Ecuyer claims. “Many refuse to do replacement work on their days off, because they’ll be required to do overtime. Once they’re at the station, a lieutenant who refuses to work extra hours may face disciplinary action.” He believes that closing the stations was not necessary. “Instead of closing them, they could have called in managers, like the ambulance does. Closing a station must be a last-resort solution, because it could lead to delays in arriving at a fire.” However Mr Bonneau says that the managers were already overworked, with two of them having worked more than 24 hours just prior to the closure.
Mr L’Ecuyer says that the city does not have enough lieutenants. “Last summer, we experienced a lack of lieutenants, which means that more than 680 work shifts were in overtime.” According to an August, 2006, report by the city’s former auditor-general, Sophie Lachance, the city spent $1.3 million on firefighters’ overtime pay in 2005, twice what the city had budgeted.
Closing fire stations must not be an option, argues Councillor Frank Thérien, who says he has received many calls from people concerned about the closure. “Fire service is an essential service. Can you imagine the city’s liability if a home burned down and people were killed? Would our insurance even pay? People are trying to blame the fire department for (damages from) the Glenwood Plaza fire.”
The fire department told The Bulletin fire protection was kept within provincial norms. They state that within four minutes, four fire fighters must arrive and with ten, ten firefighters.
Fire in Wychwood
In fact, on December 25, a Wychwood family had to take shelter with relatives in Ottawa after a midnight fire burnt their Pine Street home to the ground. “We were watching a film in the basement when we realized the house was on fire. Fifteen minutes later, there was nothing left,” says Sebastien Provost, who spent the following day looking for anything salvageable. Firefighters were called after a thirteen year-old neighbour, Monika Jasinska, noticed the flames in the window. There was no connection between the Wychwood fire and the fire station closures; Wychwood is covered by the fire station on Wilfrid-Lavigne.
Holidays are dangerous times
The stations’ closing came at the holiday time of year when the risk of fire is most elevated. According to Emile Therien, head of the Canada Safety Council, “The risk is high during the holidays — people are home doing lots of cooking, lots of flammable materials are around, and natural trees can get dried out. Plus the consumption of alcohol; fires go hand in hand with alcohol; electrical systems are maxed out, which can also be a factor.”
According to the Alberta Ministry of Municipal Affairs, candle-related fires rise by 140% during the holidays, with most deaths and injuries occurring because, in the mistaken belief that candle holders cannot tip over or catch fire, people don’t extinguish candles before going to bed. A November 2000 report by the U.S. Fire Administration notes, “From December 24 through the 26, fire deaths, injuries, and dollar loss increase an average of 50%, 61% and 43%, respectively.” Along with candles, other factors contributing to an increased risk of fire include faulty wiring in decorative lights and dried-out natural Christmas trees. “One fire official likened a dry Christmas tree to a ‘bomb’ in the middle of one’s home,” the report adds, because the fire can start and spread so rapidly.
“Especially at this time of year, closing fire stations cannot be tolerated, “ adds Councillor Thérien. “It’s too serious of a situation. We have to find out who is responsible and take appropriate action. It the unions are responsible, we should take them to court.”
Thurso to Montebello
Autoroute 50 still a gleam in Quebec’s eye
Fred Ryan
Norm MacMIllan, the MNA for Buckingham and Papineau and the government’s whip, announced late last fall that the next stage of Autoroute 50 has received the go-ahead from the provincial cabinet with funding approval. This step will complete the Thurso to Montebello section, which is 23 km long, and it will cost 275 million dollars.
$10 million per kilometre
Autoroute 50 will link Gatineau and Montreal, without the “humiliation” of crossing over into Ontario to take the parallel Highay 417 to the same destination. Autoroute 50 will be built entirely within Quebec territory.
Mr MacMillan stressed the value of a direct route for the economic development of all of West Quebec, and especially the city of Gatineau. He also said it will be much safer than the present Highway 148 which goes through many small towns, although the latest plans for the “autoroute” have scaled it down to a two-lane highway once it leaves the heavily-populated areas of Gatineau. Nor is there any provison to prevent business and residential build-ups along the new route. The MNA told the media that the new route, north of Highway 148, will also open up more recreational opportunities as it reaches areas previously difficult to access. The highway will cut through significant areas of farm-zoned land, a point stressed by the BAPE when it recommended not finishing the highway outside the metro Gatineau zone.
The new highway will eventually connect Aylmer and all of West Quebec directly with Montreal and central Quebec. It will make it possible to drive directly from Aylmer and the Pontiac to Montreal, and will re-direct transport trucks away from city streets, like St-Raymond Blvd, and away from downtown Ottawa, to Allumettières Blvd and Highway 148 in the Pontiac.
Artists ask school board to save rural stone school
Julie Murray
During the December 18 meeting of the Western Quebec School Commission in Aylmer, a delegation of Pontiac artists made the case to save the stone school in Portage-du-Port, recently put up for sale by the board and which has been used for the past two years by the Pontiac Artists Association for events and classes. School Board director general Mike Dawson assured the group that the space will be available for their 2008 season and that he is willing to meet with them and the municipality to discuss the building’s future. The artists would like the small building deeded to their association or a municipal agency since it no longer fulfils the standards for a school.
“The disposition of this building is not done overnight. Council needs to vote on it and we need cooperation from [co-owners] the Hauts-des-Bois School Board,” Mr Dawson said, adding that the building was put up for sale in order to discover its “real world market value”.
Dale Shutt, the president of the Pontiac Artists Association, described the success of the Pontiac Artists Tour and the School of the Arts, as well as courses held in conjunction with Heritage College. Noting that both the municipality and the school board encourage the group to use the school, she said, “Two years ago, we reached a lease agreement with you and we were told the building committee approved the deal in March of 2007. But, since then, we’ve heard nothing.”
Ms. Shutt noted that the board’s bylaws permit it to offer one of its assets to a qualified group for a nominal fee, and added, “We’re a qualifying non-profit group run by volunteers.” She added, “We receive support and encouragement from the CEDEC, the CLD, from our MNA Charlotte L’Ecuyer, as well as from residents and businesses in the area. The community and government agencies have shown us that they want us to continue.”
After providing a history of the building, which was built in 1855, Ben Kuhn, the Pontiac CLD’s cultural agent, added that the Pontiac Artists Association receives support from the provincial government, the MRC and the NCC.
Artist Nancy Dagenais-Elliott spoke of the economic benefits to the region from the arts. “Pontiac is in a bad economic situation. Forestry is failing, farming is failing. But the work done by the Pontiac Artists Association prompts tourism and generates revenue. People come to the artists’ tour, they see the building and the beauty of the area, and they come back and spend money.” Noting that the Pontiac has one of the highest per capita concentrations of artists in Canada, she added, “We need to look at the big picture. Arts are the future. Tourism is our future.”
Marché Frais closes
A few customers read announcing the closing of Aylmer’s Marché Frais, January 6. The closure comes two years after reopening at its new location following the Glenwood Plaza fire. Twenty employees lost their jobs. Marché Frais began in 1991 and grew to ten stores, with four in Quebec. Two years ago, the chain closed four Ottawa stores in order to avoid bankruptcy. Two stores remain in Gatineau sector. The company, which did not advertise in Aylmer media, has said that the Aylmer store attracted too few customers.
City’s Olympic plans open debate on volunteer coaches
Julie Murray
Gatineau’s hosting of the 2010 Quebec Games, an athletic event for young people, will be an ideal occasion to motivate the city’s young people to participate in sports, says Councillor Alain Pilon, as well as to assess the need for sports infrastructure in the city. When the city reviews its needs, Mr Pilon wants equal access to sports for all Gatineau children. He says, “Transpor-tation and money should not be obstacles preventing children from less well-off families from practicing their sport. We must find ways of improving the access to our infrastructures for such children.”
Mr Pilon notes that more than just infrastructure is required. “Each young person needs the encouragement of his parents and proper training by a coach. If these two important elements are missing, you can build all the tennis and basketball courts, and all the soccer fields, in the world and there won’t be any effect on training.”
Down on volunteer coaches
However parents should generally not encourage their children by acting as the coach of a minor hockey team, says Benoit Groulx, the Gatineau Olympiques’ trainer. “The father of a family with no training who becomes the coach of his son’s hockey team, that’s worth nothing,” he told the media. “Volunteer coaches who work in minor hockey have a lot of good intentions, but unfortunately, just because they played hockey in their youth, that doesn’t mean they can adequately teach it as an adult.”
Noting that anyone can coach in Quebec, Mr Giroux adds, “Often, a volunteer may be very dedicated but have no idea what they’re doing. This can have a very negative impact on the young person’s motivation.”
Coaches: paid, trained
He argues for provincial funding of coaches. “Yes, we’re talking about an astronomical amount of money, but for the future of hockey, it’s important to train our young people well. In Europe, coaches at all levels are paid for what they accomplish. Here, the problem is, we ask people with no training at all to train kids. It’s like asking someone who doesn’t know how to count to teach mathematics.”
Councillor Pilon agrees that proper training in basic techniques is a must. “If the young person doesn’t see an evolution in his skills, he will get discouraged very quickly. We’ve got to teach basic techniques in the sport he’s chosen and then give him the time to develop his skills under proper supervision.”
Mr Giroux says coaches should receive serious training in these basic techniques as well as in the psychology of the sport and in how to communicate with young people. “This doesn’t get done in a weekend.” He adds, “People often say a good coach is one who wins games. That’s ridiculous. A good coach is someone who is capable of communicating and teaching what he knows and who is able to develop the skills of each of his players.”
“Competitive” is for older kids
Councillor Luc Angers adds that making sports competitive at too early an age can be harmful. He notes, “I agree that we need to develop elite players, but do we need to do this at seven or eight years old? I don’t think so. We should put off the division between competitive and recreational sports until the beginning of secondary school. That’s a good time because the young person will have a larger selection of sports to practice. If he’s not good in one, he can choose something else.”
Councillor Pilon agrees. “Young people, especially those who play individual sports, shouldn’t be put in a competitive situation before 13, 14 or 15 years old. To do otherwise can isolate the young person because he’s got to spend a lot of time with his coach to perfect his skills, and the practice of the sport becomes a burden and not a pleasure.”
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