The Regional Conference of Prefects [des municipalités régionales de comté, MRC] du Lac-Saint-Jean and the MRC du Domaine-du-Roy will ultimately not sit on the committee responsible for establishing the protected area of the Péribonka River.
Posted at 2:07 p.m.
Their presence on this committee set up by Quebec had been criticized because the MRC du Domaine-du-Roy does not touch the territory of the future protected area and because the Regional Conference of Prefects has pressed to exclude the creators of the protected area project, revealed The PressOctober 26.
“It does not concern my territory, it is sure and certain that I will not get involved”, declared Thursday to The Press the prefect of the MRC du Domaine-du-Roy, Yanick Baillargeon, considering it “logical” not to sit on the committee.
As for the Conference of Prefects, its presence on the committee was only intended to “facilitate exchanges” with elected municipal officials, he says.
“The Regional Conference of Prefects was just a trunk box”, to “centralize information”, illustrates the prefect of the MRC of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, Louis Ouellet.
“But it served us not nearly,” he believes, in light of the controversy raised.
“In the context where we are amalgamated with a ‘boys club’ that makes decisions for everyone, we are going to decentralize,” said Mr. Ouellet.
The MRCs of Maria-Chapdelaine and Le Fjord remain on the committee, since the future protected area will be on their territory, as well as the MRC of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, which will be “the gateway”, he specifies.
“It is completely legitimate for the MRCs concerned to be consulted,” said Stéphanie Fortin, press secretary for the mayor of Saguenay Julie Dufour, who is part of the Conference of Prefects – Saguenay being a city outside the MRC. .
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- 8.4%
- proportion of the territory of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean benefiting from protection (8,928 km2)
source: Register of protected areas in Quebec, Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change