Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) said on Sunday afternoon that it is launching an investigation into the death of a woman who was found lifeless in a Chomedey condo building’s parking lot Sunday morning.
The Laval Police Department said earlier in the day that they were investigating the death of the 32-year old woman who was found not long after daybreak outside a condo complex on des Châteaux St. near Daniel Johnson Blvd.
The body bore marks of violence, possibly from an attack, according to an LPD spokesperson.
Police investigators and officers with the Crimes Against the Person Division, the Forensic Identification Service, as well as dogs from the canine unit, remained on the scene Sunday trying to determine a cause of death.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the BEI (which investigates suspicious deaths involving the police) said the woman had filed a complaint with the police a few days earlier about receiving death threats.
Officers went to the woman’s home to meet her, then left, according to the BEI.
According to the Montreal daily La Presse, the Sécurité du Québec has been given the mandate to provide technical services for the investigation.
The BEI is currently seeking useful information from witnesses who can contact the agency at this web address:
The Laval Police say a man in his 30s is facing a number of assault-related charges following a violent incident on Monday afternoon at a home on Notre Dame Blvd. in Chomedey, which left a 20-year-old male victim with bruises and lacerations.
Several Laval Police Department cruisers as well as an Urgences-Santé ambulance were summoned to the home near the corner of Dover Ave. after someone called 9-1-1 around 1:30 pm on Monday to report serious trouble at the address.
(Photo: Costa Hovris, Laval News)
According to LPD community relations officer Érika Landry, the victim was visiting someone at the home when an altercation broke out.
The investigators have determined that the victim suffered bruises to the face as well as wounds to the body from an unspecified weapon.
Although the victim was taken to hospital by Urgences-Santé, Landry said he was released later the same day.
(Photo: Costa Hovris, Laval News)
She said the LPD closed off a one-block area of Notre Dame Blvd. in order to establish a security perimeter while providing assistance to the victim and taking the suspect into custody.
Landry said that after being taken in for processing, the suspect was released with conditions and he now awaits a court date on charges of simple and armed assault.
(This article contains information updating and correcting an earlier version first published on Feb. 16.)
A fire that caused serious damage to a commercial building on Curé Labelle Blvd. in Sainte Rose last Friday evening is believed to have been started by an arsonist.
The blaze started around 7:30 pm in the two-storey building, home to a business specializing in plumbing, heating, air conditioning and fireplaces.
By 9 pm, the Laval Fire Department had things under control.
However, a spokesman for the fire department said a fire broke out and was extinguished earlier that day at the same address.
“It was as if somebody wasn’t happy with their first attempt and came back,” Lieut. Jean-François Gignac, a fire department official, told the Montreal daily La Presse.
An estimated 20 tenants living in a three-storey apartment block on Cartier Blvd. West found themselves out on the street early Monday morning when a fire raged through their building.
According to the Laval Fire Department, the blaze started sometime before 5 am in the building locate between Perrin Ave. and 15th St.
On arrival, the firefighters saw that the flames had already spread and were visible from a fair distance.
Rescue and evacuation operations were undertaken, but there were no injuries, according to the LFD.
Fire department officials don’t think the fire was set deliberately. An electrical malfunction is being blamed.
However, according to some news reports on Monday, many of the smoke detectors in the eight apartments weren’t working.
Structural damage has initially been estimated at $30,000, with an additional $10,000 for loss of personal property in some of the apartments.
The Tornades join the Association de Baseball Féminin Laval
The Association de baseball féminin Laval (ABFL) has announced that beginning with the 2021 season, the Tornades de Laval girls’ baseball teams will be managed and administered by the ABFL.
“The Association de baseball féminin Laval thought carefully in order to clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in a manner as to ensure the smooth operation of girls’ baseball activities in Laval,” said Steven Desaulniers, general manager of the Tornades de Laval.
Up with girls’ baseball
“The development of girls’ baseball in our region is close to our hearts and it is our goal to make it a priority,” he added. The ABFL’s mandate is to provide support while hosting specific programs for the development of female amateur baseball athletes in Laval.
‘The development of girls’ baseball in our region is close to our hearts and it is our goal to make it a priority,’ said Steven Desaulniers, general manager of the Tornades de Laval
To make registration easier for the upcoming baseball season, the ABFL has placed online a website where registration can be done quickly and efficiently. Registration can be done through these two web addresses: www.tornadesdelaval.com and www.baseballfemininlaval.com.
In a related development, baseball fans and supporters in Laval and elsewhere are currently trying to put together an inter-regional girls’ baseball league for the upcoming baseball season. Although the project got started last year, the COVID-19 pandemic happened and put a stop to efforts temporarily. Teams in 11 regions across the province are currently expressing interest in joining the league, including Laval, Lanaudière, Lac-St-Louis and Montreal.
The demand is there
“The desire to have such a league is very high, and several regions have voiced the need for participation in some kind of league exclusively for girls during forums sponsored by Baseball Québec,” said Patrice Duclos, the immediate-past regional representative from Laval for girls’ baseball.
He said that several regions have noted the difficulty of trying to grow girls’ baseball teams within mixed leagues, especially among the older athletes, with the physical gap between boys and girls being seen especially among pitchers. “The Tornades de Laval teams will be up to playing against their colleagues from the other regions, let us hope, beginning this summer for our U9 to U21 teams,” added Duclos, while noting that the outlook for girls’ baseball in Laval in the coming years is positive.
Mortality risk high for those 70 or older, said experts from CISSS de Laval
“If you develop symptoms of a respiratory tract infection and if you live with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, unfortunately you almost certainly have it too,” Dr. Stéphanie Susser, medical coordinator for environmental health at the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, told an online information session for senior citizens last week organized by Congregation Shaar Shalom in Chomedey.
COVID knowledge
Dr. Susser, who has been working at the Laval Public Health Department since 2015 as a preventive medicine specialist, was invited by Dr. Jean-Pierre Trépanier, the Director of Public Health for the Laval region, to speak because she is currently working with the CISSS de Laval’s COVID management team.
She said knowledge of COVID-19 is evolving very quickly, and recent studies suggest that a significant proportion of infected people may not exhibit any symptoms at all.
‘You cannot tell the difference between COVID-19 and the flu based on symptoms alone because they are too similar’
“There is also evidence that people are contagious before the first signs and symptoms appear. This finding has led the government to recommend the precaution of voluntary face coverings to reduce the risk that people with few or no symptoms spread the virus in public places where it’s difficult to stay two metres away from others.”
According to Dr. Susser, the risk of serious complications from COVID-19 increases with age, “but even young people are at risk,” she said.
Higher risk over 70
She said the risk of dying from serious respiratory complications, such as pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19, is especially high in people 70 or over, people who have weakened immune systems, and people who have chronic diseases affecting the heart, lungs and kidneys, as well as diabetes.
“You cannot tell the difference between COVID-19 and the flu based on symptoms alone because they are too similar,” she continued. “The only way to be sure is to get tested.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic around a year ago, according to Dr. Trépanier, more than 22,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to the public health department in Laval. More than 15,000 of these cases were reported since the beginning of the start of the second wave in August last year, underlining the seriousness of the second wave. Up to Jan. 30, there had been 834 deaths, with the average age of the deceased being 85.4 years, according to a diagram issued by the CISSS de Laval.
Encouraging numbers
Dr. Trépanier maintained that since the peak of the second wave in December, the COVID-19 numbers in Laval have been decreasing. While diagnostic tests being conducted around the time of the peak revealed a 12 per cent infection rate, he said the results of tests more recently show a rate of five per cent. However, with health care workers factored in, the rate rises to 10 per cent, he added.
Dr. Susser recommended being tested for COVID-19 (even if you don’t have symptoms) in the following situations: (1) If you’ve had close contact (meaning contact for more than 15 minutes, less than 2 metres apart without a mask) with someone who had COVID-19 up to 48 hours before their symptoms began (or, if they don’t have symptoms, 48 hours before they got tested. (2) If you received an exposure notification from a COVID Alert app. And (3) if you receive a call from public health and are asked to go and get tested.
Beware the symptoms
Dr. Susser said it is important to understand that COVID-19 can present with no symptoms, or with symptoms that are very non-specific. “This year in particular, very few other viruses are going around. So, if you feel sick, it’s probably COVID.”
She said that if you have symptoms that are similar to the flu, gastroenteritis or even COVID – classic symptoms such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing, or if you have no symptoms but were in close contact with a person who did test positive for COVID – you can plan your next step by using a decision fact sheet which is available at the following website: https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-issues/a-z/2019-coronavirus/decision-fact-sheet-covid-19.
As she pointed out, the document is available in a fairly wide range of languages, including English, French, Hebrew, Yiddish and others. A COVID-19 self-care guide is also accessible on the same website, and these tools are updated as new information about the coronavirus becomes available.
A Shaar Shalom event
Last week’s event was organized by Congregation Shaar Shalom vice-president Lewis Fogel, president Mike Andradi, and Young Israel of Chomedey president Issie Baum. Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette was among those who logged into the online platform to take part in the event. “We would like take this opportunity to thank our speakers,” the organizers said in a statement explaining the purpose of the evening. “We are aware that seniors are having difficulties at this time and need help.”
CISSS de Laval is short five staff pharmacists, claims provincial association
A provincial association representing pharmacists working in public health care institutions across Quebec is suggesting that a decline in the number of staff pharmacists in Laval and other areas of the province is compromising health care and requires action by the government in order to avoid passing the consequences on to service users and patients.
Vacancies at CISSS
The Association de pharmaciens des établissements de santé (A.P.E.S.) du Québec says that the results of a survey it recently completed indicate there is a 12 per cent job vacancy rate in the Laval region for pharmacists working within public health care establishments.
The A.P.E.S. says that as of April 1 last year, five equivalent full-time pharmacist positions remained unfilled out of a total of 43 positions for pharmacists at the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval.
Impact felt, says A.P.E.S.
Across Quebec, according to the association, one in-house pharmacist position out of five (19 per cent) was vacant. The 2020 survey found 286 full-time health care system pharmacist positions remained unfilled across the province.
The A.P.E.S. says the COVID-19 pandemic very possibly worsened the situation, although the association was unable to compile corroborating data given the restrictions from the pandemic.
“We have come to a point where the shortage is impacting how well the pharmaceutical needs of hospitalized and ambulatory patients as well as patients living in CHSLDs can be covered,” said A.P.E.S. president François Paradis.
“So, taking into account the aging of the population and an explosion of acute and chronic health problems, a health establishment must be able to count on a sufficient number of pharmacists. As experts in pharmaceuticals, they must systematically be part of the care teams in an interdisciplinary fashion.”
Possible consequences
The A.P.E.S. estimates that the shortage of pharmacists could result in any or all of the following consequences:
Greater risk of errors committed while filling prescriptions;
Unnecessarily lengthy hospital stays;
Heightened risk of secondary pharmaceutical side effects;
Relapses and rehospitalizations (revolving door syndrome);
Reduced quality of life for patients;
Higher costs overall for the health care system.
A working agreement between the pharmacists who are members of the association and the Quebec government expired at the end of March 2020 and is still up for renewal. Among the more outstanding of the A.P.E.S.’s unresolved issues is the hiring of new pharmacists in the province’s hospitals and long-term care facilities.
The group says that from 20 to 50 per cent of the remuneration paid to its pharmacists is based on “temporary” clauses in the agreement, which the A.P.E.S wants to see made permanent in order to do away with uncertainty that surfaces each time agreements are renewed.
Remuneration at issue
“In the past 10 years, we have graduated on average 62 pharmacists per year from the master’s program in advanced pharmacotherapy, which is preparation for working in a hospital environment,” Paradis continued. “As much as we are seeing a noticeable increase in admissions to the program, there has to be more incentive to get into this profession. And this can only be established through a more reliable system of remuneration.”
The temporary measures in question included extending the work week by approximately 10 per cent, thus adding 130 full-time staff pharmacists to the provincial network. The measures also included additional recognition of the pharmacists’ assistance in helping to train advanced pharmacotherapy students. And the measures took into account difficulties encountered in being able to recruit new pharmacists in certain regions of the province.
‘Temporary’ measures
“It’s now more than 10 years that these measures have been in place,” said A.P.E.S. executive-director Linda Vaillant, who is a professional pharmacist. “There’s no longer anything temporary about them except for the name.
“The Ministry of Health and Social Services and the A.P.E.S. have unanimously recognized, in a joint report tabled in the fall of 2019, the efficiency and the pertinence of these measures,” she added. “Their report, the result of work completed in a committee over a period of 18 months, recommends the renewal. What more is needed to convince the government?”
The A.P.E.S. maintains that neglect of the remuneration issue is the main reason for the loss of staff pharmacists in the province’s public health care system since the year 2000. They predict the number of vacancies will only grow if the issue remains unresolved by the government.
Finance Minister Girard expected to table 2021-2022 budget in March
Leading towards the tabling of the next provincial probably budget in March by the CAQ government, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s Quebec lobby is asking the government to go easy on taxes paid by small and medium-size businesses, and to also implement measures to deal effectively with ongoing labour shortages.
Open to advice
In a statement issued by CFIB-Quebec, the organization’s vice-president said they met recently with Quebec Finance Minister Éric Girard to pass along some of their suggestions and recommendations to the provincial government.
‘This budget won’t be like any other and shouldn’t be for that matter,’ says CFIB-Quebec vice-president François Vincent
“This budget represents an opportunity for the government of Quebec to place the SMEs at the centre of their economic strategy,” said François Vincent, noting the current challenges that include the COVID-19 pandemic as well as unfavourable tax regulations.
“This budget won’t be like any other and shouldn’t be for that matter,” he said. “It should send a strong signal that the government is ready to take important actions which favour SMEs, because they make up the most important aspect in the fabric of the regional economy.”
Looming cash flow crunch
According to CFIB-Quebec, 75 per cent of small and medium businesses in Quebec haven’t yet returned to normal revenue levels as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll. In the meantime, the group predicts that one business out of three will be facing cash flow problems before June, and that 11 per cent are at risk of shutting permanently with a loss of 300,000 jobs across the province.
CFIB-Quebec maintains that reducing the tax burden would help businesses to survive, while also allowing them to repay debt, increase salaries to employees, invest in new machinery and hire new workers. In addition to these concerns, CFIB-Quebec said labour shortages continue to hold back some sectors of the province’s economy and need attention from the government.
Budget expected in March
Finance Minister Girard announced the start of online pre-budget consultations in early January. The consultations ran until Feb. 5.
‘The next budget will be particularly important for Quebec’s future’ – Quebec Finance Minister Éric Girard
Over the last few weeks, Girard met with representatives of organizations from various sectors “to discuss their vision and ideas regarding Quebec’s economic and social development,” said a statement issued by the provincial finance ministry.
“The next budget will be particularly important for Quebec’s future,” said Girard. A list of the organizations that submitted briefs is available on the Ministry of Finance website at: consultations.finances.gouv.qc.ca.
News from Laval city hall and the executive-committee
During meetings held by the City of Laval’s executive-committee on Jan. 13, 20 and 27, the members awarded subsidies to a Laval-based women’s group working on feminist issues, as well as to a local organization for the development of a community garden in Laval’s Auteuil neighbourhood.
The executive-committee awarded a $33,440 subsidy to the Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine to develop a project involving monthly themes highlighting equality between men and women. The subsidy was granted in conjunction with a three-year agreement between the City of Laval and the federal Status of Women Ministry.
Highlighting equality
According to a statement issued by the executive-committee, the committee granted a second subsidy ($161,375) to the Table de concertation so that work from the above-mentioned project “can be integrated with the implementation of the regional policy for social developoment (PRDS).”
The agreement in question is between the City of Laval, the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, with the added financial participation of the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon.
According to the executive-committee, the initiatives will allow the various partners involved in the development of a regional social development policy to apply the analysis developed by the Table de concertation, by making development tools available, as well as training.
Community gardens project
The executive-committee also granted a three-year subsidy of $6,000 in all to the organization Service des loisirs Ste-Béatrice for the launch of a community garden in Parc Des Saules in Auteuil. In March 2017, the executive-committee had adoped a reference policy for the launching of community gardens in Laval, with the goal of supporting a maximum of two gardens per year.
Although there was just one request for a community garden in 2020, the resulting new garden will be added to a growing inventory of community gardens that now includes five others. The city maintains that the community gardens are consistent with Laval’s long-term strategic vision, which acknowledges the benefits of community gardens for the population, as well as for maintaining agricultural activities within or near the city’s urbanized areas.
Committee members The City of Laval’s executive-committee meets regularly to make decisions on a variety of issues. The executive-committee includes the following people: Mayor Marc Demers, vice-president Stéphane Boyer (also councillor for Duvernay–Pont-Viau) councillors Sandra Desmeules (Concorde–Bois-de-Boulogne), Ray Khalil (Sainte-Dorothée), Virginie Dufour (Sainte-Rose) and associate members Nicholas Borne (Laval-les-Îles) and Yannick Langlois (L’Orée-des-Bois).
Council turns down Poissant’s downtown tree-planting idea
Independent Laval city councillor for Vimont Michel Poissant, who is running for mayor in the November municipal elections, says he is disappointed the Demers administration rejected a motion he tabled at the last city council meeting to motivate developers to plant more than 1,000 trees in Laval’s rapidly growing downtown sector.
Laval city councillor for Vimont and mayoralty candidate Michel Poissant.
While acknowledging that 1,000 trees would be little more than a symbolic gesture, Poissant, who has launched his own party (Laval citoyens), said in a statement that it would put pressure on private developers to follow the example and add trees of their own.
Poissant’s tree plan
Noting that the downtown area currently contains large parking lots with relatively little greenery, he suggested in his resolution that asphalt sections measuring 6 by 30 feet could be cut out, emptied of gravel and filled with earth, then surrounded by concrete borders and planted with trees, greenery and shrubs. According to Poissant, Trees Canada, a nation-wide non-profit group that promotes the planting of trees, had expressed an interest and was potentially ready to provide subsidies, he said. “Things can sometimes be done without affecting taxes,” said Poissant, while adding that “it just takes a little willingness.”
Conservatives nominate Spyros Pettas, though no date yet set by PM Trudeau
Under mounting opposition pressure over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, will Prime Minister Justin Trudeau follow through on a threat he made during an interview in early January and call an election before the end of this year?
Whatever his decision, you can be almost certain something is brewing among political organizers in Ottawa when the opposition parties start getting their act into gear.
So it was, and with relatively little fanfare late last month, that the Conservative Party of Canada announced its candidate for the next election (whenever that turns out to be) in the perpetually Liberal stronghold of Laval-Les Îles.
Runs an armored car company
He is Spyridonas Pettas, the founder and an associate partner at Arca Logistics Solutions Inc., a West Island Montreal-based security and armored car company specialized in commercial cash transportation, ATM servicing and cash management products.
Spyros, as most people call him, will be running against incumbent Liberal Laval-Les Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury. The next election would normally be scheduled for Oct. 16, 2023, unless the Prime Minister calls for one before the end of this year in an attempt to shore up his beleaguered minority government.
Pettas was introduced during a Zoom webcast press conference by Conservative Senator Leo Housakos and the Conservative Party’s Quebec Lieutenant, Chicoutimi-Le-Fjord Member of Parliament Richard Martel.
“I’ve gotten to know Spyros for some time now and he is an extraordinary person,” said Martel. “He has good judgment, he knows the issues in the riding, and he’s someone who shows a lot of leadership.”
‘Hard worker,’ says Housakos
“Spyros Pettas is someone I’ve known for a good number of years,” said Housakos. “As for his qualities apart from his educational background and dedication to the community, he is a man who is ready to work hard. He is ready to assume the responsibilities to bring the wants and needs of the people of Laval-Les Îles to Ottawa, but not the interests of Ottawa to Laval-Les Îles.”
Regarding the date of the next election, Conservative Senator Leo Housakos said that “clearly it’s in the hands of Prime Minister Trudeau.”
Housakos said he was proud to be able to say that Spyros Pettas had been an active member of the Hellenic Board of Trade of Greater Montreal.
“As such, Mr. Pettas has been involved in local business, in community issues, and I feel certain and reassured that he will work with all his heart and strength to represent Conservative values in this riding with a lot of energy,” Housakos said.
Pettas was born in Athens, Greece in 1968, but has been a Canadian since age one. He is a Concordia University graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce. In addition to his expertise in business management and security systems, he has also served as an instructor in the methods of safe handling of firearms by novice hunters.
Community involvement
Some of his more recent community work was with Batshaw Youth and Family Services, which offers psychosocial, rehabilitation and social integration services to families in need. He is the father of two children, who are now young adults and pursuing studies, including one who is a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces.
“I will work very hard and closely collaborate with the delegates from the municipal and provincial governments in order to work with my riding and its members in finding solutions,” Pettas said in a statement.
“I will also be pursuing in every possible way to find ways that the federal government can implement investments for greater opportunities in the riding for businesses and individuals as well. Presently the biggest challenge we have is being able to secure and deliver as quickly as possible the COVID-19 vaccinations to all our members in our community.”
Speculating on a 2021 election
Regarding the timing of the election, Housakos had this to say: “Clearly it’s in the hands of Prime Minister Trudeau. I know it’s a minority parliament, but we’ve seen the NDP has been more than determined to support the government and continue to support their reckless behaviour.
‘Presently the biggest challenge we have is being able to secure and deliver as quickly as possible the COVID-19 vaccinations to all our members in our community,’ said Tory candidate Spyros Pettas
“Having said that, it’s been clear, from signals that Prime Minister Trudeau, despite the COVID crisis and despite this existential crisis in Canada, [leaves us] fearful that he will put his electoral pursuit and interests ahead of the interests of Canadians. We’re hopeful that he won’t and he’ll continue to focus on COVID and the relief that Canadians need in these challenging times. But he will determine when that election will be.”
On a separate issue, that being the recent resignation of Governor General Julie Payette (who was unilaterally appointed by Trudeau without formal consultation), and a scathing report on her conduct towards employees at Rideau Hall, Pettas had the following assessment.
Payette and Trudeau’s judgment
“I feel that for Canadians at large the decision of Justin Trudeau was not fair,” he said. “And also, the aspect of not following due process causes implications such as now this person will be stepping down. There are costs associated and the taxpayers will be burdened for a long time.”
For his part, Housakos said, “At the end of the day, we have a prime minister who decided to ignore the regal vetting process that [former Prime Minister] Harper had put into place, which led us to having our former Governor General selected as Mr. David Johnston who represented the institution with honor and integrity. “Mr. Trudeau bypassed that,” Housakos continued. “He decided unilaterally and in a partisan fashion to choose the outgoing Governor General that we just had. And clearly Mr. Trudeau’s judgement failed the country. It’s unfortunate that now we’re found in another humiliating situation.”
