Iroquois Falls to decide fate of Guy-Paul Treefall

Iroquois Falls council has a decision to make – what to do with ‘Guy-Paul Treefall’ since the statue, which welcomes town visitors, has fallen into disrepair.

Town council in Iroquois Falls faces a pivotal decision Monday evening: what to do with the iconic but deteriorating ‘Guy-Paul Treefall’ statue that has greeted visitors along Highway 11 for decades.

The statue, a local landmark, has fallen into disrepair and requires significant restoration. A recent tender for the work returned a bid of approximately $26,000 from a local company to fully restore the structure.

The decision to be made reflects broader conversations about the statue’s role in the community and its value as a symbol of local identity. Monday’s decision comes after a town poll revealed divided opinions among residents.

According to the town survey, 45.4 per cent of respondents support repairing the statue, while 42.2 per cent favour removing it entirely and a smaller group, 12.4 per cent, suggested relocating it to a new site.

Acting Mayor Gilles Giguere has voiced his preference for moving the statue to the town centre when speaking with CTV News recently.

“Personally, I’ve always been in favour of relocating him in the town centre,” he said.

“My reasoning behind that is Iroquois Falls has a lot to offer. We have a lot of nice businesses here in our downtown core, and if this guy here is the attraction that’s going to help bring some people into our community, that’s a positive.”

Council will choose between two options: restoring the statue and keeping it in its current location or restoring it and moving it to a new site.

Initial repairs are estimated to cost at least $10,000, with an additional $12,500 budgeted for potential relocation expenses.