Marchand fails in his duties regarding stoves and fireplaces

Elected municipal officials have a responsibility to properly explain new regulations, and this is even more true when we target practices that even have an impact on citizens' privacy. This is the case with regard to the use of stoves and fireplaces, where Marchand's management clearly failed in their duties.

• Read also: 'It's rubbish': angry wood stove owners; Public Health advocates for Quebec City

Before the holidays, and with the adoption of changes in regulations, Mayor Marchand and his team aroused the ire of citizens and merchants. The information conveyed took people a bit by surprise, just before Christmas, and lacked clarity.

The owner of Foyers Don-Bar, a well-established manufacturer in Quebec, also expressed his regret that the city did not meet with various stakeholders before amending the bylaw, the impact of which would be significant.

Under the previous administration, which did amend the regulations in 2021 but did not go that far, meetings and discussions took place. There will be a meeting with the mayor today, but we are late, and we understand that.

• Listen to the column written by JDM and JDQ political columnist Karen Gagnon via QUB :

The first ban in history

Then, on Wednesday, the city decided, for the first time in its history, to impose a temporary ban on the use of a wood stove or fireplace. It has been said that atmospheric and weather conditions deteriorate air quality.

The spokesman indicated that there will be no fines, and we call on citizens to cooperate. But many citizens were still offended that the city was telling them how to behave where they lived without further explanation.

We didn't really know what procedures the city was relying on to reach such a decision.

Since September 2021, a regulation is already planning to ban the use of wood stoves or wood stoves during periods of smog in Quebec. This is not new, and was adopted during the Labum administration.

However, the ban has never been imposed before, as happened on Wednesday.

For the first time, it was absolutely necessary to communicate well. Instead of revealing information in the middle of a municipal council meeting, it would have been wise to organize a press conference and explain it well.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, in an interview with BLVD yesterday, admitted that the city had let him down in terms of communications. It is a pity, because the failure of the city in this way makes the citizens turn against each other, although the reasons that prompt it to act are nevertheless praiseworthy.

• Listen to the column written by JDM and JDQ political columnist Karen Gagnon via QUB :

Good reasons

In fact, Public Health has issued several reports on air quality in Quebec in recent years, showing that wood heating appliances constitute the main source of fine particulate matter in the air, particularly in Champigny, in Vieux-Lemoilleux, Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Roch. .

A year ago, Public Health targeted several priority sources of pollutants, including the transportation sector, wood heating, fossil fuel burning, some industrial, port and construction activities.

However, we were unable to accurately identify every source, although wood heating is the main source of fine particulate matter in Quebec. He considered it best to reduce all emissions to a minimum, and recommended tightening regulations on wood heating.

Some cities in Quebec, including Montreal, have already adopted stricter regulations and banned devices that do not meet standards. In Quebec, we will now have to work very hard to mobilize people, because there is not enough communication.