The Laval Police Service is asking the public to cooperate in identifying a person suspected of fraud in the Sainte-Dorothée area. Towards the end of May, five purchases of precious metals, valued at more than $12,000, were made online using a fraudulent credit card.
Once the packages were delivered to the post office, the suspect reportedly went to the counter to retrieve them, with a false ID. The fraud was noticed soon after when the person, whose name was used fraudulently, presented himself at Canada Post following a notice of receipt of goods that he had never ordered.
Description of the suspect:
Caucasian woman -Approximately 20 years old
Long Brown hair -Wore a blue jeans coat with a black sweater Any information enabling this woman to be located or identified will be treated confidentially on the Info Line at 450-662-INFO (4636) or 911, mentioning the file LVL 200604 016.
Dominique Anglade addressed PLQ members during recent online event
In her first address to the PLQ membership since first being selected as the Quebec Liberal Party’s new leader, Dominique Anglade suggested during a recent online meeting that she will be emphasizing the defense of the French culture and language in the coming years, while also focusing on the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s questionable response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Anglade became the PLQ’s leader 153 years after the party was first formed in the mid-19th century. She steps into the leadership at a time when many are questioning the Quebec Liberal Party’s future, given its poor performance in the last provincial election and the CAQ government’s success at holding the fort up to now.
First speech as leader
The Liberal Party of Quebec’s new leader, Dominique Anglade, gave her first speech to the membership during an online event recently.
“Leading the Liberal Party of Quebec is a privilege – a privilege that demands that one is constantly listening to you, the party activists,” said Anglade. “My heart must beat at the same pace as yours.
“As you may know, I was raised in Quebec, I did my studies and raised my family here.” Noting that her parents wanted their family to grow up in a just and prosperous society, she said they also wanted their children to be raised in a French-speaking environment.
Pointing out that Quebec is now emerging from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Anglade said the Liberals are currently also facing major challenges. “It is our duty to win the support of all Quebecers in all the regions of Quebec,” she said, alluding to the fact it was the Quebec Liberals who launched the Quiet Revolution that led to a wide range of new policies and reforms.
Challenges ahead for PLQ
“We propelled Quebec into an era of progress and modernity never seen before,” said Anglade. “Sixty years later it’s still us who must continue to stand up against the divisiveness and the populism that can be seen every day. I hope that my leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec helps to put forward a vision for a Quebec that is modern, unifying and that is the envy of people in other parts of the world.”
Anglade said she sees several principal challenges for the PLQ in the coming months and years. Firstly, renewing relationships with activists within the party and the parliamentary wing.
“We have an opportunity to make a profound reflection on our past which is truly remarkable … There are bridges to rebuild, and new are also new bridges to be built. We must listen better to our activists, open doors and re-establish links with all the regions of Quebec.”
Focus on regions, says Anglade
While insisting that the PLQ wants to continue its longstanding tradition of welcoming people from all walks of life, from all regions of Quebec, from around the world, and both in French and English, Anglade said the party needs to pay more attention to the province’s regions, while avoiding “wall to wall” solutions for too many things.
‘It is clear that the Liberal Party of Quebec must defend an open and authentic vision of the Quebec identity,’ said Anglade
“On the other hand, I know too that our ambition for and love of Quebec are important and as Liberals we have a heritage to defend, especially in terms of progress to be made. As a political party that aspires to govern Quebec, we also have a duty to set an example. Quebecers are watching us and the bar is set high.
“In the Quebec of today, no party can afford to criticize the government while waiting for power to come to it naturally, and we are well aware of this. So every day, we must be able to demonstrate that our ideas truly correspond much more to the hopes and expectations of Quebecers and that our integrity and devotion to the public interest are irreproachable.”
French language and culture
Regarding the French language and culture, Anglade said, “We must have the courage to ask fundamental questions. It is clear that the Liberal Party of Quebec must defend an open and authentic vision of the Quebec identity. This will mean embracing without hesitation our distinct character as a Francophone people in North America, to acknowledge our history and defend our language, to preserve our values which include tolerance and liberty.”
Regarding the CAQ’s economic record, Anglade said the PLQ had always prided itself on being the party for economic development, although the CAQ had attempted to take over that role in recent years. “But the CAQ has an archaic vision of the economy,” she continued. “François Legault is talking about an economy from another era, another decade.” She said the PLQ would be proposing an economic vision that is more modern and updated.
Laval-based Glycovax Pharma has partnered in the research
Professors Nicolas Doucet and Yves St-Pierre of the Laval-based Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) are contributing their expertise in structural and cell biology to the race for a vaccine against COVID-19.
In partnership with Glycovax Pharma, a company with operations also in Laval, the two researchers will evaluate the feasibility of a vaccine strategy targeting carbohydrate molecules located on the surface of the coronavirus Spike protein.
A fortunate coincidence
Professor Nicolas Doucet, researcher and expert in structural biology at the INRS. (Photo: courtesy INRS.)
“It was a fortunate coincidence that the carbohydrate molecules on which the biopharmaceutical company has been working on since 2017 are present on the Spike protein. Glycovax Pharma is one step ahead because antibody development is already ongoing,” says Professor Doucet.
Even if antibodies are currently being synthesized, two key issues need to be considered. First, the antibodies must be able to reach the targeted carbohydrates on the Spike protein. Researchers also need to ensure that these carbohydrate molecules are present on the Spike protein at all times, regardless of the type of infected cells in the host.
Essential steps to follow
“For instance, SARS-CoV-2 is known to attack the respiratory system, so if the lung cells do not attach the proper carbohydrates of interest to the coronavirus Spike protein after infection, the strategy may not be effective,” he cautions.
“These are essential steps in validating a vaccine approach. Our results will allow Glycovax Pharma to prioritize certain antibodies or to put forward other complementary approaches,” he says.
The research project in partnership with Glycovax Pharma is funded by a Mitacs Accelerate grant that will support the work of postdoctoral fellow Yossef López de los Santos over the next year.
An exciting project
“It’s exciting to be part of a talented team that is committed to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” he says. I see our goal as quite ambitious, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to use our expertise in structural biology to help address a global problem.”
“This partnership with INRS experts in structural and cellular biology represents an important contribution in the pursuit of our work,” says Dany Valiquette, president of Glycovax. “Their contribution will help us take essential steps in the development of a new vaccine to counter COVID-19.”
David De Cotis says he has no regrets for deserting the Mouvement lavallois
While a common piece of wisdom maintains that time heals old wounds, former Laval executive-committee vice-president David De Cotis says he has no regrets for giving up the city’s second most powerful job. He says that in doing so two years ago, he was pursuing a more principled vision, compared to the outlook of Mayor Marc Demers’s Mouvement lavallois.
A date to remember
June 5, 2018 is a date that stands out significantly in the long timeline of events since the Mouvement lavallois was first swept into office in the November 2013 municipal elections.
Although Mayor Demers’s party had smooth sailing during its first five years, the June 2018 city council meeting marked the first time that a major rift opened up within the administration’s ranks. And it was a fissure that hasn’t completely healed to date.
In the June revolt, Demers saw his party reduced temporarily to minority status during a momentous city council meeting that was nothing less than a meltdown.
Surrounded by opposition city councillors, former Laval executive-committee vice-president David De Cotis speaks to journalists following the June 2018 council meeting when a group of Mouvement lavallois councillors decided to break away from the party. Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News
At the boiling point
In a manifestation of what seemingly had been building for months, De Cotis – who was executive-committee vice-president at that point, as well as founder of the Mouvement lavallois – emerged as the apparent leader of a dissident faction of councillors who decided to break away from the Mouvement lavallois.
To refresh people’s memories, the ML council dissenters at that time included De Cotis, Michel Poissant, Daniel Hébert, Vasilios Karidogiannis, Aline Dib, Paolo Galati, Sandra El-Hélou, Isabella Tassoni, Jocelyne Frédéric-Gauthier and later also councillor Aram Elagoz.
A sudden shift in events
With the 10 ML defectors, opposition councillors Aglaia Revelakis of Action Laval and Claude Larochelle of the Parti Laval brought the total number of opposition councillors to 12, leaving the Mouvement lavallois in a very sudden and perilous minority position on the 21-member council (not including the mayor who technically has a tie-breaking vote).
On the morning of June 6, the mayor removed De Cotis from the executive-committee. While noting that he had appreciated being deputy mayor and vice-president of the executive-committee, De Cotis refused at the time to say what specifically led to the rift between himself and Demers.
Why De Cotis left?
In subsequent interviews, De Cotis has suggested that he was simply fed up with the direction the administration was going in – although, as it turns out, there was a specific breaking point. Part of the reason at least appeared to be tied to the mayor’s decision not to reappoint De Cotis as president of the Société de transport de Laval, a position De Cotis had held during the ML’s first mandate from 2013 to 2017.
As such, on June 7, 2018, when the newly-strengthened council opposition gathered for a morning sitting of city council and seemed poised to flex their collective muscle for the first time, De Cotis tabled a resolution, calling for him to be placed back in the presidency of the Société de transport de Laval.
Preparing for the meltdown
At the same time, a notice of motion was adopted stating that a resolution would be tabled calling for future nominations to council committees to be handled by the members of city council, rather than only by the mayor and the executive-committee.
All of this seemingly was only a preparation for the unprecedented meltdown De Cotis would undergo during the September 2018 meeting of city council. By this time, the mayor was on the verge of reversing De Cotis’s previous appointment as head of the STL in order to name a councillor of his own choosing.
This development came about only after the mayor was able to persuade some of the dissident ML councillors, following several weeks of closed-door meetings and discussions with them, to return into his camp.
Demers cast doubts on De Cotis
All the same, the vote during the September council meeting was almost deadlocked. Council speaker Christiane Yoakim, who normally doesn’t vote, was forced to support her party, the ML, so that the motion could pass. (It should be noted that councillors Vasilios Karidogiannis, Aline Dib, Sandra El-Hélou, Jocelyne Frédéric-Gauthier and Aram Elagoz have since then returned to the Mouvement lavallois.)
Following this, and after the mayor gave explanations for appointing Morasse, while casting serious doubts on De Cotis’s abilities while in charge of the STL, De Cotis gave full vent to what he had obviously been holding back for months.
Said mayor was telling lies
Speaking out of turn, and in defiance of the official speaker’s admonishments, De Cotis said, “What he [the mayor] is saying is lies. You are accusing me of having badly managed the STL and it is exactly the opposite.” De Cotis continued in this vein until Yoakim was about to signal two Laval Police officers that he should be removed. He then gradually contained himself and finally went silent.
After this, things were looking up for Action Laval. By March 2019, and nearly a year after bolting from the Mouvement lavallois, the five remaining ML dissenters, who had been sitting as independents, finally announced they would be joining the Action Laval caucus. They joined Action Laval city councillor for Chomedey Aglaia Revelakis. While the Parti Laval had Official Opposition status, Action Laval now outnumbered the Parti Laval caucus.
Action Laval loses its edge
However, Action Laval’s favourable position was not to last. This past May, Poissant and Hébert announced they were leaving the party to sit once again as independents. This followed the suspension from the Action Laval caucus of Galati, Tassoni and De Cotis who were the object of claims (originating in e-mails leaked from city hall) that they were involved in ethically questionable real estate transactions.
While the three have to date been cleared by the Quebec Municipal Commission, De Cotis is still waiting to hear from UPAC (Quebec’s Unité permanente anticorruption), who interviewed him but who are admittedly better at publicizing their interventions than they are at exonerating those they investigate.
Would do it again, says De Cotis
Looking back during an interview this week with The Laval News on his decision two years ago, De Cotis said, “I would do the same thing over again. It was a decision based on principles and moral values.
“I have a much clearer state of mind now because of that, knowing that what I did was for the right reasons and knowing full well what it would cost me,” he continued. “But I was never there for the titles or for the prestige, the position or salary.”
De Cotis maintained that the Mouvement lavallois’s founding principles aren’t being followed in the way they were originally conceived in 2008, and that the party is no longer “going in the right direction, is not doing things for the right reasons and not doing things for the citizens of Laval. I think they’ve lost track of that.”
Mayor satisfied with his caucus
For his part, Mayor Marc Demers issued the following statement to The Laval News when asked for his thoughts on everything that has happened since 2018. “I am fully satisfied with the caucus I have now,” he said.
“Each member plays a useful part, is devoted, diligent and efficient. Our team spirit is strong, we work together in respect and collegiality. And I feel entirely satisfied to be working at the heart of a group that is determined to see our beautiful city progress.”
Transit authority used existing data to create new crowd tracking system
Beginning last week, the Société de transport de Laval (STL) started making available on its website a new tool that will help tell users how crowded a bus is before they go and take it, thus minimizing possible exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
Another STL first
According to the STL, what makes this innovative new technology so unique is that it provides an estimate of the number of passengers to be expected not only when they board, but also during the course of an entire bus trip – making it a first in Canada, claims the STL.
“Since the project was already in the pipeline, we decided to push up the launch to make it available to users as soon as possible,” STL president Éric Morasse said during an online launch held last week. “Which is why this is a beta release for now, and the STL is asking everyone for their feedback, comments, and suggested improvements that we will integrate as we move forward.
Making informed decisions
In this screenshot from last week’s online presentation by the STL on their new crowd tracking system, the emplacements of sensors above front and rear bus doors is shown.
“We believe in the role public transit plays in supporting the reopening of the economy,” Morasse added. “But we also know it is no longer always possible to social distance on buses. Together with continuing to insist on the importance of wearing a mask, this new tool will enable Laval residents to make fully informed decisions about their bus commutes.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has made social distancing in public transit situations a core concern for users. As such, this new tool, says the STL, will enable transit users to make informed decisions depending on bus crowdedness, as well as on the comfort level of users.
Post-COVID transit use growing
“It’s clear that with deconfinement along with the startup of the economy, in buses it is often impossible, and will be even more so, to maintain physical distancing rules given that transit use is growing every week for the past month by 10 per cent a week,” said Pierre Lavigueur, head of innovation and development at the STL.
“So we are really seeing an increase in transit use and regular activity returning to normal, although this is not happening without people’s concerns growing.” According to Lavigueur, the STL’s researchers and developers saw they had large quantities of data that were being gathered for several years by equipment that was already installed on buses, and this presented the perfect opportunity to use it constructively, he said.
‘Since the project was already in the pipeline, we decided to push up the launch to make it available to users as soon as possible,’ said STL president Éric Morasse
How it works
STL vehicles have been equipped with GPS technology and passenger counters for years. Each day, they record occupancy levels at each bus stop, for each bus route, at each scheduled bus time. The data is then used to calculate an estimate of how many passengers are on the bus at a specified stop, at a specific time, based on the average trending during the five previous days.
The calculations are updated daily. For now, says the STL, estimates will be available for weekday bus service only. The current release is a beta version, which will be improved continually based on user experiences and comments. It is available at stlaval.ca/passengers, for computers and smartphones.
Using the new tool online in four steps:
To find out the expected bus crowdedness on the web site, simply select:
Bus route and direction;
Your starting bus stop;
Your destination bus stop;
Your departure time.
Thus, based on the commute you’ve selected in steps 1-2-3, the tool posts the maximum number of passengers you should expect on the bus for all of your day’s trips.
Different ways to see the numbers
Shown on a color gradient ranging from light (low occupancy) to dark (more crowded), you get a map of bus stops with an estimate of how many passengers will be on the bus along each stop of the selected commute, as well as a timeline of the estimated number of passengers on the bus along each stop; the number of minutes and percent of trip spent with X passengers (pie chart); a detailed list of bus stops, scheduled bus times and expected bus crowdedness.
STL COVID-19 survey
In May, the STL rolled out a survey process intended to periodically take the pulse of its users. There have so far been two surveys: May and June, with one To Be Determined. May’s findings show that 64 per cent of respondents are worried about resuming using public transit, and that for 49 per cent of respondents the main worry is social distancing on buses. For a complete rundown of COVID-19 measures in place, visit bit.ly/STL-COVID19.
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says that while the province is living through an unprecedented crisis, the economy should rebound by the end of 2021. Projecting a record $14.9-billion deficit for the fiscal year, the government has spent $6.6 billion on recovery efforts while having lost revenue due to decreased consumer spending and export demand.
Girard said the government will borrow the entire $14.9-billion value of the reserve to cover this year’s historic deficit. “We don’t know what is ahead of us,” Girard said at a news conference last Friday morning to outline the state of the province’s economy. But he said that the spending on aid and loss of revenue is only temporary, and pointed out Quebec’s economy was in good shape before the crisis. About 40 per cent of the province’s economic activity was paused this spring, which put hundreds of thousands of Quebecers out of work.
Between February and May, Quebec lost 589,600 jobs, and GDP in the province is expected to decrease by 6.5 per cent this year. However, the recovery will be uneven: the report says that the restaurant and tourism industries in particular will prevent the province from attaining its pre-pandemic employment levels in the short term. “We are doing everything that we can to improve potential growth,” he said, such as fast-tracking infrastructure projects and maintaining tax credits for business innovation. The report says the government’s financial aid so far has freed up $28 billion to Quebecers and Quebec businesses.
“We had good reserves, but now we must revive the economy quickly,” Premier François Legault said following Girard’s announcement. $4B more for COVID-19 relief With the severity of a second wave of infections this fall still uncertain, the government is budgeting $4 billion in additional aid for Quebecers and businesses. Girard said the government will be watching to see how the economy fares in the next several months to determine what kind of aid would be needed. “We are ready for a second wave. We have more equipment, we have more tests,” Girard said.
Quebec will balance the 2020-2021 budget using an accounting mechanism known as the stabilization reserve. In exceptional circumstances, the government can borrow money to balance the budget. The government will rely on rebounding productivity, not tax hikes, to refill its coffers, he said, forecasting a six-per-cent increase in GDP in 2021. But if the public health situation does not improve, he acknowledged reaching his GDP targets would be “very difficult.
Children 6 to 16 years old must attend school in September
Quebec’s education ministers announced on June 16 that all schools will reopen in September. Jean-Francois Roberge makes this announcement just as the government is progressively loosening distancing guidelines.
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge.
Schools in the province closed when the province declared a public health emergency in mid-March due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. “Today, we have a game plan which is the first of many exchanges,” Roberge said. “I am confirming that as of September, all school establishments in Quebec will reopen their doors.” Under the government’s game plan, all preschools, elementary schools and high schools will reopen physically end of August. However, students will follow specific guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19. “Unless there is a medical condition that is very specific, children will have to attend school, and teenagers as well, from six to 16 years of age,” Roberge said.
The bubble Safely returning to school involves creating a “bubble” for each student. Students will not have to worry about physical distancing within their bubble. This method is quite effective, according to Dr Richard Massé, Quebec’s senior public health advisor, who accompanied Roberge at the press briefing. “The concept of the bubble has been used quite a bit in Europe, we’ve been discussing about that, and that’s quite secure,” Dr Massé said. Teachers will move from one bubble of students to the next one. However, the bubble approach will not look the same for younger and older students. Pre-school to Secondary 3 (Grade 9) Bubbles of six students Students in pre-school to secondary 3 will be broken off into sub-groups of six students. Within those groups, no distancing is needed. “We can treat them just like our brothers and sisters,” Roberge said. Students stay 2 meters away from teachers One sub-group should stay 1 meter away from another sub-group. However, all groups will stay 2 meters away from their teacher. After class, students remain seated, while teachers move on to another room. Secondary 4 and 5 (Grade 10 and Grade 11) Optional courses make it difficult for older high school students to stay in the same groups and classrooms. For Secondary 4 and 5 students, schools will can use the “bubble” model, where students stay in the same room and teachers come to them. Alternatively, schools can also use a “hybrid” model. For instance, students could learn from home one day and attend school the next day. This way, students spend less time physically in school. The Plan B Schools will also need to have a Plan B protocol, in case COVID-19 cases rise again. The Plan B responds to concerns for a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Experts warn of a second wave, which would infect a new set of populations. “We suppose that it will hit us, but we don’t know when or how it will be, so the ministry will table what we call emergency protocols to be ready to face the possibility of a second wave,” Roberge said. The Plan B involves resuming at-home education if the COVID-19 emergency escalates in fall. Roberge admitted the education system was not ready to start at-home education. However, he believes the additional time will allow the system to adapt in time for September. Getting hands on tech Moreover, Roberge says schools can develop protocols for their specific needs. For example, access to technology is a big concern for all families. However, the province has announced May 31 an investment of $ 150 million for schools to purchase computer equipment that they can lend in September. The education ministry estimates nearly 80,000 students don’t have access to technology this summer. With the province’s investment, schools could acquire at least 200,000 tablets and laptops by September. Finally, Roberge said the province will develop content for TV and web broadcast in case at-home education needs to resume.
“How did things ever get so far. I don’t know” The line is from the scene in the Godfather where Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) seeks peace from the warring heads of the five families. How DID we get so far, so fast? What is happening? An unprepared world for an incurable Covid-19, a world economic shutdown, governments printing trillions of dollars with no plan on how to resolve this massive debt, police brutality, protests, riots, killings. You and I have never witnessed our world in such a turbulent state. Will all this be resolved? I do not have an answer.
It’s business as usual for Elon Musk who continues to make Teslas and rocket ships that send humanity into space. It’s business as usual for swindlers, identity thieves and organized crime seizing another opportunity to milk an untold amount from Canada’s billions handed out in CERB. It’s business as usual for the stock market that has in large part recovered its losses of the last three months. It’s business nowhere near as usual for businesses. It will take years to make up the eight million who depend on CERB, delayed in part by generous Ottawa programs that often make it worth staying home rather than returning to work.
It is not business as usual for medical front liners still fighting the battle in hospitals and LTCH. It’s not business as usual as we practice social distancing, don masks, shop in line or on line. It is not business as ususal on our streets and cities. From Montreal to Whitehorse, Seattle to Atlanta, to London, Paris, Hong Kong… shootings and killings continue. Pacifist anti racism protests ruined by anarchists and so called Antifa bent on violence and destruction. And in Canada police are still abusing their power after the George Floyd tragic arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.
I doubt the best of authors has ever written, or could write this kind of script. I’m even in disbelief as I write this stuff.
Solutions. “Defund police departments”. What a dumb founded idiotic idea. Over the decades police departments have been asked to perform more duties than they can handle, and not trained to do them. Police are sworn to defend and protect people. They enforce laws, prevent crimes, respond to emergencies, and provide support services. They serve us very well. But the wise use of discretion by some RCMP, local, provincial police, is now questioned. Why is someone unarmed shot dead running away from an arresting officer? It’s a needless use of force. Why do police have to respond alone to ‘a mental wellness call’? Most can’t handle that because they’re not trained for it. Allocate some of that police budget to specialized social workers who can work in tandem with police when called to a scene involving the mentally sick and others more vulnerable to society. Yes, wear body cameras, and leave them on. Yes, allow for budgets to rethink and reform police response methods and accountability.
But above all, stop beating and stop killing unarmed people. Even if they have a knife, use your brains and bravery instilled at the Police Academy and apply tactics to disarm. But not a gun. A threat should not mean the use of deadly force. Use of a police firearm is an absolute last resort. Now it’s easy for me to write about this in my calm and quiet environment, but in the heat of the moment, when the adrenalin is rushing, hyperventilating, and events happen with lightning speed, judgement is blurred. I understand that. As a radio/ TV reporter, I have been there. That’s why being properly trained is vital. NY Gov Cuomo has the right idea with new police accountability legislation. Token if not political gestures taken by Montreal, Quebec and Toronto.
I like the idea of a civilian committee overseeing a police officer’s questionable conduct. Some cities and provinces have one but their decisions are not binding, and no ordinary folks, no black or indigenous sit on them. Police should be there too. Not the high ranking officers, but the cop in the cruiser, front line to crime. Jurists should have a seat, like a retired judge, lawyer. A social and medical worker who can articulate mental state and condition of suspect or subject. Let’s make it a small committee to avoid discussion log jams. Render a quick, binding decision. It may all sound radical, but we have never lived through times like the present. We require radically creative ideas. I’m not saying this is the answer. But as proud Canadians, we absolutely need to think this out and act now to stop this insanity. That’s what I’m thinking.
Rights lawyer Julius Grey knows of few people who are contesting
So, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the restrictions that have come with it, were you among the people reported to have received tickets from the police for not obeying distancing rules or for leaving your region without proper authorization?
Where are they?
Montreal lawyer and human rights specialist Julius Grey would like to know the whereabouts of those who were ticketed. Because as far as he’s concerned, few if any have come his way over the past few months to contest the constitutionality of the charges brought against them.
The Laval Police Department issued statements towards the beginning of the pandemic in March and April that they were indeed ticketing people in public places who were visibly not maintaining a proper 2-metre distance from others on playing fields and in public parks.
Montreal rights lawyer Julius Grey says he has had almost no clients contesting tickets issued for breakiong COVID-19 distancing rules or for travelling from region to region without proper authorization
Broke travel restriction
As well, the Laval News heard at least one unverified anecdote involving a woman from Laval who claimed she was ticketed by police for leaving the Laval region and crossing over the Lachapelle Bridge into Cartierville, ostensibly in violation of provincial rules forbidding travel from region to region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adding insult to injury, the story continued, she claimed to have been issued a second ticket when trying to cross from Montreal Island over to the South Shore on the same day. The Laval News tried to authenticate the story from the woman in question, although she declined to be interviewed.
However, a friend of hers told us that the woman received two tickets amounting to $1,500 each and that she is currently fighting them through Ticket911, a Montreal law firm specializing in the contestation of traffic tickets issued in Quebec.
Grey unsure about rules
“I don’t have any tickets of that sort,” Grey said in an interview with the Laval News. At the same time, he expressed doubt as to whether there ever was any specific rule about moving from region to region. “I don’t know that there’s any rule that you can’t go from one district to another. Where would it come from? Would it have been legislated by the cities? By the province?”
Grey wondered whether the tickets in question might actually have been issued for another offence. “Are you sure they weren’t speeding at the same time? Or something that’s more conventional?” he said. He said the only case with any similarity he dealt with recently involved a man who was being prevented by the COVID-19 lockdown rules from crossing from Quebec into Ontario.
Handled just one recent case
“I had a case where a man who lived way up north on the Ottawa River, and had a business in Ontario and a residence in Quebec, wasn’t allowed to go to his business,” he said, noting it was an inter-provincial issue, rather than an inter-regional one. “He had to argue back and forth. But in the end they agreed to let him through when he said he’d go to court.”
He suggested the law, if any, creating the restrictions might have been vague. “Initially, they said no one should go very far, that you shouldn’t go downtown or to other places,” he said. “But for instance, I go to visit my mother in Côte St. Luc and I live in Westmount and nobody has ever stopped me. They may have meant Laval and the island of Montreal being separate regions and otherwise you can anywhere you want within those regions.
Show me the law, says Grey
“But I’d like to know what is the basis,” Grey added. “There has to be a law. You can’t just issue a ticket if there isn’t a law. So there has to be either a provincial law or regulation or a municipal one. But I’ll bet there’s not a municipal one.”
Grey said he hadn’t heard from anyone complaining about being forbidden to move about as they wished because of COVID-19 travel rules. “Nobody has come to tell me that he has been prevented from going somewhere,” he said.
“I know that in some areas, if you come from Montreal, they’ll make you quarantine, because Montreal is more affected than other places.” As well, he said he had no clients contesting tickets for non-distancing, while acknowledging that the police were indeed actively ticketing the worst offenders. “Nobody’s ever come to me with a ticket like that,” he said.
Transport Quebec has announced the partial closing of several key stretches of the Montreal autoroute network – including two in Laval – tonight (Monday), extending into the early hours on Tuesday morning, while repairs are being done.
A-13 | AUTOROUTE CHOMEDEY Between Montreal (around Pierrefonds-Roxboro) to Laval on the Louis-Bisson Bridge, heading over the Rivière des Prairies northbound.
Partial closing of two lanes out of 4, from Monday 7 pm to Tuesday 5 am
Note: Southbound, three lanes will be available on the bridge (as regulated by the gate system), but the roadside weigh scale will be closed during the same period.
LAVAL
A-15 | Laurentian Autoroute Laval Direction southbound Exit 7 (De la Concorde, Notre-Dame and Cartier boulevards)
Closure of the exit: from Monday 9 pm to Tuesday 4 am.
Detour: via the 4-E exit (De Salaberry St. East) in Montreal, make a U-turn and A-15 North.
On the service road Between Saint-Martin and Notre-Dame boulevards
Complete closure, from Monday 9 pm to Tuesday 4 am
Detour: via Saint-Martin ouest, Chomedey south and Notre-Dame east
Closings by default:
The entrance to Saint-Martin Blvd. east. Detour via Le Corbusier south and de la Concorde west boulevards.
