Working with citizens at the heart of council question period

Taylor Clark

Citizen engagement was at the forefront of many Gatineau residents’ minds during the question period at municipal council on April 16.

Having observed previous council meetings, 20-year-old university student Brandon Ly told council he noticed a lack of citizen participation in municipal politics. “It is a problem because, at the end of the day, it’s municipal politics that affects us the most in our lives,” said Ly.

With the mayoral by-election looming, Ly questioned all the council members on what they would do to improve civic engagement as it continued to dwindle with every municipal election.

Over 20 years ago, Gatineau experienced a 53.8 per cent voter turnout in its 2001 municipal election while its 2021 election saw participation drop to 35.1 per cent.

Municipal council president, Steven Boivin, thanked Ly for his question and invited him to share it via email to allow all members to respond individually.

For Daniel Cayley-Daoust, president of the Association des Résidants de l’Île de Hull, citizens’ involvement was at the heart of issues with the Îlot de la Caserne project and what he referred to as “the erosion of tenants’ rights on l’Île de Hull.”

“A large part of this whole situation is caused by the lack of responsibility on the part of the City in a context where tenants are not aware of their rights, which opens the door to abuse,” said Cayley-Daoust. To correct the situation, he suggested Gatineau immediately modify its demolition regulations, particularly the aspect of consulting with the community. “The City must bring back the mandatory notice signed by tenants prior to the demolition request, a notice that covers and communicates all of the tenants’ rights.” Cayley-Daoust stressed the responsibility Gatineau must take to protect and support tenants against these types of abuses and other situations like renovations or rent increases. “You have the power to protect your citizens who are mistreated, who find themselves in precarious situations, and you must take action,” he said.

Hull-Wright district councillor Steve Moran agreed with Cayley-Daoust, stating Gatineau disarmed itself when it came to supporting tenants in such situations. “In 2021, and I affirm this without any hesitation, we made a mistake,” said Moran. “It was our first municipal council for the new ones who had been elected, where we adopted a new bylaw, which was quite big, without having had a presentation from the administration.”

Moran said the City’s demolition request policy was in the process of being reviewed and he would continue to work on the issue. “We must indeed bring back this measure, which required landowners to demonstrate that they respected the rights of tenants in the Ville de Gatineau.… The City has a responsibility to defend the most vulnerable, and we will do so vigorously.”

Photo caption: Association des Résidants de l’Île de Hull president Daniel Cayley-Daoust encourages Gatineau to modify its demolition request policy to require the involvement of affected citizens, as was the case before the policy was modified in 2021.

Photo credit: Screenshot from Séance du conseil municipal du 16 avril 2024