Champlain councillor Normand Riopel is running for mayor of the township. He says there are several reasons that he thinks this is the right time for him to become mayor.

One reason is that he says he listened to talk about politics even as a small child. “My grandmother and my mother especially would talk about politics. It was mostly federal or provincial, but it was a big part of my upbringing.”

Then, at age 15, he began working part-time during his summer holidays with the municipality’s (the Township of Longueuil) road superintendent, Denis Séguin.

“I was trimming branches and putting cold asphalt on the side roads.  That was the start of my involvement in my community and the township.”

The following summer, the township hired Riopel full-time for an eight-week summer student placement.

At age 24, Riopel was hired by the Township of Longueuil as the new roads superintendent. It was a part-time position and he oversaw the township’s roads and drainage. During his three years on the job, Riopel says he began to see things differently, taking note of strengths and weaknesses in the municipality.

“In 1991, I ran for councillor and began my political career. For the next eight years, I was involved in decision-making for the Township of Longueuil. In 1998, municipal mergers happened and I have been a councillor at the Champlain Township council table ever since,” he says. It all adds up to a total of 28 years in local politics, Riopel adds.

His experience on council and his long involvement with the evolution of change in municipal management and operation should serve him well if he is elected mayor, according to Riopel.

He has also taken a big step recently to free up time to do the job.

“I have sold my business in order to be 100 per cent dedicated to this job. I do not take it lightly. I am applying for the highest position in our community to further serve it says Riopel. For the past 28 years, Riopel has operated his own business, selling hardware and doing sales of products to a variety of customers. About 85 per cent of his business was related to agriculture. When asked exactly what he sold, he said he sold an assortment of fasteners, belts, tools, welding supplies and steel structures.

Now, his son in-law, in partnership with a friend, purchased the business.

At age 55, Riopel says he is full of energy and ready for new responsibilities.

The L’Orignal native is the fourth generation of Riopels, who settled here in 1884 when the L’Orignal area was called “L’Ange-Gardien”. His family has been on the same farm since then and in fact, Riopel hopes to do some farming himself with some of his free time now that his business has been sold.

Riopel has been married to Frances Beks since 1985 and has two children– a married daughter and a son, and has two grandsons.

Riopel outlines his main campaign points, having spent much time focusing on municipal priorities.

He says that the municipality’s infrastructure: its buildings and roads and water and sewage systems, are the core of the municipality.

He mentioned the work underway, referring to improvements to the Vankleek Hill lagoon system but said that the L’Orignal storm sewers need to be addressed.

A long-term plan is needed, he said, to deal with the costly infrastructure work (roads, municipal garage improvements, etc.) that need to be done.

“We need a plan that is achievable. We need to analyze priorities. Especially for the roads – they are the most costly item on our long-term list.

As grants become more difficult to obtain, Riopel says that community involvement and commitment will be a big part of how the township moves forward. Some goals may be challenging, he says, but there are always opportunities to meet challenging goals.

Riopel is in favour of the proposed community centre for L’Orignal. It will not initially pay for itself, says Riopel but some thought will be given as to its development. It does not have to be a building with an exorbitant cost.  Riopel says a new community hall could be located in the municipal park, near the campground; the hall could be a facility to enhance community events and could be a part of more waterfront-based activities to take advantage of the beach and park in L’Orignal. He acknowledged that the Knights of Columbus are prepared to make a significant donation towards the cost of a new building.

Health and safety, the offering of services at all levels of the township, working on solving the water issue at Highway 17 where it borders Hawkesbury and Champlain Township and working with citizens are all part of Riopel’s plan if he is elected mayor.

Riopel says he will continue striving to keep taxes as low as possible. The biggest issue facing municipalities these days is the amount of responsibilities being loaded onto municipal governments, which have no additional revenue sources. One example of this is the recent provincial legislation which requires additional certification for firefighters.

Other big responsibilities for the township include management of the water and sewage systems but for this, as for many other items, councillors have to rely on information from experts and have to make sure that the experts and managers, as in the case of the Ontario Clean Water Agency, which manages the township’s water and sewage treatment systems, are competent.

When it comes to the proposed cement plant, Riopel has had to step away from the council table because of a conflict of interest. He owns land which is adjacent land to the proposed plant location.

Riopel says citizens are welcome to contact him either by phone at home at 613-679-1239 or at 613-223-3092 (cellular phone) or by e-mail at [email protected].