Cornwall Ontario – How many cities facing record tax hikes burn through $15K making a vanity video for a fire chief that union sources allege spends too much time at his out of town home instead of serving and protecting the taxpayers of Cornwall Ontario?
Economic Development poobah Bob Peters seems to be sending wads of cash to his homies like Kevin Lamoureux of KAV Productions.
While the video seems to be pitched as some home made Karaoke effort by Fire Chief Pierre Voisine, it’s in fact costing thousands of dollars paid for by the City of Cornwall.
With five credits to Mr. Lamoureux and his company alone, and his rates being as expensive as Montreal or Ottawa production houses, estimates of his own services run from $15-20K. Roy Nichol, one of the regions finest music men when not drumming for legendary band April Wine also isn’t easy on the pocketbook. According to social media posts other videos are planned, again at taxpayer expense.
Maureen Adams did not respond to queries as to how much has been spent on these so called educational videos nor how much has been donated to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs since 2015 when Voisine become a Chief for the first time.
He was given their prestigious Professional Fire Chief of the Year Award which usually go to long time experienced professional fire chiefs such as Daniel Brazeau in 2015 who was the chief at the Lac Megantic disaster.
Oddly enough Chief Voisine is in fact the treasurer of the Association. You really can’t make up this stuff.
Ironically enough as well it doesn’t appear that Chief Voisine remotely qualifies by the standards listed on the CAFC website. (The CAFC did not respond to multiple email queries)
Eligibility and how to get nominated
All nominees must be active chiefs in full-time career or volunteer positions with the fire services in Canada. Those individuals who have recently retired will also be considered.
In order to be considered, candidates must have made outstanding contributions to the betterment of their community and of the fire services industry over several years in areas such as safety, sustainable community program development, education, community service or policy development.
-OR-
Candidates must have achieved, through their innovation and initiative on a particular project or program, positive and measurable improvement of significant and enduring benefit to the fire services industry and their community.
With over 3600 fire services across Canada, for a near rookie chief to earn this award surely is a slap in the face to many long serving firefighters?
In fact allegations are that in the recent Poirier Furniture fire the chief was already at home near Ottawa, that the fire was undermanned which led to more damage and a larger fire than would normally be expected. An investigation is ongoing with the rubble still in place.
So for those with limited comprehension skills, we have a near rookie fire chief, getting a prestigious award usually limited for life long fire chiefs of merit, who happens to be the organizations treasurer, about the same time as a very expensive vanity video shot by friends of a City officer is released.
Only in Cornwall?
With just 15,000 or so plays on youtube the city may have spent over $1 per view. While fire prevention is very important surely there are better ways to achieve this than vanity videos for plump bald fire chiefs, while pumping cash to friends of city hall, no? With record tax hikes and two terms with a tax levy rising nearly 20% per at what point to you cut the cash flow off for projects such as this?
And with so many professional and highly trained firefighters on staff surely some more photogenic than Chief Voisine would be more appropriate?
What do you think dear CFN viewers? Was this abuse of the public purse? Should Bob Peters and Chief Voisine repay the city for this abuse? You can post your comments below.
$15k for THAT?? Jeez I think high school students could have done just as good a job just for the credits.
Here you go again with your biased reporting. So Chief Voisine is not one of your “Golden Boys” so let’s take a strip of his back. You are so phony and predictable. Wishing you all the luck in the world to sell what you call a newspaper and happy trails. You won’t be missed by many of us.
Richard Emerton you and your family among the rest of the clique have destroyed Cornwall that everyone wants to leave not just Jamie and his paper but everyone who knows all of you and yours truly here knows your family and thank God that I was fortunate enough to leave that God forsaken town and never ever again as long as I live. Jamie is an excellent man and has an excellent paper.
Ricky, Ricky, upcoming promotion ? If anything, it is you that is biased ! If, it hadn’t been for CFN, we would of never known about any of the explosive stories that this newspaper broke !
Where did this money come from ?
We’ve been told EMS budgets have no fat at all ? So, Ms Adams where & what budget did this originate ? Perhaps, some Councillor could ask for me ?
Mr. Emerton I can move tomorrow. I’ve been offered many gigs over the last several years. I had an Angel investor actually offer to fund moving CFN to Ottawa years ago as well. I know you don’t get it and never will, nor will people of your ilk, but you sir, and your kind, are the problem. You can’t expect a city to prosper when you run it like a closed off village. A few might make some cash, a few more might enjoy their crumbs as it seems you do from what others have told me, but I can assure you there’s a big old world out there laughing at you and your chums. You have a lovely day now. 🙂
Richard Emerton anybody with half a brain would not live in Cornwall. Some years ago while at Wal Mart in South Keys here in Ottawa four men were talking about their company wanted to go to Cornwall and they would be sent and they refused to go to Cornwall and the deal fell through. Anybody who is intelligent will investigate the place before jumping into it. Jamie is the best and I mean that.
A very big draining of the swamp in Cornwall is needed from the top down. Those in the administration have to be changed and not be so comfortable and to go and hurt the general population. There are a lot of good people in Cornwall who have never left and one is Dawn who writes here on CFN and it would come as a great shock to leave. Good people being hurt by the evils of the town.
Richard Emerton Jamie has the best newspaper anywhere and I mean that fully. Jamie exposed the likes of you and your family and the clique. Wherever Jamie goes I will follow his newspaper. You Richard Emerton can keep your TOILET PAPER OF RECORD THAT IS THE OWNERSHIP OF A CORPORATION in Montréal or Toronto and puts out BS for you to wallow hook line and sinker. Jamie is the very best.
Whether we run out of buildings to burn, or developers and landlords run out of “combustibles”, it’s good to know that Cornwall has a contingency plan… we can just burn money.
Emerton, spend a few bucks of your own and find what percentage of fires in Cornwall that our glorious Fire Chief is not in the city. Better yet, talk to some (recent) retired fire fighters and some will tell you what they think of the Chief. Don’t take my word for it, ask a fireman. The same will be said of the new Police Chief, who’s not well liked and climbed his way over better qualified cops
{MODERATED} Jules please give it a break. The entire world knows you’re not a fan of Cornwall.