Office of the Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister 2010-06-04
80 Wellington St.
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2


Mr. Prime Minister,

I’m sure you have bigger fish to fry at this or anytime for that matter, but I felt compelled to write you today about a very perplexing issue that has divided our community of Wakefield, Quebec. The issue I speak of is the proposed Phase II of the Highway 5 extension to Wakefield, Quebec. This has been presented to us by MTQ, Transport Canada and the NCC as a “fait accompli” without any real public consultation. While we are grateful to see real funding to make our transportation needs safer and promises kept by the government some 30 years ago, I ask you to please consider our concerns.

As an environmental impact assessment specialist for over 25 years, I was shocked and bewildered to hear that this massive project is only being environmentally assessed at a screening level. Given recent concerns that the construction of this project has a strong likelihood of impacting our primary potable water source (a spring that is used by a majority of Wakefield residents and cottagers etc.), and what is commonly referred to as “overkill” with the spaghetti junction planned at the gateway of Wakefield, I believe that this project should be environmentally assessed at a higher level (i.e., comprehensive study) which will mandate the inclusion of public consultation and appropriate studies to determine the potential impact to our Wakefield spring. As portrayed in our local newspaper, the Wakefield spring is the closest thing the region has to holy water – people revere it, cherish it, it’s natural, clean, cold, delicious and free. It’s a valued necessity to residents, cottagers and visitors. To ruin it would be an unforgivable act.

Along with the proposed highway 5 extension which is planned to begin construction for early 2011, Wakefield is also faced with unprecedented changes that include a proposed septic waste treatment facility and a proposed industrial park. While these issues represent different village concerns and require dialogue with different levels of government, a common thread evident is that citizens of Wakefield and beyond have passionate ideas about the future vision for Wakefield and the surrounding area, and a sense of frustration that large-scale decisions are being made for us, without a thorough public consultation process. In short, we are overwhelmed. As a growing community we need a long-term vision that reflects the concerns of all of us who live in the Wakefield area. And our voices need to be heard, before the changes are made for us.

Given our community’s overwhelming task to organize ourselves and promote consultation on the highway 5 and other projects mentioned above, I propose that a one-year moratorium be imposed on any highway development until a proper public consultation process has occurred, and until an exhaustive hydrological study is done to ensure our spring is not impacted.

ANDRE J LALONDE
Wakefield, PQ
J0X 3G0