City’s agriculture committee to disappear?

Gatineau’s agriculture advisory committee meeting has now been cancelled for the second time in a row. A city spokesperson said there was nothing on the agenda for the March 6 meeting, which was the same for the previous February 6 meeting.

The agriculture committee looks at by-laws affecting farm land, the inclusion or exclusion of a lot in an agricultural zone, and analyzes any item impacting the agricultural zone.

With two consecutive meetings cancelled, residents should not be surprised to see this committee disbanded during the coming overhaul of commissions and committees, announced by Mayor Pedneaud-Jobin. The administration plans the overhaul after the 2017 November election.

Commissions and committees are the instruments used by Gatineau to study specific files in greater depth. They give citizens an opportunity to get involved in their community. They are where citizens, partners, elected officials and municipal officials exchange ideas and develop recommendations for City Council.

Members of the Agriculture committee are councillors Sylvie Goneau, Mike Duggan, and Jean Lessard along with farmers Dominic Hamelin-Johnston, David Reford, and Roger Turcotte.