Sainte-Justine-de-Newton municipal council member Jacques Séguin could well find himself in trouble after using his status as a volunteer firefighter to take, without permission, several hundred liters of water to a reservoir on his property. 

It was a citizen who questioned the municipal council on the legitimacy of such an action, at the regular meeting in July.

In the ensuing exchange, it became clear that the municipal administration had been informed of the situation after the fact, and that consequently no permission had been granted.

In all likelihood, Jacques Séguin would have obtained his drinking water from the old fire station, to which he has the key, given his status as a volunteer firefighter. 

Although the situation raised a few eyebrows, the fact that Mr. Séguin was exempt from paying water taxes, unlike many of his fellow citizens, due to the presence of a private well on his property, quickly raised many questions among citizens.

At the same meeting, Mr. Séguin admitted the facts. " I'm the one who fetched the water for the company," he said. " But you have to put things in context. Last year, I asked around and was told that in exceptional cases, I could do so " . Mr. Séguin also made it clear that he was prepared to pay if he had to.

Contacted by telephone by Néomédia, the municipality's mayor, Shawn Campbell, confirmed the facts, pointing out that the drinking water taken by Councillor Séguin was transported to the latter's farm. 

"The file is now in the hands of the Director General, who will decide whether or not the councillor will be punished. I'll be relying on his recommendations for the next step," confided the mayor.

At the August regular meeting, councillor Mario Pitre presented a letter requesting that an official complaint be lodged with the Sûreté du Québec against Mr. Séguin. According to a source familiar with the matter, the Municipality's general director, François Day, was opposed to such action.

Despite several attempts, the general manager never returned Néomédia's calls or e-mails.