Élection de Gatineau : Deschênes

Candidate : Caroline Murray, Action Gatineau

Caroline Murray is seeking re-election as councillor of Deschênes, a position she was first elected to in 2021. As councillor, she served as the president of the Comité consultatif d'urbanisme, Comité sur les demandes de démolition, and the Conseil local du patrimoine. Before her time as councillor, she was a senior communications advisor at Environment and Climate Change Canada.

1. Why are you running for councillor, and what experience or qualities make you the right person for the job?

I want to be re-elected because I have discovered, over the last four years, a real passion for my neighbourhood. Aylmer is going through many changes, and it is essential for me that citizens are represented by someone who listens and who has a vision for the future. I have met with citizens every month during citizen meetings on the sidelines of each municipal council and I want to continue in this direction. By staying very close to the community, I will always be in a better position to bring your aspirations to the council table. Aylmer needs a lot of infrastructure and development must be done intelligently. Several actions have already been taken, but I want to continue the work so that citizens have access to all the opportunities they deserve!

2. How do you plan to balance the need for housing with the pace of development, given that infrastructure has not kept up, resulting in service gaps?

For me, it is very clear that the housing crisis we are experiencing is one of affordable housing. These are the housing units that must be prioritized, and very few affordable housing units are being built in Aylmer. Infrastructure investments must accelerate, and we can already feel the trend changing. A new police station, a new fire station, an eco-centre, the renovation of Lucerne Blvd., and much more! In closing, since Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette has been in office, we have introduced development fees, which means that developers are now paying for our future infrastructure. Growth therefore pays for growth, which allows for fair sharing of the bill while reducing tax pressure for Aylmer residents.

3. With increased development in the area, how will you protect the ecological corridors, such as the Champlain corridor in Aylmer?

We need to build near existing infrastructure, on vast and underutilized land, such as the shopping centres on Aylmer Road. My team and I are committed to protecting the Champlain and Deschênes corridors, in addition to the Boucher Forest. During my term, I used funds from my discretionary budget to produce an independent study written by UQO researchers to gather data on the importance of the Deschênes corridor and how to protect it. I am also working in partnership with the Deschênes Park Alliance to develop a master plan to properly protect our forest. The outcome: we succeeded in rezoning it as a park to ensure its protection and prevent development in this area. In the last budget, we also permanently allocated funds for the Boucher Forest Foundation, which plays a crucial role in protecting and promoting the forest.

4. With increased development in Aylmer, there is growing concern about the preservation of local heritage, especially as many historic homes are neglected, then demolished to make way for multi-unit buildings. What is your plan to protect and preserve Aylmer's heritage?

We updated Aylmer's heritage inventory this year to work with up-to-date data. This information is public and allows everyone to see which buildings are of heritage interest. We also tightened our heritage preservation regulations, notably through the building maintenance bylaw and the new regulations for site planning and architectural integration. We can now, for example, carry out maintenance work on an abandoned heritage home and then send the bill to the owner.

This way, we will prevent buildings from deteriorating without being able to act. This year, I won the Municipal Emerging Leaders Award, an award given to an elected official in Quebec who has distinguished themselves in their community. I received this award for my work in citizen consultation, land use planning, and heritage preservation. It is very important for me to work closely with the Aylmer Heritage Association, which is a goldmine of information!

5. Anglophones are numerous across Gatineau. How will you ensure they have equitable access to city information and services in English?

In all my communications, whether it be my neighborhood newsletters, my community meetings, my advertisements in the Aylmer Bulletin or through my social media accounts, the information I share is available in both languages ​​so that everyone feels included. It is very important to reach people so that they become involved in their community and feel included by the decisions that are made.

6. Aylmer’s residents are passionate about their community. When new development projects are proposed, how will you engage with both developers and residents to address any concerns that arise?

Throughout my term, as Vice-President and then President of the Urban Planning Advisory Committee, I have consistently encouraged developers to hold consultations upstream of projects, before they are launched. This is what led me to create my monthly citizen meetings, because I want to ensure that they have access to all the information they need. A great example of the success of my work was the addition of an information evening regarding the 435 Vanier Rd. project last fall. At that time, I asked the developer to hold a consultation evening, which allowed my colleagues on City Council to understand the scope of the local issues. Ultimately, the project was rejected, thus respecting the will of the people.

I want to do more, however, so that consultations are held from the very beginning of the planning of these projects that affect our neighbourhoods. This way, we could see significant improvements, including the opinions of residents. These consultations cannot vary solely according to the wishes of elected officials and/or developers. They must be systematic. This is why my team and I are in favour of a Public Participation Office to create mandatory consultations.