Daniel Journeaux says his decision to run for mayor of East Hawkesbury was not part of his original plan. The semi-retired rockfall specialist said he initially hoped to find someone younger who could take on the position and carry forward an infrastructure plan he had been developing for the municipality.
“My goal was to find someone younger than myself who could do three or four terms,” Journeaux said. “I was working on an infrastructure plan for East Hawkesbury, and I was hoping to find someone who could run with it and implement the plan.”
He said his professional career involved projects in different parts of the world, with most of his work taking place across North America.
Infrastructure is at the centre of his campaign, with natural gas, water quality, and the municipality’s infrastructure network among his priorities for the next four years.
He has already been in communication with Enbridge, which he said was conducting a three-month study into the possibility of bringing natural gas into the area. Journeaux said the study was entering its second month.
Journeaux acknowledged that extending natural gas service to every resident within four years would likely be unrealistic. Instead, he would like to see Enbridge commit to building a line and start construction as part of a longer-term plan to eventually serve most, if not all, residents. He said natural gas could also make East Hawkesbury more attractive to prospective residents and businesses.
The second issue Journeaux identified is water quality, particularly in St-Eugène.
Journeaux said many residents in the village do not have good-quality water, with some wells producing a strong sulphur smell. As a result, many residents purchase drinking water.
While developing his infrastructure plan, Journeaux began looking into a community water system. He said East Hawkesbury sits over one of the largest aquifers in Ontario and that studies have already examined the quality and quantity of its water in surrounding areas.
He said more specific work is needed in potential “hotspots,” with the first step being a study to determine whether the aquifer could provide clean drinking water to St-Eugène.
Journeaux also raised the possibility of using mobile water-filtration units for final treatment. He said companies in Ontario rent such equipment, although he has not yet completed a cost analysis.
The third issue is East Hawkesbury’s overall infrastructure.
Journeaux pointed to the municipality’s large geographic area and relatively small population as a challenge to maintaining roads, bridges, culverts, and other infrastructure. He said East Hawkesbury has one of the largest land bases in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) but the smallest population.
Journeaux wants to pursue government grants for infrastructure repairs and maintenance, while also seeking funding for new infrastructure that could encourage residential and commercial development.
A larger tax base, he said, would give the municipality more resources to maintain and improve its infrastructure.
In Ste-Anne-de-Prescott, Journeaux said he is particularly concerned about the stormwater system along the main road. He said water appears to be moving around pipes and creating gaps and holes beneath the pavement.
Journeaux’s concern is that an underlying void could be hidden by asphalt and give way if someone stepped on it.
“That’s a serious problem,” he said, adding that some infrastructure issues need to be addressed quickly.
Journeaux also wants to see the second phase of the stormwater project in St-Eugène completed. He said the first phase has been completed, but funding was not available for the second phase.
Unlike larger communities, East Hawkesbury has many properties that depend on wells and septic systems. Journeaux said drilling a new well can cost between $10,000 and $25,000, without any guarantee of the quality or quantity of water that will be found. That uncertainty, combined with the lack of natural gas service, can make the municipality less attractive to people considering building or moving into the area.
“If we can crack those problems and create a better atmosphere for drawing in people and commercial businesses, then they will come,” he said.
On agriculture, he said the municipality needs to strengthen its negotiating position regarding the Alto high-speed rail project and reduce the project’s impact on local farmers. He acknowledged that the project presents a significant challenge because it involves the federal government.
Communication and transparency are also a major part of his platform.
Journeaux said residents who follow municipal council meetings can sometimes hear councillors approve numbered resolutions without a clear explanation of what they are voting on. He wants resolutions written in clear, concise language explaining what is being voted on and why, so residents have a better opportunity to understand the decisions and have their say.
He also wants to improve the municipality’s audio and video equipment and explore automatic translation technology for council meetings. Under his proposal, English speech could automatically be translated into French on screen, and vice versa, which would help residents who speak one official language but not the other follow municipal business.
Journeaux would also like to introduce additional community meetings, subject to support from council. He proposed holding at least one meeting a month at community centres across the municipality, rotating between locations. The meetings would provide residents with an opportunity to raise concerns directly and allow council to hear what issues matter most in different parts of the municipality.
“Unless you’re listening to the community itself, you’re never going to know what their true needs are,” Journeaux said.
Journeaux said he has not yet studied the Alto project enough to take a definitive position. He recently met with Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, an acclaimed East Hawkesbury councillor who has been actively engaged with Alto, and plans to attend an upcoming meeting concerning the project in Rigaud, Québec.
While he recognizes that there are residents strongly opposed to Alto, Journeaux said he does not want to assume the entire community shares that position.
“I just want to make sure that I understand what the community wants before taking a position on that,” he said.
Journeaux said his campaign is focused on addressing what he considers the municipality’s most pressing issues rather than promising to change everything at once.
“I think we’ve got to start with the major issues first and then work our way from there to make other things better,” he said.
