Region has ‘resilience’ and major construction projects are planned
In a report on the state of Laval’s economy released by the city late last month, Mayor Marc Demers says Laval is well-positioned to navigate the economic downturns from COVID-19 because of its excellent standing before the pandemic based largely on highly diversified business and economic sectors.
On the upward
According to the report, Laval’s economic growth has taken place at a faster rate than in the rest of Quebec, with a gross domestic product here that was 3.5 per cent higher on average during the period 2007-2019. Employment in Laval continued to grow during the same period in areas of economic activity that include retail, production and public services.
As well, according to the report, the value of non-residential construction permits issued by the city increased in 2019 by 10.5 per cent over the previous year to reach $471.3 million in construction projects.
Construction projects
Mayor Demers maintains that numerous more construction projects will help to rejuvenate the City of Laval’s economy in the post-COVID-19 era. Downtown construction projects in Laval’s rapidly emerging central core area are expected to become especially large sources of revenue for Laval.
The report also suggests that after years of allowing large amounts of agricultural land on the island to be redeveloped and urbanized, Laval appears to be waking up to the fact its territory includes vast agricultural lands. Up to 30 per cent of the City of Laval is farm land. A growing emphasis on producing domestically and “buy-local” policies are potentially increasing the strategic value of these territories.
Challenges to be met
“All these realizations are preparing us to face the challenges that await in order to succeed our economic renewal, while creating wealth that will benefit everyone all over our territory,” Demers said in the preface to the report.
“Faced with the considerable economic challenges wrought by the pandemic, Laval can count on its resilience, which is a quality that has distinguished it for a long time,” said executive-committee vice-president Stéphane Boyer who is responsible for economic development.
Diversification is key
“Thanks to our diversified economy, which is enriched by the presence of entrepreneurs and businesses from a large variety of sectors, we will know how to adapt ourselves to the new reality after COVID-19 and seize the opportunities that will come along,” Boyer added.
“The strategic vision that the municipal administration has adopted, applied onto an advantageous geographic localization and adapted assistance services across all the territory, will allow businesses to reach their full potential in Laval.”
Government’s Quebec lieutenant makes local stop during fact-finding mission
Honoré-Mercier MP Pablo Rodriguez – who is the Liberal government’s lieutenant for Quebec – was in Ottawa on a fact-finding mission on July 29 to hear about pressing local needs which have arisen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic more than four months ago.
“Families, workers and businesses in Laval are sticking together closely during this pandemic and this economic crisis,” said Rodriguez, who was accompanied for part of the tour by Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis.
Here to help
“Since the very beginning, we are here to help them with the salary subsidy, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) the intervention of the Armed Forces and now also the Red Cross. I am currently doing the lieutenant’s tour across Quebec and today I am in Laval to take the pulse, to understand what is working well and what is not working as well.”
Honoré-Mercier MP Pablo Rodriguez.
In a statement following his visit, Rodriguez noted that working from home, as many parents now must during the COVID-19 lockdown, has become “quite a challenge. It is particularly true when you take care of a child who has an intellectual disability.” He also noted the innovative methods that many businesses in Laval are not introducing to deal with COVID-19.
Concerns expressed
“In Laval, I heard many concerns, but also many good ideas and solutions,” Rodriguez added. “All of this will be helping us to adapt our programs in order to support more families and more businesses. Our government will continue to be there for you.”
“It was great having the opportunity to tour my riding with Pablo Rodriguez, our government leader in the House of Commons, who makes everything happen in the parliament,” said Koutrakis.
“As you know, our government has provided about $250 billion of direct aid to Canadians, 90 per cent of all aid provided by all governments in Canada. I am very proud and it was very satisfying to see in person some of the tremendous amount of good that the over 70 programs that we rolled out have done in such a short time.
Pleased by visit: Koutrakis
“Our economy and employment are now growing very rapidly while we are controlling the virus,” she added. “Our government has been very open to ideas and has been very flexible in how we have structured the many aid programs and I think that our response represents the best of what government should be.”
During the visit, Rodriguez made stops at several organizations and businesses in Laval. At the Halte de L’Orchidbleue on de la Concorde Blvd. West he met with the group’s director Silvana Sousa. She explained to him the organization’s activities, which consist primarily of providing assistance to intellectually disabled individuals 12 years of age and older, as well as their parents.
A stop at ALPA
Next on the agenda was a stop at the Association Lavalloise des personnes aidantes (ALPA) on le Corbusier Blvd. ALPA executive-director France Boisclair provided Rodriguez with information on subsidies ALPA has received from the federal government. Some of the aid has helped ALPA produce a video that persons with Alzheimer’s and other types of problems and their caregivers can access to learn more about the help they can receive.
Rodriguez also made a stop at Alco Prévention Canada, a company that produces tools and equipment to detect the presence of alcohol in the body and that recently decided to also produce products and gear that will be useful in the ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19.
New tech at ALCO
ALCO is now producing a tool which uses ultraviolet light to help destroy viruses and other germs that settle on surfaces that many people come into conctact with such as cell phones, keys, jewellery and cosmetic containers.In addition to helping sterilize such objects, ALCO’s UV PLUS disinfecting unit can also be used to recharge cell phones wirelessly. As well, it includes an aromatherapy function to which aroma oils can be added. The unit has three different uses in all.
‘We still have firepower in terms of fiscal capacity,’ federal Economic Development Minister says
While some of Canada’s leading economists are suggesting Ottawa won’t be able to deal with the second wave of COVID-19 with the same financial largesse it has shown up to now, federal Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly says the Liberal government is well positioned to continue along the path it has been on since the beginning of the pandemic.
Federal Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly says the Liberal government is well positioned to continue along the path it has been on since the beginning of the pandemic.
In a report issued by the C.D. Howe Institute last May shortly after the pandemic started, the Ottawa-based public policy research organization warned that Canada would not be capable of implementing another comprehensive shutdown of the economy if new cases of COVID-19 were to climb, while the federal government, the provinces and Canadian households were also taking on massive new amounts of debt.
More targeted approach
“Placing the economy in a partial coma made sense during the first wave of the pandemic,” stated the report. “But if there is a second wave, a second economy wide shutdown should be avoided in favour of more targeted approaches that are effective and avoid further erosion of public finances and the risk of hitting debt walls and loss of borrowing capacity.”
During an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia last week at her Ahuntsic-Cartierville riding office, we asked Joly whether concerns have arisen within the Liberal government that at some point there may be a limit to the amount of financial assistance Ottawa can provide before reaching a cut-off point.
The only way, Joly says
“Well, you know, we’ve been generous,” said Joly, who sits on the Trudeau inner cabinet committee dealing with COVID-19. “It is the only way to deal with this pandemic. Because if people lose their jobs, they go usually on unemployment. But who pays for unemployment but the federal government?
“So, for us the most important thing is to make sure that businesses can keep their employees, and that’s why we have a wage subsidy. But in some cases, like the hospitality sector, tourism and entertainment sectors, where it’s not possible now to have large gatherings and not possible to travel, we are there for these people who have lost their jobs. And that’s why we’re providing the help that is required.”
‘We still have firepower,’ she says
Joly noted that Canada is the only country along with Germany that has been able to relatively maintain its pre-COVID-19 credit rating, even though it was dropped from AAA to AA+ by Fitch Ratings in late June. “We’re in the best position and we still have firepower in terms of fiscal capacity,” she said.
“We’ve been really following what our experts have been saying,” continued Joly. “We want to make sure to develop a vaccine soon and fast. We also want to make sure that we are prepared for the next wave, the second one.
“And so meanwhile, while we are dealing with everything that is related to health, well that uncertainty is creating a lot of disruption within the economy. So my job is to be there to support people in keeping their jobs and help businesses to survive.”
As part of her ministerial role and as a member of the COVID-19 cabinet response team, Joly has partial responsibility for overseeing Ottawa’s highly-publicized Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program.
Challenge during pandemic
At the same time, she oversees a $2 billion fund ($500 million of which is allotted for Quebec), whose purpose is to make targeted investments in businesses, including those in the tourism sector, to keep them afloat through access to money until the end of the pandemic.
In one of the most notable COVID-19 recovery program developments, the CERB subsidy (which was established in early April and which pays $2,000 per month to persons who became unemployed because of COVID-19) was extended recently by the Trudeau government until December. Businesses are also being offered additional support during the continuing crisis.
While emphasizing that in normal times her job as Economic Development Minister consists primarily of creating jobs as well as protecting them, Joly acknowledged that “economic development in times of pandemic is a challenge. Which is why we are doing everything we can right now to help people and businesses just to survive.”
Tourism sector impacted
Oversight of the federal tourism ministry is also one of Melanie Joly’s mandates. Asked whether her department has been able to make a preliminary assessment of the damage done to the tourism sector by COVID-19, she responded:
“We’re still in the midst of doing that evaluation. But one thing that’s sure is that last year we had 22.1 million international visitors and that’s clearly not the case this year. Based on that, obviously we know that billions of dollars have been lost. And that’s why we have come up with support such as the wage subsidy and the CERB.”
While noting that tourism this summer to destinations within Canada, such as Quebec’s Gaspé region, has flourished in spite of the pandemic, she also pointed out that Montreal is undergoing an exceptionally drastic drop in tourism, largely because of the forced shutdown of normally-scheduled sporting events, public gatherings and entertainment festivals.
Tourism spreading the virus
Newsfirst Multimedia asked Joly whether her ministry is concerned that encouraging tourists this summer to visit regional attractions like Gaspésie may inadvertently cause COVID-19 to be spread by people from densely-populated cities into rural areas that were relatively unimpacted up to now by the pandemic.
“That’s something that we are really, really focused on and that we are working with the Quebec government on,” she said. “At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is to protect the capacity of our public health system. And in certain regions, the health system is not as developed as Montreal. So that’s why we are being extremely vigilant. And, yes we are very much aware.”
Official languages in Quebec
Another of Melanie Joly’s responsibilities is oversight of Canada’s official languages policies. In recent years, successive Quebec governments have broached the possibility of amending Bill 101 so as to override the federal government’s standing pledge to provide services at all times in English and French at federal government offices. Jolie was asked how the Liberal government would respond to such a development.
“We’ll always defend the constitutional rights of people,” she said. “It’s a bilingual country and so are our federal institutions. There has been jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada regarding these issues. And it is now well established that official bilingualism is part of our constitution and a province cannot go against it.”
On Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette
Finally, Melanie Joly waded into the recent controversy involving allegations of abusive conduct by Governor-General Julie Payette against employees at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. “I believe in the work that the Governor General is doing, that’s not the question,” she said.
“The issue is much more that we need to make sure that everybody has a right to be working in a place that is harassment-free. This is something that I take very, very seriously. And so therefore there needs to be work done. Because obviously these allegations are unacceptable.”
Four people died in a fiery crash at local autoroute crossroads last year
Nearly a year after a tragic collision in Laval at the intersection of Autoroutes 15 and 440 that saw four people killed and 15 others injured, the Quebec Ministry of Transport announced recently that a major restructuring of the busy crossroads will be taking place to make it safe regardless of the volume of traffic passing through.
The principal solution to the longstanding traffic management dilemma at the crossroads proposed by Transport Quebec is a flyover overpass to connect the A-440 westbound to the A-15 going north.
Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel points to Exit 22 on the A-440, which will be closing and replaced by a flyover overpass to allow motorists headed for the A-15 northbound safer and easier access. Photo: Martin C. Barry
The strategy will also involve permanently closing the current Exit 22 (Montreal/St-Jérôme/Chomedey Blvd.) on the A-15 (which is where the accident took place), while creating a new on ramp on the A-15 just south of the A-440.
The junction in question, created around 50 years ago, is one of the busiest and most notorious in Quebec, with several hundred thousand drivers per day trying to navigate a layout that’s known to create confusion. Over the years, it’s been the site of crashes too numerous to calculate.
A real bottleneck
The problem up to now, as almost everyone in Laval who has been through the interchange knows, is that massive amounts of traffic heading for the A-15 come to a dead stop in the exit lane, and sometimes spill over into the passing lanes on the A-440 – especially during rush hours.
In the meantime, traffic headed westbound whizzes past at full speed, sometimes scarcely missing the stationary vehicles. As well, the hundreds of vehicles backed up while exiting from the A-440 have to negotiate their way through a wide section of the busy service road to get over to the A-15 entrance ramp.
On Aug. 5 last year, four people were killed and 15 others were injured in a fiery multi-vehicle pileup in that spot. The collision involved two tractor-trailers and seven cars. Although accidents were common at the intersection long before then, it took last year’s catastrophic accident to finally motivate the provincial government into doing something.
Remembering the victims
“Despite this good news, my thoughts are with all the people who died or who were injured in this location and the members of their families,” Mayor Marc Demers said during a press conference in Laval on July 17 that was attended by Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel, Finance Minister Éric Girard and Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete.
Demers said he was impressed with the government’s steadfast determination to resolve the longstanding problem. “I’d like to thank you for taking action. For us, this is a major thing. When we consider all the projects underway now, to be able to have taken on this one is remarkable.”
“Laval is a magnet for families, but also for a good number of businesses and industries,” Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete pointed out. “These improvements on the arteries that cross the heart of our city will not only ensure a better quality of life for the population, but also the continuing development of the region.”
Improving security
“The new infrastructures will simultaneously allow for the improvement of the security of road users and the flow of traffic on one of the busiest exchanges in Quebec,” said the transport minister, while adding that the measures will supplement stop-gap improvements Transport Quebec implemented immediately after the accident.
“By ensuring there is better traffic flow in that key area, the entire population of Laval will be benefiting from the positive effects, whether in terms of security or on the social and economic level,” said Finance Minister Girard who is also the minister responsible for the Laval region.
Although the estimated cost for the work isn’t yet known, but the bidding process is underway, the first phase of work is scheduled to begin in 2022, with delivery expected by late 2023. According to Transport Quebec, the A-15/A-440 interchange is used by 305,000 vehicles daily.
Despite lockdowns and a ban on public gatherings because of COVID-19, the City of Laval’s executive-committee has been busy over the past few weeks making decisions on issues ranging from street reconstruction at the main entrance of Pont-Viau, subsidies to local families for back-to-school, and preliminary work for the reconstruction of the public pool at Chomedey’s Berthiaume-Du Tremblay Park.
Laval City Hall on Souvenir Blvd. in Chomedey.
During their meeting on July 29, the executive-committee members recommended that city council approve a contract to a company that was the lowest bidder for reconstruction work on streets located near the main road entrance to the Pont-Viau district.
Gateway to Pont-Viau
The project is largely the result of extensive consultation the city conducted among residents, with an eye on renewing and embellishing the central entrance to Pont-Viau, including nearby streets such as Talbot Blvd. and Saint-Eusèbe. Green spaces are also being added or enhanced and the location of the Cartier Metro station is also being taken into account in the overall plan.
During the same meeting, the executive-committee recommended a contract worth $2,444,000 be awarded to the street and sidewalk contracting firm Réhabilitation Du O for reconstruction work to be carried out before the year is over on Alton-Goldbloom Place, as well as Romain, Maisonneuve, 52nd, 49th and Edgar streets and Cléroux Blvd.
Subsidies to groups
During another executive-committee meeting held on July 22, the members decided to award a $25,000 subsidy to the Centrale des artistes, and a $5,000 subsidy to the Fondation ressources pour les enfants diabétiques (Fred).
The sums will help the two non-profit organizations provide entertainment and cultural programming to people in Laval living in retirement residences, while also helping pay for a major event known as Quartier Découverte bringing together hundreds of Laval families.
COVID-19 impact
The executive-committee also decided to donate $22,650 from the city’s Fonds Place-du-Souvenir to the Société de Saint-Vincent de Paul de Laval as well as the Centre de bénévolat et Moisson Laval to help them deal with the fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
During their July 8 and July 15 meetings, the members of the executive-committee awarded $20,550 in non-recurring subsidies to Loisirs Duvernay St-Vincent to help them with children’s summer day camp. This additional support from the city is creating 30 more spaces for children at the day camp over a period of 10 weeks.
More subsidies
The executive-committee also decided to award a $10,000 subsidy to the Fondation scolaire de Laval. The foundation will be using the money to help pay for several projects that are in line with its mandate, according to the city.
In response to requests made by some residents, the executive-committee has decided to replace a parking area on 81st Ave. in Chomedey previously reserved for taxis by an alternative parking. According to the city, the engineering department conducted an analysis of the situation, and a representative of Coop Taxi Laval confirmed to them that the taxi zone was no longer being used by their drivers.
No more taxi stand on 81st
As such, signage that previously read “Taxi Stand” is being replaced by a new sign that says “Parking forbidden from 8 am to 5 pm Tuesday and Thursday from Oct. 1 to Apr. 30” near 536 81st Ave.
Finally, the executive-committee recommended that a $72,929 contract be awarded to Services EXP in order to carry out a geotechnical study as well as a preliminary environmental character analysis of the ground in Berthiaume-Du Tremblay Park in Chomedey. This is being done prior to the anticipated construction of a new swimming pool, a chalet and a children’s water games area at the park.
Formal recognition
Although the old house is recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications as historical, Laval has yet to formally register it in the city’s database of historically-important places.
During the same executive-committee meeting on Aug. 5, the committee awarded a $152,027 subsidy to the Centre communautaire Val-Martin for the realization of the Ça CLIQ 2020-2023 project. The funds are coming from the city’s Fonds Place-du-Souvenir.
Water and sewer work
The executive-committee also recommended to city council that it award a $5,378,749 contract to Duroking Construction for subterranean rehabilitation work in the Val-Martin neighbourhood. The contract involves the replacement of water pipes and sewers in an area around Notre Dame Blvd., Jarry Blvd. and 75th Ave.
The work will involve building a rain drainage sewer on Notre Dame Blvd., while also replacing the current sewer system there. The work will also involve replacing fire hydrants, sewer openings and service entrances.
The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) says it is very pleased with a Québec Superior Court judgment rendered in its favour on Aug. 10 on a stay of Bill 40: An Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance rendered by Justice Lussier today.
QESBA president Dan Lamoureux.
QESBA and its co-applicants filed for an interlocutory injunction or a stay in May of this year to suspend the application of Bill 40 to English school boards, arguing that the new governance model does not respect section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allowing Anglophones to manage and control their minority language educational institutions.
The Québec Superior Court found that the applicants had raised “very serious questions” pertaining to the Bill’s constitutionality. Moreover, it found that the disappearance of English-language school boards (and their transformation into English-language school service centres) constituted irreparable harm.
“We are very pleased with the decision today which has the effect of suspending the application of Bill 40 to English school boards pending a decision on the merits of the case. Given the very limited amount of time our boards have to organize school elections, scheduled for November 1, we are hopeful that the government will not appeal this decision,” said QESBA president Dan Lamoureux.
QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in 340 elementary, high schools, and adult and vocational centres across Québec.
Ouellette provides support after Groulx MNA Éric Girard ignores request
Chomedey Independent MNA Guy Ouellette has decided to lend his support to a petition started by a woman from a neighbouring riding who opposes Bill 61 – a CAQ government COVID-19 emergency piece of legislation – after her own MNA, CAQ Finance Minister Éric Girard, wouldn’t provide help.
Bill 61, an omnibus piece of legislation (meaning essentially it contains extra measures not necessarily related to the main purpose) was first tabled in the National Assembly on May 31.
Chomedey Independent MNA Guy Ouellette.
Avoiding scrutiny
The most important element would essentially allow the CAQ government to take measures deemed necessary in the ongoing fight against COVID-19 without first having to subject Bill 61 to the scrutiny of the National Assembly.
“If the bill had been presented before May 15, the government wouldn’t have needed to ask for unanimous permission of the opposition to move forward,” Ouellette said in an interview with the Laval News, describing parliamentary protocol in the assembly. “But because it was presented on May 31, they need permission at every step.”
‘Free pass,’ says Ouellette
Among other things, said Ouellette, Bill 61 will allow the government to enforce the measures continuously and without having to return to the National Assembly every 10 days. “The government wants to have a free pass, unlimited time to act,” he said.
This would not only give the government almost unlimited power, but would also provide the government with the possibility of giving out optional contracts. “It means they won’t be accountable to the National Assembly,” Ouellette said. “Because it’s a majority government, they want to do this fast.”
None on Assembly website
The petition was started by Élizabeth Dufresne-Gagnon on the Change.org website where it had garnered nearly 200,000 signatures by last week. However, to submit a petition to the National Assembly, it must have been signed on the Assembly’s website.
‘With this petition, we wish to send a clear message to the government regarding the opposition of citizens to Bill 61,’ says Ouellette
Thus, according to Ouellette, the text of the original petition was reworked to make it conform. The sponsoring petitioner considered that Bill 61 infringed on fundamental freedoms. “Regardless of who is in government, Quebeckers can’t grant Mr. Legault or any other such power, without time constraint,” Dufresne-Gagnon said in a statement issued by Ouellette’s office.
No to dictatorship, Ouellette says
“You can’t revive an economy by setting up a dictatorship for an indefinite period of time and procuring yourself additional judicial immunity,” she added. “It is also undemocratic to want to pass a law that would allow the government to change any law.”
According to the statement from Ouellette’s office, Ouellette agreed to table Dufresne-Gagnon’s petition “in order to clearly demonstrate to Prime Minister Legault the opposition of the population to his Bill 61. Last June, the bill failed to be adopted by the National Assembly.” However, “Mr. Legault did not miss the opportunity to let everyone know that he would come back to the charge with Bill 61 in the fall,” it added.
Sending a clear message
“Faced with the declaration of Prime Minister Legault, it is necessary to revive citizen mobilization against Bill 61,” said Ouellette. “With this petition, we wish to send a clear message to the government regarding the opposition of citizens to Bill 61.”
Although Élizabeth Dufresne-Gagnon lives in Sainte-Thérèse in the riding of Groulx, Ouellette said she approached him for help after being ignored by Groulx MNA Éric Girard’s office. “She wrote to his office and didn’t receive any answer,” he said. “So she called me.”
The petition opposing Bill 61 is available for signature on the National Assembly’s website until September 13. It can be found here: https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/exprimez-votre-opinion/petition/Petition8457/index.html.
El-Khoury, Koutrakis express support for the people of Lebanon
Members of Parliament from Laval with significant numbers of constituents of Lebanese origin reacted with a mixture of shock and compassion to news of the catastrophic explosion in the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 that killed more than 150 people, injured 6,000 and left more than 300,000 homeless in Lebanon’s largest city.
Deep wound, El-Khoury says
“Beirut has a deep and wide wound, Beirut is bleeding, but I’m sure with the will of the Lebanese and their friends from all over the world, Beirut will shine again,” Laval-Les Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury, who chairs the interparliamentary Canada-Lebanon Friendship Group, told the Hill Times in Ottawa on Aug. 5.
“The Canadian people show generosity in every part of the world when catastrophe strikes, and I’m sure now they will do the same thing,” he added. “My thoughts and my prayers go to the victims, to the wounded, to their families, to their loved ones, and to all Lebanese.”
The Port of Beirut was the scene of a massive explosion on Aug. 4 that wiped out much of the city and left 300,000 people homeless.
Assistance from Canada
In a statement issued on Aug. 7, Vimy MP Annie Koutrakis said she was committed to ensuring Canada’s role in providing humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon following the explosion that occurred in the Port of Beirut.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to those affected by this catastrophic disaster and tragic loss of life,” said Koutrakis. “While our government has committed $5 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Lebanon, I know that Canadians are always ready to go above and beyond to help those in need. I will continue to advocate for the deployment of any other humanitarian resources that can assist the people of Beirut and Lebanon.”
Priority saving lives
Of the $5 million in aid committed by the federal government, Koutrakis said an initial $1.5 million will be provided to humanitarian partners such as the Lebanese Red Cross. She said the aid will be used to provide safe shelter, clean water, medicine and other basic necessities to meet the immediate needs of those devastated by the explosion.
Beirut is bleeding,’ says Laval-Les Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury, who chairs the interparliamentary Canada-Lebanon Friendship Group
“Our government’s immediate priority is to save lives and protect those who are most vulnerable,” added Koutrakis. “We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground to understand the needs of those affected and to maximize Canada’s response.”
Local Lebanese impacted
“The Lebanese community of Laval is vibrant and incredibly valuable to all of us,” said Koutrakis. “I stand alongside all Lebanese people in Laval, Canada and around the world during these challenging times.
“I know that many people in my community are deeply impacted by this tragedy and may be mourning the loss of family or friends. Please know that Canadians are grieving with you. Canada has always played an important role in providing humanitarian support during times of crisis. I am confident in our country’s capacity and willingness to support the people of Lebanon in any way possible.”
Masks to be mandatory for grade five up, but not in classrooms
Elementary school students in Quebec from the fifth grade up will be required to wear protective face masks, although they will be allowed to take them off in classrooms, Education Minister Jean-François Roberge announced on Monday.
In addition to the senior elementary school students, the mask requirement will also apply to high-schoolers, as well as older students enrolled in vocational or adult training programs, in hallways and while walking around commons areas in schools.
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge.
The announcement came after parents, teachers and others questioned the CAQ government for what many complained was a lack of clarity on COVID-19 and back-to-school, as well as concerns that the initial guidelines for protection against the virus didn’t go far enough.
Schools must reopen
“Leaving the school closed would not be protecting children,” Roberge said during a joint news conference held on Monday with Health Minister Christian Dubé and public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda.
“It’s crucial to reopen our schools not only for our children, but also for our adolescents. They need to get back to learning and seeing their teachers.”
‘I know there are many parents who are looking upon the back-to-school with a certain amount of apprehension,’ SAIDEducation Minister Jean-François Roberge
Under the new guidelines, all parents and school staff will have to be notified as soon as a student tests positive for COVID-19. An infected student will then have to be isolated at home before being readmitted at the school. Students in isolation will be expected to continue working from home.
The role of parents
As well, any student who has symptoms while in school will be removed by a member of the staff who will be wearing protective gear. Parents will be required to ensure that children at home who show symptoms remain isolated and that public health officials are contacted for followup.
“I know there are many parents who are looking upon the back-to-school with a certain amount of apprehension,” said Roberge, who is himself a parent, while maintaining that new measures should provide some reassurance.
A man and a woman were arrested by the Laval Police and were scheduled to be arraigned at the Laval courthouse on Tuesday after the body of a premature baby was found in a dumpster behind a residence in Laval-des-Rapides Monday night.
The Laval police responded to the scene of the discovery on Souvenir Blvd. in L-D-R around 7:30 p.m. Monday after witnesses reported finding the lifeless infant.
Although Urgemces Santé parademics confirmed the death, an autopsy was scheduled to establish the cause.
The premature infant was estimated to have been around six months in the womb. According to preliminary news reports, the mother was taken to hospital where she was interviewed by investigators.
Possible criminal charges could include neglecting to obtain assistance in childbirth and concealing the body of a deceased child.
