Edmond Hétu, Conseiller/Councillor District 6

I began my worklife at the CBC where I moved through various jobs in the local television newsroom, first as copy clerk and then doing various jobs ranging from reporter, editor, deputy assignment editor, facilities coordinator and feed producer. After 10 years there, I moved into the IT side and worked on the introduction of small computers into the office, writing software and eventually designing technical architectures for network systems across the country. I finished my career at the CBC in 1996 in the Strategic Planning area, working on developing a plan to move the broadcaster into new media. I designed, back in 1995, the world's first metadata enabled newscast using CBC Newsworld as a test platform. It was groundbreaking -- but only if you know what metadata is. Since there were only about a dozen computers in the world configured to receive this metadata, it was not widely noticed.

After the CBC, I established my own IT company where I specialized in rapid development and deployment of field systems with most of my contracts working with large communications companies, broadcasters and federal or provincial governments.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Imoved to Québec in the early 1980s. I didn't discover Chelsea until 1997 when, while whimsically using an internet real-estate search engine, I plugged in the keywords "mountains", "lake" and specified it should be 30 minutes to the Ottawa -- the search returned two homes in Hollow Glen. Intrigued, I visited both and settled on the one by shore of Lac Beamish with a commanding view of the cliffside below Mount King. Shortly after moving in, I discovered Mother Nature can be harsh in the country as the Great Ice Storm of 1997 was just around the corner. I also discovered that living in a small municipality, things are done differently here.

I joined the volunteer Fire Department just before my daughter was born, in 2003. I signed up because I was growing to like not only the geography but the people I met around town. I felt it was a good way to help my neighbours and get a feel for the community.  Volunteering for the Fire Department was, and continues to be, an amazing experience for me -- it has opened my eyes to a whole class of people who willingly sacrifice countless hours and much energy to helping citizens in their time of need.  I strive to be a better person by observing the examples that surround me.

After being a knowledge worker for most of my life, I discovered that being a volunteer firefighter demonstrates how rewarding it is to confront a problem, an emergency or, for some, a life changing moment, and be part of the resolution. Being a knowledge worker is my livelihood and it has its rewards...but helping people on a one-to-one basis is a different kind of reward. That is why I'm also a city councillor.

As a councillor, I am working at the grass root level with my neighbours. Neighbours who have needs, wants and desires that affect their homes, their livelihood and their quality of life. A councillor is there to articulate those needs and, if appropriate, champion them on their behalf. As your councillor, I want to continue to do what I already do on the fire department: protect my neighbours, keep them safe and make sure our collective future is as bright as it can be.