Serge Ravary believes his variety of career experiences and past community service are why voters in Champlain Township should vote for him to be their next mayor on October 26.

Born and raised on a dairy farm, Ravary began his teaching career at Collège d’Alfred before becoming co-owner of a dairy farm and a purebred cattle herd. This experience led him to develop business relationships in the 1990s in Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Belgium and China, involving the trade of cattle genetics.

Since 2000, Ravary has been the owner of RavCon, a construction company that has specialized in civil engineering work over the years. In addition, he also owns a purebred Red Angus cattle farm.

In addition to his professional career, Ravary has been involved for more than 35 years in the volunteer organization of sports activities, leagues and softball and hockey tournaments in L’Orignal and Hawkesbury.

“My career has taught me how to manage projects, how to work with people from different backgrounds, how to find solutions and, above all, how to make decisions. I now want to put this experience at the service of all the citizens of Champlain,” Ravary said.

New policies, connecting with citizens

Ravary wants to bring a new way of doing things within the municipal council.

“I think it’s time to set aside some of the ways of doing things that belong to the past and to adopt a more modern, collaborative, and results-oriented approach. Municipal policy must, above all, serve the citizens,” he said.

Ravary wants to provide leadership that improves citizen’s quality of life, through recreation, drives economic and demographic growth, and fosters a sense of community

Among the proposals, Ravary is committed to implementing a 911 address system for farm field entrances, also known as the Emily Project. 

Ravary assures farmers he is opposed to the proposed Alto high-speed rail project and will unconditionally defend their interests. He would also like to see better representation of the agricultural community on council, improved maintenance of rural roads and ditches, as well as specialized training for firefighters called upon to intervene in agricultural buildings. Ravary also proposes to improve Champlain’s water rescue capacity with the acquisition of a lifeboat.

Ravary also believes it essential to work more with police services to better control speeding in our communities.

Community spirit

Ravary wants to draw inspiration from the community vitality of Vankleek Hill and create a something similar in L’Orignal.

“I want L’Orignal to rediscover the community spirit I knew when I was younger. We have extraordinary citizens, families, volunteers and people who want to get involved. We need to give them the means and the space to do so.” »

Ravary proposes the creation of a citizen recreation committee and the establishment of a committee dedicated to recreational infrastructure, in order to identify sources of funding and make investments without putting all the burden on taxpayers.

Attracting new families and diversifying income

Ravary believes that Champlain must be proactive to attract new residents and diversify the tax base.

He noted that due to the challenging relationship between Canada and the United States, there should be alternative sources of property tax revenue if existing large industries were to close.

Ravary proposes a campaign to promote Champlain aimed at families in the region, particularly those in western Quebec who are looking to settle in a community offering quality of life, services and proximity.

Working with neighbours

For Ravary, the future of Champlain also depends on increased collaboration with neighbouring municipalities.

“Municipalities in our region face many of the same challenges. Why not look together for solutions that would allow us to share resources, reduce costs and improve our services?”

Ravary would like to further explore intermunicipal partnerships with adjacent municipalities, particularly in the areas of fire services, recreation and economic development.  

One example is the ongoing negotiations with the Town of Hawkesbury involving industrial land near Highway 17 and Tupper Street.

“This case involves potential millions of dollars in municipal taxes for both municipalities, and I want to ensure that Champlain has the right stakeholders in place to defend our interests.’’

Ravary acknowledges that he does not have elective political experience but considers his professional and community background to be an asset.

“I have always been committed to our community and by the desire to make a difference. Today, I want to use my experience in the field, my knowledge of our community and, above all, my determination to do things differently: listen, bring people together and take action,” Ravary said.