Latest news with #Beaulieu
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
5 of the prettiest Hampshire villages you can visit for a day out in the county
Hampshire is a gorgeous county that has an abundance of pretty villages to explore for a day out. Many of these have beautiful scenery, amazing cultural experiences and historical points of interest to take in. Some may even have the benefit of a beach or woodland to explore, alongside some amazing food and drink options. With the overwhelming amount of choice, it might be tough to pin down what the prettiest village in Hampshire is. Here are just five examples of some gorgeous Hampshire villages you can visit for a day out in the county. If you're looking for chocolate-box pretty, then Beaulieu definitely lives up to the hype. Nestled in the heart of the New Forest, you can explore characterful streets as well as the nearby motor museum. The New Forest website adds: "Visitors can explore the scenic landscapes across Millpond, at Beaulieu River and in the surrounding forest, discover the village's heritage, and enjoy attractions and outdoor activities, all while soaking in the timeless charm of this quintessential New Forest gem. "Whether it's enjoying a riverside picnic, exploring the charming High Street or visiting the incredible motor museum, the village of Beaulieu provides a great day out." On the outskirts of the Southampton suburbs, you can find Hamble which is said to boast "stunning views, period cottages, pretty walks and thriving wildlife". Visit Hampshire adds: "During the summer months you will find the village bustling with people enjoying the fine selection of local pubs and restaurants. "For a small village, there is a great selection of eateries which specialise in locally produced food, ale and specialist rum." It is also a "a yachting Mecca" drawing people in from all around the country for races and events. Another New Forest favourite is Brockenhurst is a "bustling village" that is a great base to explore the surrounding area. There are numerous walking and cycle paths to try out and "excellent local amenities" with its pubs, cafes and restaurants. Visit Hampshire adds: "Here you will find ponies and donkeys roaming free in an old world setting full of charm." Wherwell is said to be "one of the most picturesque villages in the Test Valley", according to the Hampshire County Council website. It boasts some fine black-and-white thatched cottages, and it is situated on the banks of the River Test, which is known for its trout fishing. Described as a "picturesque" village by Visit Hampshire, this spot is surrounded by the beauty of the South Downs National Park. Recommended reading: The one place people need to visit when they go to Hampshire according to readers The tiny and beautiful Hampshire village where TV chef James Martin has lived New Forest hotel ranked among best of the best in Tripadvisor awards There is a sense of history to the place due to a number of ancient buildings found there, such as the Norman Church of All Saints. The website adds: "The village has a shop with Post Office facilities, a number of Bed and Breakfast establishments, and two pubs, Ye Olde George and The Izaak Walton (named after the famous angler). "The River Meon runs alongside the village street, with its spring source approximately one mile south of the village. The popular long distance footpath South Downs Way also passes nearby."
Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- General
- Montreal Gazette
Can a city councillor call people ‘idiots' on Facebook? A judge will decide
By Can a municipal councillor insult others on social media — calling them 'idiots,' 'morons' and much worse — if the exchange has nothing to do with their official duties? That question was put to Quebec administrative judge Sandra Bilodeau on Wednesday during an ethics hearing involving Andrew Caddell, an anglophone rights advocate and town councillor in Kamouraska. At the heart of the case is a long, heated Facebook exchange about anglophones, conducted in French on New Year's Eve, in which Caddell commented. Topics included Bill 96, Quebec's language law reform, which Caddell described as 'discriminatory.' After investigating a complaint, the Quebec Municipal Commission determined Caddell likely contravened Kamouraska's ethics rules 13 times, citing conduct that was 'disrespectful or uncivil' and lacking in 'honour.' He could be fined up to $4,000 or suspended from his elected duties for up to 90 days. At the hearing, Laurie Beaulieu, a lawyer for the commission, noted that Caddell's Facebook profile mentions that he is a Kamouraska councillor, and he mentioned it on 10 occasions during the Facebook discussion. Beaulieu said Caddell told some individuals to 'go f--- themselves' and called others morons, idiots, bigots and losers. He also used the abbreviation 'TDC,' which, in context, clearly was shorthand for the French word for 'a--hole,' she said. She said the words used breached Kamouraska's ethics code, which forbids councillors from engaging in 'offensive, disparaging, or intimidating actions, or any form of incivility of a vexatious nature.' Elected officials are entitled to express their opinions freely, Beaulieu said. But their position requires them to do so with restraint, and Caddell's behaviour was 'objectively contrary to the honour and dignity of the office.' Beaulieu added: 'Mr. Caddell has the right to express his views on the Charter of the French Language — that is not under debate today. However, he must do so while respecting the rules of ethics and professional conduct.' Caddell is president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, which has raised more than $200,000 to finance a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Bill 96. He's also a columnist with the Hill Times, an Ottawa political publication. Michael Bergman, a lawyer representing Caddell, argued that the comments, which he described as 'hard, difficult, strong, emotional, and passionate,' were made outside of Caddell's duties as a councillor. 'They had nothing to do with the needs, policies, affairs, or operations of the municipality of Kamouraska,' Bergman said. 'It was an exchange — a difficult one with intense words, without a doubt — between people regarding linguistic and minority questions across Quebec and Canada.' Elected municipal officials must be able to exercise their freedom of expression, he said, adding there is no precedent of a municipal councillor being subject to an ethics complaint for social media activity unrelated to their municipal role. Bergman described Caddell's French as 'exemplary,' noting that in the online discussion, he simply used 'street language — the kind of everyday talk Quebecers don't take issue with.' One should also consider the context of the Facebook discussion, he said. He pointed out that Caddell was under intense attack from others. Among other things, he was called a racist, a 'Rhodesian' and a 'supremacist' and told to 'take the 401 and screw off.' Bergman argued Caddell should be cleared in part because of a discrepancy between the English and French versions of Kamouraska's ethics code. In French, it refers to councillors being respectful toward 'citizens,' while the English one says 'citizens of the municipality.' Bergman said there's no proof anyone in the Facebook discussion — on the page operated by political commentator and former politician Nic Payne — was a resident of Kamouraska. For her part, Beaulieu cited the French version of the code. She said it's clear from the context that 'the notion of citizen must be interpreted broadly and liberally. (The code) in no way establishes that the term 'citizen' is limited to residents of the same municipality as the elected official.' The judge gave the two sides two weeks to submit briefs regarding the discrepancy between the French and English versions of the ethics code. A ruling is expected within three months. Caddell was elected as a councillor in Kamouraska, a municipality (population 607) in the Bas-St-Laurent region, in 2021. Caddell is a former Montreal West town commissioner who ran for the federal Liberals in 2011.
Vancouver Sun
05-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. conservation officer denies allegations from hunting show host
Article content The conservation officer sued for $2.4 million by a hunting TV host channel has denied all allegations that he maliciously and compulsively harassed the hunter, causing him to lose his YouTube channel and sponsorships. Article content Michel Beaulieu, who referred to himself as a hunter, TV personality and businessman, filed the lawsuit in March against Wyatt Pile and the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, alleging a harassment campaign that included the officer posing as a buyer for his Kelowna house. Article content Article content The lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court alleges Pile began harassing Beaulieu in 2020, after the hunter illegally shared a hunting tag with his wife during a bear kill. Article content Article content A subsequent two-year investigation by B.C. and Alberta wildlife officers resulted in more than $25,000 in fines against the couple after the seizure of unlawfully killed wildlife at six locations in both provinces, Alberta wildlife officials have said in online posts. Article content Beaulieu alleged Pile 'seemed to become obsessed … and started targeting Beaulieu,' watching his YouTube videos, calling him several times and threatening him with more charges, according to his lawsuit. Article content The defendants denied all the allegations in a recent court filing. Article content The filing said Pile became involved in Beaulieu's case after Alberta wildlife officers in 2020 investigated the man for the suspected unlawful killing of a bighorn sheep. Article content Article content The Alberta officers suspected Beaulieu was falsely claiming residency in Alberta and B.C. to obtain hunting licences in both provinces, contrary to the B.C. Wildlife Act, which led to an B.C. investigation with Pile as lead investigator, it said. Article content Article content It said Pile watched an episode of Alpine Carnivore on Beaulieu's YouTube channel that showed he and his wife hunting a black bear near Salmon Arm in May 2020, during which his wife shot the bear and killed it while sharing Beaulieu's licence, which is against the law. Article content Pile said in the court document that the charges for hunting without a licence, using the licence of another person, allowing the licence to be used by another person and possessing dead wildlife without a licence were the four charges that were approved, and the couple entered a guilty plea in a plea bargain with prosecutors.
CBC
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Northern Quebec Cree voters left behind despite promise of access
Social Sharing Elections Canada promises that anyone, anywhere, could vote during advance polls. However, voters in Northern Quebec Cree communities found that polling stations were closed. It's the latest in a list of stories from community members in northern Quebec who say they had trouble voting or couldn't do so at all. On election day, some Nunavik communities had polling stations that closed early or didn't open at all. Guy Beaulieu, a resident of Whapmagoostui, arrived at the local sports complex with his spouse on April 19 expecting to vote, but discovered that the front doors were locked during the weekend of advance polls. The voter information card he'd got in the mail said advance polls were supposed to be held from April 18 to 21, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. "There was no poster on the building and no signs, the door was locked. [We] even went back the next day, but [there was] still nothing," said Beaulieu, who is originally from Val d'Or, Que. Beaulieu said he'd wanted to vote in the advance polls because he did not want to miss his chance to cast his ballot for his local riding before he took off for medical travel on election day. "I was not surprised because up north it seems that happens pretty often," said Beaulieu of the issues he encountered. Whapmagoostui is the only Cree community accessible only by plane. Due to rainy weather over the weekend, some flights were postponed, including those for polling staff who were meant to set up polling stations. Chisasibi, another northern Cree community, also had delays in voting opportunities during the advance polls. Norman A. Wapachee, who has been a politician for the Cree Nation government for a few years, says that these things have been happening for years, especially further north in Nunavik. "It's a promise that needs to be upheld even when certain circumstances occur. We need to find ways to uphold that promise," said Wapachee, who is the interim grand chief of Eeyou Istchee. Wapachee said he'd tried numerous times to reach out to Sylvie Bérubé, the former MP for the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding. "[Elections Canada] should come fly in early, stay throughout the elections to carry out their roles and their responsibilities to open the doors for elections," said Wapachee. That's one way Wapachee hopes the federal government can better its efforts to give northern communities the same opportunities to vote as the rest of the country. Now that the riding is represented by Mandy Gull-Masty, Cree from Waswanipi, former Cree grand chief and a former colleague of Wapachee, he hopes that the voting experience — among other things — will change soon. "I was hoping for an Indigenous person who's going to speak on behalf of the Indigenous population, because it's a vast area and the population is not that high," said Wapachee. In Nunavik communities this week, residents spoke out about not being able to vote, and Inuit organizations called for an investigation. Soon after, Elections Canada issued an apology and said it would review the circumstances around the situation. "If you don't say anything, nothing is going to change. You need to always use your voice, that's the power [our votes] have, to put someone in the MP position to change things," said Beaulieu. Beaulieu said he hopes Elections Canada gets better at delivering promised opportunities to vote across the country, especially in northern fly-in communities like Whapmagoostui.
Montreal Gazette
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Bloc Québécois holds on to one Montreal Island riding
Canadian Politics By The Bloc Québécois captured the east-end La Pointe-de-l'Île riding early Tuesday morning, albeit with a smaller margin than in the two previous federal elections. Incumbent Mario Beaulieu, who earned his fourth term as Member of Parliament for La Pointe-de-l'Île, acknowledged during the last days of the campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump's 51st state rhetoric and tariff threats against Canada were weighing on electors' minds. 'Certainly, we discuss the issue of Mr. Trump quite often,' Beaulieu said last week while talking about doing more door-to-door knocking in this campaign. 'I talk to people to reassure them and explain to them that it's important to defend Quebec's economic interests in the next trade agreement with the United States.' Beaulieu had a 2,881-vote lead over the Liberal candidate Viviane Minko with 236 of 243 polling stations reporting. Minko, who has a background working for non-profit community organizations, has been a member of the Liberal party's La Pointe-de-l'Île electoral district association since 2017. She served as its policy chair before the election. In her message to voters in this campaign, she emphasized her intention to support the middle class and small businesses and to protect the environment. The Green party candidate in La Pointe-de-l'Île was Olivier Huard, who was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest on Monday for his role in blocking an east-end Montreal port terminal in 2022. He was also arrested for scaling the Jacques Cartier Bridge in October 2024. Huard, whose sentence in the port terminal blockade also includes three years of probation and 240 hours of community service, had been juggling court dates during his election campaign. The Bloc lost its only other seat on Montreal Island, in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. Liberal candidate Claude Guay handily beat incumbent Louis-Philippe Sauvé, who had won the riding for the Bloc in a close byelection in September. La Pointe-de-l'Île includes the suburb of Montréal-Est, parts of the Montreal boroughs of Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles and Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Over 80 per cent of the riding has French as a mother tongue, according to the 2016 census, while about 14 per cent has a non-French and non-English mother tongue. Spanish is the mother tongue of the second largest group in the riding, ahead of English. La Pointe-de-l'Île was held by the Bloc Québécois from 1993 to 2011, but voters in the riding elected a New Democratic Party candidate in the 2011 'Orange Wave.' The Bloc took back the seat in 2015, electing Beaulieu. Beaulieu won re-election in 2019 and 2021, with 46.8 per cent and 46.7 per cent of the vote, respectively. The Liberal opponent in those elections garnered 30.4 per cent and 32.3 per cent, respectively. This time, Beaulieu had 43.2 per cent of the vote near the end of the night, compared to 37.4 per cent for Minko. Conservative Party of Canada candidate Violetta Potapova was running a distant third, with 13 per cent of the vote. 'At the beginning, we had more undecided voters than usual,' Beaulieu said last week. 'As the campaign progressed, some undecided voters returned to the Bloc Québécois. ... 'Our main message is that in the context of ... Mr. Trump's tariff threats, it's even more important to vote for the Bloc Québécois to protect our economic interests — electricity, aluminum, wood, aeronautics (and) everything that makes up the supply management for Quebec farmers. So, if we want to ensure that these sectors won't be weakened in the trade agreement that's will be signed, it's important that there be as many Bloc Québécois MPs as possible.' Beaulieu said many of his volunteers hail from cultural communities, particularly immigrants who live and work in French. As MP, he holds a welcome ceremony in the riding for new Canadian citizens each year, he said. 'My argument, which works very well here, is that I ask them if the French question is important to them,' Beaulieu said of the voters in his riding. 'I explain to them that we are the only federal party that defends French in Quebec.'
