Laval Fire Dept. division chief Claude Lussier walks along at the Centropolis, dressed for the occasion, during the 2022 Laval Firemen’s Festival. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Post-Covid life got back to normal during the June 4 – 5 event
The 2022 Laval Firemen’s Festival, which took place on June 4 – 5 at the Centropolis, delivered all the excitement festival-goers had grown used to up to the last time it was held in 2019. The crowds seemed all the more eager this year to get out and enjoy the festivities following the two-year-long Covid pandemic.
The ever-popular parade of fire trucks, with sirens and warning signals blaring, took place Saturday morning, starting around 9:30 am from Laval’s industrial park, slowly making its way towards the rendez-vous point at the Centropolis an hour later.
The LFD’s annual Course des Pompiers (Firemen’s Race) also took place as part of the 2022 Firemen’s Festival. (Photo: Courtesy of Association des Pompiers de Laval)
Lots to do and see
Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 am to 4 pm, the festival site was filled with a range of activities, including educational kiosks on fire prevention and safety, a car accident simulation, firefighter museum artefacts, fire truck displays, and more.
There were even demonstrations of cooking by some of the more kitchen-savvy firefighters, whose sense of haute-cuisine has become well-developed from years of preparing hearty meals in the firehouse kitchen while waiting for emergency calls to come in.
Who says the sporting life and clowning around don’t go together? Crowds at the Centropolis for the 2022 Laval Firemen’s Festival got a few belly laughs from this foursome. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)Officers from the Service de Police de Laval were on hand to give out information on a range of topics related to public safety. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
The federal weather service issued a widespread warning at 3:28 pm on Thursday afternoon that severe thunderstorms are expected over the Greater Montreal area in the coming hours and that anyone in the outdoors during this period should take immediate cover as the front approaches.
“The warm and humid weather expected will be favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms in the afternoon,” the agency said. “The primary threats associated with these thunderstorms are strong wind gusts, heavy downpours and large hail. There is also a risk of tornado for the day.”
Water-related activities may be unsafe due to violent and sudden gusts of wind over bodies of water, Environment Canada adds. They warn that lightning kills and injures Canadians every year.
Legion has long been advocating for a comprehensive strategy
Royal Canadian Legion Dominion President Bruce Julian.
The Royal Canadian Legion is renewing its call for a comprehensive strategy to deal with escalating wait times faced by Canada’s veterans after they submit disability claims for processing.
The call comes in the wake of the Auditor General of Canada’s report released recently, which conducted an audit into whether Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) was taking appropriate actions to reduce wait times for veterans to receive disability benefits to which they may be entitled.
‘Turning point,’ says Julian
In a statement released by the Legion’s Dominion President Bruce Julian, the Legion expressed hope that the new report marks a turning point.
The Legion “has long been pushing Veterans Affairs Canada for change because we’ve seen the unacceptable wait times, inefficient processes and insufficient staff to handle the load,” said Julian.
“We’ve seen the despair and anger from veterans and families as situations worsen. We hope this report will finally provide the impetus needed to create and execute a concrete plan of action, end unreasonable wait times, and duly serve the injured Veterans who served us.”
Poor processing procedures
Among the findings, the Auditor General’s report reflected that not only are veterans waiting a long time, but that women, francophones and RCMP veterans are waiting even longer.
The report also showed that VAC’s departmental data on how claims are processed is poor, and that there is no long-term staffing plan to address the situation. The Legion has long been advocating for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the disability claims backlog. They say they remain hopeful that with the new report, a long-term plan will finally be tabled.
‘Downtown areas are important,’ says delegated CAQ Economy Minister Lucie Lecours
With municipalities all over Quebec starting to enter a true economic recovery following several false starts during the pandemic in the past two years, the CAQ government’s delegated Minister for the Economy Lucie Lecours was at Laval city hall last week to announce that $3 million of an overall $25 million has been set aside by Quebec for the recovery of businesses in Laval’s downtown core.
From the left, Lidia Divry, director-general of the economic development corporation Laval économique, Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete, delegated Quebec Economy Minister Lucie Lecours, and Laval city councillor for Duvernay–Pont-Viau Christine Poirier, who is the executive-committee member responsible for economic development dossiers, are seen here at Laval’s interim city hall on June 6. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Recovery underway
Lecours, who was accompanied by CAQ MNA for Saint-Rose Christopher Skeete and Laval executive-committee member Christine Poirier, confirmed that the provincial government has reviewed and accepted an economic recovery plan submitted by the City of Laval.
According to a statement issued by Lecours’ ministry last week, the City of Laval’s plan includes six initiatives which are expected to help boost business prospects and revenues in the downtown sector.
Encouraging digital
The plan also includes special subsidies, a major awareness-raising event, and a digital transformation element whose purpose will be to encourage downtown enterprises to focus on doing more business on the web.
“The economic recovery is accelerating in Quebec,” said Lecours.
“Our government continues to offer the right financial tools to municipalities for restore their confidence, while helping them rediscover their momentum from before the pandemic. Downtown areas are important economic engines, and must be able to resume their economic activities while getting back up to full-speed as quickly as possible.”
Laval’s downtown sector provides employment for up to 40,000 people
Challenges to meet
“The city is very happy to know it can count on this financial assistance from the government of Quebec for the recovery of its city centre,” said Laval councillor for Duvernay–Pont-Viau Christine Poirier, who is the executive-committee member responsible for economic development dossiers. “Our economy is facing great challenges, and we need the right tools to meet them.”
Laval city councillor for Duvernay–Pont-Viau Christine Poirier, who is the executive-committee member responsible for economic development dossiers, noted that 26,000 jobs were lost in the city centre at the peak of the Covid pandemic. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Noting that Laval’s downtown sector provides employment for up to 40,000 people, she said the pandemic caused the loss of 26,000 jobs, although the city reacted quickly with a range of support programs for businesses to minimize the damage. She said Laval was the region in Quebec that was hardest hit job-wise during the pandemic, with unemployment reaching 12 per cent at one point.
Skeete optimistic
“Entrepreneurialism is one of the pillars for regional development, as well as an important indicator of the economic and social well-being of populations,” said Skeete. “The recovery in downtown areas will breathe new life into the businesses and restaurant owners who were weakened by the slowdown or stop of their activities. This help will benefit not only the City of Laval, but also all of Quebec.”
“We want to get the word out about Laval’s city centre,” said Lidia Divry, director-general of the economic development corporation Laval économique, adding that the agency wants to make Laval’s downtown area a kind of destination that stands out on maps. She said another goal is to begin holding important events in the city core in order to attract more pedestrian traffic.
Idea was first proposed in 2020, before the pandemic shook up the economy
Have you ever considered investing some of your time and energy in any of the dozens of digital currencies that have sprung up like so many mushrooms in the global economy in recent years?
The City of Laval has given it a bit of thought, although economic development officials working in conjunction with the municipality seem to have decided to forego the opportunity.
Which ought not be too surprising, considering the turbulence and volatility which have characterized the performance of digital currencies over the past year.
City’s ‘buy local’ initiative
Two years ago, when the City of Laval had first begun taking measures to counter the economic flack resulting from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, among the programs announced was a “buy local” initiative that local merchants and businesses were encouraged to support through subscription.
The program was accompanied by a perk for merchants’ customers called Freebees, which had already enjoyed some success in other regions of Quebec in the previous years.
City has withdrawn from Freebees retail perks program
Freebies program cancelled
Among other things, the program would have allowed business owners in the Laval region an additional option: to support the creation of a local digital currency as a tool to help generate customer loyalty, while stimulating the Laval economy at the same time.
According to Lidia Divry, director-general of the economic development corporation Laval économique, businesses and merchants in Laval have shown relatively little interest in the creation of a local digital currency as an economic stimulus. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Last week during a visit by delegated Quebec Minister for the Economy Lucie Lecours to announce new provincial funding for Laval’s ongoing post-Covid recovery, Lidia Divry, director-general of the economic development corporation, Laval économique, acknowledged that the city has distanced itself from Freebees.
Merchants weren’t interested
“We stopped it because it was launched at the same time as there were closings on account of [sanitary measure] decrees made by the provincial government,” she said during a brief interview last week with The Laval News.
Although some other aspects of the Freebees program generated a degree of interest from businesses and merchants in Laval, Divry said they showed no enthusiasm for the idea of a digital currency. But at the same time, she didn’t disagree that the turbulence afflicting crypto and digital currencies probably has been a factor as well.
Half of non-homeowners unlikely to enter housing market, says new CPA study
Despite historically being one of the top life goals for Canadians, the prospect of home ownership for non-owners remains far from reach, according to a new study conducted by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.
The Housing Headache study found that half of Canadians who do not currently own a home believe it is unlikely that they will ever be able to purchase one. And, while the other half are optimistic about home ownership, only one-in-five (21 per cent) think it is very likely they’ll enter the housing market, while 29 per cent think it is just somewhat likely.
The hurdles to home ownership
According to CPA Canada’s Housing Headache study, currently just over half of respondents own a house (53 per cent), while 45 per cent rent or lease. The study dived deeper into the reasons that prevent renters becoming owners and, not surprisingly, 89 per cent of respondents cited the threat of interest rates increasing as the greatest challenge to owning their own home. Other hurdles cited include:
Affording a down payment (84 per cent).
Affording renovations for 83 per cent, meanwhile an equal number cite housing availability in their desired area as a challenge.
Affording taxes and mortgage payments are equal at 81 per cent.
Income stability worried 69 per cent.
“Home ownership remains a priority for many yet what it takes to get there for so many Canadians is becoming increasingly challenging,” said Doretta Thompson, CPA Canada’s financial literacy leader. “The popular wisdom used to be to buy the largest house you could possibly afford, however it’s important to define your personal goals, balance them with means and look to multiple ways to ensure financial security. Owning a physical asset isn’t the only definition of success.”
Across the board, women tend to be more likely than men to view home ownership considerations as representing challenges for them. For example, interest rate hikes are a concern for 93 per cent of women compared to 85 per cent of men and affording a down payment is daunting for 86 per cent of women versus 81 per cent of men.
Additionally, 31 per cent of parents with adult children living in their house report that their kids are still living at home because housing is too expensive. Despite this, of those who currently don’t own a home, three-in-four Gen Z respondents and seven-in-10 Millennials remain confident they will buy a house in the future. While their rates of current homeownership are much higher than the younger cohorts, of those older Canadians who do not own a home, optimism about ever doing so is much lower at just 38 per cent for Gen X and 13 per cent for Boomers.
Homeowners still face challenges
The housing headache persists for those who do own their homes. Many Canadians are struggling with the very things that renters identified as barriers to home ownership:
Three-in-five homeowners say that affording necessary renovations is challenging for them; meanwhile, 46 per cent are struggling with the costs of basic home maintenance.
Two-in-five indicate that mortgage payments and property taxes are hard to keep up with, while 35 per cent find utility payments challenging.
Easing the housing headache
Although home ownership feels far away for many Canadians, it doesn’t mean the goals of a happy lifestyle and long-term financial security are beyond reach. “Shifting your mindset and taking a hard look at expectations can be a good place to start when it comes to managing the housing headache,” stated Thompson.
“Weigh your needs against wants and consider what you can afford based on your income and lifestyle. For some, that may mean rethinking the size and or location of a housing purchase. For others, it might mean a longer-term rental strategy – or even an indefinite rental strategy – with complementary saving and investment goals to secure your long-term financial future.”
Laval’s mayor was at Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ annual conference
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer agrees with mayors across Canada that homelessness in cities has reached crisis proportions. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Politicians from across Canada, including the City of Laval, spent a recent weekend in Regina, Sask. as they looked to plan a post-COVID future for the country.
Among many of the elected officials, homelessness and housing affordability appeared to be the central topic up for discussion during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2022 annual conference.
A housing crisis
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, who chairs the FCM’s big city mayors’ caucus, was joined by Laval mayor Stéphane Boyer and by Regina mayor Sandra Masters. The three stressed that it’s important to start increasing the supply of affordable homes in an attempt to address the ongoing housing crisis.
Discussions about bringing all three levels of government together to tackle the housing problem took place between municipal officials and Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.
Beginning on June 15, residents of Laval are able to access all the services at the city’s very first eco-centre, located at 1205 Dagenais Blvd. West, near Bellerose Blvd. in Vimont.
The first of a planned four ecocentres will allow the city to gather no less than 15,000 tons of recyclable materials annually.
Fabreville city councillor Claude Larochelle, Mayor Stéphane Boyer and Laval-des-Rapides councillor Alexandre Warnet officially opened Laval’s first ecocentre recently.
“The opening of the first of four ecocentres is paving the way towards new habits that Laval residents will be adopting,” says Mayor Stéphane Boyer.
“This is an important step we are taking for the sustainable management of residual materials. Without a doubt, this is a plus for the protection of our environment.”
The new eco-centre will allow residents as well as businesses in Laval to rid themselves of many kinds of things in a way that is safe and in keeping with environmental sustainability principles. The new eco-centre will be open during the following hours:
Monday and Tuesday, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm;
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 8 am to 7:30 pm;
Saturday and Sunday, from 8 am to 5:30 pm.
Among the materials that will be accepted are hazardous domestic waste (paints, solvents, corrosives, etc.), electronic components, construction materials, mattresses, household appliances including refrigerators, propane cannisters, tires, clothing, branches and cardboard.
45 hectares of natural spaces now protected in Laval
With the recent acquisition of Île Locas, the City of Laval says that since 2021 it has acquired 12 natural spaces all over its territory which will be protected as park and green spaces for use by the public from now on.
The $17 million in purchases were made with the assistance of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) through the CMM’s Trame verte et bleue regional land acquisition program.
The CMM ultimately hopes to link all the parklands in Laval and elsewhere in the Montreal region into a connected green belt where water, vegetation and wild animals can flourish.
“After a year, we can say without any doubt at all that the Trame verte et bleue is already a great success,” said Laval city councillor and executive-committee member Alexandre Warnet, who is responsible to environment dossiers.
“Its implementation has led to the protection of our precious natural areas, which are now conserved for future generations of humans and non-humans alike,” he added.
“What’s more the Trame verte et bleue allows us to have a collective vision for the Greater Montreal region, which is essential since the issues related to loss of biodiversity and climate change don’t stop at municipal boundaries and are interlinked. Strengthened by this success, I am excited by the idea that this is only the start.”
Public works data tends to be incomplete and disorganized, says Véronique Boily
In her annual audit report on the City of Laval’s administration and finances for the year 2021, auditor-general Véronique Boily gives the Boyer administration a failing grade on the way it maintains Laval’s streets and roadways, saying the money being spent isn’t guaranteeing that the work will be done properly.
Road repairs neglected
“The procedures currently being followed by the city do not give any assurance that the investments agreed upon to maintain or improve the street beds in its roads network will provide the best results,” said Boily.
Véronique Boily, the City of Laval’s auditor-general.
“While the city proceeds with the evaluation of its roads network at a pace that is in keeping with accepted practices, the data on the roads tend to be incomplete and are disorganized,” she added.
Boily tabled her 2021 report at the June 8 meeting of Laval city council. As she has done for several years, she provided an independent analysis of the administration’s performance, on the reliability of its finances, and on the state of the municipality’s conformity to rules and regulations.
Shortfall being ignored
Regarding the city’s maintenance of its streets, Boily said Laval hasn’t yet set a specific goal for the level of service for street and road maintenance it wishes to provide, while the city is ignoring the extent of the shortfall.
“And, since the maintenance strategy for the current assets is essentially palliative and the invested sums are insufficient to maintain the network in its current state, the state of the infrastructures is at risk of continuing to deteriorate, while their maintenance will become more costly,” added Boily.
Improvement needed
Regarding the awarding of contracts for work done by the city’s public works service, Boily said the process could do with improvement. “The roles and responsibilities are not clearly established, which discredits the imputability of the principal interveners involved in the process,” she said. She made 13 recommendations to the city’s public works service, as well as the supplies service.
Commenting on the auditor-general’s latest report, Action Laval city councillors David De Cotis (Saint-Bruno) and Achille Cifelli (Val-des-Arbres) said it confirmed what many Laval residents had long suspected: The city’s streets are in bad shape, while the city doesn’t seem to have any real plan to bring them up to grade.
Throwing money at problem
“We are very happy to see that this wasn’t just an impression, but a fact,” De Cotis said. “The Boyer administration hasn’t got the know-how to be positioned to make the right decisions. For the team in power, the solution is simple: When they have a problem, they throw money at it.”
‘The state of the infrastructures is at risk of continuing to deteriorate, while their maintenance will become more costly’
Said Cifelli, “They’re managing as if by the week. There is no planning, no strategy, not even information to be able to make informed decisions. The Boyer team doesn’t know how to implement good management tools.”
Action Laval pointed out that year over year, the city’s auditor-general has been issuing reports which are highly critical of the administration’s management, prompting Laval’s number two opposition party to propose two years ago that a rectification plan be put into place by the Boyer team.
Opposition ‘not surprised’
Over the past year, Action Laval has, in fact, made several attempts to obtain specific data used by the city in managing its various dossiers, especially regarding the city’s 3-1-1 service.
“The conclusion of the auditor-general is not surprising – they have no data,” says a statement issued by Action Laval last week, adding that other than furnishing an account of the total number of calls made to 3-1-1, the administration was unable to furnish any other management information regarding the phone service.
Marie-Chantal Chassé’s short-lived political career was not an easy one: the former environment minister, relegated to the backbenches early on in the CAQ’s mandate was publicly ridiculed for her apparent lack of confidence when speaking with the media.
Quebec City correspondent for QCNA Raquel Fletcher.
In an emotional and moving speech last week in the house, she said goodbye to her colleagues and her constituents. She is one of more than a dozen women MNAs who have announced they will not be seeking re-election, a number of whom after only serving one term. Politics is, after all, a nasty business.
However, Chassé’s final address was surprisingly positive: “I began this adventure with courage, with audacity and with a lot, a lot of enthusiasm. And I found myself at that moment with the file of the utmost importance for humanity… For my children, I couldn’t say no,” she said.
When things did not go as planned, she explained, she got back up, also for her children, three daughters, and set out to rebuild her credibility one person at a time.
“I also got up again for women because I want them to believe that we can be daring, that we can take leaps in the dark, take leaps ahead, that we can trip, get up and end up stronger through it all,” she said, before delivering her powerful clincher:
“I hope with all my heart that my journey will not deter other women from daring to make these leaps… We are often hesitant, perfectionist, we are never good enough. I say to women, I have a responsibility to say to you: ‘Go, girl, go!’ Prove to me, girls, that the fact that I got up again inspires you, dares you to take chances – that my journey helps you to believe even more in yourselves.”
It was an eloquent message addressed to those women who might just feel compelled to take that baton Chassé is passing on to them, if not for her party than for one of the opposition parties gearing up for the upcoming fall election.
While all bets are on François Legault and the CAQ forming another strong majority government, there’s no end of issues to be debated which might draw in new candidates ready to take that leap of faith into the world of politics.
Legault, who is running on his track record overall, will have a much tougher time convincing Anglophones his track record with them is worth voting for. Bill 96, scrapping the Dawson College expansion, and refusing to participate in an English language debate have created strong divisions between his party and English-speaking Quebecers. Still, as he did in 2018, the premier is asking them to “join us.”
“My message to anglophones is still the same,” he said at his end of session press conference last Friday. “But we have to all agree that it’s important to protect French in Quebec.”
“People are extremely frustrated, but not only the Anglophones, people in general,” said Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade at her end of session press conference, also on Friday. “We have to stop dividing ourselves because what’s ahead of us is going to be also a tough period in terms of the economy.”
Anglade is also trying to get back into the good graces of her Anglophone base after her party proposed an amendment to Bill 96, which will now require students attending English CEGEPs to take more classes in French. Anglade has recognized on more than one occasion that this unpopular amendment was a mistake, but if elected, she said it won’t be repealed.
For Quebec Solidaire, the ballot box question will be the rising cost of living.
“We are in the middle of the worst inflation crisis in 30 years,” said QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “François Legault’s $500 has already been spent a long time ago.”
He continued: “The CAQ has become the party of François Legault’s obsessions: Louisiana, immigration. I think Quebecers have other priorities.”
Although he has been heavily criticized for his comments that Quebec could become the next Louisiana if it didn’t do more to protect the French language, the premier is sticking to his position.
“It might shock some people to say that Quebec wants more powers when it comes to immigration to protect French, but I’m a more or less straight forward guy who doesn’t beat around the bush. So I think it’s a question of saying clearly to Quebecers where we stand,” he explained.
Despite the CAQ’s recruiting two high-profile former sovereigntist candidates (Bernard Drainville and Caroline St-Hilaire), the Parti Quebecois still isn’t convinced a nationalist approach is the best bet for Quebec.
“It’s crystal clear that, no matter how many CAQ representatives there will be in this house after the next election, it will not change the fact that Ottawa will not say yes to things that, according to the Premier, are vital to the survival of our nation,” said PQ Leader St-Pierre Plamondon. Independence is “the reason of our existence,” he said and he plans to campaign on that point “with all the energy possible.”
