Laval city council, March meeting

Laval residents could soon be able to watch the proceedings of their city council from the comfort of their home. During the council meeting on March 7, the Mouvement Lavallois, filmed the proceedings in anticipation of their first broadcast on the net.

Opportunity missed
While Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt claims to have received no requests to broadcast council meetings, David de Cotis, president of the Mouvement Lavallois, thinks the City of Laval missed a great opportunity to get closer to the citizenry and to boost their interest in municipal politics.
“This is what being proactive is all about,” said De Cotis, adding that he was pleased people will at least be able to see what really happens during council meetings. “The cities of Longueuil and Montreal as well as the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal do it. I think there’s been resistance on the part of the mayor to the meetings being recorded and broadcast. If that wasn’t the case, it would have been done a long time ago, especially since it costs almost nothing to do.”

Permission needed
The Mouvement Lavallois consulted lawyers to determine that what they are doing is legal. “We can’t broadcast live, because there’s no municipal rule that authorizes it,” said De Cotis. “We also have to get the permission of each person who gets up at the microphone for question period, or else we don’t film their face in order to avoid being sued.”
Since this is a work in progress, the format hasn’t been completely worked out yet. “Since the first half of council happens very quickly and can lead to confusion, it’s possible that we will only broadcast the question period,” De Cotis added.

Name that bridge
City councillor Jacques Saint-Jean spoke during the meeting to suggest a name for the new Autoroute 25 bridge between Laval and Montreal. “I ask city council and the Comité de toponymie du Québec to consider using the name Olivier Charbonneau for the A-25 bridge,” he said. The first inhabitant of Île Jésus, Olivier Charbonneau is the ancestor of some 35,000 people in Quebec named Charbonneau, as well as numerous people named Labelle through his daughter Anne. St-Jean said the name would be appropriate for the bridge, considering the historical role of the man and the number of people in Laval named Charbonneau.

Luc Goulet, new director of engineering
City council approved the nomination of Luc Goulet to the position of director of the engineering department. Holding a Masters degree in civil engineering and construction, Goulet has been an employee of the City of Laval since 2003 and was the associate-director of the engineering department since 2010.

Lawn maintenance
During question period, Eugène Nolet asked council to clarify the regulations concerning the maintenance of lawns in Laval. “I have always refused to allow pesticide applications against white worms on my property,” he said. “But this year, a man called me to say that municipalities were taking action to rid themselves once and for all of white worms and force property owners to use chemical products. I have my doubts… ”
The mayor was unambiguous in his response. “You’re right to have doubted,” he said. “The municipalities have stopped using products that are dangerous for the environment and we’re not going back on that. Also a municipality can’t force that on you. To know what’s the best thing you can do, you should get in touch with the Botanical Garden, which is an independent source of information.”