"Building activity has been great in Tache, quite a bit above last year."

Those are the words of Tache Mayor Robert Rivard, in responding to construction activity through the first six months of 2016.

From January 1st to June 30th, there were 75 permits pulled, worth $9.8 million. Through the same period in 2015, there were 69 permits taken out, for a total of $7.5 million.

Rivard says that is almost entirely residential housing. Most new homes are going up in Lorette and west of that community. He notes there is construction happening throughout Tache, except for the community of Landmark, where construction has been halted until a new water system is put in place.

"We're working on that too but there are some delays in that," he says. "we're still hoping to have that in place within the next year and a half."

Rivard says though there has been increased traffic this year to their office from those looking for a building permit, some of the increase could be attributed to timing. He notes a few permits that were pulled early this year could just as easily have been taken out last year, which would change the numbers.