I’m certain most of you have already noticed — for better or worse — the strong presence of deer and wild turkeys around the village of North Hatley. There is no need to travel all the way to Anticosti Island to hunt deer; everything is right here. And on top of that, we even have […]

Following what is happening in the municipality isn’t easy. Meeting minutes are often long and dry to read, and the audio recordings are not much more digestible. Also, very few people attend council meetings, either because of lack of time or lack of interest. Usually, you have access to the minutes and audio recordings of […]

Comme vous le savez, c’est tranquille à North Hatley durant l’hiver. Heureusement que le Solstice Sauna dynamise le village avec ses saunas sociaux avec baignade dans le lac Massawippi. Malheureusement, plusieurs autres commerces sont fermés dont : Chocolatière (saisonnier), Casa-Wippi (saisonnier), dépanneur toujours fermé et aussi le Mercantile qui a fermé définitivement ses portes tout […]

On February 5, 2024, the municipal council authorized the launch of calls for tenders to modernize the municipality’s website and evaluate bids for a citizen portal. Beyond design, the priority remains the regular updating of content and online services. A citizen portal—similar to the one in Magog (alerts, news updates, permit applications, billing, snow removal, […]

Congratulations on the initiative to publish a summary of the city council meeting: by presenting it as “your city newsletter,” you are clearly demonstrating your desire to better inform citizens. However, allow me to offer a counterpoint: the absence of the minutes from October 1—41 days later—undermines this effort and hinders the transparency and citizen […]

You can consult the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Elected Officials of North Hatley here. Sorry, I couldn’t find any documents in English. In order to maintain public trust and ensure exemplary governance, Article 5 of the Code of Ethics for Municipal Elected Officials sets out clear rules of conduct and prohibitions. These […]

The elections are over: the newly elected councillors officially take office this evening at 7 p.m., in the Lucien-Vachon Hall (Saint-Élisabeth Church in North Hatley). Two new members will be joining the council, Ms. Astrid Dangoisse and Mr. Claude Gendron. The information will likely be updated soon on the village’s website. This meeting appears to […]

Fall is setting in and snow is on its way. Soon, North Hatley’s Rivière Park will offer a hockey rink and an ice trail. Many residents are wondering about the maintenance costs. Once again, in order to confirm the exact amounts, I did some research to find out who is responsible for the costs and […]

Overview Recent results reveal a low level of citizen inclusion. This is not unique to North Hatley — across Quebec, residents often highlight a lack of communication, inclusivity, and transparency. The outcome is a decline in civic engagement, weakening local democracy — the level of government that most directly shapes our daily lives. Here, participation […]

In the most recent municipal elections in Quebec, 564 mayors and 3,996 councillors were elected by acclamation — meaning without opposition. That accounts for 57.8% of all positions, a slight improvement compared with 62.7% in the previous election, but the overall picture remains troubling: local democracy is running out of breath. A democracy under strain […]

Constat Why ask the question? Rising costs and administrative duplication (town hall, council, management, systems) undermine efficiency. In addition, all municipalities need an accountant, a lawyer, and an inspector. There are many advantages to collaborating and sharing all these resources. Hence the interest in groupings and, in some cases, mergers of municipalities. Consolidation ≠ Merger […]

By mother tongue (2021): North Hatley is predominantly French-speaking (≈ 56% French vs. ≈ 37% English). By knowledge of official languages (2021): the population is largely bilingual (≈ 67% report knowing both French and English). Key figures (census) Population : 605 (2016) → 670 (2021), or +10.7%. Native language (2021) Knowledge of official languages (2021) […]

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any official provincial statistics on average attendance at municipal council meetings in Quebec. However, pan-American surveys (LAPOP) estimate that, on average, ~10.5% of adults have attended at least one municipal meeting in the last 12 months (this is not specific to Quebec, but it gives an order […]

Over the past few weeks, my electoral journey has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the election president, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned. Élections Québec, the municipal electoral list review commission exercises quasi-judicial powers: it rules on requests that affect rights […]

In conversations with citizens, it is often said that property taxes are very high in North Hatley, especially when compared to the Township of Hatley, Sherbrooke, or Magog. In my opinion, these few comparisons are not enough to draw any conclusions. I therefore extracted the property tax rates for all municipalities (1,037) available at the […]

Communities with fewer than 2,000 residents can reduce the size of their council from six to four seats. Since the last municipal elections, 1,082 elected officials have left office—a wave of resignations that often catches councils off guard and makes recruiting new candidates more difficult. In Saint-Edmond-les-Plaines, former mayor Martine Verville (2021–2023) sums up the […]

In my conversations, I find that few people closely follow municipal politics. When I point out that the minutes from the last six months aren’t available, I’m told it hardly matters—almost no one reads them. So how do people keep themselves informed about local politics if council meetings draw only about thirty attendees per month? […]

Here is my response, posted on Facebook on October 27. Here is an excerpt: “Misinformation and mistrust has found its way to our little village and we are in danger of falling victim to rumour and innuendo that has the potential to damage our tiny democracy. I am a fact checker. I base all my […]

Criticism of municipal operations—the decisions made by our elected officials and the work of our employees—irritates some people. However, it is actions and professional ethics that are at issue, not individuals. Rest assured: I start from the premise that our elected officials and employees are respectable people—parents, colleagues, neighbors. For months, I have been examining […]

When reading certain posts on Facebook, I get the impression that people are confusing “fact,” “statement,” and “opinion.” What is presented as a fact is actually just a statement—or even a judgment. Obviously, these terms can cause a lot of confusion for everyone, including me. So here are the main differences: In my articles, I […]

Mr. Claude Aubry withdrew from the race in the final hours, allowing another candidate to be elected by acclamation. Ms. Astrid Dangoisse was elected without a vote. To date, four of the six council seats in North Hatley have been filled by acclamation, for a total of 67%.List of remaining candidates. On that note, happy […]

To shed light on the issue, I first checked the official remuneration of North Hatley’s elected officials as set out in Bylaw 2024-765 (adopted on January 13, 2025, published on January 14, 2025). The mayor receives $33,163.86 in base pay and $17,088.03 in expense allowances; each special meeting adds $50.98 plus a $25.46 allowance. A […]

We often hear that elected officials are “overpaid” or “underpaid.” To get an idea, I compiled the annual salaries of all municipal councilors in Quebec and ranked them from highest to lowest, as well as the salary per capita. The data comes from the MAMH (2023), as used in the December 2023 article in the […]

Citizens told me that it was possible to reduce the number of municipal council seats in a small municipality such as North Hatley. According to my research, municipalities with fewer than 2,000 residents without districts can, by bylaw, reduce the composition of the council to the mayor and four councilors (instead of six). The procedure […]

Many residents have asked me about eligibility for the positions of councillor or mayor. People often confuse domicile and residence. Remember: you can have several residences, but only one domicile. Based on my research, Jean-Paul L’Allier (mayor of Québec City from 1989 to 2005) owned/lived in a house on Île d’Orléans during those years, which […]

Here is the timeline of steps taken in relation to our permit application to install an awning in the backyard of 80 Main Street (former hair salon). Timeline July 10, 2025 — Application submitted for a permit for an awning at 80 Main Street. August 2025 — At the inspector’s request, reduction in the width […]