Ce mercredi 1er décembre 2025, à 19 h, à la salle Lucien-Vachon de l’église Sainte-Élisabeth de North Hatley, le conseil municipal se penchera, au point 10.1 de l’ordre du jour, sur la proposition d’entente intermunicipale de loisirs entre le Canton de Hatley et North Hatley.
On Wednesday, December 1, 2025, at 7 p.m., in the Lucien-Vachon Hall of St. Elizabeth’s Church in North Hatley, the municipal council will consider, under item 10.1 of the agenda, the proposed intermunicipal recreation agreement between the Township of Hatley and North Hatley.
Reasons for termination of the agreement by the Township of Hatley
It should be noted that the Canton of Hatley terminated this agreement last spring. You can consult the reasons given by the Township of Hatley in this matter. In his press release, Mayor Vincent Fontaine stated that North Hatley had sent invoices to the Township for amounts that had more than doubled, without supporting documentation, despite multiple requests for explanations that went unanswered. This situation led to the breakdown of negotiations and the termination of the collaboration.
North Hatley’s response to the refusal
For its part, the municipality of North Hatley partly attributes the increase in costs to higher lifeguard salaries since the COVID pandemic, noting that 391 residents of Hatley Township enjoyed free access to the beach. Ms. Gerrish also indicated at the council meeting that lifeguard salaries for the 2024 season now amounted to $68,000.
No agreement since spring 2025
The intermunicipal recreation agreement between the Township of Hatley and North Hatley was therefore not renewed in 2025. The actual impact of this situation on North Hatley’s revenues and expenditures, particularly with regard to Pleasant View Beach, has yet to be documented.
Il faut aussi rappeler qu’en bout de course, le Canton de Hatley avait décidé de prendre en charge 50 % des frais d’abonnement ou d’accès à la plage pour ses citoyens. Est-ce que l’achalandage fût tout aussi important à la plage PV? À voir!
It should also be noted that, in the end, the Township of Hatley decided to cover 50% of the cost of beach membership or access for its residents.
Was attendance just as high at PV Beach? We’ll ask!
The budget estimates in the initial agreement
Referring to the financial projections of the intermunicipal recreation agreement signed in 2019 by Mayors Martin Primeau and Michael Page, and subsequently renewed for the period 2021-2023, we can see the amounts that had been established between the two municipalities.
I invite you to consult the budget forecasts of the two municipalities and compare them with the agreement that could be renewed this Wednesday, December 1, at the North Hatley municipal council meeting.
In conclusion
So, at the municipal council meeting on December 1, several questions are essential:
- What are the new budget forecasts currently on the table? Can we see them?
- Have invoices been duly submitted to the Township of Hatley? This is the main cause of the conflict.
- Will the Township of Hatley contribute financially to the construction of the new beach building?
- It is undoubtedly still too early to discuss this officially, but another fundamental question already arises: will the Township also contribute to the costs and operation of the future refrigerated skating rink?
On that note, have a good city council meeting!
