City of Gatineau

Getting a Job Promotion in Ottawa ...

2009-08-26T14:25:00.000-04:00

Private Sector: "Hey Joe, you've been with the company for 9 years now, you have a good track record and you do quality work. Some of your ideas have translated to $1000's per year in savings and your streamlining recommendations have reduced over-head by 10-15%. We would like you to head the team to implement some of your other ideas - since you came up with them obviously you know them best. How much salary increase do you think is justify-able?" Then you negotiate money.

Public Sector: "Hey Joe, you've been with the department for 9 years now, you have a good track record and you do quality work. Some of your ideas have translated to $1000's per year in savings and your streamlining recommendations have reduced over-head by 10-15%. We would like you to head the team to implement some of your other ideas - since you came up with them obviously you know them best. So what we are going to do is put a notice up for internal and external applicants for a vague job description. You should apply, but not by giving your resume to your Manager and Director, but by sending a text only version through a web site so that it can be analyzed by a computer program to make sure that the terms you use in your resume match those that we put in the essential qualifications section at a rate greater then 50%. If your resume makes it through the screening, you will be invited along with the other candidates to participate in a written exam to assess your general knowledge of computing tends in 6 areas. The test will be written by a 3rd party who is not familiar with the specific tasks of the job you are testing for. If you happen to score 60% or better in each of the sections, you will be invited for an interviews with your manager, the director and a neutral HR 3rd party. The interview questions will be graded, but the questions will be written by a 3rd party who is not familiar with the specific tasks of the job you are testing for. Should you pass the interview, you will need to provide 3 references that will be called and verified, even though you have worked here for 9 years and the job is in the same group, for the same manager you currently work for. If at the end of this process you happen to be the top candidate in the pool, you will receive a formal letter of offer from HR that you must sign and return within 10 days of the job posting. Once you have accepted, the job will become an acting position for the 3 month appeal process. If no one contests your job during the appeal period, then it will become indeterminate at the increment 1 salary level for the designation which is $2200 more than you currently earn. Good luck!"

Now Available as a Cartoon!

10 signs of incompetent managers

2009-08-10T10:00:00.001-04:00

I came across a great piece about traits that incompetent managers share. Written by Margaret Heffernan for FastCompany.com, this no-nonsense piece cuts to the chase and is about as true a list as I've ever seen. Here are the traits of incompetent managers, according to Ms. Heffernan:

Bias against action: There are always plenty of reasons not to take a decision, reasons to wait for more information, more options, more opinions. But real leaders display a consistent bias for action. People who don't make mistakes generally don't make anything. Legendary ad man David Ogilvy argued that a good decision today is worth far more than a perfect decision next month. Beware prevaricators.

Secrecy: "We can't tell the staff," is something I hear managers say repeatedly. They defend this position with the argument that staff will be distracted, confused or simply unable to comprehend what is happening in the business. If you treat employees like children, they will behave that way - which means trouble. If you treat them like adults, they may just respond likewise. Very few matters in business must remain confidential and good managers can identify those easily. The lover of secrecy has trouble being honest and is afraid of letting peers have the information they need to challenge him. He would rather defend his position than advance the mission. Secrets make companies political, anxious and full of distrust.

Over-sensitivity: "I know she's always late, but if I raise the subject, she'll be hurt." An inability to be direct and honest with staff is a critical warning sign. Can your manager see a problem, address it headlong and move on? If not, problems won't get resolved, they'll grow. When managers say staff is too sensitive, they are usually describing themselves. Wilting violets don't make great leaders. Weed them out. Interestingly, secrecy and over-sensitivity almost always travel together. They are a bias against honesty.

Love of procedure: Managers who cleave to the rule book, to points of order and who refer to colleagues by their titles have forgotten that rules and processes exist to expedite business, not ritualize it. Love of procedure often masks a fatal inability to prioritize - a tendency to polish the silver while the house is burning.

Preference for weak candidates: We interviewed three job candidates for a new position. One was clearly too junior, the other rubbed everyone up the wrong way and the third stood head and shoulders above the rest. Who did our manager want to hire? The junior. She felt threatened by the super-competent manager and hadn't the confidence to know that you must always hire people smarter than yourself.

Focus on small tasks: Another senior salesperson I hired always produced the most perfect charts, forecasts and spreadsheets. She was always on time, her data completely up-to-date. She would always volunteer for projects in which she had no core expertise - marketing plans, financial forecasts, meetings with bank managers, the office move. It was all displacement activity to hide the fact that she could not do her real job.

Inability to hire former employees: I hired a head of sales once with (apparently) a luminous reputation. But, as we staffed up, he never attracted any candidates from his old company. He'd worked in sales for twenty years - hadn't he mentored anyone who'd want to work with him again? Every good manager has alumni, eager to join the team again; if they don't, smell a rat.

Allergy to deadlines: A deadline is a commitment. The manager who cannot set, and stick to deadlines, cannot honor commitments. A failure to set and meet deadlines also means that no one can ever feel a true sense of achievement. You can't celebrate milestones if there aren't any.

Addiction to consultants: A common - but expensive - way to put off making decisions is to hire consultants who can recommend several alternatives. While they're figuring these out, managers don't have to do anything. And when the consultant's choices are presented, the ensuing debates can often absorb hours, days, months. Meanwhile, your organization is poorer but it isn't any smarter. When the consultant leaves, he takes your money and his increased expertise out the door with him.

Long hours: In my experience, bad managers work very long hours. They think this is a brand of heroism but it is probably the single biggest hallmark of incompetence. To work effectively, you must prioritize and you must pace yourself. The manager who boasts of late nights, early mornings and no time off cannot manage himself so you'd better not let him manage anyone else.

The best French Fries in Gatineau??

2008-08-20T14:32:00.002-04:00

Le Patapouf
117 Gatineau Ave.

Here is another hidden gem in Gatineau, except this time it is for French fries.

The prices are great and the service is friendly and the french fries are top notch. Too bad about the location. But if you are out and about and want a great snack, try the Patapouf .... you won't be disappointed.

Hidden Treasure in Gatineau for Car Repairs

2008-07-15T11:05:00.002-04:00

After the winter we have last year I decided that I want a winter car so that my new car would last a few extra seasons, also with the low profile of a lot of new cars I doubt it would even be drivable in more than a few inches of snow. Anyways, that said, I recently purchased an old 4x4 with good clearance for the winter.

As is recommended when purchasing any used car, I had a full vehicle inspection. I like to do this at a dealership because they always give you the worst case scenario. As expected, the dealership estimate came to about $1500 (for a $5000 winter car? I don’t think so!). I took the dealership estimate to Canadian Tire and they bid at $1200 - still a little too much for me.

I had never been there before, but I found the “Garage du Coin” on Google and decided to stop by. At a first glance, I was surprised the building was still standing – to say it is rough looking is an understatement. However, the garage owner Sherif Sbeiti was super friendly and went over the dealership estimate and the car at no charge, made a few calls and came up with a price that was 1/4 the dealership estimate and 1/3 Canadian Tire. The work was done the next day and the car runs great.

So if you have an old car and think you might be paying too much, give these guys a call, or drop by. It might well save you $100’s or $1000’s in car repair costs.

Garage du Coin
183 rue de Varennes
Gatineau, QC J8T 8G6, Canada
(819) 568-3511

Pedestrians forced to take to the streets (and possibly penalized for it!)

2008-03-14T10:44:00.002-04:00

"Gatineau residents will be walking in the streets until the end of winter because the city has given up on plowing sidewalks.

The city says there's simply too much snow for them to remove, so they will be plowing the snow that has been clogging streets since the weekend onto the sidewalks."
- Ottawa Sun, March 13, 2008

However, in a separate article in “La Revue” (March 12, 2008 edition) Gatineau Police have announced that they will be ticketing pedestrians that they consider to be unsafely walking in the streets.

While I understand the role of Police in ensuring safety for the citizenry of Gatineau, this seems like a bit of a cash grab. I think Police should be enforcing on-street parking regulations and ticketing cars that are parked in already narrowed streets, where those cars create a dangerous situation for drivers and pedestrians - especially on main roads and near schools.

As an example, on-street parking on Boulevard de la Cite has effectively narrowed the street width to one lane. On 2 occasions this week alone, traffic has been backed up along this street as only one car can pass at a time. The focus could also be in areas near schools where children are forced to walk on the street, and on-street parking makes it difficult for one car to pass in certain areas, let alone a car and a pedestrian.

While I hope next winter won’t present similar problems, hopefully city council will enact legislation that protects pedestrians rather than penalizes them. Ticketing poor pedestrians forced to take to the roads because of winter weather while not enforcing things that have been shown to save lives (like mandatory bike helmet laws) seems a bit hypocritical to me.

Dealing with the winter blues ...

2008-03-05T18:33:00.001-05:00

Cross post from http://muscleyou.com
I will start this post off with a happy thought: Winter is almost over. For many of us, especially those in the North and Canada, winter can be long, hard and draining. The lack of sunshine, fresh air and the cold can take its toll on your body after a few months. So here are a few tips to survive the long winter.

Sunshine: Many people are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD or Winter Depression), some estimate as many as 1 in 5. The most common symptoms of SAD include extreme fatigue, oversleeping, not being able to get out of bed, overeating, carbohydrate cravings and weight gain. It can also be accompanied by the regular symptoms of depression, such as low mood, loss of interest in activities and trouble concentrating.

The best therapy is light therapy - either natural (get outside for 15-20 minutes a day) or through a special light treatment lamp. I have also found that 15-30 minutes a week in a tanning bed through January and February to be very beneficial.

Exercise: Exercise encourages the release of endorphins into the blood stream that have a great effect on mood and energy. 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 or 4 times a week can help elevate your mood, and combat winter weight gain.

Be careful to avoid overtraining as it can depress your immune system and make you more susceptible to colds and flu. In addition if you feel an illness coming on, reduce your training intensity and training session length. Please be kind to others: if you are a member of a gym, stay home for a few days so that you don’t expose others to your germs and viruses.

Vitamin Therapy: Vitamins B and C can help you overcome fatigue, and boost your immune system so that your body can beat winter time colds. Vitamin B complex usually has a number (50 or 100) which corresponds to the amount in mg of each Vitamin B factor. In winter, a 200 pound man can take up to 200mg a day. Vitamin C supplements are usually sold in 500mg or 1g tablets. You can take up to 2g a day of vitamin C (Personally, if I feel the onset of a cold, I double my Vitamin C intake to 4g a day, add Echinacea and a ZMA complex.).

While getting through winter may be tough, just remember to eat right, exercise moderately, take your vitamins and treat yourself to some natural or artificial sunshine every once in a while. Spring is juts around the corner.

Canadian Income Tax Calculator

2008-02-18T08:04:00.003-05:00

I have posted this before, but I think it is worth while to post it again now that it is Tax season. Estimate your provincial and federal taxes and even compare it to other provinces. Great tool to know what taxes you might owe come March.

Canadian Federal and Provincial Income Tax Calculator

Gatineau Health Care - beyond bad service

2008-01-14T09:26:00.000-05:00

One of the five-pillars of Canadian Health Care is Accessibility (from the preamble of the act: “the plan must provide for reasonable access to services”). Last week, my daughter (18 months) was sick. As I suspected (and was confirmed) it was an ear infection. Certainly not an emergency case, but requires a visit to the Doctor none the less.

I am aware that there is a shortage of Doctors, funding and perhaps “will to do anything about it” in Gatineau, that is why our family physician is in Orleans Ontario. However for walk-in clinics to turn away an 18 month old walk-in patient (2 because they are too busy, and one because they “do not open new files”) is deplorable.

Here are the clinics. I hope the Quebec Ministry of Health takes action!

“Too busy”
Gatineau Maternity and Family Medical Clinic - 195 Gréber Blvd
Outaouais Medical Clinic - 25 de la Savane Road

"Will not open a new file" (even for an 18 month old)
Clinique Médicale De Touraine - 520 Boulevard de L'Hôpital

Traffic at la Verendrye and Greber

2008-01-08T06:43:00.000-05:00

I have said it before and I will say it again … does anyone do traffic impact studies in Gatineau?

For those of you who may have noticed the traffic increase at Greber and La Verendrye and wondered why, there is a new Government of Canada office (Passport Canada) located on Greber just north of the la Verendrye intersection. I have heard the final number will be somewhere between 500 and 1000 new employees, on shift work.

La Verendrye is already saturated, and not properly designed to deliver the number of vehicles that use it now. This new office is creating such congestion that the North (left) lane of the East-bound side of La Verendrye can get backed up for 3 to 4 traffic light cycles because of left turning traffic, and because of a 3-4 car turning lane, that stops traffic that is trying to go straight through. The option is to veer into the South (right) lane to get by the turning traffic (and then quickly veer back as that lane ends just past the intersection!) … and I am sure that will cause traffic accidents soon enough.

If you can find an alternate route to avoid this intersection, do it!

Calculate your Marginal Tax rate

2007-12-21T05:49:00.000-05:00

I just found this neat income tax calculator if you want to get a rough idea of how much income tax you will have to pay this year, and how that compares to other provinces. Remember, this is just an estimate and doesn't take into account your deductions and other items.

Income Tax Calculator

Here is the difference between Quebec and Ontario at $60000 income (about $4000 a year).

New Road Laws in Quebec - Drivers be Aware!

2007-12-20T08:19:00.000-05:00

These new Road Laws aren't a Gatineau thing, but I sure hope we see them enforced in the Gatineau community.

I know the traffic problems in Gatineau are bad, but using your cell phone while driving in bumper to bumper traffic is ridiculous, especially with the recent bad weather. Yesterday I was cut off TWICE on the 50 by people on cell phone. Come on, have some consideration for other drivers!

Here are the highlights:
1. All vehicles registered in the province must have winter tires on between Nov. 15 and April 15 beginning next year (Nov 2008).
2. The new law bans the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers beginning Jan. 1, 2008 (except hands-free)
3. New drivers must take a certified driver's education courses.

Also, Quebec Minister of Transportation Julie Boulet said a pilot program of installing photo radars and cameras at traffic lights in 15 communities would also begin next year. The move to lower the legal alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05 did not pass (STUPID!!) - I think it's time for ZERO alcohol tollerance. I f you do drink this holiday season, remeber the number for Nez Rouge is 819 771-AUTO (2886).

Happy Holidays!

Gatineau Budget 2008

2007-12-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

Property Tax increase: 1.9% plus 0.5% to continue implementing the fire safety cover plan (2.4% total)

Summary

Is Common Courtesy lost in Gatineau?

2007-12-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

On Saturday December 8, 2007 I was enjoying lunch when I was interrupted by a backhoe scraping snow off my lawn. I went to take a look at when was going on to find a contractor crew digging a large hole in my front yard.

I understand that construction has to happen, and I know that technically the city claims an easement of the first 6 feet of property from the curb. However, this does not negate common courtesy. I feel it is the duty of work crews to inform property owner prior to destroying their property, and provide them with contact information BEFORE they begin such work.

I will have to live with a large unsightly hole in my front yard for the remainder of the winter, and I can only hope that come spring I can even contact the contractors to come make the proper repairs. This is not the first such incident. In June of this year, my entire side yard was destroyed by construction and it took 3 months, 8 phone calls and a threat of legal action to get it repaired (this incident was recorded in a previous blog post).

I will be contacting the City of Gatineau on Monday about today's incident, and will post their reply in this space.

UPDATE Dec.11 - I have finally received a message from the Gas company (Gazifiere). The Gazifiere rep actually told me that this "happens all the time". Also, he would not commit to when they will come make the grass repairs, saying that I can call them the first week of June and they will have a schedule for repairs by then.

I have informed them that this is unacceptable, and I am demanding a firm date in May for repairs, or a financial settlement and I will do the repairs myself.

I hope more citizens start to stand up for themselves. Don't let these comapnies intimidate you!

Is anyone in charge in Gatineau City Hall?

2007-12-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

I don't want to go on a rant here, but some days I wonder who makes the decisions in the City of Gatineau Town Hall.

A few times a year, the Gatineau Optimist Club set up traffic cones and begs drivers for spare change for charity. This is usually done on a Saturday at non-major intersections and is a minor nuisance.

This morning, during my commute to work, the Gatineau Firefighters and local media set up traffic cones at MAJOR intersections (for example St. Joseph and the 5/Montbleu and at St. Joseph and Montclair) causing a traffic slowdown and delay of over 15 minutes on my commute – which is already over an hour to travel 15kms because of poor traffic planning (please see other posts).

I support firemen, I think they are heroes. I also support charities through annual donations and I feel most charities are deserving of support. However, slowing down and stopping rush hour commute traffic in a city whose roads are already slow and over-burdened is beyond idiotic.

Please contact your representative in City Hall to find out which Public Servant or Elected Representative authorized this major inconvenience. That person should be demoted, fired, or at a minimum have all decision making authority removed from their position.

Contact e-mails:
Gatineau 311 Complaints : 311@gatineau.ca
Mayor Marc Bureau: maire@gatineau.ca

By Mail:
Ville de Gatineau
C. P. 1970, succ. Hull
Gatineau (Québec) J8X 3Y9
Canada

Public Transportation costs ...

2007-12-01T06:18:00.000-05:00

There were a few comment I received on my public transit post about what it costs to operate a car vs. the per km cost per person on a bus (approx. $0.35 per km per person for a bus, and I estimated about $0.30 per km based on my car - although that post has since been edited for length and content).

Anyhow, since some people questioned it, here is the estimated operating costs per km (2005 data) from CAA.

Obviously gas prices are slightly higher now. Keep in mind this is operating cost, not ownership cost. For the rest of this document: http://www.peoplescar.org/pages/documents/CAA_annual_driving_costs_2005.pdf

City of Gatineau Transit - the STO

2007-11-30T11:13:00.001-05:00

City of Gatineau busses - what is the real cost?

A lot of people seem to think public transit is an affordable means of transportation. I think that the bus service in Gatineau (and many other cities) are starting to get out of hand price-wise.

To start with, the "Express" service from Gatineau to Ottawa is actually quite good. The major flaw that I can see is that some routes have been diverted off the surface streets with bus lanes onto the highways 5 and 50, contributing to the gridlock (more about that in another post). That being said, lets look at the cost of taking the bus in Gatineau.

As of today, a bus pass costs $69.00 of a city pass and $84.50 for an "Express" pass.

In addition, a portion of your annual municipal (property) taxes go directly to support Gatineau Transit (the STO). Last year, for me, it was $1000.

So the total for the year? Bus passes for me and my wife $169 x 12 months = $2028
STO portion of property taxes = $1000
Total = $3028

Total km per day = 16km
Average work year: 240 days

$3028 / 16km / 240 / 2 riders = $0.39 per km per adult.

UPDATE: Both my wife an I have changed jobs and now work in Gatineau proper. Bussing is no longer an option because in order to get to work (6km travel) I would have to take 2 busses and then walk 15 minutes. For my wife, there is an Express that would take her to work in the morning (8km), but the Express does not pass her workplace in the evening (thats right, the same bus takes a different route in the morning and afternoon), so it's 2 busses and a 20 minute walk to get home, or 3 busses from a tranfer spot past our area.

But I still have to give STO $1000 a year for a service I can't realistically use, even if I wanted!

Time for Gatineau Transit to revisit their public transit mangement plan.

City of Gatineau Noise Bylaws

2007-11-19T13:36:00.001-05:00

Here is an open note to the construction team that started work at 7am at 192 rue de la Plaine on Sunday Nov 18th.

Please familiarize yourself with Bylaw 44-2003 :

CHAPITRE 5
TRAVAUX
7. En raison de la nature irritante du bruit (sirènes, ondes de choc, impacts répétitifs, etc.), les travaux sur un chantier de construction, de rénovation ou de démolition, qui se situe à moins de 150 mètres d’un immeuble servant d’hébergement, ne peuvent s’effectuer que du lundi au samedi, entre 7 h et 21 h, sauf dans le cas de travaux d’urgence sur des infrastructures publiques ou de travaux qui ont été expressément autorisés par le Comité exécutif.

Dear fellow citizens, the City continually refuses to enforce this with bylaw enforcement officers and expect us to call the already overworked Police Services to enforce this law.

Please be sure to report ANY violations until the Police force the city to take action. Only when citizens get serious will the city get serious.

BTW, on Wednesday and Friday I witnessed drug deals on my street. Next time I will post the license plate of the offender in this spot.

Series of Break and Enter goes unsolved

2007-10-29T11:03:00.000-04:00

According to the Police (Saturday) there have been numerous break-ins in the Mont Luc area of Gatineau lately.

The thief or thiefs use force to enter (smashing down doors) and rummage though the house for cash and jewlery. The Police have no clues and no suspects and their advice was "Get a good insurance company".

Everyone in Gatineau needs to be on the lookout. These robberies are not silent (kicking doors down) and most likely someone in your neighbourhood.

If you see anything, call the Police.

Pont des Draveurs - Load Restriction

2007-10-22T11:52:00.000-04:00

Anomalies in the bridge structure of Pont des Draveurs in Gatineau is forcing the Ministry of Transportation of Quebec to ban the movement of heavy trucks in the right lanes. Starting a midnight Friday October 19th, buses, trucks and any vehicle with more than five tons can only move in the centre lanes of the bridge.

The ministry says it is necessary to carry out repairs to cracks on the concrete piers supporting the bridge, however, work on the bridge is not expected before next spring.

This information was released to French media outlets on Thursday Oct 18th. There are still no further details on the City of Gatineau website.

Gatineau City Coucil

2007-10-18T15:22:00.000-04:00

District maps:

Councillors
1 – Aylmer District	2 – Lucerne District	3 – Deschênes District	4 – Val-Tétreau District	5 – Wright–Parc-de-la-Montagne District
Frank Thérien 819-595-7110	André Laframboise 819-595-7110	Alain Riel 819-595-7110	Alain Pilon 819-595-7110	Patrice Martin 819-595-7110
6 – Orée-du-Parc District	7 – Saint-Raymond–Vanier District	8 – Hull District	9 – Limbour District	10 – Riverains District
Louise Poirier 819-595-7110	Pierre Philion 819-595-7110	Denise Laferrière 819-595-7110	Simon Racine 819-595-7110	Denis Tassé 819-595-7110
11 – Promenades District	12 – Versant District	13 – Bellevue District	14 – Lac-Beauchamp District	15 – Rivière-Blanche District
Luc Angers 819-595-7110	Joseph De Sylva 819-595-7110	Richard Côté 819-595-7110	Aurèle Desjardins 819-595-7110	Yvon Boucher 819-595-7110
16 – Masson-Angers District	17 – Buckingham District
Luc Montreuil 819-595-7110	Jocelyne Houle 819-595-7110

Gatineau to Get $40 Million for Infrastructure

2007-10-18T15:13:00.000-04:00

Time to write to the Mayor and your City Councillor and demand that the Highway 50 and Highway 5 interchange be enhanced and the Alonzo Bridge and Verendrye from Greber to St-Louis be expanded to 2 lanes!

August 31, 2007

The City of Gatineau Receives an Initial Payment of $11,848,869 from the Transfer of a Portion of Federal Gasoline Excise Tax Revenues and the Government of Quebec’s Contribution

Gatineau, Quebec - The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Benoît Pelletier, Quebec Minister responsible for the Outaouais region and MNA for Chapleau, on behalf of Nathalie Normandeau, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions, are pleased to announce that the City of Gatineau will receive $11,848,869 under the federal-provincial agreement on the transfer of a portion of federal gasoline excise tax revenues and the Government of Quebec’s contribution. This is the first payment for the City of Gatineau, which will receive a total of $37,027,716 over the next four years for major infrastructure projects. Also present at this event today were Stéphanie Vallée, MNA for Gatineau, and Charlotte L’Écuyer, MNA for Pontiac.

“We all know to what extent modern infrastructure benefits to all Canadians and is instrumental to the environment and the economy of the country”, said Minister Lawrence Cannon. “This is why our government works in partnership with the Quebec government to make cities and communities in Quebec the best places to live, study, work and visit.”

“The repair and modernization of public infrastructure is a high priority for the Government of Quebec. The funding announced today is a reflection of our commitment to improve the quality of life of residents. With this agreement, the City of Gatineau will now be able to rely on stable annual funding, which will facilitate planning the work that needs to be done,” said Minister Benoît Pelletier.

“I am pleased that the City of Gatineau can benefit from this governmental funding in order to modernize the drinking water treatment plan in the Aylmer sector,” added the Mayor of Gatineau, Marc Bureau.

The goal of the Canada-Quebec Agreement is to provide funding for the renewal of municipal and local infrastructure, and specifically for municipal drinking water, wastewater, local road system and public transit infrastructure, within a context of sustainable development. Canada’s new government will pay the Government of Quebec a total of $1.34 billion over five years, to which Quebec will add $475.7 million, for a grand total of $1.8 billion. Including contributions from municipalities, $2.3 billion will go toward renewing municipal infrastructure. The funds will be administered by the Société de financement des infrastructures locales du Québec (SOFIL).

City of Gatineau - Beautiful Nature

2007-10-09T08:48:00.000-04:00

The last bunch of posts about Gatineau I have focussed on some of the negative aspects of living in the city of Gatineau and tried to dispell some of the sales myths used to lure home buyers to this region.

Today I want to focus on what I feel is the main selling point of Gatineau - Natural Beauty.

Gatineau, famous for "the Gatineau Hills" is a fantactic place for outdoor recreation. There are dozens of large parks, bike paths that go from one end of the city to the other, and many attractions and festivals.

Here are some pictures of the Gatineau Hills:

The Lac Lemay Casino and surroundings:

City of Gatineau Services - Daycare

2007-10-03T12:40:00.001-04:00

The City of Gatineau and most of it's supporters talk about the "7 dollar-a-day" daycare system as a justification for the increased taxload.

My daughter was born in July 2006. My wife and I started contacting daycares for a $7 spot starting in January 2006 (yes - before she was even born) for July 2007 spots. It is now October 2007 and we have yet to hear from any subsidized daycares in the city of Gatineau.

While these spots do exist, they are not unlimited and they are very hard to get. If you put your child on a waiting list before they are born, you might get a daycare spot by the time they are 2.

If you are using the cheap daycare as a justification for the excessive Gatineau taxload, get your facts straight!!

Gatineau - the Traffic Problem

2007-10-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

Gatineau 2007 is a result of the amalgamation of a few smaller cities: Gatineau, Aylmer, and Hull. The total population of the new city of Gatineau is about 250, 000 and about 1/2 of those live in the old city of Gatineau.

Despite being a city of about 100,000 people, Gatineau has a terrible traffic problem due partly to geography and partly to VERY poor city planning.

As you can see from the map below, Gatineau sector is bordered to the south and the west by the Ottawa and Gatineau Rivers.

There are only 3 bridges to cross the river - 2 street level (one 2 lane, one 1-lane) and one highway. As a result, leaving or returning to the district of Gatineau during rush hour can take approximately 30-45 minutes (to travel less than 5 kms).

In addition to the lack of street access, one bridge (the single lane bridge) is at a corner with a Subway, Mcdonalds, Tim Hortons and other stores and restaurants.

I really don't know who in this city is responsible for traffic analysis, but they should be fired. And the citizens of Gatineau should be demanding better transportation options from the over-paid municipal government.

Gatineau - Services Part 2

2007-09-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

The second totally inadequate service in the city is the Bylaw enforcement.

The 2 major issues?
1. On Street Parking
2. Construction Noise Violations.

1. Parking - People in the city of Gatineau seem to park wherever they want.

On my street, cars often line BOTH sides of the street (where all these cars are from since every house has a double driveways is beyond me). Even if there is space on one side, people often park directly across from a car on the other side. This means that every day a section of my street is LESS than one lane wide.

Why Gatineau lets this slide, I will never know.

2. Noise Violations.
Did you know there is a 7am to 9pm, Mon to Sat construction law in Gatineau? Seems the contractors, police and by-law officials don't either.

Outside of those hours, and never on Sunday or Holidays can construction take place. So why is it that for the last 4 months I have had to listen to hammers, chainsaws and whatever else until 2 in the morning sometimes?

And don't think I don't complain - I have written 3 e-mails to the City and had a phone conversation with a "Steve Wong" about this issue ... but I still had to listen to a gas powered electric generator until 11:30pm yesterday ...

Gatineau - the Tax I almost forgot ...

2007-09-27T14:06:00.000-04:00

I forgot in my taxes post to include this one ...

The Gatineau Tax de Bienvenue

Loosely translated that means "Gatineau Welcome Tax" and roughly it is about 1% of whatever you paid for your house. So about $2500 for your new $250,000 house.

And what services does that tax pay for? Well, nothing really. You just pay it for the privilege of moving in ...

Seriously ...

Gatineau - What about the Services?

2007-09-27T12:59:00.001-04:00

The city of Gatineau, or at least those who try to sell houses here, talk a lot about the world class services in this city. Well, let me start with health care services ...

I will summarize by saying this - I have leaved here 4 years now and have yet to see a Quebec Doctor.

No, not by choice!

My family Dr. is in Ottawa because the waiting list for doctors in Gatineau is an estimated 6 years. Even my 1 year old daughter has to see an Ontario Doctor because there are no pediatricians taking new patients in the City of Gatineau.

Now, there is one part of the health care service that is adequate. The CLSC Gatineau has provided free immunizations for my daughter, and they sent a nurse to our home for the 48 hour and 1 week check-up of my daughter.

Does this make up for having to drive to Orleans Ontario (35 minutes) last month with my sick daughter because she is refused a 6 clinics (Yes, 6 Gatineau clinics refused to see her - a 14 month old!) - absolutely not.

If you have health issues, do NOT move to Gatineau!

Gatineau Taxes - the Biggest Lie

2007-09-27T12:39:00.000-04:00

Lets start with property taxes:
A 2000 sq.ft home in Ottawa on a 50 x 100ft lot (approx) taxes are about $3,000 a year.
In Gatineau : $5,600 a year!

Difference? $50 a week

Income taxes:
Based on a Salary of $60,000
Ontario net per paycheck : $2,000
Gatineau net per paycheck : $1,600

Difference? $200 a week

So if you are a home owner with a $250,000 house and a $60,000 a year job, you WILL PAY about $13,000 more taxes PER YEAR than your conterpart living in Ottawa. Read that again - Gatineau taxes are THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS more ...

Why Gatineau?

2007-09-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

3 years ago I started looking for a house. As a Public Sevant working on the Quebec side of the river, I thought I would take a look at Gatineau.

Accoring to the site "avec un agent" these were the advantages:

Advantages of Living in the Outaouais
The situation that currently prevails in the real estate sector at the national level mirrors what we are seeing in the Outaouais region.
Several factors increase the appeal of the Outaouais:
Municipal tax rates are relatively low;
New housing developments are located near urban centres;
Building lots in the Outaouais are usually larger with more extensive wooded areas;
Couples with young children can obtain quality childcare services at a cost of $7/day;
A wide range of businesses can be found nearby;
Sports facilities are widely accessible;
Quality school and health care systems are available in both French and English;
The economy is thriving.
A number of factors relating to quality of life may also be considered:
Proximity to Gatineau Park, rivers and lakes
Numerous golf courses
Exceptional bike paths
Breathtaking scenery
One final thing to consider: Gatineau is rated as the second best city in Canada in terms of quality of life. (Source: Economic Profile of the City of Gatineau, February 2004)

Well, allow me to dispell these myths one by one.

Check back often for more stories about the real Gatineau.