Isabel Mosseler
Tribune
After serving two terms as municipal councillor for Ward 6 (River Valley/Kipling) and losing by 93 votes to Anne Tessier in 2022, Roland “Rolly” Larabie is back on West Nipissing Council. He’s been appointed to complete the remainder of the current term after Tessier resigned in August. Larabie was unopposed in his bid as his rival Paul Finley, also a former representative for Ward 6, removed his name just before nominations closed. Nevertheless, Larabie had to present his case to the current council as per the new bylaw regarding term replacements, with the implicit understanding that his nomination was not guaranteed. He was voted in unanimously at a special meeting September 12, following a presentation relaying his community involvement, his achievements, and his desire to contribute to a working council.
Larabie lauded council’s term plan and specifically the contributions of Tessier, saying he wanted to continue this work. “I’d like to start by complimenting council on the work they’ve accomplished so far. The fact that this council has started with a term plan tells me you started with a vision and what you would like West Nipissing to be… [Thank you] to Coun. Anne Tessier for her work on this council.” Larabie then plunged into his community history, from his career as a heavy equipment operator and restaurateur, to a volume of volunteer commitments with the Knights of Columbus, River Valley Fire Department, Search & Rescue, Parish Council, River Valley Golden Age Club, and the WN Community Health Centre.
As councillor for two terms, he served as chair of West Nipissing Environmental Services and the Accessibility Committee as well as several other appointments. He was part of several delegations with the MTO, leading to the replacement of the bridge in River Valley and the rehabilitation of highway 539, 539A (being completed currently). Larabie told council that from 1999 to 2022, his involvement in the River Valley waste management system saved the municipality $1.2M, introducing free stores for recycling used goods at two local landfills. “My goal was to have every dump in West Nipissing have this.” During his term, he spoke up for Internet accessibility in River Valley, “We had very poor internet, and we advocated with the government, for grants, and the school board (…) Imagine kids going to school without internet!”
Council followed the same procedure and even asked the same questions as when they replaced Jérôme Courchesne earlier this year, addressing issues around transparency and council integrity, which Larabie answered as someone who had experience with both a functional and a dysfunctional council. His answers indicated he had kept abreast of current controversial topics, from short term rentals and chickens to policies on integrity and social media. While agreeing in principle that the short term rental bylaw was necessary, he indicated he was looking forward to a review as he found the 1 kilometre limit “a little steep” and “when it’s being reviewed, I would have put in that you need to be a resident of West Nipissing to own an Airbnb (…) because people are buying the homes from down south; they don’t have a clue what’s going on up here.”
In response to a question about financial transparency, Larabie offered, “You should know exactly where your dollars are going.” He measured his response by adding that the budget process, the tendering process and the annual financial audit are all public, but when it comes to day-to-day purchasing, “it’s up to council to give the direction and up to administration to do the shopping.”
In the area of public and individual complaints, Larabie said issues need to be redirected to the appropriate body. “If after a while the problem is not resolved or you have not received a reply from the municipality, then I ask the resident to tell me. I will address them with the CEO, who is the employee of the council. And from there, we find the reasons why it didn’t work out (…) The laws are established by the municipality to protect the municipality as a whole. The first thing, you have to protect the municipality.” He did indicate that if something is beneficial to the municipality, he’d be prepared to go to bat for it.
One thing that was absent from his presentation was Larabie’s involvement with a major change that affected all of West Nipissing, and that was the transition from a local policing agency to the OPP. In a follow-up interview, Larabie showed that it was in his notes, but he ran out of time. During his first term of office, it was Larabie who recommended that the town conduct a police costing analysis. The action was vehemently opposed by those members of council who wished to maintain the municipal police service, but they were in the minority and a costing proceeded. Not only was that the beginning of an ultimately successful transition, but it was also the beginning of all the tensions which ultimately rendered the subsequent council inoperative in stalemates, including the inability to replace a councillor without provincial intervention.
It also cost the municipality approximately $300,000 in legal fees and led to not a single councillor from that term making it back to council in 2022. Despite all the attendant controversy, Larabie has no regrets. “I am very proud to have accomplished that (…) I’m proud of the outcome of it because now most of the people know this was the best way to go forward with this municipality.” He adds that most of the opposition was driven by sentimental reasons, and he was sympathetic to that, but council also had to be practical. Now, he hopes the page is turned. “It’s done, we got it, it’s over. So no let’s move on.”
Still, Larabie recognizes that even with the OPP policing West Nipissing, there’s no room for complacency given the drug issues and thefts in the community. He’d like to see more community involvement. “I would love to see meetings in the community. (…) People complained the police weren’t doing anything [about thefts in River Valley] but we have to realize that police just can’t come in with force until they’re sure (…) But there’s stuff going on behind the scenes (…). There’s lots of factors. I would love to sit on the police board.”
One of the forthcoming topics of special interest to Larabie is the Fire Master Plan. He says that in River Valley, the fire hall is the beating heart of the community, and the master plan when complete may identify some fire halls as redundant. “This plan might not guarantee us a fire hall in River Valley.” He’s watching carefully, because if a person’s home is more that a certain distance from a fire hall, insurance rates go up. The review may present some difficult choices. Larabie has no difficulty with controversial subjects, as he has shown with other contentious items, and he is ready to defend his community’s interests.
