Doris Larochelle seeking the mayor’s seat in Swisha

Doris Larochelle seeking the mayor’s seat in Swisha

Despite being one of the smallest and most remote municipalities in MRC Pontiac, Rapides des Joachims has a vibrant political scene, as there are four candidates running for mayor. Outgoing Mayor Jim Gibson decided to step back from public life after 12 years at the helm of the council.

Doris Larochelle served for a term as councillor in the municipality and said that she hopes to work together with residents to make “the Swisha”, as it’s referred to by locals, a better place. She said that if she’s elected, the townspeople will have more of a say in what goes on at council.

She said that if elected, she wants to prioritize work on two high-traffic sections of road.

The small island community is located roughly 100 km from the rest of the MRC and is only accessible via Ontario. Emergency services, like health care and firefighting are handled through agreements with jurisdictions in Ontario, but everything from police services to driver’s license renewals require a 2-hour trip to or from Campbell’s Bay. Larochelle said that more businesses and more advertising of the local waterways might bring in more tourism to the area.

The full interview with Larochelle is available here.