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Quints decision "It all comes down to money"

Citizens rally before Monday meeting to keep Dionne Home in North Bay
Dionne Rally 2016-11-28
Supporters of keeping the Dionne Quintuplets Home in North Bay rally outside City Hall, Monday evening.

Truer words have never been spoken when it comes to the fate of the Dionne Museum. When Jeff Fournier, author of a petition to keep the Dionne Home in North Bay spoke those words Monday, he not only had the backing of the over 2,000 signatures (written and electronic) his group had amassed but a gallery full of supporters as well.

Opponents to the City's recommendation to move the structure housing the Dionne Quints Museum to Strong Township made their voices heard in numbers Monday evening.

There was a lot of talk at Monday's City Council meeting. Money talks loudest, however, and until there is a financial commitment from an entity desiring to keep the home in the city, the future of the home remains murky.

"I have been approached by some people for fundraising," said Fournier."We have a number of tentative fundraisers on hand. We have volunteers coming out our ears in this city."

Whether outside City Hall by a planned, peaceful rally or inside Council Chambers by passionate public presentations, the group determined to keep the weathered former home of the Dionne Quintuplets in North Bay is growing in numbers, is better organized, and is not shy about expressing opinions.

Their strategy seems to be working, as more City Councillors, whether due to public pressure, or a sense of duty to keep the home in North Bay, seem to be coming around in support of the group's stance.

It was mentioned more than once during Monday's proceedings that this Council's legacy would be tarnished if they allowed the museum to be moved outside the city limits

"Sometimes decisions aren't easy, but the amount involved in saving this is picayune," by comparison to other expenditures, said Richard Tafel in his presentation.

Fournier focused his third presentation in recent weeks on what he termed "a lack of leadership" in the area of heritage preservation in North Bay. 

"We don't have a leader. We don't have a department for heritage. We seem to place little value in it," observed Fournier.

Fournier asked rhetorically, "Who is protecting our heritage in North Bay? Is it our municipal heritage committee?", continuing with, "No. They are an advisory committee,  appointed by the City.

"They weren't actually the committee that decided the fate of the Dionne Home. What about Heritage North Bay? They are like a holding company, an umbrella organization that represents and oversees Discovery North Bay Museum, the Heritage Railway and Carousel, and the Heritage Gardeners. So, they don't really represent heritage. Heritage is in their name, but they don't really represent heritage," said Fournier.

"As far as financing from the City, I think there's room to work there," said Coun. Chris Mayne. "I am also certain that significant money could be raised in the community toward the Dionne Quints Home...It's still very much a living legacy."

Mayne, in question period following Fournier's presentation also indicated that a formal presentation from the City, with public input, was necessary to move forward.

Kassidy Allard, a 10-year-old girl who has collected hundreds of the signatures for the group's petition herself, also spoke in both official languages about how North Bay's reputation would be lessened if they allowed the home to move. Allard, accompanied by her proud parents, received a standing ovation from the gallery.

Shirley Scalise shared posts of support from across the country from the group's Facebook page.

Audrey Dionne, who was married to a brother of the Dionne Quints, shared that the two surviving sisters' wishes were for the home to remain in North Bay, preferably at the waterfront, while also thanking Fournier for his efforts.

"Please, leave it in North Bay where it all began," said Dionne.

Joshua Pride, a 25-year-old teacher who possesses a Masters of History degree, implored City Council to avoid the "slippery slope" of forgetting North Bay's history. Pride, spoke eloquently, adding, "Heritage is the foundation of our city's identity. The Dionne Quintuplets are a large part of that identity...This is a move toward apathy, not toward progress."

Chair of Community Services, Coun. Mark King now has the Dionne matter back in his portfolio after it had briefly been moved to General Government due to legalities surrounding the Corbeil interest that has fallen by the wayside.

King said following the meeting that the Dionne saga will continue into the new year. "It creates major problems inside our budget. We have the capital cost of the move, and then how do we establish that whole operating process at the waterfront? What does that look like, and where is the money coming from?"

King also observed that a great deal of lobbying was being done, perhaps a reason for the shift in the stance of some of his colleagues.

"This is a major problem, we've been at this for 19 months now. We sought expressions of interest, no one said a word. This has all evolved since October. Where were these people almost two years ago? They knew full well that this was going on," said King.

King is torn by the entire process but has the mandate to keep his committee's budget in check as well. "I had an interesting conversation with Audrey Dionne, and she spoke about my father, saying that if he were alive, he would be spearheading," efforts to save the home.

Concluded King, "We proceeded with the process the way it was laid out, and there were just no takers,"

What do you think? Take our poll. Would you support efforts to keep the Dionne Quints home in North Bay? It's located on our main page. Click on "results" tab to leave your comments.


Stu Campaigne

About the Author: Stu Campaigne

Stu Campaigne is a full-time news reporter for BayToday.ca, focusing on local politics and sharing our community's compelling human interest stories.
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