Gatineau meeting summaries, agendas, and minutes

Gatineau council approves $1.98M turf loan and $478,517 in housing repairs

Gatineau city council on October 20 approved a $1.98 million loan for a synthetic turf surface at Parc Ernest-Gaboury and authorized $478,517 for social housing repairs at 26, rue Arthur-Buies. Those were the largest amounts approved in the two weeks of meetings covered by this roundup. The council summary did not include vote tallies.

Council decisions, October 20

Along with the turf loan and the housing repair funding, council approved minor zoning variances for the new police headquarters at 975, boul. Saint-Joseph. It created an Office of Public Participation and appointed a selection committee for it. Council also adopted property tax categories and assessment sectors for the 2027-2029 assessment roll, and approved a streetlight repair plan using external contractors.

Two interim appointments were authorized: Christian Riopel as Leisure Services Director and Charlène Thivierge-Lortie as Finance Director.

The $1.98 million turf loan and the $478,517 housing contribution had been recommended by the Executive Committee at its October 20 meeting.

Executive Committee, October 14: contracts and hiring

The Executive Committee approved several snow removal contracts, including contracts with 7705344 Canada inc., and rejected Section 1 snow removal bids, authorizing a new tender. Both decisions were unanimous.

It awarded a $640,066.28 five-year lifeguard training contract to Société de sauvetage (unanimous) and authorized $416,635 for a 40-month temporary geospatial and flood analysis coordinator position (unanimous). Bids for professional surveying services were rejected (unanimous).

Other unanimous decisions: a $3,000 contribution to the Association des communicateurs municipaux du Québec; a noise by-law derogation for work at 771, boulevard Alexandre-Taché from 13 to 21 octobre 2026; and the dismissal of employee number 117729.

Île de Hull zoning recommendation

The Commission du développement du territoire et de l'habitation voted unanimously on October 23 to recommend that council advance work on the Île de Hull urban plan revision using a two-tier zoning model. Under the framework described, standard by-right zoning would be paired with targeted density bonuses for community benefits, with site-specific approvals (PPCMOI) reserved for exceptional projects. Staff are to continue public consultations and technical analyses before submitting a final proposal, with implementation targeted for 2027. The recommendation is not a council decision.

On the agenda, not yet decided

The Executive Committee's October 21 agenda listed reconstruction of chemin McConnell and the intersection of chemins Vanier and McConnell, approval of disbursements for September 18-24, 2026 totaling $8,503,156, snow removal for various parking lots, blowing of the protected bike lane on Boulevard Montclair, and bylaw 816-6-2026 on delegation of power to authorize expenses and contracts. Minutes for that meeting have not been published, so no decisions are confirmed here.

Agenda-only items also included an October 13 plenary presentation on valorizing biogas from the STARRE and on "Espace promoteur"; an October 14 commission review of the Lucy-Faris library's first six months of activity and the cultural infrastructure master plan; and an October 22 commission review of the Land Use and Development Plan and affordable housing strategies.

Coming up

• **October 26** — Toponymy Committee, sixth meeting of 2026. Public question period from 13:35 to 14:05; closed session on naming proposals for Pat Burn and Horace Gauthier; review of a toponymic dossier for Mariette Lapaix and a project with the Haitian community. Next meeting November 30.
• **October 27** — Plenary Committee closed-door work session, with a presentation by Justin Thibault on the ÉLAN digital transformation initiative.
• **October 29** — Commission on Transport, Sustainable Travel and Safety: presentation on the opportunity study and solution analysis for chemin Vanier, a recommendation on implementing a bike-share system, and a public question period from 15 h 05 to 15 h 35.

Gatineau council approves 79-unit community housing project; executive committee awards culvert contracts and approves over $24 million in disbursements

Gatineau's municipal council approved the construction of two community buildings with 79 housing units for vulnerable persons, and the Executive Committee awarded two culvert replacement contracts and approved more than $24 million in disbursements, among decisions recorded between Sept. 29 and Oct. 8.

Council approves 79 housing units, zoning variances

At its Oct. 6 meeting, council approved construction of two 3-story community buildings with 79 housing units at 20 and 30, rue Sainte-Marthe. Council also granted six minor variances for a 10-unit multi-family home at 153, rue Joffre, including reducing parking from 15 to 2 spaces. Council adopted Regulation 14-11-2026 modifying the internal governance of the council, commissions and plenary committee, and adopted the meeting agenda. The minutes do not record vote tallies for these items.

Executive Committee: culverts, disbursements, contracts

Meeting Sept. 29, the committee awarded a $395,946.68 contract to RN Civil for culvert no 46280 on rue des Laurentides and a $1,526,889.64 contract to Construction FGK Inc. for culvert no 33810 on chemin du Fer-à-Cheval, both unanimous. It approved $13,107,582 in disbursements for Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, 2026, and $11,599,247 for Sept. 4 to Sept. 10, 2026, both unanimous. It also authorized a 60-day unpaid suspension for employee no 123223 (unanimous) and adopted minutes from Sept. 16 and Sept. 22, 2026.

On Oct. 7, the committee approved grant applications to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility for cycling links on Blvd de l'Aéroport, Rue Atmec, Chemin McConnell and Rue de la Côte-des-Neiges, and for multipurpose paths on Rue des Laurentides, Blvd La Vérendrye Est and Rue Guigues (unanimous). It approved funding requests for Route verte maintenance and Sentier des Voyageurs and Blvd de la Cité-des-Jeunes improvements, and rejected all bids for soil transport and disposal contract 2026 SP 159 (unanimous). It approved the first optional period of the GardaWorld SENC traffic signaling contract for $1,700,941.21, approved $8,668,302 in disbursements for Sept. 11-17, 2026, and authorized a $45,990 cost increase for the AVI-SPL Canada Ltée videoconferencing contract, bringing total adjustments to $128,461.97 (all unanimous).

Tax sub-categories, public participation funding recommended

The Sept. 29 Executive Committee recommended to council the creation of new property tax sub-categories for the 2027-2029 role, and a $400,000 budget transfer to the Office of Public Participation effective Jan. 1, 2027 (both unanimous). Recommendations require council approval to take effect. On Oct. 6, the committee unanimously recommended that council adopt Bylaw Number 14-11-2026, amending Bylaw Number 14-2001 on internal management and the sharing of functions between council and the executive committee.

Committee agendas: finance, demolition, recreation, health

Several bodies met or were scheduled to meet with agendas that list no decisions yet. The Comité des finances met Oct. 2 in hybrid mode at Maison du Citoyen, 25 rue Laurier, moving into closed session after a public question period for presentations on the long-term financial plan, a budget optimization exercise, user fees (tarification) and revenue diversification; two items were listed as recommendations. The agenda states no dollar amounts. Its next meeting is Nov. 13, 2026.

The Comité plénier was scheduled Oct. 6 for a closed session on a hearing to review its decision on demolition requests; the agenda does not identify the requests. On Sept. 29, the same body received a presentation on the Public Participation Office's progress, including a proposed by-law on the right of initiative, a digital participation platform and a pilot project for citizen assemblies; no formal decisions were recorded. The Commission du vivre-ensemble met Oct. 5 on a campaign against prejudice and discrimination and the "À Gatineau on bouge !" summit. The Commission des loisirs, des sports et du développement communautaire met Oct. 7 on the 2027-2037 outdoor pool master plan and a transformation plan for outdoor rinks. The Commission Gatineau, Ville en Santé met Oct. 8 on drafting the 2026-2029 regional public health action plan and a statutory update on the homelessness file. Minutes for these meetings were not yet published.

Coming up

• **Oct. 13 — Comité plénier:** the agenda lists presentations on valorizing biogas from the STARRE and on "Espace promoteur"; the summary describes the meeting as a closed session for strategic exchanges.
• **Oct. 14 — Comité exécutif:** tender 2026 SP 199 for snow dump maintenance; sole-source contract 2026 SP 465 for lifeguard and swimming training; rejection of tender 2026 SP 363 for professional polling services 2026-2029; proposed Bylaw 816-6-2026 on delegation of power for expenditures and contracts; a financial contribution for Gatineau to host the 2027 ACMQ symposium.
• **Oct. 14 — Commission des arts, de la culture, des lettres et patrimoine:** six-month activity report for the Lucy-Faris library, status update on cultural infrastructures, the cultural infrastructure master plan, and the 2026 mid-year review of the Cultural Policy action plan.