SPEC Headlines, Nov. 9, 2003

Arthur Drolet  re-elected mayor of Gaspé
Jeanie LeLacheur

The November 2^nd municipal election of Gaspé resulted in Arthur Drolet’s  re-election for a second term.   Participation was relatively low with a mere 41% of the population voting and  final results were 2867 votes for Arthur Drolet and  2068 votes for Jacques Dufresne.  Charles Aspirault  was elected councilor for district 2 with a total of 815 votes, and Aline Perry  councilor for district 5  with 465 votes.

 Mr. Drolet expressed pride at being re-elected  and  claimed that although he was confident going into the election he wasn’t over confident and had he lost, he would have returned to family life with his wife, 5 children and 11 grandchildren.

             Fox River votes went 985 for Jacques Dufresne and 245 votes for Arthur Drolet, and although Mr. Dufresne abstained from commenting on leaving the town hall after the final count was revealed, he did offer journalists an opportunity to interview him later in the evening.

Serres Jardin Nature doubles its producing capacity
Creates eight new jobs
Gilles Gagné

NEW RICHMOND - New Richmond based Serres Jardin Nature, already the largest producer or organic tomatoes in the province of Québec, will invest $865,000. over the next few months in order to double its capacity. Work has already started and should be completed over the winter to be ready to produce more the first part of the new year.
The surface of the huge greenhouse will cover 8,000 square meters, instead of the current 4,000. An experimental greenhouse will also be part of the expansion, in order to make tests with new species of tomatoes. Serres Jardin Nature currently employs 12 people, and eight new jobs will be created with this expansion.

"We wanted to evaluate the quality of our products, the response of the customers, and our objectives of production before taking the steps leading to the expansion", says Christian Coté, president of Serres Jardin Nature, upon announcing the investment.

Landry blames the new government for abandoning Gaspé's relaunching effort
"The notebook is blank"
Gilles Gagné

CHANDLER - The record of the new Québec government in regional development is so poor since April 14th that former Premier Bernard Landry refused to give them a mark, when he toured the Gaspé and Chandler area on October 30th.
Mr. Landry expressed disappointment and anger after meeting with regional leaders that day. He stated that the relaunching plan of the Gaspé and Magdalen Islands is all but abandoned.

"I hope that it is only temporary, but the relaunching plan is not operational anymore. The team has been dismantled. The existence of the CRCD (Regional Development Council) is in jeopardy", said Bernard Landry.