At the closing of the last regular council meeting on June 4, the municipal councillors of Newport used the occasion to highlight the 34 years of the political life of the ex-councillor, René Tétreault, giving him a watch bearing an inscription of the dates of his service and the name of the municipality.

Tétreault had few words to express his gratitude and surprise. “I am very surprised and very glad. It has been a pleasure all these years. I think that the councils over the years succeeded in doing good work,” he said, speaking in French. Tétreault retired from political life at the close of his last mandate, which ended in November 2017. He admitted having occasionally thought about withdrawing from the municipal world. “I thought about it from time to time, but now I figured that it was time for me to retire.”

René Tétreault began his career as municipal councillor in 1979. Over the years, he had a break of four years, during the merger of Newport with Cookshire. He was re-elected when Newport de-merged four years later.
The mayor of Newport, Lionel Roy, shared 21 years of political life with Tétreault, either as fellow councillor or as mayor. He emphasized the great punctuality of Tétreault. “He was always present, and did a good job of defending his area.” Clarifying that elected councillors are remunerated, Roy indicated that the many hours Tétreault dedicated to his job practically amounted to volunteer work.