General Update/Rumour Thread [Gatineau]

[harls]

The new project at Amérique-Française/Plateau has a name - Vill Apartments.

https://villappartements.com/

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by harls

The new project at Amérique-Française/Plateau has a name - Vill Apartments.

https://villappartements.com/

Pretty decent. Parking garage in the middle with roof top amenities is the way to go, as opposed to a massive surface parking.

[J.OT13]

Same purpose as the Downtown General Update/Rumour for Ottawa, but Gatineau specific potential projects.

[J.OT13]

Another example of the Province of Quebec (through Hydro-Quebec) giving Gatineau the cold shoulder.

Projet de centre de données à Gatineau : le courant ne passe pas avec Hydro-Québec

Nelly Albérola, Radio-Canada
Publié le 17 juin à 6 h 32 HAE

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2172739/centre-donne-electricite-hydro-quebec-gatineau

[J.OT13]

Une pétition pour défusionner Buckingham et Masson-Angers
Par Mathieu Bélanger, Le Droit
17 juin 2025 à 17h52

Le sentiment d’être «oubliés» habite bien des gens dans l’est de Gatineau, plus de 20 ans après la fusion municipale. Excédé de voir son secteur être régulièrement relégué au bas des priorités de la «grande ville», dit-il, un citoyen de Masson-Angers, Christian Schingh-Laniel, vient de lancer une pétition pour regrouper L’Ange-Gardien, Masson-Angers et Buckingham en une nouvelle municipalité.

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/actua...asson-angers-OOENBKRXZBFJ3JXELMLOVDFEVE/

[harls]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Une pétition pour défusionner Buckingham et Masson-Angers
Par Mathieu Bélanger, Le Droit
17 juin 2025 à 17h52

Le sentiment d’être «oubliés» habite bien des gens dans l’est de Gatineau, plus de 20 ans après la fusion municipale. Excédé de voir son secteur être régulièrement relégué au bas des priorités de la «grande ville», dit-il, un citoyen de Masson-Angers, Christian Schingh-Laniel, vient de lancer une pétition pour regrouper L’Ange-Gardien, Masson-Angers et Buckingham en une nouvelle municipalité.

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/actua...asson-angers-OOENBKRXZBFJ3JXELMLOVDFEVE/

This worked in Montreal, but I am afraid there are too many apathetic voters in the 'ville de Gatineau' to make this happen.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by harls

This worked in Montreal, but I am afraid there are too many apathetic voters in the 'ville de Gatineau' to make this happen.

And in Montreal, it's a weird patchwork of municipalities. Separating Buckingham, Ange-Gardien and Masson-Anger would be a clean break.

Rural Ottawa should be pushing for the same. Hell, urban Ottawa should push out rural Ottawa.

[Kelnoz]

Originally Posted by harls

This worked in Montreal, but I am afraid there are too many apathetic voters in the 'ville de Gatineau' to make this happen.

You don't have to guess, the 2004 referendums were province-wide. Aylmer, Hull, Masson and Buck all got enough signatures to hold a vote, but none reached the threshold of 35% turnout for the vote to be valid.

Aylmer and Masson both voted to leave Gatineau, and Masson was only .2% under the threshold!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Kelnoz

You don't have to guess, the 2004 referendums were province-wide. Aylmer, Hull, Masson and Buck all got enough signatures to hold a vote, but none reached the threshold of 35% turnout for the vote to be valid.

Aylmer and Masson both voted to leave Gatineau, and Masson was only .2% under the threshold!

Did Quebec sovereignty referendums have voter turnout thresholds? Probably not.

I think this whole city amalgamation experiment failed and it's time to revisit. Aylmer, Hull and old Gatineau faired pretty well, but the municipalities east should form their own jurisdiction. And again, same with rural Ottawa; form your own or fuse with the rural municipalities next door. Ottawa would be in a far better financial situation without the rural areas, and same with Gatineau if the shed the lower density eastern suburbs.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Did Quebec sovereignty referendums have voter turnout thresholds? Probably not.

I think this whole city amalgamation experiment failed and it's time to revisit. Aylmer, Hull and old Gatineau faired pretty well, but the municipalities east should form their own jurisdiction. And again, same with rural Ottawa; form your own or fuse with the rural municipalities next door. Ottawa would be in a far better financial situation without the rural areas, and same with Gatineau if the shed the lower density eastern suburbs.

The lower density suburbs might cost more but part of the point of amalgamation at least in Ontario is the downloading of a lot of social services. Without amalgamation we could see cities set up lower tax rates to attract growth stealing residents from Ottawa.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The lower density suburbs might cost more but part of the point of amalgamation at least in Ontario is the downloading of a lot of social services. Without amalgamation we could see cities set up lower tax rates to attract growth stealing residents from Ottawa.

I'd keep the suburban areas, Kanata, Barrhaven, Riverside South and Orleans, along with enough space for future growth within the Ottawa boundary.

If the rural areas main complaint is that Ottawa doesn't understand their needs, they'd do better to limit growth. In any case, I'm not sure how much you could grow those villages that are missing key infrastructure like municipal water and/or sewers.

Gatineau could have more competition from Masson-Anger/Buckingham, but ultimately, the potential cities offer very different lifestyles.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Did Quebec sovereignty referendums have voter turnout thresholds? Probably not.

Nothing at the time, but since then the Clarity Act requires that the vote constitute a "clear majority" of voters, so that probably means something along the lines of a majority of the population, not just those who voted.

I still think a borough system is the answer for the urban area (of which I would consider Masson-Angers a part). The purely rural portions of cities are a different story entirely.

[Kelnoz]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Did Quebec sovereignty referendums have voter turnout thresholds? Probably not.

What does this have to do with anything? Could we maybe not bring up the referendums at every opportunity in totally unrelated discussions?

For the record, the municipal referendums were called for and designed by the Québec Liberal Party, which had nothing to do with either of the sovereignty referendums. They (very accurately) predicted that most people wouldn't care, so a minimum voter threshold was put in place.

Do you really think that a small loud minority should decide the result for everyone? By the way, both referendums had over 80% turnout, while only a handful of municipal referendums got over 50% (mainly in small, rich cities). Some cities voted to leave on a sub 20% turnout, should we really humour the 10% of the electorate that wants it a specific way?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

Nothing at the time, but since then the Clarity Act requires that the vote constitute a "clear majority" of voters, so that probably means something along the lines of a majority of the population, not just those who voted.

I still think a borough system is the answer for the urban area (of which I would consider Masson-Angers a part). The purely rural portions of cities are a different story entirely.

Tbh, I still don't know how the borough system works. Voter apathy is already quite high without adding the complications of the borough system. It adds a lot of municipal politicians and office budgets, along with fracturing municipal services and planning. Montreal might have an over abundance of boroughs while Gatineau would have maybe 4 to 6, so not quite as bad.

Originally Posted by Kelnoz

What does this have to do with anything? Could we maybe not bring up the referendums at every opportunity in totally unrelated discussions?

For the record, the municipal referendums were called for and designed by the Québec Liberal Party, which had nothing to do with either of the sovereignty referendums. They (very accurately) predicted that most people wouldn't care, so a minimum voter threshold was put in place.

Do you really think that a small loud minority should decide the result for everyone? By the way, both referendums had over 80% turnout, while only a handful of municipal referendums got over 50% (mainly in small, rich cities). Some cities voted to leave on a sub 20% turnout, should we really humour the 10% of the electorate that wants it a specific way?

To be honest, I didn't realize it took that long before the referendums to separate the amalgamated municipalities, but I guess it makes sense it was the next Government. But yes, I'm glad that the Clarity act phil235 mentioned would require a clear majority (majority of the electorate) for something as important as breaking up the country.

As for those municipal break-ups, I don't know what rules should be put in place. Maybe it should be a majority of the electorate. Or maybe we shouldn't assume that those who didn't vote would have voted "no". Voter turnout is a problem overall. Doug Ford won total control of the Ontario Government with less than 20% of the electorate's support.

[harls]

Some backhoeing next to Agora today. This lot has been razed for at least 5 years. I think there is supposed to be a 12 storey building here.

[harls]

Fences and barriers are now up at the corner of Plateau/Vanier, along with some equipment.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by harls

Fences and barriers are now up at the corner of Plateau/Vanier, along with some equipment.

Intersection improvements? Hopefully?

[harls]

Originally Posted by Horus

Intersection improvements? Hopefully?

Right now Plateau eastbound is down to one lane for that block. They put concrete barriers right out onto the road.

At least they paved the rollercoaster ride in front of Agora, finally

Lucerne is supposed to be fixed this summer too (entre Vanier and Frank Robinson). FINALEMENT.

[J.OT13]

I thought we had a thread for this one, but can't find it.

Native Women's Association of Canada sells off assets, promises transpare

NWAC says it's co-operating with a federal audit while conducting its own internal review

Brett Forester · CBC News · Posted: Jul 15, 2025



==SNIP==

Headquarters for sale for $8M

CBC Indigenous asked NWAC for an interview on Monday, after reviewing Quebec property records for the organization's real estate holdings. NWAC's statement said it will not be giving interviews, and provided no details about the alleged financial irregularities.

NWAC bought the property in 2018, obtaining a mortgage for $1.8 million, records show. The organization got another mortgage in 2020 for $5.9 million, and the records show NWAC got another mortgage worth $7.5 million in 2022, right around the peak of the pandemic-era real estate boom.

A lawyer who reviewed the deeds said this is not unusual, as each new loan likely paid off the remaining balance of the previous one, and the cash may have been used to finance construction or the property may have been used as collateral to pay for other ventures.

"Some real estate, especially in the area that they were investing in, was not — how can we say — very up to date," said Nicolas Vinette, a Gatineau-based lawyer with Duclos société d'avocats.

The organization now finds itself trying to sell a multimillion-dollar investment in an area surrounded mainly by federal buildings, he said, which was hit hard by the onset of remote work during the pandemic, and which is now sought after more for residential rather than commercial real estate.

"For commercial purposes, it's not the easiest market," Vinette said.

But there is still an opportunity to succeed with the investment, he added.

"It'll just be a question of: Is somebody willing to pay that amount of money for this building?"

NWAC's pivot to real estate development was part of a plan to give itself more freedom by generating own-source revenue, a move some critics branded as elitist and disconnected.

NWAC's routine audit for 2023 indicates the organization had two mortgages that year, one worth $5.8 million paid in monthly installments of about $37,000. The other mortgage was worth about $610,000.

NWAC also owns a property, its resiliency lodge, in Chelsea, Que., about 15 kilometres north of Ottawa, which is also for sale. Public records show NWAC bought the property in 2019 for $880,000, with an associated mortgage of $850,000.

In its statement, NWAC said the proceeds from the sale of its assets will be re-invested in advocacy for Indigenous women's social, economic, cultural and political wellbeing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/nwac-sells-gatineau-headquarters-1.7585761

[zzptichka]

Didn't they just build this HQ a couple of years ago?