Pierrefonds may cave in on parade

A few days after Pierrefonds/Roxboro's administration announced it would cancel its annual Canada Day parade for 2009 due to both budgetary concerns and a lack of volunteer participation, it might go back on its word due to citizen pressure.

"We're going to meet with a committee (of concerned citizens) this Thursday," said borough councillor Bertrand Ward after a council meeting Monday night.

Resident Penny Michael was one of many who showed up at the meeting to demand council renege on its decision. "I understand that we have budget cuts," she said, but added it could be possible to work around the $20,000 price tag projected by council. "With good leadership, these situations become challenges, not setbacks," she said.

Another resident, Lisa Byer, said she has volunteered for the parade since she was 10 years old. "And that's over 30 years. I won't tell you my exact age," she said, eliciting laughter from the packed council room audience.

However, yet another long-time volunteer pointed out council is not wrong in its assertion about declining participation. "We've left five floats inside the public works department unattended," said 20-year volunteer Penny Lavoie. "I really feel that the (community) associations have to step up to help us out," she said.

It was in a press release last week that council first announced its controversial decision to cancel the parade this year.

Citizen reaction was immediate, spearheaded by Michael, who started a petition asking the borough not to go through with its decision, as well as a Facebook parade support group. Monday night, she deposited a copy of the petition with nearly 500 signatures.

Michael also gathered a handful of volunteers before the council meeting to demonstrate outside town hall near its parking entrance on Pierrefonds Boulevard.

"The parade is a tradition, and there is so few of those left" said Alana Caron, one of those who showed up at the gathering to sign the petition.

Frederick Arnold spoke of his own memories as a participant in the marches as a boy. "I walked as a member of the Versailles public swimming pool, and as a member of the Air Cadets," he recalled.

One lone soul stood across from the parade's cheerleaders, holding a sign up that encouraged the borough's decision to cancel it.

"It costs $20, 000," said Pierrefonds resident David Russell. "It lasts about half an hour, and all it is is police cars and fire trucks, and kids on flatbeds," he said.

"I don't really call this a parade," he added.

At the meeting, pro-mayor Catherine Clément-Talbot said the parade's costs were over half the borough's Canada Day activities' $36,000 total budget, but could not provide details on its breakdown.