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Investigations

Original, document-based reporting on the decisions, processes, and actors shaping Ormstown and the Haut-Saint-Laurent. Every claim linked to a primary source.

Le Toit Vert — 24-Unit Development, Rue Church
● Active file
A 24-unit residential project (four three-storey buildings) on vacant lot 6 455 729, next to the Le Toit Vert restaurant in zone R-7. Council adopted a first draft resolution June 1; the public consultation was held July 2; the referendum window closed July 16; and council gave final approval to PPCMOI 2026-041 on August 3. The Observer examines how a referendum-susceptible project cleared its public-input stage with almost no public awareness — in the same meeting that removed the post office as a notice-posting site.
1Article
Investigation · Transparency
Council Approved the 24-Unit Church Street Project. Residents Had Until July 16
The first draft resolution June 1, the July 2 consultation announced only at town hall and on the website, and by-law 167.1-2026 that removed the post office as a posting site — with residents on the record asking for better notice. Council adopted the second draft resolution July 6; residents in zones R-7, R-6 and R-8 had until 4:30 p.m. on July 16 to require a vote on any of its six zoning departures.
July 3, 2026
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2Article
Council Report · Outcome
Council Approves the 24-Unit Church Street Project, Over One Councillor's Objection
PPCMOI 2026-041 carried on August 3. Before the first question period, the mayor told residents council had obtained a legal opinion and that no valid referendum demand had come from zone R-7 — the only zone, he said, that the law counts. The councillor for seat 4 voted against, the sitting's only dissent.
August 4, 2026
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Bell Tower E3640 — Ormstown
● Active file
Bell Mobilité's proposal to install a 36-metre monopole on municipal park land in Zone P-15. The Observer has reviewed every available document — the lease signed before consultation, the federal CPC-2-0-03 process, the zoning question, and the follow-up correspondence. Articles published in sequence below.
1Article
Investigation
A 36-Metre Tower Is Proposed for an Ormstown Park Lot. Here Is Everything You Need to Know.
The full paper trail: the lease, the zoning question, the lot discrepancy, the sequence of events, and the questions residents should ask.
June 8, 2026
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2Article
Explainer · Background
Before You Walk Into That Room on Wednesday, Read This.
How cell towers work, what the health research actually says about RF exposure, a full walkthrough of the federal CPC-2-0-03 consultation process, and what you can and cannot ask Bell at a public information session.
June 8, 2026
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3Article
Session Report
Bell's June 10 Information Session: What Was Said, and What Happens Next.
~25 residents attended the June 10 session at 5 rue Gale. Full video, what was and wasn't answered, the questions submitted to Bell before the written comment deadline, and next steps in the federal process.
June 15, 2026
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4Article
Investigation · Pre-Vote
Before Monday's Vote: What Ormstown Residents Were Never Told About the Bell Tower
Five documented gaps in Bell's CPC-2-0-03 consultation — the hidden alternative municipal sites, the water-tower engineering report that went from "it's right here" to "proprietary," the unsourced flood-zone assurance, the reply period Bell closed two weeks early, and the municipality judging a process it helped design. Every gap drawn from the written record.
July 5, 2026
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📄Source
Primary Source · Documentary Record
The Complete Correspondence Record: The Observer and Bell Mobilité
All four letters in the written exchange, in order — the Observer's June 19 submission, Bell's June 19 response, the Observer's June 25 follow-up, and Bell's June 26 closure. Bell's written positions quoted verbatim; every letter held on file in full.
June 19–26, 2026 · published July 5
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5Article
Council Report · Outcome
Council Votes Unanimously to Sign the Bell Tower Lease
The Bell Mobilité tower lease came to a formal recorded vote on July 6 and passed unanimously — before the July 10 public comment deadline closed. Council also authorized a major road-works tender, awarded winter and laboratory contracts, and named a new deputy mayor.
July 6, 2026
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📕File
Complete Record · Bilingual
The Bell Tower File, From Start to Finish: What the Process Required, What Happened, and What It Taught Us
The consolidated account of the whole file in one page — the lease signed before consultation, the federal CPC-2-0-03 process, the five documented gaps, the correspondence with Bell, and the July 6 vote. Supersedes the running coverage above.
July 17, 2026
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