Another municipal election in LaPeche

I thought I'd take the liberty of providing a few snapshots of the highs and lows of environmental issues facing Wakefield in the upcoming election on Nov. 5/17.

LaPeche finally fixed the so-called problem of getting approval to work around an ecologically significant spawning ground near the road cave in at the south end of the village near Rockhurst. Bravo, it only took almost 3 years? Living along Riverside I can say the whole road is dangerous to drive. What little road bank barriers there, are old and crumbling. I wouldn't want to test them. While the road cannot be properly fixed, (and some of us like this as it keeps the cars down) there should be riverside barriers where they are needed as Chelsea has begun to do. It is a big job and will require much fill in material as was done at the Rockhurst cave in.

 The annual practice of cutting the brush under the Hydro wires is a tragedy for the young trees that are trying to restock the bank with vegetation. Its getting better but workers need to be more discernible when cutting young trees where they are most needed to stabilize the bank and road. There are current spots where bikers are at real risk of slipping off the highway edge and into ponds or the river.

The municipality finally used some common sense and outlawed parking along side Mollo's which was a total traffic hazard for vehicles trying to turn onto Riverside when there was opposing traffic. They need to go further and outlaw parking at the far end of Riverside by the intersection of Rockhurst. I'm glad that LaPeche doesn't use salt on Riverside as Chelsea does. Being beside a river should make it mandatory that nothing be added to the road that could leech into the river, including salt or nutrients.

LaPeche has made it mandatory for new green bins which I opposed because I don't wanna pay the $100 and I don't need em". The Mayor was nice enough to call me back and say that a bylaw is a bylaw or a sub bylaw for smaller bins. I don't think our recycling program is working as well as it should but I think there is interest to improve. When I recently tried to put out a big box of old mercury batteries I'd collected over the years into the annual toxic waste pick up, I was told that the batteries were not considered toxic waste and need to thrown into the normal garbage. I'm sorry, but that's wrong.

I don't see our Council talking much about climate change and how we can be more proactive with adaptation measures. This will come as the issue gets bigger.

I like Friends of the Gatineau but I don't think they or the Municipality is doing enough to limit the motorboat traffic speed or dangerous practices, bank erosion and information campaigns about what we can do to better protect our banks (trees are made beaver proof) and shoreline. Same thing with ensuring the river is as clean as possible, more can be done.

For the future, lots of talk about a new boardwalk as part of a Canada 150 grant, but nothing has happened yet. Would have been nice to see something started to keep our interest going. Wakefield has lost its steam train and probably needs to harmonize with Chelsea in ripping out the old track for the rails to trails program. We need to generate a tourism that is sustainable and green. We need to get on board.

Current Council Grade:  C+ (they talk a lot but they don't walk it)

The City is Here!

Our municipality has decided that all homeowners must buy a $120 green bin for their garbage, non compliance will get you a courtesy ticket then a hefty fine. My main reason for "non compliance" is, as a single person who watches what he buys and throws out, I hardly throw out any garbage to warrant a humongous green bin. Other reasons are that I can't get the massive green bin into my car from the hardware store (who are only too happy to make money off this new law), I don't have any room for the gargantuan green bin, I hate bureaucracy and I'm too poor to put out the money. What bugs me the most is the size of the green bin which only a maniac consumer could fill in week! It suggests to me that you paid for, and therefore are entitled to fill that massive green bin every week, almost like it's your duty!

I've already received a Courtesy ticket from the guys who pick up the garbage (sanitation engineers?) for using my garbage can once so now I sneak my one bag a month into my neighbors green bin when they've left for work. This is not something I like doing, it makes me feel like a petty criminal.

Today, I snuck a small bag of garbage into my neighbors green bin (which was barely half full) and then put a small garbage bag of waste plastic vinyl from construction work on my house, into the blue bin (which is also humongous!). I notice the garbage truck is taking a long time in front of my house, so I go over to see what's going on. Guess what, I'm getting another courtesy ticket for putting the plastic vinyl in a green garbage bag which is not allowed! Blood rushes to my head as I grab the ticket off the blue bin, crumple it up and throw it at the truck like I'm David throwing a rock at Goliath! Of course the guy who is working a hard job alone picking up all the garbage gets mad and starts yelling at me. "Go talk to the driver, I'm only doing my job". I quickly apologize and state that its the municipality that I'm mad at for not calling me back about my complaint. The driver shuts off the engine and comes out to talk with me. After telling them my story, they couldn't agree with me more. By the end of it, I've made friends with both guys because they get my frustration, especially when laws change and they are forced to deal with non-compliance issues. They hate the new system! I did point out that the new bins (when full) attach to an automatic mechanism that make their jobs a little easier and I get that, but the guys said they didn't much care for the new system!

The municipality, on their high horse, directs the tax payers to buy and store these huge bins and stands ready to fine anyone who doesn't agree or need this service. I already pay a shit load of money for the privilege of having my 10 bags a year picked up. This of course is after I've paid good money for garbage cans. In exasperation I say, when did La Peche become like Chelsea? When did we become part of the city sprawl?

I think we have it all wrong! For example, we have pick up for toxic wastes just a few days a year. Last week I put out some old paint and a big box of lead filled batteries I've been collecting for years. The guy told me that they don't pick up batteries, that go in the garbage. What the fuck?!

I know the system is stacked against me and sooner or later I'll have to comply or capitulate! I'll do it when I'm good and ready, hopefully when I can find a small green bin that is affordably priced, maybe at a garage sale? This is my way of rebelling against bureaucrazy and the slow creep of the city into the country. Maybe this is why I live alone...

Throw another log on the ideological fire...

I’m not sure what the situation is in Canada but from my perspective, the Gay Pride parade and wider event is big bucks for major cities like Toronto that host it. The event has been main streamed and legitimized to the point that we have Trudeau marching in the Pride parade with his family. A buddy was telling me last week that the Black movement is looking to become part of the Pride family and wants to include black and brown on the famous Pride rainbow logo. We all saw how the Black Panther movement of the 60's broke down into violence and became a spent force from the public viewpoint. Maybe it’s time to find a new horse that they can ride with pride to where they need to go? But black and brown aren’t part of the rainbow says I! Doesn’t matter, it’s not about color or design, its about getting exposure and latching onto a cause célèbre that has deep pockets and unlimited popular support which includes the media. It seems to me that anything that has this kind of social branding will have potential for being co-opted or infiltrated and imitated by other fringe groups to follow. My friend was saying it’s happening all over. Indigenous people’s movements are becoming infiltrated by quasi related groups that want to get in on a good thing, Muslims want to be seen as part of other religious groups that suffer from discrimination and it goes on and on. It's a jungle out there!

I find the whole affair to be rather confusing and sad. What starts as a courageous and unique way to draw attention to discrimination and suffering becomes just another cause. The obvious truth is no organization has the right over the charter and direction of it’s public role and perception. Like Amnesty has grown to represent everything under the sun regarding human rights and Greenpeace or WWF has the accountability and final word on anything to do with the environment or sustainable development. I’m not comfortable but not surprised by the compartmentalizing of causes as they begin to look more like corporate institutions with their big money and lobbying efforts to be recognized as the only real authority on a given issue. 

The problem with this is any righteous cause bleeds into other issues as the world becomes more interdependent. How to judiciously balance the right mix of support to all the various causes out there so that it does more than make one feel good but actually does good? You don’t, at least not easily. Generally, the one who makes the most noise, gets the biggest crowds, or makes the most money are the ones that gets the attention by the public and the authorities. I know it looks good to see Trudeau and his young family marching in the Pride parade like it’s a carnival parade, but this attempt to be the biggest and most recognized cause seriously damages the reasons why brave souls put their freedom on the line to create these events in the first place?

I just read that CIDA (as I still call it) wants to commit a majority of their ODA to feminist ideals over the coming decade. Is this the flavor of the decade and just another way to justify their existence to a safe and popular cause to taxpayers? Or is it the result of a careful assessment of where the most bang for the buck results are likely to occur? It’s enough to make one confused or at lease a little cynical about how the world works. Meanwhile other groups advocating an end to nukes or save the whales or whatever noble causes are relegated to the bleachers until lobbyists can bring the public around. I don’t know what or who to believe anymore and even if I had disposable income to support such wonderful causes, I would be very cautious in throwing another log on the ideological fire.  

Water Go Away!

Wakefield and Gatineau are in the news for our flooding due to "perfect storm" conditions. 1) Spring melt "Freshet" conditions, 2) Two weeks of almost non-stop raining, 3) Hydro Quebec letting go of excess water from their massive reservoirs.  This natural disaster is not over as the dynamic flux of the problem is shifting to downstream communities along the Ottawa river. Today is May 8 and it finally has stopped raining - now its snowing!  

One waterfront property owner in Gatineau who has had enough!

View from 24 Sussex near Rockliffe Park

I've lived on this gentle Gatineau river for 28 years and I have never seen her move so fast or rise so high. Part of the problem is the wide area of this high rainfall and all ponds, lakes and streams are full and cascading into larger river systems. Nature cannot move this much water quickly so now the Gatineau and Rideau rivers has flooded the Ottawa river which has flooded the St. Lawrence and Montreal has now been declared an emergency with levees failing. This must be how it felt when New Orleans flooded!

This poor guy was working alone trying to sandbag his back yard in the city Gatineau

There are heart-warming scenes of whole families and communities working to sandbag homes


Now the Army has been called in but many say it's too late and they're not doing anything. I saw them driving around in their military tanks and waving to little kids but I never actually saw them providing help with sandbagging. This was left to the homeowners whose hands are raw and bleeding from filling and putting sandbags in place. Usually too little too late to stop the rising water levels. Times like this makes you appreciate the power and threat of nature.

There is some limited flooding in Wakefield and up the line in places like Alcove but so far, the dams seem to be doing its job! One strange anomaly I had to see with my own eyes, is a total reversal in water levels down the river from Wakefield around Cascades. It is a hydraulic trick of nature where the water is thundering through in rapids but the sheer flow has resulted in an eerie effect of never before seen low water levels along the shorelines.

Sections of the Gatineau near Cascades are now exposed with logs after being hidden for almost 100 years!


I heard people asking about this "anomaly" on CBC's Cross Country Checkup, but the host or experts obviously didn't know what caused this bizarre reversal in some sections of the river. The people living along these stretches are obviously safe from any flooding but getting caught in those rapids will give you the ride of your life.

The level mark of this bridge pillar over the Lapeche river in Wakefield says it all!

This section of flooding on the East side of the Wakefield covered bridge has weakened the bridge

Water mangled stairway by the Gatineau river in Alcove



I have included these photos as they tell the story better than words can. Some of us were thinking of building an ark but we forgot how many cubits it had to be. As someone who lives on a river, I do feel very sorry for most of the people whose homes have been flooded but... I honestly don't believe these humongous expensive homes should be so close to the edge of a natural river! There was a time when only the poor people would dare live along a waterway but now it's the uber rich which excludes me of course. I'm just really lucky that my house was built with river flooding in mind and that the Paugan dam did not break or let too much water go. Mind you, it would have been poetic justice to see ex-Senator Lavigne's house across the river from me become inundated by water. Especially after he got the municipality to drop the designated floodplain status. It's not about safety, it's about increased taxes! There is no doubt that many of the inundated houses I saw yesterday along the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers are on floodplain and they simply should not be there because they interfere with the natural flow of the river.

Whatever happens in the aftermath of this natural disaster, there will be some serious costs and hopefully some sober lessons to be learned. Will it dampen our appetite for having waterfront properties, I think not. Buyer beware because in the future houses this close to the water will not be insurable! Maybe it's not too late to build an ark?

Being an environmentalist should come with a warning!

This Easter morning I noticed a local company cutting down a cedar hedge on Crown land near the end of my property along the river. They just sold their place and it seems the new owners want the sellers to do the dirty work and cut out the cedar trees to maximize their view of river. The cedar hedge is about 20 feet high, maybe 20 trees, about 25 feet in length. I love cedars for the role they play in bank stabilization and that they hide houses that like mine, are built too close to the river. 

The tree cutter is a trained forester and admitted that cutting the trees as requested would certainly kill the trees but he was just following orders. He was very understanding and agreed to stop the cutting until municipality could give a ruling or guidance. I suggested that if the cedar trees need to be cut back to open up the view, at the very least, they should be trimmed slowly so that the trees don’t die from being cut back too much. This represents a compromise and an environmentally sound solution to the problem in my opinion. Obviously there is a need for awareness about the role of riverbank trees to protect the river and the road that runs alongside.

I’m concerned for the river bank collapsing without these trees but also that this kind of cutting is illegal and sends the wrong message to new houses that are currently being built on opposite side of river. I understand that homeowners want to maximize their view of this beautiful river but if everyone starts cutting trees that block their view, there will be a very big problem for the river bank and the road. By the evening I got a nasty FB comment from the father of the new owner of the property and now I'm being painted as the bad guy who is making trouble and trying to deny the new owners of a clear view of the river. "Why don't you mind your own fucking business?"

I remarked to our new Councillor that this is a classic example of awareness/education needed about difference between trimming and cutting of riverbank vegetation which is obviously a gray zone. But my Councillor called me back to say the inspector came round and gave the neighbors approval to go ahead and cut the trees. Money talks. I reminded him that these trees are on Crown/hydro land and will eventually result in the river bank crumbling into the river with all the motor boat traffic – but this doesn’t seem to matter when trees get in the way of a desired view.This is exactly what happened along our river just south of Wakefield and our Municipality put in extra stop signs and a few barriers to solve the gaping hole problem. This was over 2 years ago! Maybe I should run my car into this hole one dark night and try to sue the the Municipality? Good luck on that one!

So now I'm the bad guy. I’m a do-gooder, living in an fantasy world (especially if our Council reads this post!). I feel naïve for taking this stance and once more, I’ve been burned by sticking my neck out!  I'm slowly realizing why most people stop trying to do the right thing, it's just too hard and too frustrating. I mean look what happened to Jesus! It’s a sad state of affairs for the environment and common sense, but that’s the world we live in. When will I learn and play by these stupid short-sighted rules?  Poor me, I should have joined the Military as my father wanted. I honestly think my life would have been much easier bombing ISIS than saving trees. So for any young people who want to be part of the solution and not the problem, beware. Being an environmentalist should come with a warning.

Space junk

The issue of space junk has always bothered me. Like pollution, it might not be worth while to pick up your garbage and avoid polluting the river, but there are costs to society if you don't. How do you get people to be responsible when the costs may not be borne by them?
I’ve noticed an unbelievable amount of glass and junk dumped along my river shoreline and it never seems to stop, maybe it migrates? I’ve heard stories of people in the old days throwing their garbage into the river from an open window! How could people not know or think this would create a toxic and dangerous legacy for future generations who actually swim in the river? I’ve stepped on a few jagged pieces of glass and steel (I even found an old rusted sword!) but so far, luckily I have only cut into my thick skin on my feet and not deeper to the bone. I declared war on the junk, especially glass. I dug into the commonly used areas, I raked it, sifted it with my fingers (no cuts). It just astounds and saddens me that people were so short-sighted that they just through this kind of persistent garbage into a beautiful river just footsteps from your home?
Like the early space race we probably never even thought of it. It’s a big place and the “flow” will just take it away to some other beach in the universe.
I guess we’ve come a long way from those blatant polluting acts but we’re still doing it on less obvious levels. At least we have a slightly better chance of cleaning up our mess here on Earth. I’ve heard of many efforts to try to clean up space and carve out a lucrative market, but so far the space junk vacuum has not been created. A giant roving magnet shield might work but I suspect a lot of the junk can't be captured this way. Maybe a sophisticated space drone that is able to catch up with and collect or neutralize the pieces of junk (the pieces could go into a museum?). Like cleanup efforts on Earth, the cost of cleaning the problem after the mess is made, is much more expensive than avoiding the problem beforehand. There are over 5,500 satellites up there that aren’t even being used!

This is our MO, we make the mess first through new technology, and we try to clean it up later with yet another new technology. In my case with the analogy of river shoreline pollution from past generations of short-term idiots, I have the time and luxury to slowly clean out my little piece of paradise.
How could we allow such an irresponsible act to begin in the first place? I hear the space junk up there now will likely remain for hundreds if not thousands of years. Maybe in the far future, much of this debris will coalesce into a small moon made of space junk, we could call it the Junky moon?
The real risk is a cascading failure, as these pieces of junk collide, they produce more and more debris. If we lose our GEO satellites we’ll be screwed. Bye bye cell phones and GPS. We must solve this problem before we launch thousands of more satellites in the next decade. This sounds bleak but Elon Musk is correct, sooner and hopefully much later, we will need to leave our beautiful Earth nest and find another home in the stars.