Logo of the First Nations tribe in the Municipality of Pontiac.

June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day (NAD), created to recognize the history, culture and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. According to the Indigenous and Northern Affairs page of Canada.ca website, the Canadian Constitution recognizes these three groups as Aboriginal peoples, also known as Indigenous Peoples.

Pontiac 2020.ca asked Quyon's Garry Belair, Chief White Owl, now in his fifth year of leadership of the Pontiac Algonkin Outaouais tribe, to explain the significance of the day.

A good breakfast is the best way to start the day. And, every day across Canada, volunteers assemble at elementary schools at 6:30 a.m. to make sure young students get that best start.

On June 6, Le Club des petits déjeuners (The Breakfast Club) volunteers from Notre Dame de la Joie in Luskville and Ste. Marie in Quyon gathered to be rewarded with a breakfast of their own. But first they served breakfast for the kids of course!

Dear friends in the Pontiac,

Theatre Wakefield’s newest play, A Summer… A Fair, is bringing the heritage of the Outaouais to life in the Pontiac this summer.

The one-hour cabaret-style show – written by renowned Chelsea musician and playwright Ian Tamblyn – combines history, amusing stories and characters from our rural past with rousing songs and music.

By coincidence or possibly serendipity, this week was the Canadian Red Cross's emergency preparedness week.... And we are all very grateful for the help from Red Cross.

As of this afternoon, (May 10), over $1.7M was raised by the public via the Red Cross to support those affected by this years flooding.

Pontiac2020.ca spoke to Quebec's regional vice president of the Red Cross, Pascal Mathieu. 

En direction du nord le long du chemin du Ferry en direction de la rue Clarendon

Images gracieuseté de Linda Mankala Sauvé

Peace and natural beauty is all around Josée Bellerose’s house in Quyon. Her hope is that people can find peace, safety and forgiveness inside themselves.

Vying to lead the Conservative Party, Erin O'Toole visited the Canadian Legion in Quyon on April 12. O’Toole has been the MP for the riding of Durham, (Ont.) since 2012 and was re-elected at the 2015 general election. He previously served as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary for International Trade.​

When asked why he had chosen Quyon as one of his stops on the campaign trail, O'Toole was direct.

A historic handover occurred on April 7: the official transfer of ownership of the Quyon Recreation Park by community group Quyon Ensemble (QE) to the Municipality of Pontiac (MoP). The land, worth approximately $322,000, was symbolically sold by QE to the MoP for a dollar. "For the last couple of years we've been in negotiations," Roger Larose, mayor of the MoP, explained. "As a municipality, we've been wanting to have a recreation park in Luskville and one in Quyon. Through negotations, they [QE] were open to sit down and talk about it."

Marcottes Grocery in Quyon has made it even simpler to get your cash back on plastic and aluminum drink containers. Last week, owner Joanne Marcotte installed an automatic can and soft drink bottle counting machine in a small room to the left of the grocery, in part of the area that was once a laundromat.

Life becomes limited if you can't see properly.... Can't see the chalkboard, can't cross the street, can't read warnings, can't drive a car.

With this in mind, Catherine Beaudet, Director General of la Maison de la Famille Quyon, has organized a visit from a team of optometrists working with Bonhomme a Lunette, a Montreal-based organization specializing in low-cost eye ware.