Cindy Fortier had found the perfect village to settle down with her spouse, far from the hustle and bustle of the lower town of Quebec.
When she came across the call for applications for the position of director general of the municipality of Baie-Johan-Beetz — a village of 86 inhabitants located at the end of the world, between Havre-Saint-Pierre and Natashquan —, she didn’t hesitate for a second: that’s where she was going to settle.
But the adventure quickly became complicated when she started looking for a roof. In Baie-Johan-Beetz, there is not a single apartment available.
This is how the new director general of the Mingan municipality has taken up residence… in Aguanish, a 45-minute drive away. “We had to find the house without visiting it,” explains Cindy Fortier behind her office at the Baie-Johannais town hall, which also houses a grocery store and a post office.
Built on the rocky indentations of the North Shore, Baie-Johan-Beetz seems suspended in time. When passing the To have to, a few motorboats floated, almost motionless, on the calm waters of the St. Lawrence. There was not a cat in the streets. On the other hand, there were several swallows in the sky, which flitted between the red, yellow, green and blue houses of the village.
The children’s game module? Empty: there are only two young people of school age left in this north-coastal community, and they go to school in Natashquan and Havre-Saint-Pierre, miles away.
On the website of the municipality, it is the seduction operation for this “magnetic heart on the North Shore”. Among the few tabs highlighted at the top of the page, we can read: “set up here”. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become much easier to telecommute, including in Baie-Johan-Beetz, which is connected to high-speed Internet, noted the mayor, Martin Côté. “We are convinced that there are a lot of people who are in much more urbanized centers, like Montreal or Quebec, who are not unhappy, but, because they love nature, because they are independent people, because they like challenges, because they like taking charge, because they like autonomy, because they like community spirit, they would be much happier here,” he says. in interview with The duty.
A failed project
In order to house a new batch of Baie-Johannais, Mayor Côté imagined with his six municipal councilors a project for a multi-unit building paid for with municipal funds. This was to contain a 3 ½, a 4 ½ and a 5 ½. Then, winter and its vagaries struck.
In January, an aqueduct located under Route 138 froze, depriving village residents of drinking water for several days. The amount of the bill for the repair of the pipe: 300,000 dollars. In debt, the municipality had to suspend its project to build an apartment building.
There are many who would like to come here, but [des logements] for sale, there are none, laments Clément Tanguay in the entrance of his home. There are many who return to retirement, but that does not bring children, that. That’s the problem.
“When we started making requests to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for financial assistance [pour approvisionner la communauté en eau potable] — because that was cutting our wings, then we couldn’t do any more projects — they went to see our financial statements and they saw that we no longer had any long-term debt, that we had 500 $000 aside. They said: “if they are able to pay, well, let them pay”, says Martin Côté, unhappy with the turn of events, in an interview with The duty.
In Baie-Johan-Beetz, there is a labor shortage. Recently retired, Clément Tanguay lends a hand to blue-collar workers in the municipality. A former municipal councilor and also retired, Anne-Marie Tanguay (who has no family ties with Clément) helps out at the post office.
“There are many who would like to come here, but [des logements] for sale, there are none, laments Clément Tanguay in the entrance of his home. There are many who return to retirement, but that does not bring children, that. That’s the problem. Must have young couples. »
Cindy Fortier and her spouse met this definition. The postponement of the construction of the multi-unit building has put grains of sand in the gears of their life project. “A 5 ½ would have been perfect for a family. A 4 ½, for a couple,” she points out.
Disadvantages of modernity
Marcel Bourque grew up when Baie-Johan-Beetz could only rely on the telegraph to communicate with the rest of the world. The arrival of the telephone (in the middle of the XXe century) made an impression, but it was the extension of Route 138 (1996) that changed everything for this hamlet of outfitters, fishermen and hunters. “It was quite an event,” says the 87-year-old man inside his almost century-old house located at the entrance to the village.
Except that by opening up Baie-Johan-Beetz, the “whale route” has also “emptied the village”. “There are no more young people. That’s our problem. We are trying to find solutions to acquire young people, but it is not easy,” notes Mr. Bourque. “Housing,” adds his wife, Renée Harvey, a hand on her husband’s shoulder and an apron on her back. You know there are many things missing to attract […] the people. Then it’s difficult, it’s difficult. »
As the election approaches, Martin Côté reminds aspiring MPs, ministers and prime ministers that the housing shortage is also hitting 1,200 kilometers from Montreal.
Without Quebec’s help, the multiplex project will have to wait. “An event like what happened to us this winter… It will take four or five years to put the money aside”, drops the mayor.
In the meantime, Cindy Fortier will continue to refresh the pages of real estate agency websites, and the village will continue to display “population: 86”.