Nearly 700 Signatures to Demerge Buckingham, Masson-Angers, and L'Ange-Gardien from Gatineau

Mélissa Gélinas

To date, nearly 700 residents of the city's eastern sector have signed a petition calling for the demerger of the municipalities of Buckingham, L'Ange-Gardien, and Masson-Angers from Gatineau. The goal, in accordance with Bill R-19, is to combine these former municipalities to form a new, independent and efficient administrative entity.

In January 2002, Hull, Gatineau, Buckingham, Aylmer, and Masson-Angers merged to form the greater city of Gatineau. However, despite this merger, 23 years later, residents of the eastern sector are denouncing the glaring lack of investment in their municipalities.

"We still feel separate from the others, even forgotten," commented a Masson-Angers resident. "Here, there aren't many businesses or services, even though we all pay the same taxes."

Current challenges facing older cities:

• Aging sports infrastructure

• Deteriorating road network

• Unsafe cycling network

• Lack of major municipal projects

According to Steve Moran, city councillor for the Hull-Wright district, the city's geography poses a challenge. "Buckingham Avenue and Aylmer's Principale Street are not the same thing, and we must respect that difference," he said. "We must be able to help people celebrate their local identity."

According to Moran, the merger does not represent a failure, but rather a challenge to ensure administrative compliance with a complex geography. "What I hear in this petition is that there are a lot of aspirations," emphasized Mayor Maude-Marquis Bissonnette. "People have dreams for their area; they want it to be even more beautiful and to develop in a certain way. However, is demerging the best way forward?"

According to the mayor, it would be a heavy administrative task that would require a lot of time and money to rethink governance structures. "I'm far from believing that demergers have produced the desired results in other cities in Quebec," she asserted. "However, we remain attentive to the people in the area, as we always do. I believe that having a large city gives us a strength that is truly interesting. For me, mergers were the responsible choice to make."