In her address to the public, on the occasion of the adoption of the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018, Ms. Lebrun confirmed that:

“It is with great pleasure and a certain sense of accomplishment, shared by all those who contributed to improving the overall situation of the MRC last year, that I inform you of an operating surplus for the year 2018 of $366,831, compared to a deficit $(770,967) in 2017. This is a reversal of more than $1.1 million that consolidates the decisions adopted by the Board in 2018 and the restructuring efforts of the Director General and his team.”

“Thanks to the support of each and every member of the Council of Mayors and team members, we have succeeded in reversing the trend of the past 5 years by reducing the accumulated deficit before consolidation, from $1,373,689 to $1,006,858, while maintaining most of the MRC's regular activities” said Mr. Laurent Lampron, Director General and Secretary-Treasurer of the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, whose appointment in March 2018 officially launched the strategic restructuring of the MRC.

A number of achievements in 2018 deserve mention:

• 15 Municipal Court sessions and the processing of 2,758 tickets issued by the Sûreté du Québec;
• the review of mandates under the Residual Materials Management Plan, awareness raising activities and special collections of household hazardous waste;
• the implementation of an Isolated Emergency Services Program (SUMI);
• the Social Development Forum and the continuation of work in partnership with the eight Actions Haut-Saint-Laurent coordination committees as well as agreements for the implementation of social development projects;
• a review of fares and certain conditions with regard to the "Taxibus" public transit service;
• representation in terms of specific issues such as the Rivière La Guerre dam;
• the integration of the former Centre local de développement (CLD) du Haut-Saint-Laurent into the MRC, while maintaining several of its programs, including Place aux jeunes, the FIL and FLI Investment Funds, the Fonds de soutien aux entreprises (FSE) and the Soutien aux travailleurs autonomes (STA) measure in collaboration with Emploi-Québec;
• many other activities.

While the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent is maintaining its course towards financial health without an accumulated deficit, circumscription remains in place to better carry out the mission and mandates of the regional institution, for the benefit of the citizens of the Haut-Saint-Laurent region and its municipalities.