----In-person Municipal council meetings resume

With Covid-19 cases on the relative downswing and the regional vaccination rollout progressing positively, Gatineau recently announced that municipal council meetings will once again take place in person at the Maison du citoyen in downtown Hull.

The Executive committee held its first in-person meeting in over 18 months on August 18. A press release issued by the city that day stated that the municipal council’s next meeting would be on September 24 at 7 pm.

Inviting people to come out, demonstrate citizenship and play a part in democracy, the city said the meeting will also be shown on a screen set up in the building’s agora, all while respecting the provincial government’s Covid-19 safety regulations.

People wanting to address the council at upcoming meetings will need to show up in front of the Salle des Fêtes – located in the same building – at 6:30 pm to register their name and the subject matter of their question or comment. During public question periods, people who provide their names to submit questions or comments will then be accompanied into the Salle des fêtes to address the council.

For everyone’s safety, people who attend the meetings will be required to physically distance themselves, wear a mask and disinfect hands upon entering the building.

On October 5, the current council will hold its last meeting before the municipal election on November 7. 

Mandated to cease seating at the councillors’ table 30 days before the election, unless there’s an emergency, the mayor and councillors will continue with their duties as elected officials until new members of council are sworn in.

People can still view council meetings on the city’s website as it was even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.