(TLN) With a federal election set to take place on Oct. 21, the City of Laval has tabled a list of seven requests it would like the next government to fulfill for the municipality.
To transform the ‘Old Pen’
The city wants the next federal government to transform the old St. Vincent de Paul penitentiary in Laval’s eastern end into an educational, cultural and tourist destination. Laval wants the future government to pay for such a project.
“We firmly believe that we could in conjunction with a partnership with the federal level completely revitalize the Old Pen site to fully bring out the value of this heritage site while enhancing the core of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul village,” said Mayor Marc Demers.
Support of heritage group
Longtime Montreal area heritage advocate Dinu Bumbaru, who leads Heritage Montreal and joined the mayor for the announcement during a recent press conference, agreed. “Heritage Montreal is happy to associate itself to the City of Laval to invite the future federal government to diligently commit itself to a concerted effort to bring life back to the important heritage site that is the Old Pen,” he said.
Collège Laval, which is located next to the vacant penitentiary, also expressed support for the project. “Collège Laval wishes to actively participate in the rehabilitation of the old Saint-Vincent-de-Paul penitentiary,” said Michel Baillargeon, the school’s executive-director. Other requests the City of Laval is making to the future federal government:
Funding for aquatic complex
1. Laval wants the future government to put as much as $20 million to help pay for a future aquatic complex the city has been planning for years now.
2. The city wants Ottawa to double the amount of funding transferred to Laval through the federal gasoline tax refund program.
3. Laval wants the next government to maintain the amounts currently being paid to the city to subsidize new social and affordable housing.
4. The city also wants the party in power after Oct. 21 to provide the necessary funding to buy three large islands in the waters off Laval: Île aux Vaches, Île Saint-Pierre and Île Saint-Joseph.
5. Laval wants the next government to upgrade program funding for flood protection in vulnerable areas near the waterfronts in the Laval area.
6. The city also wants Ottawa to provide funding to help develop an integrated public transit system serving Laval and the Lower Laurentian regions.
