MRC warden confirms Maniwaki services will continue after town council opposes Gracefield head office expansion
Tashi Farmilo
Chantal Lamarche, warden of the MRC de La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, made a motion at the August 12 MRC meeting, to reassure residents that the county's Maniwaki office will keep operating, after Maniwaki's town council formally opposed a plan to expand the MRC's headquarters in Gracefield. The dispute turns on a tension between the two towns: the MRC runs its head office in Gracefield and a second service point in Maniwaki, and Maniwaki fears the expansion will pull staff and resources toward Gracefield at its expense.
That fear drove Maniwaki's council to vote unanimously on August 4 against awarding the construction contract, according to local broadcaster CHGA. Mayor Louis-André Hubert argued the roughly $6.5 million project does not serve Maniwaki taxpayers, warned of likely cost overruns, and said his central worry was that a bigger head office in Gracefield would eventually draw away the MRC staff who now work in Maniwaki. The concern is not hypothetical: one MRC job posting notes that a Maniwaki service point is already scheduled to be relocated in 2026-2027.
In her statement, Lamarche and the 16 members of the MRC council said the project will not cause any job losses and that the Maniwaki office will stay open as an important service point. As evidence of its commitment to the town, the MRC pointed to more than $2.3 million invested there in recent years, including the purchase of a building and renovation work.
Much of the recent concern centred on how quickly the contract was awarded, and the MRC used the statement to trace the project's history. The plan has been in motion since 2022, when elected officials decided the facilities needed review to improve efficiency and working conditions and to save money over the long term, and a funding request was approved unanimously at that time. The contested August 5 vote did not launch the project, the MRC said, but only awarded the construction contract, and only after the province confirmed its funding. The work went to CAMA Industries for $6,488,663 before taxes. Hubert was the only council member to vote against it, which Lamarche said left her disappointed; she added that staff had been consulted at every stage and that some would keep their offices in Maniwaki.
On financing, the MRC received a commitment of $5,255,250 from the Quebec government on July 23, under a provincial infrastructure program known by its French acronym PRACIM, with additional federal funding still under consideration that could cover a significant further share of the cost. Responding to complaints about transparency, the MRC said the special meeting on the contract was called on July 31, with documents sent to elected officials the same day, and that a public notice was posted on its website, displayed in designated locations, and shared on social media.
Lamarche framed the project as part of a wider effort to invest across the whole region rather than favour one town, pointing to recent MRC spending in several communities, including the Château Logue project in Maniwaki and four multi-purpose kiosks built in Low, Grand-Remous, Gracefield, and Maniwaki. She said her duty as an elected official is to consider the valley as a whole and to be able to invest in every municipality, adding that she is willing to meet in person with residents who want a fuller explanation of the decisions.
The MRC meeting closed by reaffirming its intention to keep working with every municipality in the territory and to continue investing in what it called the collective interest of the valley.
Chantal Lamarche, prefect of the MRC de La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, moved to reassure residents that the county's Maniwaki office will stay open after Maniwaki's town council opposed a roughly $6.5 million expansion of the MRC's Gracefield headquarters, which the town fears will draw away local staff and resources. Photo: Tashi Farmilo
