IROQUOIS FALLS - Longtime Iroquois Falls mayor Gilles Forget is stepping down from the town’s top job at the end of this month.
Forget has been involved with Iroquois Falls council for the last 17 years.
He began his political career as a municipal councillor in 1997, a position he held until 2006 when he decided to run for the mayor’s chair.
Forget was first elected as mayor of the town in 2006, and has held the town’s top job ever since.
This year Forget decided not to seek re-election in October’s municipal election as he felt the time was right to retire from politics.
“I served the community well in my 17 years on council,” Forget said. "And now where I am in my life, it is time to focus on my family and with both me and my wife now retired we will take some time to travel.”
In looking back as his time as mayor of Iroquois Falls, Forget said he is happy he was able to lobby the provincial government to take back ownership of the town’s two main roads – Ambridge Drive and Main Street.
“Those two roads are the connecting link to our town and they were in bad shape,” Forget said. “By getting the province to take back those roads I was able to save the community millions of dollars.”
Forget is also happy with how successful he was in lobbing for more affordable housing units to be built in the town. He said 10 units were built in Iroquois Falls.
“We were the only ones who received any funding for that,” Forget said.
Forget said that over the years the town hasn’t grown.
“We are losing hundreds of people every year.
He said their forestry mill that once had 700 employees now has fewer than 200 employees.
“It is hard when we are a single industry town,” Forget said.
Forget said they do have a lot of people moving to Iroquois Falls from the outline areas because housing costs and rent costs are cheaper.
He said a lot of people in town are in the mining industry and travel to work in the mines in surrounding communities.
“We are a forestry town but we are trying to adjust to other industries as well,” Forget said. “Right now about 40% of the people living in Iroquois Falls are in the mining industry.”
Some of Forget’s successes during his time as a councillor before becoming mayor, he said he was chair of a committee to help save Monteith Correctional Complex from closing.
“I was able to stop the government from closing it.” Forget said. “I was able to get the government to change their minds and was able to save 150 jobs.”
Forget said he was also able to lobby the provincial liberals government to change the fishing regulations to be to have 18 inches walleyes instead of 16 inches.
“People were selling their boats and fishing equipment,” Forget said. “I sent out questionnaires and travelled from town to town and I was able to bring 2200 questionnaires to David Ramsay the MPP at the time.”
Forget said he has been asked two to three times to run for provincial politics but has declined the invitations.
“Maybe 20 years ago I might have considered it,” Forget said. “I am 62 years old and it is time for me to enjoy my life. I am highly regarded…. I have good connections, good contacts…and a lot of respect with the ministers.”
Forget said he was successful in getting three ministers to come to Iroquois Falls.
Looking into the future for the town, Forget said he is hopeful to see an operational review which will provide some sort of direction for the town.
“We will follow that with a strategic plan that council will be doing,” Forget said.
Forget said it will be nice to see some other major industry set up in the town but it is hard to do.
“The mill you never know how it will do,” Forget said, “and I hope we can keep mining in our town.”
He said another challenge facing the town is the Abitibi River Trestle Bridge.
“We are trying to get that bridge open again,” Forget said. “The Abitibi area is our recreational play space. 90 percent of our people cross that bridge at least once a year….It has a big economic impact on Iroquois Falls.”
Another project he said the town will be working on in the New Year is upgrading their long-term care home from a C facility to an A facility to make it wheelchair accessible without having to have any help.
He said it will cost 12 million dollars, but a formula is being worked out with the government where $350 per bed per day is collected that goes toward the mortgage to build the new manor.
Forget has enjoyed his time on council.
“I have made many friends in all regions, I had good rapport, a lot of fun and I don’t regret anything,” Forget said. “It is definitely something everyone should consider in their lifetime.”
