Members of the grassroots organization, Stand Our Ground, are shown outside Township of Russell municipal building in Embrun on Dec. 16. Inside the building an announcement of government funding, for media only, regarding the expansion of an industrial park in the township was made. Thompson Goddard Photo

EMBRUN – On Dec. 16, 2024, a funding announcement was made regarding the expansion of the 417 Industrial Park Expansion was made inside the Township of Russell’s (TOR) municipal building, while outside in the parking lot, a group of Russell residents held a peaceful protest.

Stand Our Ground (SOG) is a grassroots organization of TOR residents dedicated to informing the public and expressing to council their concerns regarding the direction which development in the municipality is heading.

Three TOR residents, Rhonda Bradley, Mark VanDusen and Tony Bass are spokespeople for SOG, with Bradley providing the requested information on the organization to The Record in a recent email after consulting with VanDusen and Tony.

“Our primary focus is on the Township of Russell, which includes Embrun, Russell, Limoges, and Marionville. However, our message is clearly resonating with people in neighbouring municipalities across the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR)” said Bradley.

She continued how SOG “is an informal group made up of ordinary residents who have become activists out of concern for our community and Council’s dismissive refusal to listen to the concerns of its residents.” The group is looking for more support for agriculture, protection of farmland and the environment, reasonable limits on development and attention provided to the concerns expressed by residents.

Describing the township as being “a vibrant rural community for generations, with agriculture at its core”, she mentioned how there are concerns about the rise in taxes, traffic and the displacement of families by the development, noting the growth is exceeding the capacity of the TOR infrastructure and how “Almost month by month, Russell has become a busier, noisier, less safe, more expensive place to live.”

Bradley mentioned the municipal council is pursuing a “vision of growth that most of us do not share, prioritizing unchecked development over a balanced approach that would protect the character and sustainability of our community.” She explained some councillors have expressed their view that growth is inevitable, commenting “members of council have been clear that TOR’s evolution in an Orleans or Laval (specifically mentioned) is inevitable.

The SOG group’s response to this view was how “Growth of this nature is not inevitable – it’s a choice” noting that unchecked growth could lead to the eroding of nature resources and the destruction of farmland.  This has led to members “standing up to say that the wrong choices are being made for our community” and the raising of public awareness to decisions made by their elected municipal officials.

These include the planned expansion of the 417 Industrial Park which will convert “large swathes of rural residential countryside and prime farmland in North Russell into an industrial park through questionable planning”, the spending of “nearly $8 million of public funds on these properties” by the TOR and the proposal of township planners to double the size of Embrun and Russell.  Bradley mentioned how the municipal “infrastructure is already under strain, particularly our wastewater system, which has been discharging excessive ammonia into the Castor River – an issue our local government has known about for years.”

More information on the grassroots group is available on their website and Facebook pages.