New park along the Rivière des Prairies
The members of the executive committee will forward a recommendation for municipal council approval concerning the acquisition of lot 3 936 659 of the cadastre of Quebec. This lot encompasses an area of approximately 5790 square meters and is located south of Bord-de-l’Eau Road bordering the Rivière des Prairies. The cost of the acquisition is $847,775 (net taxes included).
The site will first be used to store construction equipment and parts needed to support the ongoing reconstruction work on the Bigras and Verte Islands bridges. The immediate advantage is to return Jolibourg Park to its original vocation as it has been temporarily used as a warehousing site for this construction. After the renovation infrastructure projects have been completed the executive concluded that the land could be used for the development of a new park and or riverfront green space.
Acquisition of a lot in the Papineau woodlands for conservation purposes
The City of Laval will acquire lot 1 392 463 of the cadastre of Quebec at a cost of $13,925 (net taxes included) for conservation purposes. The land which covers an area of 697 square meters is located within the Papineau Woodland special ecological development zone, identified as such in the revised urban development master plan. The Bois Papineau wooded area is located in the Duvernay district in the heart of an urban area. It houses among other things, three nature reserves recognized for the diversity and richness of their ecosystems. Also the marked trails of this woodland allow for many activities such as hiking, snowshoeing and bird watching. The Papineau Wood Conservation Association has been active in promoting and developing this area since its creation in 1986.
Four lots ceded to the municipality in the permanent agricultural zone
Lots 1 981 504, 1 981 459, 1 981 540 and 1 981526 of the cadastre of Québec, located in the Saint-François district whose total area measures 26,185 square meters, will be transferred to the City by the owner for the nominal sum of one dollar. These lots are located within the permanent agricultural zone of Quebec, in a designated area that has been characterized by the regrouping of agricultural lands (consolidation site number 15). These lots are part of an area in Laval whose zoning cannot be altered and cannot be used for purposes other than agriculture.
Infrastructure work on part of Elsa-Triolet Street
Part of lot 5 096 940 (proposed lot 6 160 229) of the cadastre of Québec, of an area of 1,744 square meters, will be transferred to the City of Laval by the owner for the nominal sum of one dollar. The land thus acquired will be used to facilitate infrastructure projects on part of the Elsa-Triolet Street.
Destination Europe: Laval companies get help to open new markets oversees
Thanks to an agreement with Emploi-Québec; Laval’s Economic Development Department will support four Laval-based companies to acquire specific knowledge of potential European markets. With this expertise it is hoped that these companies will be able to develop a market strategy which will enable them to set up partnerships and business contacts in order to gain access to trade in these markets. This was made possible by grants as part of the Destination Europe project. This project will culminate for each participating company with the organization of a prospecting mission in the targeted country. To support them the City of Laval will retain the services of two consultants. The fees of these consultants totaling $ 40,000 will be entirely borne by Emploi-Québec ($ 22,000) and by businesses ($ 18,000).
The initiative Destination Europe is a business support project for market development in Europe. It is part of the opening of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Interim Agreement, which will come into force on September 21st 2018. It will promote new opportunities for businesses, which will then have access to a market of nearly 500 million consumers. The agreement reached between the City and Emploi-Québec makes Destination Europe more accessible to more Laval companies as the grants provided in this agreement represent 41.51% of the overall project budget which is estimated at $53,000.
20th edition of the OSEntreprendre Contest
The Economic Development Department of the Ville de Laval will once again be responsible for organizing the regional component of the OSEntreprendre contest (formerly known as the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest) which will be celebrating its 20th edition in 2018. This is the only contest in Quebec to mobilize, promote and raise awareness for the development of the entrepreneurial culture. The regional awards ceremony will take place as part of the OSE Laval event, in which over 400 people took part last year. The contest is open to new companies in the start-up and conception phase as well as start-up companies just launched. Also an important component is the presentation of student entrepreneurship projects ranging from elementary to university age. Also former participants from 1998 to 2012 will vie for the Prix Réussite Inc prize which recognizes companies that have succeeded in their development.
The contest is being rolled out in Quebec’s 17 administrative regions at three levels: local, regional and provincial. However, since Laval is a city and a MRC there is no local level so all projects are directly referred to the regional committee. In all more than $ 600,000 in bursaries and scholarships will be awarded across all of the regions of Quebec as part of this event.
Intelligent Mobility Incubation and Acceleration Center in Laval (CIAMIL)
The members of the executive committee have forwarded a recommendation for city council approval of the memorandum agreed to with the Société de transport de Laval-STL Laval’s transportation agency. The agreement calls for the establishment of an Incubation Centre for the strategic development of Intelligent Mobility in Laval (CIAMIL- Centre d’incubation et d’accélération en mobilité intelligente à Laval). The non-profit organization which will ultimately be governed by a seven-person board of directors, will aim among other things, to mobilize existing companies to develop and implement innovative solutions for smart and sustainable mobility of people and goods in industrial parks, downtown and employment areas.
$12,000 grant to the Regional Council of Culture
A grant of $ 12,000 has been awarded to the Regional Council of Culture for the work of creating a regional culture development action plan. The organization will have the means to establish up to six independent teams that will focus on different cultural areas for development whose initial efforts will include scheduling forty meetings involving more than 60 regional partners (artists, cultural organizations, cultural professionals and other regional partners). These focus groups will have the goal to identify the priorities for cultural development in Laval over the next five years. As the official body assigned the task of organizing the local cultural assets in Laval the Regional Council of Culture has been mandated to develop this action plan in close collaboration with all its local partners working in this field. This initiative is part of the consultation process started this winter and whose results will be highlighted at the Summit of Culture meeting to be held in June 2018.
