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City honours William “Bill” McMurchie

The city of Pointe-Claire organized a celebration of life event on Saturday, July 5, 2025, to honour former Pointe-Claire mayor William “Bill” McMurchie, who passed away on January 1, 2025.

McMurchie first served as a city councillor from 1990 to 1998 and then as mayor from 1998 to 2013, with the period of 2001 to 2005 being served as borough mayor during the municipal mergers.

Held at the Stewart Hall Cultural Centre, family, friends, and former colleagues came together to honour his life and legacy. At the July 8 council meeting, Mayor Tim Thomas reported that the announcement of the renaming of the pier at Edgewater Park had been made during the ceremony, and would be known as Pier William “Bill” McMurchie. The space will be officially renamed at a public event next year, after the naming has been accepted by the Commission de toponymie du Québec, which requires a one-year waiting period following a person’s passing.

Questions dominate meeting

Many residents stepped up to the microphone during the meeting, with residents seeking answers to their questions on a variety of issues.

• Resident Gary Carr asked for an update about traffic safety at the intersection of Stillview Ave. and Hymus Blvd., with large trucks running over the sidewalk when making right turns, asking if Transport Québec could be approached now that the area has been changed from being primarily industrial to becoming a residential sector.

• Gordon Reid, a resident of District 7 – Northview, returned to represent the residents in the area of Braebrook Ave. and Cragmore Rd., concerned with “the dilapidated and compromised condition of Braebrook Avenue west of Maywood and what can be done immediately to increase the drainage on these streets,” while requesting that action be taken.

• Another plea was made by Ryan Derrig in an attempt to convince council to overturn a decision by the Demolition Committee, which had refused the demolition request for the home he had purchased on Bord-du-Lac-Lakeshore Road.  While the plans to replace the 1963 bungalow with a two-storey home were approved by the Urban Planning Department, the Demolition Committee made its decision based on Derrig’s second application for demolition, which was submitted after council had amended its demolition by-law.

Expressing his frustration, Derrig, himself a general contractor who has been doing construction for 25 years, had presented reports from a structural engineer, an architect, and an independent general contractor. Questioning the committee’s expertise by asking if any of them had experience in engineering or construction and describing how the house is not suitable for his family of six, Derrig lamented his inability to “build a house that perfectly fits into the heritage of Pointe-Claire.”