More than 1,500 people are said to have signed a petition calling for a change in the government’s plans for Hawkesbury’s CIP lagoons.
René Berthiaume, who is founder and president of the Corporation de la Bordure Riveraine, told the Review that he expects the number could reach 2,500 in the next weeks. As of press time, the CBRH’s online petition was still reporting 29 signatures, however Berthaieume said the paper-and-pencil version is having far greater success.
“It has been going around in the municipality and we are gaining support,” he said.
“When you look at the population of Hawkesbury, where there are perhaps 6,000 adults, this means that almost one third of the voting population has already signed,” he said.
Berthiaume, who is a business owner and former Liberal candidate for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, is joined by fellow business owners and activists such as the Ottawa River Keeper group, who are campaigning for a more expansive clean-up of the lagoon.
They say the current plan will not adequately restore the site, and will continue to leak pollution into the Ottawa River; a claim which is denied by representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde and the mayor of Hawkesbury Jeanne Charlebois.
The CBRH is scheduled to hold its annual reunion at La Cité golf course on October 27.