Clarence-Rockland mourn passing of late Mayor Guy Desjardins

Thursday July 8th, the Municipality of Clarence-Rockland came together to pay their respects to their late mayor, Mr Guy Desjardins who died from a long-term illness on Saturday.

A somber gathering of local and regional political representatives, as well as first responders and city workers stood in silence outside of the Town Hall as beloved Mayor Guy Desjardins departed the City of Clarence-Rockland for the last time on Thursday morning. 

The procession made their way down Laurier Street, as onlookers bowed their heads in a final salute, before heading to Clarence Creek ahead of the funeral service, attended by close friends and family in St-Pascal. 

Broadcasted live through the City’s social media channels, Mayor Desjardins’ son, Jason Desjardins, and Clarence-Rockland CEO Helen Collier spoke of both his professional achievements and the man behind the title. 

Mayor Desjardins, who spoke last year of his battle with Stage 4 cancer, took a 3-month leave of absence three weeks ago but passed away last Saturday July 3rd. 

The video from the funeral service can be found on the City of Clarence-Rockland’s facebook page and clips from the procession are available on TVC22’s social media pages

The team at TVC22 give our sincere condolences to Mr Mayor’s family. May Guy rest in peace.

Leave of absence for Clarence-Rockland Mayor

The mayor of the City of Clarence-Rockland, Mr. Guy Desjardins, has taken a leave of absence due to health reasons starting Tuesday 22nd of June. 

During the City’s Municipal Council meeting on Monday June 21, Clarence-Rockland Councilors confirmed that Mr. Desjardins, who has been the local mayor since 2014, would be taking a 3-month leave of absence. 

The duties of Mayor Desjardins, who has previously spoken about being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer last year, will be undertaken by Councilor for Ward 7 (Hammond), Mr. Michel Levert.

Mr. Levert takes on the role of mayor pro tempore, also known as “pro-mayor”, until either Mr. Desjardins’ return or the Councilor for Hammond’s turn is over and Councilor Diane Choinière (Ward 8, Bourget) assumes the responsibilities.

The whole team at TVC22 wish the Mayor the best of health and a speedy recovery. 

Departure of TVC22 General Manager

TVC22 announces that as of today, Ms. Stéphanie Simard, General Manager of the Clarence-Rockland Community Television station, is stepping down as director of the organization to take new challenges as the Executive Director of Unique FM, a radio station in Ottawa which broadcasts a francophone community radio format on the frequency of 94.5 FM.

 

The position of general manager of TVC22 will be assumed on an interim basis by Mr. Patrick Pagé, who has a strong knowledge in the field of visual production. He was also a teacher in the field at the Cité collégiale. In addition, Patrick has been working in the vicinity of TVC22 for 5 years; he knows the community and its needs having worked as a volunteer in several organizations in the region. It is with dynamism and passion that Patrick undertakes his new role.

 

The Board of Directors and the employees wish to thank Ms. Simard for her great contribution to TVC22 over the past six years. She was able to restructure the station, professionally administer the coordination of multiple projects, increase the reputation of TVC22 in the community and its surrounding and competently represent the organization to other municipal and regional entities. We wish her the best in her new role.

 

Time to start focusing on second doses, says Dr. Paul

As the Eastern Ontario Health Unit expects to have vaccinated close to 75% of the eligible population by the end of the week, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis says it’s time to start administering second doses, but cautions against reducing restrictions too fast.

More to follow.

More vaccines available for school children in the EOHU

Further appointments, specifically for children aged 12 to 17 years old, have been made available by the EOHU during the week of June 14, 2021. 

Following the announcement made last month that a plan is in place for children between 12 and 17 years old to receive both doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 by the end of the summer, clinics offering the Pfizer vaccine will be made available through regular mass immunization clinics and select pharmacies within the region. 

The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine approved for use in children under the age of 18 and, to be eligible, children must have turned 12 years old by the day of their appointment. 

The decision to open vaccine eligibility to those under 18 years of age has created mixed feelings amongst the local community with a variety of opinions shared on a local Facebook community board.

Some were “grateful it is available”, but one parent commented that they are “definitely not getting any of my kids [vaccinated]” and another was swayed by the fact that it is an mRNA vaccine as “if it were a live virus, I might think twice”.

For more information on the available vaccines and how to book your appointment head to the Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s website

Speeding up dates for second doses

As of Monday 31st May at 8am further options were announced for those awaiting a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

If you were not given a date for your second appointment, you can book it online or by telephone at the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line (1-833-943-3900).

Residents 80 years old or older, who have a date for the second dose, now have the option to reschedule their 2nd dose and move it to an earlier date (depending on availability). 

This can be done either online, by the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line or, by contacting the pharmacy or primary care provider where they received their first dose (if applicable).

Anyone who received the AstraZeneca vaccine is eligible to receive a second dose 12 weeks from their first dose, however further options will soon be available following a panel’s recommendation to mix vaccines

Free Weekends scrapped in New Municipal Waste program

The City of Clarence-Rockland unveiled its new Municipal Waste program, replacing the “free dumping weekends” at the landfill in Bourget, with an annual program, starting June 1, 2021.

Local councillors approved the change to the municipal waste program in April 2021, after the City’s administration brought forward a report showing that the “free weekends” were creating a loss of revenue as well as causing safety concerns. 

The two major items are the retaining of the residential fall clean up, and that each Clarence-Rockland citizen that lives in a residential address will be allowed to throw out an cumulative weight of 140 kg (~308lbs) at no cost per year (from June to May).

To qualify for the program, residents must show a photo ID containing their address as well as being present at the time of dumping, meaning no-one can use the program for them. 

Residents will be allowed to dump their waste multiple times until they reach the weight limit. Once the limit has been reached, residents can continue to use the landfill but will be charged (for details head to the Clarence-Rockland website).

These changes will replace the bi-annual free weekend program that had served the city for the past several years. 

“I think this is worth trying, because the old one didn’t work,” said Mario Zanth, Councillor for Ward 2. 

Councilor Zanth went on to explain that the city had to find a safer way for citizens to dump their garbage. 

“[During the free weekends], over 1000 vehicles enter the dump which is not meant to operate with that much volume.

“We had people lined up all the way to the main street, it caused traffic headaches, and a lot of frustration.” 

In addition to safety problems, the free weekends resulted in an estimated $40,000-$100,000 in lost revenue every year. 

Ontariens frustrated as restrictions ease elsewhere in North America

As provinces across Canada, and states south of the border, edge towards fewer restrictions Ontario is limping behind, but it’s a question of “them going too early” rather “than not us not going fast enough” according to the Eastern Ontario’s top doctor.

From their respective front rooms and basements, sporting fans across the country have their gaze firmly cast on the NHL playoffs this week as no fans are allowed into the arenas to witness the all-Canadian confrontations.

Stark contrast to their American counterparts as the Nashville Predators were cheered on by over 12,000 people, with the capacity set to increase to close to 14,000 on Thursday evening or even British Columbia who recently announced that wearing masks in indoor public spaces could be optional by July 1.

“One of the things that adds to people’s distress,” said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, “is there are other areas in Canada and in the US that are opening up quicker than we are.”

With similar vaccination rates (Tennessee has vaccinated approximately 70% of the eligible population compared to 60% in Eastern Ontario) and cases per 100,000 people within the same range as the EOHU, Dr. Roumeliotis believes that other areas are loosening restrictions too soon.

“I think it’s a matter of them going too early rather than us not going fast enough,” he said. “We want this to be the last lockdown, that’s very important.

“If we open up too early and then have to retract that’ll be worse. We’re going in the right direction and we have some loose timelines, they’re not abstract, they’re there.”

With the Outaouais-region in West Quebec easing rules before Ontario, there are further worries that this will have a negative effect on those living on the border.

“We need to do a ‘go slow’ approach,” Dr. Roumeliotis said. “We’ve had more ICU admissions than they did.

“We are not at the stage to start opening up like they are. It’s just a matter of time, it’s a couple of weeks, we’re not talking years and we’re not talking indefinitely either.

“People need to be aware that our situation is a bit different than it is in Quebec, particularly with the ICU cases.”

Positive news for EOHU coming out of the long weekend

Although we will have to wait close to two weeks before seeing the effects the long weekend may have on the local COVID-19 numbers, Dr. Roumeliotis shared some positive news during the EOHU press conference on Tuesday 25, May.

“In our area, I’m very happy to report, on Victoria day we had 0 cases to report,” he said. “This is the first time in months this has happened.

“Over the weekend we went up 13 cases. If you recall in the past we have had weekends where we have had 100, 150.”

There are currently 63 active cases in the Prescott-Russell region of which 22 are in Clarence-Rockland.

With the EOHU set to reach the 100,000 doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 administered before the end of the week there is cause for optimism with the EOHU announcing that the Ministry booking system for second doses is coming soon.

 

Thomas Stockting- Journalist at TVC22