TOWN OF TEMISCAMING AT THE FQM CONVENTION
Last week, Mayor Alain Gauthier and Director General Patrick Tanguay Dumas were in Quebec City to attend the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) Convention.
The three-day event gave them the opportunity to connect with elected officials, municipal managers and various partners from across Quebec. It was a great opportunity to build relationships, share our realities, learn about initiatives taking place elsewhere and bring new ideas back to Temiscaming.
Between the many workshops, meetings and the Municipal Affairs Trade Show, which brought together 215 exhibitors, there were plenty of opportunities to exchange ideas and network.
The leaders of Quebec's five political parties were also present and took turns speaking about issues affecting municipalities and regions across the province.
A MESSAGE OF PERSEVERANCE
The Convention also featured inspiring stories, including that of Marie-Ève Dicaire, former world boxing champion and now a municipal councillor in Terrebonne.
After losing her championship belt, she kept pushing forward and worked to win it back before retiring from boxing.
Her story reminds us that obstacles and setbacks are part of the journey. What matters is how we choose to face them.
These words particularly resonate here in Temiscaming. Our town has faced difficult times in the past, and some challenges remain today. But one thing has not changed: our determination to come together, find solutions and keep moving forward.
Mr. Gauthier also had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Dicaire during the event.
GIVING MUNICIPALITIES THE TOOLS TO INNOVATE IN RESPONSE TO THE HOUSING CRISIS
The Convention also gave Temiscaming an opportunity to make its voice heard during the FQM's annual meeting. Mr. Gauthier presented a resolution put forward by the Town of Temiscaming regarding an issue affecting our community and many others across Quebec: housing.
In many communities, particularly in rural and regional areas, current financing rules make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to develop rental housing projects without significant subsidies or major capital contributions.
In this context, the Town of Temiscaming is working on a new financing model to fund and develop housing projects within its territory.
This approach is based, in part, on the fact that a municipality's goal is to support community development and create long-term assets, rather than generate short-term financial returns.
Through this resolution, the Town is asking the FQM to call on the Government of Quebec and the new Minister responsible for Housing to establish, upon the Minister's appointment, a provincial working group involving the municipal sector and other appropriate stakeholders to help ensure the implementation of proposals developed by the regions.
Meaningful discussions, new ideas, valuable connections and, above all, a great opportunity to make Temiscaming's voice heard across Quebec.
