From left to right at the back: Claudette Goguen Kavanaugh, Mario Pelletier, Sebastien R. Michaud, Marcel Levesque, Danny Soucy, David Raines. From left to right at the front: Annie Deschênes, Bertrand Beaulieu, France Rousse, Josée Rioux-Walker
GRAND FALLS, December 18, 2022 - A page of history was turned and another one was written, as the Grand Falls Regional Municipality held its very first oath of office ceremony this afternoon. In the presence of their families, former elected officials from the municipalities of Drummond and Grand Falls and the Rural Community of Saint-André, LSD’s representatives, and municipal employees the Mayor and Council members were sworn in one by one.
"We are 3 municipalities and 2 LSD's who are joining forces, each with their own history, their own good deeds, their own challenges and that’s the beauty of it. It is this alliance that will inspire and guide us to build, develop and grow our new municipality. We must seize the opportunity to create a Town that meets today's needs," said Bertrand Beaulieu, Mayor of the Grand Falls Regional Municipality.
Invited to vote last November, the citizens elected a mayor as well as 9 ward councillors. Here are the members of this first Council:
· Bertrand Beaulieu, Mayor of the Grand Falls Regional Municipality
· Marcel Levesque, Councillor for Saint-André, Ward 1
· Mario Pelletier, Councillor for Saint-André, Ward 1
· Claudette Goguen Kavanaugh, Councillor for Portage, Ward 2
· Danny Soucy, Councillor for Grand Falls South, Ward 3
· David Raines, Councillor for Grand Falls South, Ward 3
· Annie Deschênes, Councillor for Grand Falls North, Ward 4
· Sebastien R. Michaud, Councillor for Grand Falls North, Ward 4
· Josée Rioux-Walker, Councillor for Drummond, Ward 5
· France Roussel, Councillor for Drummond, Ward 5
"You have in front you a Council that is confident that it can achieve this mandate and is committed to working hard to build an inclusive and economically stronger municipality. However, it is not 10 people who will succeed in creating a new municipality that lives up to our expectations. It’s collectively that we will succeed in building a municipality that resembles us, a municipality that brings us together," concluded Mayor Beaulieu.
The first public meeting will be held next Tuesday, December 20, starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Roland-Lafrance room at the Marcel Deschênes building. This meeting will allow the elected officials to adopt certain municipal by-laws, to be ready in case of emergency when they take office on January 1, 2023.
The ceremony was webcast on the municipality's Facebook page and can be viewed at the following link: https://fb.watch/hvexmgh35W/
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Info and interview requests:
France Le Moignan, Communications & Marketing Coordinator
(506) 240-1773 - communications@grandsault.ca