Rumours continue to circulate on social media that the Town of Hawkesbury is planning to sell the municipally owned electrical utility, Hydro Hawkesbury.

“Like I mentioned last year in the newspapers, Hydro Hawkesbury has not been sold,” was Mayor Robert Lefebvre’s response a delegation from citizen Gilles Roch Greffe at the Monday, February 9 council meeting.

In early December 2025, Lefebvre had also said if Hydro Hawkesbury was to be sold that any sale of municipal assets must be approved by council in a public session.

Roch Greffe expressed objection to any rumoured sale of the utility.

“It’s our collective future,” he said.

Roch Greffe continued by saying how Hydro Hawkesbury pays a dividend each year to the town which helps pay for other public services. He said whenever there is a power outage currently, there is rapid intervention to repair the problem. He also believes that a change in ownership will result in higher rates for customers.

“Hydro Hawkesbury is an instrument of local sovereignty,” Roch Greffe remarked.

As a municipally owned utility, it is governed by a board appointed by council, which includes councillors as members. Councillors Raymond Campbell, Yves Paquette, and André Chamaillard are Hydro Hawkesbury board members.  

Roch Greffe said any sale of Hydro Hawkesbury would be a renunciation of local pride and described his appearance before council as an appeal to reason.

Following the presentation, Lefebvre said Roch Greffe’s comments were truly appreciated. It was then that Roch Greffe requested to ask one question and Lefebvre granted his permission.

“Does council intend to sell Hydro Hawkesbury?” Roch Greffe asked.

It was then that Lefebvre replied that any discussion of a potential sale must be held during a closed session of council due to legal requirements for confidentiality under the law and that as he said in late 2025, that the utility had not been sold. Lefebvre added that any discussions and decisions would be made with full transparency.

Roch Greffe then said, he was asking in the interest of transparency, which councillors are in support of selling the utility.

Lefebvre again referred to his previous answer about confidentiality and abiding by the law.

Hydro Hawkesbury does not employ its own line maintenance or forestry crews. Instead, the utility uses private contractors for those activities while maintaining a small administrative staff at its office at the corner of Tupper and Tessier streets.