My name is François Bourgault, resident of Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine and lover of nature and the environment.
Posted yesterday at 1:00 p.m.
On June 15, 2021, my 39-year-old daughter died at the Quebec University Heart Institute, following a medical intervention. She suffered several post-operative complications that led to her death. She was an only child.
Today, a great pain still lives in me, just like my wife. It is always with great nostalgia and sadness that we speak of the beautiful moments spent with Maryka and our grandson. Fishing was one of those favored activities. These moments are naturally etched in the depths of our memory.
These fishing stories, but especially the quality time spent with family, often give chills. They were full of love. Fishing was Maryka’s favorite activity with me and often with her family.
Today, as of the date of writing this letter, Thursday, July 7, 2022, the municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine as well as the Association des riparians du petit lac Saint-François, by legal acts, but with the appearance of dubious ethics, come to prohibit the free movement and the free access to this body of water for the people not being bordering on the lake. I consider fishing to be one of the best hobbies for a retired person, as well as for people with reduced physical abilities.
This leisure should be accessible to everyone and by municipal by-law 670-2022, the municipal council of Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine is restricting a leisure activity accessible to all, and thereby reducing access to a property. common that is the little lake Saint-François.
The real problem
The real challenge would be to tackle the problem of lake pollution, and not to penalize non-riparian citizens, those living in the village of Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine. No environmental study has been conducted on the level of pollution in the lake. We should first, in my opinion, check what pollutants are in the lake and locate the problem, if there is one. Several interventions can be done even before restricting access to the lake to all, a measure that I consider draconian.
The adoption of this type of regulation raises several frustrations and several questions. Starting with local residents, who would be favored to the detriment of village residents (known as non-local residents).
This type of regulation is discriminatory and the Association of Sports Fishermen of Quebec confirmed to us that our vision was correct.
Finally, the resolution and the resulting by-law 670-2022 are discriminatory and inconsistent. On this subject, the municipal council has never been able to tell us why there was adoption of a resolution AND the by-law during a special meeting of June 6, 2022, other than the fact that action had to be taken. urgently before the opening of the fishing season.
I am of the opinion that our lakes must be protected for future generations. There are no regulations concerning the power of the engines of the nautical craft nor beacon limiting the speed within the first 100 or 200 feet. I too want to protect the environment and the sustainability of our lakes. I would like everything to be done in a transparent way and in an open dialogue, not by selfish and possessive acts of a common good, which belongs to all.
Let’s work together in community.