PUBLIC – Minutes of the Gatineau City Council committee of the whole meeting held in the committee room of the Maison du citoyen, 25 Laurier Street, Gatineau, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 1:08 p.m. at which were present,

REVITALIZATION OF THE CITÉ SECTOR

Presentation by Madame Rita Chahine.

The objectives of the presentation are to: • present a progress report on the revitalization project for the secteur de la Cité; • present a financial update in connection with Règlement 812 / PIVM; • have the recommendations endorsed.

Presentation plan:

1. Status report;
2. Optimized scenario;
3. Timeline;
4. Recommendations.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

CP-SIP-2024-10 Approve the optimized scenario proposal, to remove non-essential work, to delay the RTU (underground technical utilities) burial phase, and to narrow the project limit to 65 m north of boulevard de la Cité for a total estimated cost of the work of $17,745,000 (chargeable).

CP-SIP-2024-11 Authorize the treasurer to draw a sum of $7,125,000 (chargeable) for the financing of the revitalization of the secteur de la Cité from the cash envelope of Block D of the long-term financial plan, coming from available PIVP funds.

CP-SIP-2024-12 Authorize the treasurer to draw a sum of $1,845,000 (chargeable) from the PIVM envelope and a sum of $2,100,000 (chargeable) from the bicycle master plan envelope in order to complete the financing of the revitalization of the secteur de la Cité.

STATUS REPORT - HOMELESSNESS

Presentation by Monsieur Yess Gacem and Monsieur Sébastien Vallée.

A period of questions and comments took place. Monsieur le conseiller Louis Sabourin highlighted the City's leadership in this file. He recalled the holding of the Summit on Homelessness in recent weeks and that there will be a follow-up to this file. He added that it is important to inform the PSI (persons experiencing homelessness) and to include them in discussions and decision-making, just like the partners. As president of Gatineau, Ville en santé, there will be action plans resulting from the Summit as well as a new framework.

Monsieur le conseiller Jean Lessard asked if it is possible to put in place more regular measures for cleaning the site. He proposed standardizing the tents made available to the PSI.

Monsieur Sébastien Vallée mentioned that as part of the reorganization of the site, there will be a component to ensure better maintenance. Regarding the suggestions, he specified that the reorganization will allow for the configuration of the facilities and the clarification of the accepted level of tolerance.

Monsieur le conseiller Marc Bureau is of the opinion that there is only one possible choice, which is the rehabilitation of the centre Robert-Guertin site. Also, he highlighted the removal of trailers and asked how the City will intervene at this level.

Monsieur Vallée added that the trailers are the subject of reflection regarding what is tolerated on the site. The deconstruction project for the arena has been in the council's plan for some time. Therefore, if the council wishes to put an end to this process, it is sovereign to do so. Monsieur Yess Gacem highlighted the safety issues regarding the structure of the arena.

Monsieur le conseiller Mario Aubé emphasized putting in place a level of tolerance to facilitate the management of the site. He is of the opinion that it is preferable to focus on the proposal to move the PSI a little further on the centre Robert-Guertin site. It is necessary to rule and make a decision in this file and he is of the opinion that the City is able to make the necessary adaptations on the current site. He believes that there could be more regular periods to clean the site to ensure the health of the PSI.

Monsieur le maire Daniel Champagne indicated that he will not interfere in the question of cleaning; for him, the priority is to take care of the humans. For the date of May 15, he understands that this date is not a deadline, only for the promoter's initiative. When looking at the delimited territory, the yellow square is large enough to accommodate the PSI. He added that DEVCOR is ready to put in place an initiative to remedy the situation. He senses a change in tone from the CISSS to the effect that homelessness is now becoming a priority.

Monsieur Vallée mentioned that the tents installed by the promoter are not adapted for summer temperatures and that this is the reason why the date of May 15 had been announced.

Monsieur le conseiller Steve Moran highlighted that the homelessness situation is not simple and the City is called upon to intervene in a field of jurisdiction that does not belong to it. He noted the instability of the current plan and the harmful effects for the PSI. He insisted on the importance of having stability in the established plans. He understands that the Hanson site is not a viable option and that it is important to discuss with the citizens who live in that neighborhood. As for the question of the trailers, one must be careful not to blow hot and cold. He asked if it was possible to relaunch HOM (Habitations de l’Outaouais Métropolitain) to build a sanitary block near the centre Robert-Guertin site. In closing, he wondered if delaying the demolition would have an impact on the plans put in place.

Monsieur Vallée mentioned that the concern is the difficulty of getting stakeholders into action for the deconstruction. By not putting a date on the demolition, it slows down the pressure on the actions to be taken. The current momentum is interesting to advance this file and ensure the safety of users.