Some recent social media posts allege that Hydro Hawkesbury could possibly be sold. The electrical utility is owned by the Town of Hawkesbury and serves all electrical customers within town limits. Hydro Hawkesbury receives its supply of electricity from Hydro One transmission lines.
Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Lefebvre said that any sale of municipal assets must be approved by council in public session.
“If it was so, it would have come to council,” Lefebvre said.
The mayor also emphasized that any negotiations involving the sale of municipal assets or property must be negotiated in closed session, which is required by law under the Municipal Act of Ontario.
“We have to follow the process,” Lefebvre said.
He assured all required transparency would be followed if any sale of municipal assets was being considered, and that the decision would ultimately be made by council in a public session, which is also required by laws.
“Anything has to go through council,” emphasized Lefebvre.
The mayor said he could not confirm or deny any rumours about the future of Hydro Hawkesbury.
Hydro Hawkesbury was established in 1954 as the Hawkesbury Hydro-Electric Commission and governed by a commission elected by citizens. Before that time, the electrical system in Hawkesbury was owned and operated by the Gatineau Power Company, which was a division of Canadian International Paper (CIP). Gatineau Power was nationalized by Hydro-Québec in the 1960s. Since changes to electricity governance in Ontario in the 1990s, the Hydro Hawkesbury commission has been appointed by council. The members of the commission are a combination of councillors and appointed citizens. Councillors Raymond Campbell, Yves Paquette, and André Chamaillard are currently hydro commission members.
Hydro Hawkesbury does not employ its own line maintenance or forestry crews. Instead, the utility uses private contractors for all of those activities.
