LETTER

Aydelu and the Quebec Municipal Commission

 

It is with dismay that I read of the plight of Aydelu at the hands of the Quebec Municipal Commission. It appears that the QMC may be responsible for the loss of tax-free status of this voluntary organization, forcing them to shut many doors they have kept open in Aylmer.  Sad news, but it would not be the first time the QMC interfered to put a stop to self-improvement efforts by Aylmer citizens.

In February 1934, Aylmer, in the Great Depression, had over one-third of its citizens in receipt of Relief. Town Council struggled to provide some shelter and food.  Also of concern was health. In existence for years, the Board of Health for the Corporation of the Town of Aylmer put its collective mind to a solution.

Mayor Mulligan and Doctors Church, Hudson and deCotret came up with a plan to treat the population who could not afford medical care -- years before our medical system. The Board of Health decided upon a scheme where the doctors shared seeing to those in need. The first motion read; “That each medical man in the town of Aylmer make calls on that portion of the population on Relief, at the rate of fifty cents per call and an allowance of fifty cents for medicine, during the depression”. The Board also organized doctors for dealing with emergencies and cases of confinement.

The previous year, the Town had been placed in virtual trusteeship by the Superior Court after defaulting on a loan, plus other financial reasons. That trustee was the Quebec Municipal Commission. All of the Town’s minutes were sent to the QMC who would then authorize expenditures, or not. To the minutes of the Board of Health, February 1934, the QMC responded that they didn’t believe there was a Board of Health, and ruled that Aylmer could not look after the health of people on Relief.

Here’s hoping the current QMC makes a decision on Aydelu that will have a more positive impact upon our community than it has done in the past.

Michael P. MacDonald
Aylmer