On August 31st and September 1st, two members of the National Assembly visited Blanc-Sablon to meet with local leaders and organizations, as well the general public.
Kateri Champagne Jourdain, the MNA for Duplessis, and Yves Montigny, the MNA for René-Lévesque and the government assistant for regional air transport, spent time with the Municipal Council of Blanc-Sablon, visited the Adult Education Center in Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, and met with the MRC du Golf-du-Saint-Laurent. A local tour of the area was also had with the Mayor of Blanc-Sablon, Andrew Etheridge, and the members also took time to meet with local citizens.
A statement from the office of Kateri Champagne Jourdain, the MNA for Duplessis was given to CFBS following this visit:
“I am happy to have spent two days in Blanc-Sablon, in the company of my colleague, Yves Montigny, who is the government assistant for regional air transport. In particular, we discussed with the City Council, but also with citizens. People were happy to see us and we obviously heard their concerns about air service and flight reliability. Of course, we also talked about transportation issues in general and the municipality's infrastructure challenges. We were there in listening mode and we certainly left in solution mode. We must do everything we can to ensure that services better meet the needs of the population. »
- Kateri Champagne Jourdain, the MNA for Duplessis
Keep in mind that during these important meetings, two files were also on topic concerning the Lower North Shore; concerns in air transportation as brought forth by the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent in response to complaints gathered from residents, and issues surrounding the decision making powers for medical services to the population to the Lower North Shore, as brought forward in petition by concerned citizens of the region.
Speaking with Andrew Etheridge, Mayor of the Municipality of Blanc-Sablon, he said that the meetings had went well. Mr. Etheridge stated that the ministers were open to hearing the concerns of the region, and that all parties agreed to form better communication to handle these important files. Mr. Etheridge added that the local leaders of the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent hope that there could be a public inquiry into the transportation file.
CFBS will follow any updates in the weeks to come .....
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