“Noisy or unsightly industries”, “protection of wild spaces”, “motorized recreational vehicles”: the subjects of discord are numerous in Potton, in the Eastern Townships, first of all between domiciled and non-domiciled people, according to a vast public consultation conducted at the request of the municipality in the run-up to the elections.
The mistrust is such in the canton that one in two residents doubts that he would find his wallet “with all its contents” if he lost it in the municipality of nearly 2000 people, indicates the report of forty pages furnished with tables consulted by The duty.
The founder of the Museum of Contemporary Singular Art (MASC), Patrick Cady, has difficulty understanding the importance of four-wheelers and snowmobiles in the travel habits of people who have lived in Potton for ages. “I understand that they want to have fun, but, at the same time, you still have to respect the garden of others,” he said on the forecourt of the old church of Mansonville, which he acquired. The establishment houses a collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures whose “expression is very intense”. “There are people who are scared”, he specifies, while being sorry for the weak support given by the municipality to the MASC “We are well with everyone. We don’t know each other’s enemies. But, we are not helped, we are not supported ”, continues the holder of a master’s degree in letters and a doctorate in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis from the University of Paris VII.
Patrick Cady crosses his fingers so that “peace between the locals and those arriving from Montreal” succeeds the “tension” of recent years in the Canton of Potton, whose capital, Mansonville, is a member of the Cœurs villageois network .
Olga first set foot in Potton about 15 years ago. “We ski in the winter. We play golf in the summer. That’s great ! Said the lady after turning her back to her white Mini Cooper at the foot of Owl’s Head. “We would like to see a little more life, restaurants, etc. », She adds, while noting that Mount Owl’s Head is not Mont Tremblant.
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Janet criticizes city dwellers, who are attracted to Potton by Owl’s Head mountain or Lake Memphremagog, for disrupting the habits of the community. “In their eyes, we are not proactive enough, we do not have enough modern things around,” the woman said, in English, while snacking under a shower of oak acorns. “They feel the need to change us, but we don’t feel the need to change,” she insists.
Lorette fears Sunday’s poll will make matters worse. Like Janet, she was born and raised in the Township of Potton, known for its round barn. Like Janet, she is impatient with the loud cries of the vacationers at the sound of trucks, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or even gunshots coming from the Mansonville Rifle Association inc. “We want to live in the countryside, but we want it to be like in the city. So that doesn’t work, ”says the woman in a plaid shirt. “You are in the country …”tough luck”! »She adds while sweeping her gallery, where flower boxes sit alongside garlands of Christmas lights.
The part of things
Donald tries to distinguish between the two “gangs”, that is to say the “locals” on the one hand, and the “expatriates”, who invade Owl’s Head mountain every weekend, from somewhere else.
“The guy, he uses his ATV to transport his firewood, that’s okay. The guy, he uses his ATV to make donuts and burn gas, it’s not correct, ”judges the ex-Montrealer, who is enjoying a (more or less) peaceful retirement in a“ beautiful little chalet with view of Jay Peak ”. But how to supervise the use of the mountain bike? By municipal by-law? he asks in the middle of a small park in the heart of Mansonville.
That said, second home owners are not white as snow, says Donald. “The people from the mountains come with their big Mercedes SUV christ. They park it in front of the market and leave the engine running while they shop for groceries. They don’t mind burning gas either, ”he argues, feeling like he’s caught in the crossfire. ” There is a “clash“, for sure. “
The outgoing mayor, Michael Laplume, has also mentioned in The Reflection of the Lake, “Your local media”, “an acute disgust at these conflicts which make life impossible for us” to justify his decision not to seek a new mandate.
The three candidates for his succession – Bruno Côté, Stansje Plantenga and Louis Veillon – have different views, especially on the development of the municipality.
A stone’s throw from the town hall, Luc is sorry for the absence of “a group [privilégiant] compromise ”in Potton’s political landscape. The next administration will have to use the “mass of money” in the coffers of the municipality without alienating either domiciled or non-domiciled people, at the origin of the majority of the income of the municipality, estimates the professor of biology retired.
Another elector, who agreed to talk to The duty on condition of not being named, is made clearer. After having spent “a lot of money for the children” (more than 1.5 million dollars) in an indoor ice rink, it is time to build tennis courts, he says before putting the gas to the pool. Mount Owl’s Head.