The drive for better public transportation in Argenteuil continues. 

On October 13, Municipalité régionale du comté (MRC) d’Argenteuil council adopted separate resolutions on bus and rail service. 

Council has called upon the Commission des Transports du Québec, which regulates inter-city bus transportation, to make Argenteuil a part of a future bus route between Montréal and Gatineau, and to ensure there are stops in Argenteuil.  

According to MRC Director-General Marc Carrière, many companies are interested in providing the service and the commission will ultimately select one of them. He said the MRC would like to have at least two bus stops, including one in Lachute, and possibly Grenville. 

The MRC council resolution was moved by St-André-d’Argenteuil Mayor Marc-Olivier Labelle and seconded by Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold. Seven of the MRC d’Argenteuil’s nine municipalities have already adopted similar resolutions. Brownsburg-Chatham and St-André-d’Argenteuil councils will have bus transportation resolutions on their agendas in November. 

The rail transportation resolution approved by MRC d’Argenteuil council asks the federal and Québec governments to consider the costs and benefits of reintroducing passenger rail service on the line between Montréal and Gatineau. The former CP Rail line is now part of the Québec-Gatineau Railway freight route and passenger service on the line ended in 1981. Since 2018, municipalities in the Laurentides and Outaouais regions have been attempting to have rail service return to the line to benefit commuters and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles on highways. 

At their final meeting on October 13 before the November 7 municipal election, members of the 2017 to 2021 MRC d’Argenteuil council gathered for a photo wearing sweaters showcasing the new Inspirer Respirer Argenteuil promotional campaign for the region. From left to right, back row is: Grenville Mayor Pierre Thauvette, MRC d’Argenteuil Deputy Prefect and Lachute Mayor Carl Péloquin, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold, Mille-Isles Mayor Howard Sauvé, Harrington Mayor Jacques Parent, and Wentworth Mayor Jason Morrison. Front row: St-André-d’Argenteuil Mayor Marc-Olivier Labelle, Brownsburg-Chatham Mayor Catherine Trickey, MRC d’Argenteuil Prefect and Gore Mayor Scott Pearce, and Gore Representative, Councillor Alain Giroux. Photo: James Morgan