(TLN)

On Jan. 21, Laval mayor Marc Demers, accompanied by Mille-Îles MNA and Liberal cabinet minister Francine Charbonneau, as well as Jean Desautels, president of the Société nationale du Québec, marked the 70^th anniversary of Quebec’s fleur-de-lys flag.

Celebrating the past

Guests at Laval city hall were invited to sign the municipality’s Golden Book and the flag of Quebec was hoisted while music played.

“Our flag celebrates our past, while commemorating our future,” said Mayor Demers. “At the same time, it invites us to be open towards all those who chose Quebec as their home. I am pleased to have participated in this historic ceremony.”

Pride in Quebec’s flag

“We can be proud of our flag, whose design and colors tell the story of our roots in French culture from which our people sprang,” said Desautels. “It is for this reason that we gathered today to remind us of the nationalism which unites us.”

“It was a pleasure to have been invited to this event, for which I salute the City of Laval,” said Charbonneau. “Today, all together, we are privileged to mark the 70 years of the flag of Quebec.”

Martin C. Barry

If 2017 in Laval started out tumultuously, with raucous protests outside city hall by police officers disrupting rather than ensuring the public’s well-being and safety, the year would end on a note of greater certainty, when municipal elections were over, but with preparations for provincial elections in 2018 already underway.

January

The first public meeting of Laval city council in 2017 on Jan. 17 was a noisy one. The Laval Police Brotherhood, the union representing the city’s police officers, staged a protest outside city hall, making it nearly impossible for anyone inside to hear anything going on during the meeting.

The protest concerned complaints from the police union that the city had been dragging its heels in hiring more staff officers since the current administration was swept into office in the 2013 election. André Potvin, president of the police brotherhood, got up to question Mayor Marc Demers during the council meeting.

The first month of 2017 also saw the City of Laval take some of the initial steps leading towards the planned construction of a new municipal aquatic complex. The city announced the winner of a competition held to produce a design for the future complex.

The NFOE-HCMA consortium was chosen for the building to be located on Terry Fox Ave. near the Cosmodôme. The corporation will be responsible for all planning and specifications for the building itself, as well as supervision of construction which is expected to be completed by 2020.

“This is the first time that the City of Laval held an architecture competition and I am delighted with the results,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “Citizens will be able to take advantage of a building of very high quality that will raise the value of Laval’s building heritage.”

Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos and Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs Martin Coiteux were at the Habitation Raymond-Goyer in Chomedey on Jan. 16 to announce more than $407 million in funding over two years for the creation of additional affordable and social housing across the province.

Laval for its part would receive $18.2 million to build 124 new units at the long-neglected Val-Martin social housing project. Nonetheless, the assistance still fell far short of providing for a 1,000-social housing unit goal. All the same, Mayor Marc Demers was visibly pleased with the commitment made by Quebec and Ottawa.

On Jan. 25, the Laval News’ “LPD Blue” police column reported the Laval Police were looking for potential victims of a trio of moneylenders who were practising extortion in the Laval region. When customers couldn’t repay loans at usurious interest rates, they would be pressured to commit criminal acts such as fraud or arson on behalf of the lender/extortionists.

While the month of January can be a dull and depressing time, a hopeful ray of light shone for the staff and clients at Agape in Chomedey when city councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis dropped by with a $450 donation to the charitable services group. Although it was the first time Karidogiannis, who represents the district of l’Abord-à-Plouffe, made a major donation to Agape, he said it’s something that would probably become an annual tradition.

February

The Rocket de Laval, the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate team starting in the 2017-2018 season, officially unveiled the new logo and uniforms the players would be wearing when they hit the ice at the new Place Bell. According to the Laval News’ Feb. 8 edition, Geoff Molson, Marc Bergevin and several former Canadiens players were on hand at Carrefour Laval for the unveiling on Jan. 31.

Also in the Feb. 8 edition was news that the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation’s annual winter fundraising gala raised more than $47,000 for educational projects at schools and training centres operated by the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Held at the Embassy Plaza in Chomedey on the evening of Jan. 26, a highlight of the event was a set of performances by the Ultimate Showband.

Without a new contract with the City of Laval for the past few years, members of the Laval Police Brotherhood continued this month to step up their pressure tactics. The union listed among its grievances the claim that the police department was operating with a much lower number of patrol cars than should normally be the case for a city with a population of more than 420,000.

“There have been days when police haven’t been able to get out to patrol because there was a shortage of patrol cars,” Brotherhood president André Potvin said in an interview with the Laval News.

Ongoing poor snow removal in Laval prompted Laval News co-publisher George Guzmas to state in an editorial on Feb. 22 that readers were ringing the phones and sending in e-mails lately complaining about “non-existent or poor snow removal” in their neighbourhoods.

While presenting evidence that the Demers administration had indeed been steadily increasing the budget for snow removal over the years, there were no signs of better snow removal, Guzmas said. “It’s time for Lavallers to receive the services they pay and they deserve as taxpayers by all means,” he wrote.

What goes through parents’ minds when they first discover they have a child who is afflicted with autism? During a talk to the Laval Chamber of Commerce and Industry covered by the Laval News in February, retired U.S. pharmacy executive Randy Lewis successfully argued that businesses should think seriously about fostering diversity in the workplace by including employees with autism and other disabilities.

With an announcement that they had initiated the first steps towards opening a “Wellness Centre,” Chomedey-based Agape Youth and Parents Association decided the time had come to take a big leap forward to serve some of the forgotten needs of English-speaking senior citizens in Laval. The news was formally announced during a meeting of the Laval/Agape NPI Partners Committee at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital on Feb. 16.

March

During an afternoon luncheon held at the Château Royal on Sunday March 5 to mark International Women’s Day (March 8), more than 100 members of the Hellenic Women’s Federation of Laval-Electra heard from a Laval woman who made her mark in the world and who offered advice on how others can advance in their careers and lives.

The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Be Bold for Change.’ The keynote speaker was Dr. Hellen Christodoulou, executive-director for Quebec of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction and a renowned expert in the design and maintenance of bridges.

In a bid to support groups dedicated to improving the well-being and continuing development of Laval’s senior citizens, Quebec Minister for Senior Citizens Francine Charbonneau announced $318,000 in subsidies to four groups in Laval that provide assistance to seniors.

Charbonneau told the Laval News that her ministry wanted to make sure the organizations receiving the subsidies would have enough resources to do their work on behalf of the seniors. The four organizations receiving the sums under the provincial government’s Québec ami des aînés (QADA) program were DIRA-Laval ($82,180), La Société Alzheimer de Laval ($76,950), Groupe Promo-Santé ($66,350) and le Comité lavallois en abus et violence envers les aînés (CLAVA) ($77,756).

U.S. President Donald Trump seemed to be turning up just about everywhere a few months after he was elected, whether it was on Saturday Night Live – or on stage at Laval Senior Academy.

Trump’s mesmerizing influence was evident in LSA’s 2017 Blue & Gold Review, which they put together with the help of more than a half-dozen staffers who helped stage it at the Souvenir Blvd. school, with coverage in the Laval News’ March 8 issue.

The epic snow storm that swept through Laval and the Montreal region in mid-March impacted the lives of many people – including a UPS delivery driver who lives in Laval and who was among hundreds of motorists stranded on Autoroute 13.

George Typaldos told the Laval News he had just finished his route during the early evening of March 14 and was returning his vehicle to the UPS depot, when he got caught up in the massive traffic jam on the southbound A-13. He was stranded in his truck from 6:30 pm on March 14 to 7:30 am March 15.

One of the Laval region’s most historically important churches – Sainte-Rose-de-Lima on Sainte-Rose Boulevard – received more than $250,000 from the Quebec Liberal government to help maintain the structural and architectural well-being of the church building.

The current church building, which is more than 160 years old, dates from around 1856. Sainte-Rose-de-Lima was granted a special status as a protected heritage building in 1974. The funding for the restoration work was announced by Sainte-Rose Liberal MNA Jean Habel during a press event held at the church on March 13.

April

The Laval News’ April 5 edition reported Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard joining hundreds of members of the Quebec Liberal Party in a celebration at the Embassy Plaza to mark an historic moment in the PLQ’s history – the 150^th anniversary of the party’s founding.

“In 150 years we’ve never hesitated to do things which were difficult,” Premier Couillard said in the event’s keynote speech. Couillard touched on several other issues, including the PLQ’s ability to strike a proper balance between social justice and economic growth.

The April 5 issue also reported elected officials from three levels of government gathering at the war cenotaph near Laval city hall in late March to pay their respects along with residents of Hellenic origin to Greek veterans and soldiers on the occasion of the 196^th anniversary of Greece’s independence.

Speaking briefly in his office where a Golden Book signing ceremony took place, Mayor Marc Demers acknowledged the demographic significance in Montreal of Greeks, who number up to 62,000 residents in the region. “It’s important to preserve traditions and cultural heritage,” he said, while apologizing for being limited in his knowledge of the Greek language.

According to the April 5 LPD Blue police column, a decapitated goat was found by passers-by near the entrance to Parc-des-Prairies on 15^th Ave. in Laval-des-Rapides recently. It was the second time in as many weeks that the police had been alerted by neighbours. City workers confirmed that animal remains were also found at other parks in the area.

For the third year since the creation of the Laval Ethics and Integrity Office (BIEL), Laval police chief Pierre Brochet tabled a report of efforts made over the last 12 months to keep track and stop acts of corruption from taking place within the city’s administration.

“We’re very proud with the results,” Brochet said in an interview with the Laval News, while adding that experience is making the task of compiling each year’s report easier. “We’re writing the book,” he said, noting that Laval Police is the only police department in Quebec mandated to carry out the task in this specific manner.

Officials from the City of Laval and from junior hockey groups in Sainte-Dorothée were on hand at the former Samson Arena on April 9 for two reasons: to mark the completion of renovations at the facility, and to honour retired NHL right-winger Martin Saint-Louis whose name is now spelled out on the outside wall of the arena.

For Saint-Louis, who retired last year from the New York Rangers, it was a homecoming since he got his start in hockey while playing at peewee and junior levels at the Samson Arena. Laval is Saint-Louis’s hometown.

A Laval-based manufacturer of industrial pallets which has developed a unique approach to the linguistic integration of newcomers earned the praise of Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil when she visited the company’s facilities on April 7.

“I’m seeing an extremely important endeavour,” Weil said about Standard Pallet Industries (IPS)’s efforts. IPS went beyond the normal expectations of Weil’s ministry to see that its workers received full instruction in the use of French in a classroom setting at the company.

May

As reported in our May 5 edition, several members of the Quebec National Assembly from western Laval started a petition supporting the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal’s bid to persuade Quebec to abandon a plan to restructure the ridings of Fabre and Chomedey which would split the Greek vote and render it less powerful electorally.

“The Greek community in Chomedey is the largest in the province of Quebec,” said Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette, who worked with Fabre Liberal MNA Monique Sauvé and Sainte-Rose Liberal MNA Jean Habel on the issue.

Around 400 people accepted an invitation from Liberal Member of Parliament Eva Nassif to attend a commemorative ceremony at the Embassy Plaza marking the 100^th anniversary of Canada’s historic participation during World War I in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Nassif, who is the first MP to represent the riding of Vimy which was created for the 2015 election, said she felt it was especially appropriate for her to pay homage to veterans of the battle, while also commemorating Canada’s 150^th birthday which took place last year.

Following an orderly information meeting on May 11 on relief programs available to Laval’s spring flood damage victims, Mayor Marc Demers and police chief Pierre Brochet found themselves having to defend their actions when a few irate property owners gave the city and its security officials a failing grade for their performance in the recent flood crisis.

Demers defended the integrity of municipal officials when one property owner suggested the city received three days warning that massive quantities of water were being released at river control dams west of the Montreal region. “We were not notified three days in advance that water was on the way,” said the mayor.

The flooding situation in Laval dominated much of the Laval News’ May 17 issue. While water levels on the Rivière des Prairies and the Rivière des Mille Îles were dropping, the City of Laval was mobilizing its forces for a massive post-flood cleanup that would involve not only city workers, but also many volunteers.

“We now know that the critical phase of the flood is behind us,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “Nonetheless, we decided to prolong the local state of emergency, knowing that we will still need time and resources to get through the next steps.” The city reported that at the peak of the crisis, at least 500 City of Laval employees were assigned to respond to the needs of residents in eight affected neighborhoods.

During this time, emergency shelters and information centres were set up at the Laval-Ouest community centre on Arthur Sauvé Blvd., the Jolibourg Community Centre in Sainte-Dorothée, the Montrougeau Community Centre in Fabreville and at the Place des aînés on Curé Labelle Blvd. in Chomedey.

Our May 31 edition contained the news that three community-based organizations which help senior citizens in west-end Laval were awarded a total of $50,000 in subsidies by the federal Ministry for Families, Children and Social Development. The three recipients announced by Laval-Les Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury were the Association des bénévoles du Pavillon Ste-Dorothée, Les Habitations Ararat, and Église arménienne Apostolique Sainte-Croix.

June

The 11^th annual Laval Firemen’s Festival, which took place from June 2 – 4 at the Centropolis, delivered all the excitement that festival-goers have been used to in the past. There were outdoor shows for the whole family during the three-day weekend event.

The ever-popular parade of fire trucks, sirens and warning signals blaring, took place Saturday morning, starting around 9:30 am in Laval’s industrial park, and slowly made its way towards the rendez-vous point at the Centropolis at 10:30 am. “It’s a great day for children, but also for the population in general of Laval to see what our fire department does,” Mayor Marc Demers told the Laval News.

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation’s 2017 “all-you-can-eat” Lobster Gala, which took place at the Château Royal in Laval on June 8, raised $29,697 for sensory equipment and materials for students at Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board learning centres and schools in the year ahead.

In an address, SWLF president Christian Fréchette and SWLSB president Jennifer Maccarone noted that the SWLF raised more than $715,000 since its inception. For many, the Lobster Gala brings the school year to a close on a festive note as one of the SWLF’s two main fundraisers.

Following months of protracted negotiations and noisy demonstrations by police outside city hall, the City of Laval announced that it had reached a contract agreement with the City of Laval Police Brotherhood. “I always had confidence in the negotiation process, and today I am pleased with this excellent news,” said Mayor Marc Demers.

There was disappointment among elected officials from the City of Laval as well as the provincial government following city councillor and executive-committee member Raynald Adams’ announcement he would not be running for a second term in the November municipal elections. “It is with a sense of accomplishment that I can announce today that I will not be seeking a renewal of my mandate after it ends,” said Adams, who was responsible for culture, community and senior citizens issues on the executive-committee.

Officials with the City of Laval announced a way they had come up with to put the $10 million they succeeded in reclaiming from disgraced former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt to good use. Beginning in 2018, $600,000 in annual interest will be paid to local community groups that deal with children and adolescents from infancy up to 17 years of age.

Mayor Marc Demers made the announcement at city hall with four of the five newly-appointed members of a consultative committee that will be responsible for making recommendations on how subsidies from the fund should be allotted. In a news scoop, the Laval News revealed that Lynda Tousignant, one of the people appointed to the Place-du-Souvenir Fund committee, was herself at one time an attaché for former mayor Vaillancourt.

The City of Laval decided to enhance a program of safety measures for autistic persons with the implementation of a new training module for the city’s public safety employees so that they will be fully prepared to deal with individuals in the midst of autism crises. The training kit was created in conjunction with the Montreal-based Giant Steps School for autism.

July

There was reaction in Laval city council by opposition leaders to the executive-committee’s appointment of a former aide of disgraced ex-mayor Gilles Vaillancourt to a new committee overseeing the $10 million Vaillancourt surrendered to Laval after acknowledging he embezzled the sum.

As the Laval News had stated in an exclusive report in June, Lynda Tousignant, who was one of five people appointed by the executive-committee to supervise the Place-du-Souvenir Fund, worked as a legal consultant for Vaillancourt’s office from the early to mid-1990s. “If I do not favour people I know for positions or those I’ve known for postings, it is also true that I will not disfavour them,” said Mayor Marc Demers, justifying the appointment.

In July last year, two coaches at the Chomedey Soccer Club were working towards a deal with one of Greece’s top professional soccer associations that would hopefully lead to the establishment of a first-rate soccer academy in Chomedey as early as in conjunction with the Thessaloniki-based soccer team.

According to Bill Zagakos, who coaches U-13 and U-10 boys as well as U-7 to U-15 girls’ soccer with the Chomedey Soccer Club, the club was considering an offer made by Greece’s PAOK F.C. (Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton), which is based in the country’s second-largest city.

A Laval man whose wife and unborn child were involved in a serious car accident nine years ago caused by a driver who was texting launched a device that prevents texting while driving.

Patrick Dubois’s invention, which he called the Roadbudee, connects to a car’s computer system. In order to start the car, the owner’s smartphone must be connected to the device. The Roadbudee stops texts from being sent or received and only allows Bluetooth phone calls.

Thousands of people of Hellenic heritage from all over Quebec had the opportunity on Canada Day weekend to take a refresher in their cultural origins when the Laval Greek Orthodox community held its annual Hellenic Summer Festival on the grounds of Holy Cross Church on Souvenir Rd. in Chomedey.

Stirring performances of traditional Greek dancing were given by students attending schools supported by the Greek Orthodox community of Laval. Another highlight each year on July 1 is a Canada Day celebration with a large Canadian flag cake. While the weather this past Canada Day for the V.I.P. event was rainy all day, by early evening the sun had started breaking through the clouds and it finally shone for a few hours before setting.

In the meantime, the National Congress of Italian Canadians, which organizes the annual Montreal Italian Week, was preparing a one-day Italian-themed event in Laval on Sunday Aug. 6 at Lausanne Park.

“As a Laval resident of Italian origin, I am especially touched at being able to offer this opportunity to all the people of Laval to experience the greatness of Italian culture,” Laval’s deputy mayor and city councillor for Saint-Bruno district, David De Cotis, said during an announcement outside Laval city hall.

August

With municipal elections set to take place in November, signs of advance campaigning were beginning to be seen at Laval city hall. Action Laval, the official opposition party in Laval city council, was heavily criticized during the Aug. 8 council meeting for allegedly abusing question period by taking up too much time at the microphone.

“It seems very apparent that the electoral campaign time is approaching,” said Mayor Marc Demers, while maintaining that over the past few council meetings, Action Laval leader Jean-Claude Gobé spent his time at the microphone talking a lot, but without asking very specific questions. According to Parti Laval leader Michel Trottier (whose party would form the opposition after the election), Action Laval “monopolized 25 of the 90 minutes available to citizens once a month.”

It was a just a little after eleven on a Thursday morning this month when the crew on duty at Papou Pita Pizza on Principale St. in Sainte Dorothée served their first client. “We heard feedback from people in Sainte Dorothée and parts of Chomedey and Laval-Ouest that quality pizza was lacking in their area,” said co-owner Elias Mantis.

“We’re hoping to serve the best pizza in Laval,” he added. With her riding office located immediately next door to the restaurant, Fabre MNA Monique Sauvé and members of her staff were part of the first wave of people to drop by to express their best wishes for the success of the new restaurant.

As reported in our Aug. 16 issue, as many as 20,000 appreciators of fine sculpture and quality art from all over eastern Canada gathered in Laval’s picturesque Old Sainte Rose district for three days in late July to take part in the 22^nd annual Sainte-Rose Art Symposium.

Over the course of the event, they had the opportunity to appraise hundreds of art works and to purchase the creations of 90 carefully-selected artists from Laval and many other regions in Quebec as well as parts of the maritime provinces.

Despite some unpredictable summertime weather, Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif and an entourage of several hundred friends managed to have a great time during Nassif’s annual outdoor BBQ held in St-Martin Park on Saturday Aug. 12. “It’s vacation maybe from the Parliament, but we are not on vacation out here,” Nassif said. “We continue serving constituents through e-mails or seeing them during office appointments.”

The Laval News’ Aug. 30 issue announced the first Terry Fox Run for cancer research to be held in Laval since 2004 would be taking place on Sunday Sept. 17 at Parc des Prairies in Laval-des-Rapides. “With Laval being the third largest city in the province, I see no reason why there shouldn’t be an annual Terry Fox Run here,” said principal organizer Jeffrey Marshall, who is a Chomedey resident.

Hundreds of residents of Chomedey enjoyed a day of fun and games at Parc Pie-X in the heart of the district on Aug. 22 when they turned out for the ninth annual Fête de Quartier de Chomedey. Among the sponsors of the event was the Laval News. This year’s Fête attracted a crowd that included many moms, dads, children and grandparents. They enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of corn on the cob, stage entertainment and organized events for the kids.

September

Although municipal election campaigns across Quebec wouldn’t be getting officially underway until Sept. 22, some of the top leadership in the Mouvement Lavallois got things rolling unofficially when their first campaign posters came rolling literally “hot off the press” at a printing plant in eastern Laval.

Incumbent mayor Marc Demers, who was seeking a second term in the Nov. 5 election, and Saint-Bruno city councillor David De Cotis, who is vice-president of the city’s executive-committee and founder of the ML, were at Version Image Plus Inc. on Maurice Cullen St. in Saint-François to witness the process.

In the meantime, Action Laval leader Jean-Claude Gobé unveiled his party’s electoral commitments for the upcoming campaign.  “I am announcing a three per cent decrease in property taxes in the first budget of my term as mayor of Laval,” Gobé told supporters on Sept. 7. “We must restore the balance between the revenues of the city and the taxpayer’s capacity.”

Comparing Gobé’s pledge to reduce property taxes with U.S. president Donald Trump’s habit of distorting facts, Laval mayor Marc Demers dismissed Gobé’s campaign promise as a short-sighted attempt to win votes. “He (Gobé) didn’t mention anything about the impact of doing so, so he’s buying a car without knowing what the price is,” said Demers.

Action Laval mayoral candidate Jean-Claude Gobé announced during the party’s official campaign launch that Canadian Olympic track and field athlete Nicolas Macrozonaris would be seeking the Sainte-Dorothée city council seat for Action Laval in City of Laval elections on Nov. 5.

Gobé, who is himself quite a sports and fitness buff, introduced Macrozonaris, who still ranks as Canada’s third-fastest 100-metre sprinter, as a future city councillor who would be made responsible for promoting sports and physical fitness in a municipal administration led by Gobé as mayor. “We must encourage discipline and participation in sports by youth in Laval,” said Macrozonaris.

On Sept. 21, Mayor Marc Demers, Saint-Bruno city councillor David De Cotis and other officials from the City of Laval took part in a ceremony marking the first turning of the soil for a new community centre to be built at Parc Lausanne in the district of Vimont.

“The City of Laval is pleased to be able to make available to Laval residents a gathering place where they will be able to forge bonds while benefiting fully from community life,” said the mayor, while adding that several community organizations will be located in the new centre.

On Sept. 14, elected officials from the City of Laval played a soccer match against students from École secondaire Saint-Maxime to raise awareness and money for a school perseverance fund. Despite a great effort put up by the players from the city, they went down to defeat playing against the Phoenix de Saint-Maxime, who won the match 5 to 1.

October

The leaders of several of the City of Laval’s municipal parties reacted vocally last week to noisy demonstrations staged outside city hall by the blue collar workers during a city council meeting, as well as to the way Mayor Marc Demers dealt with the situation.

Demers denounced “the behavior of the union, which prevented the holding of the meeting of democratically elected officials,” he said. He noted that the demonstrators overturned a security fence and “the noise was deafening to the point where neighbors complained.”

Despite that, Action Laval leader and mayoral candidate Jean-Claude Gobé denounced Demers’ decision to cancel the council meeting, which was the last before the election. “Marc Demers ends his term as he began, in incoherence and uncertainty,” Gobé said. For his part, Parti Laval leader Michel Trottier denounced what he called Mayor Marc Demers’ “loss of control” over the city council meeting on Tuesday night.

Hockey families living on Campeau St. in an area of Chomedey still undergoing development were likely to have problems in the coming weeks getting “Mom’s Taxi” out of the driveway to make it to the arena in time for faceoff.

As part of a major project by the City of Laval to extend 100^th Ave. from its then-current cul-de-sac at Cléroux Blvd. southward to where the street begins again a little north of Hurtubise St., the public works department was rerouting the underground water and sewer network, resulting in disruptions on nearby streets.

“We knew that 100^th was opening, because people from east of 100^th were coming and telling us,” said nearby resident Diana Delli Fraine. However, she insisted, she and other residents “hadn’t heard anything. We never received any notification.”

Grade two pupils at Twin Oaks Elementary School on Lisane St. in Laval got some first-hand lessons in beekeeping and the gathering of honey on Oct. 3. That’s when a representative of the Montreal urban beekeeping company Alvéole stopped by to check on hives set up behind the school during the summer and to explain beekeeping to the students in their classroom.

“With this project, they’re actually able to make the connection between something that’s happening outside their classroom with what they’re learning in class,” said school principal Dena Chronopoulos.

Conventional wisdom holds that every kid wants to be a firefighter. While that isn’t always possible, every kid living in Laval can at least get a chance once a year to make believe they’re a fireman or firewoman. And while they’re at it, mom and dad are free to go along if they want.

During an open house event held at the Laval Fire Department’s nine firehalls on Sunday Oct. 14, kids of all ages had the opportunity to get up close to the shiny, bright red ladder and pump trucks parked in firehall garages all over the island.

November

Incumbent mayor Marc Demers easily won a second term in municipal elections on Sunday Nov. 5, while candidates for his Mouvement Lavallois succeeded in winning 19 of Laval city council’s 21 seats. It was an improvement over the 17 districts the ML took in the 2013 election.

According to a final tally posted on the City of Laval’s web site, Demers won with 46.24 per cent of the total number of votes. The second runner-up for the mayoralty was Parti Laval candidate Michel Trottier with 20.4 per cent.

In the district of Chomedey, Aglaia Revelakis easily succeeded in retaining the single seat Action Laval held for the past four years, with 47 per cent support. Despite this, Action Laval lost its official opposition status, which went to Parti Laval/Équipe Michel Trottier.

Delivering the first speech of his new mandate after he and the 21-member city council were sworn in at city hall on Nov. 11, Mayor Marc Demers paid homage to all the candidates – including those who failed to win city council seats.

“I would like to say thank you to them for taking part in this democratic exercise and thanks for having provided the population with a choice,” he said. “Great thanks to all those who ran, even though they weren’t chosen.”

In the aftermath of the shocking arrest by UPAC of Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette and the ensuing rally of support he received in the National Assembly, Ouellette made a simple statement to the Laval News.

“The truth will rise to the top – it’s just a matter of time,” he said in an interview prior to the annual Remembrance Day ceremony that took place on Nov. 4 at the War Cenotaph outside Laval city hall. Ouellette previously told members of the National Assembly that his arrest constituted “an unprecedented attempt” at intimidation. “I am the victim of a frame-up,” he said.

Up to 1,500 proud parents and friends of hundreds of young students from 20 different Montreal-area schools gathered at the Palace congress centre in Laval on Oct. 26 to hear the kids perform five operatic selections from a CD/book project they helped create – L’Or du Roi Midas.

Heartened by the success of their previous book and CD, Time for Flowers Time for Snow, music directors Dimitris Ilias and Maria Diamantis, with the help of author-lyricist Glen Huser, composer Giannis Georgantelis and editor Marie-Fleurette Beaudoin, undertook to tell another classic from Greek antiquity: the story of King Midas.

After serving 11 months of a six-year prison sentence for fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy, former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt was granted day parole. The Parole Board of Canada said it had no reasonable motive to believe Vaillancourt would cause problems if he were released before his sentence expired. Vaillancourt was Laval’s mayor for 23 years before being arrested in 2013.

December

With a Quebec provincial election scheduled to take place on Oct. 1, 2018, the political contenders were already lining up in December last year. One such hopeful, the Coalition Avenir Québec’s leader François Legault, was crossing the province’s regions to touch base with editors and journalists, and agreed to sit down for an interview with the Laval News.

Among other things, Legault said the focus of the CAQ’s efforts will be the economy leading towards the 2018 provincial election. He also opened up on other issues, including Quebec’s veil ban, the legalization of marijuana and closing school boards.

The holiday season got underway at Marché Public 440 this month with the merriest of traditions – the lighting of a large outdoor Christmas, along with the singing of Christmas carols and exchanges of best wishes between loved ones, neighbors and friends.

Although it was the 17^th year the Arbre de Joie foundation held its pre-Christmas event, it was the first time Marché Public 440 hosted the celebration which had previously been held at another Laval shopping centre. Marché Public 440 donated the first 200 items to Arbre de Joie’s Christmas gift collection.

Mille-Îles MNA Francine Charbonneau, who is Minister Responsible for the Laval Region in the Liberal cabinet, said she was pleased upon hearing that Health Minister Gaétan Barrette awarded a $15 million recurring sum to improve psychological services in Quebec for youths undergoing emotional difficulties.

The provincial government will be sending a subsidy of $880,100 for psychological services in Laval. The amount will pay for six youth psychologists as well as other professionals who will be part of multidisciplinary teams dedicated to youths at the CIUSSS de Laval. “This investment shows the importance that we give to issues involving mental health,” said Charbonneau.

On Dec. 6, the Laval News reported that more than 300 participants took part in the 3^rd annual Real Estate Forum held by the City of Laval’s economic development department in conjunction with the Laval Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In some opening remarks delivered in a video, Mayor Marc Demers said Laval has been undergoing a renewal and that the city is the second most vital economy in Quebec while also being the province’s third largest municipality.

“The city has increased its efforts in order to propel the revitalization projects,” he said. “It is has given itself the necessary tools to better accompany the various players in the real estate sector who are contributing to creating the new face of Laval.”

The Dec. 6 issue also reported that 162 athletes and coaches from Laval were honored last month when they received medallions for their athletic contributions during the city’s 58^th Mérite sportif lavallois awards evening. Among those attending the event at théâtre Marcellin-Champagnat at Collège Laval were Mayor Marc Demers and Sports Laval president Pierre Gervais.

TALE OF THE APOCALYPSE…

(Ed. Note: In 1998 The Laval News -TLN was
published under the name The Chomedey
News -TCN-due to its distribution only in
the Chomedey area. Therefore all TCN mentions
in the article refer to the previous title
name of The Laval News which is distributed
throughout Laval).

Peter Karahalios

One person in Laval is dead, six were injured and thousands were left without electricity and heat in what was most certainly the worst ice storm to ever hit the province of Quebec. Merchants have lost tens of thousands of dollars per day in potential revenues as Hydro and municipal emergency crews, aided by police, firefighters and the military, juggled setting up shelters, feeding the displaced, clearing branches and trying to restore power. Yet; this is one of the “good news” scenarios, as the death toll in other regions climbed to a total of twenty, and several homes still remain without power…

Although several media outlets had warned of what was to come weeks before, no average citizen could have possibly imagined the extent of the devastation that the first ice storm – the worst one in the province’s history – of 1998, was to spread in Quebec, eastern Ontario and northern Vermont.

As is always the case when the positions of hot and cold air streams are reversed, the drops that landed on the trees, buildings, power lines and everywhere else, turned into solid ice instantly…

For a total of five days, they just wouldn’t stop falling…

As a result of the ice build-up on the trees, the latter ended up having to carry over 30 to 40 times their own weight. Several of them didn’t make it; It was a most heart-wrenching scene. Wilted over and encased in a surreal suit of ice which in some cases was three inches thick, they started dropping their branches and splitting. Power lines were struck and the first outages were recorded.

Things got worse as the unforgiving pellets continued to fall from the sky…

The power lines started to freeze. There too, the ice became unbearable. They buckled and – in many cases – snapped, falling to the ground, exposing pedestrians and automobiles to killer voltages.

But the mayhem was not to be over; not by any stretch of the imagination shot…

The blue flashes in the sky, were initially quite impressive to those unable to explain them; Little did they know that each dousing of blue against the charcoal gray night sky was an exploding transformer…

The population took it all with a grain of salt. We have Hydro Quebec; a world giant…

Most of them slept at home the first night as the drops kept falling…

Conceived in mere hours, the dreaded iceman – a creature no mob movie euphemism could have pegged in such a cruel light- set about to do wreak his havoc. He deprived well over 1.5 million homes of electricity and heat, disrupting lives. Thousands doubled up with friends and relatives who were still fortunate enough to have power while the not-so-fortunate ones were forced to go to various shelters that were popping up.

Hydro crews from New York, Vermont, Detroit and even from as far as Connecticut were called in; police and firefighters followed suit just as the first of 11,000 soldiers were starting to show up. In Laval a total of 75 soldiers from Canadian Armed Forces Base Valcartier would start the tedious but yet backbreaking task of clearing the debris under freezing temperatures, and assisting Hydro staff in their first efforts.

Sensing that some people, especially senior citizens, would be reluctant to leave their homes as it got colder, police officers and soldiers started going door-to-door, making sure nobody was in danger. Lives were saved…

Lights out

In Laval, the situation was by far the best. Although at the peak of the storm some 78,000 Hydro subscribers – mainly in Chomedey and the west end- were out of electricity, that number was brought down to 67,000 and then to 39,000 in under six hours.

Doctor Nick Karelis, a Laval general practitioner told TCN that hypothermia and especially as it may have afflicted senior citizen’s was most on his and every other medical person’s mind during the storm’s harshest moments.

“I have a lot of geriatric patients and I was really afraid they wouldn’t leave their homes after losing power” he said, breathing a sigh of relief that this actually did not occur with tragic consequences in Laval. The doctor also pointed out a storm-induced side effect which started occurring just days after the worst was over; “There are a lot of colds and flu going around. It stems most likely from the cold and other storm related circumstances” he concluded, repeating that it is imperative for senior citizens to get immediate treatment.

Sergeant John Alexander Greene of the Laval Police Department explained that at the peak of the storm, almost half of the city’s population was left without power.

“If you want an approximation of how many people were actually out (of power)” he explained “you must multiply the 78,000 number – which is only the number of Hydro accounts – by 2.6 or 2.8.” A quick calculation came up with 218,000 souls; well over half the population.

TCN asked Hydro Quebec why Laval was spared the full wrath of the storm and why the power was restored much more quickly than in other areas.

“It is a combination of two main factors aided by a whole series of other ones” replied Hydro-Quebec media spokesperson Serge Marcoux.

Mr. Marcoux noted that the quantity of precipitation to hit the Laval area was not very big and proceeded to point out that “less precipitation means less damage; which in turn means fewer downed power lines. This in turn enabled us to work faster and subsequently reconnect homes much faster” he explained, and added that there are also more distribution lines going into Laval. “Thus” the Laval grid patch had not suffered as much structural damage to its lines as the one in Montreal did”

,he concluded  Although the Ile-Jesus territory was spared the full wrath of the dreaded iceman, here too, the consequences were quite significant.

Revenues fall…

According to Laval police, one senior citizen lost his life on Tuesday January 13th, in a fire at a senior citizens’ home in Sainte-Dorothée’s (567) Terrase Cyr. “It was fireplace related and definitely a result of the storm” confirmed sergeant Greene, who also noted that at the peak of the storm, some 400 people in all were forced to leave their homes and take refuge in one of the three shelters that were opened up by municipal authorities.

Merchants were also hard hit by the storm. Perishable foods that needed refrigeration were spoiled as clienteles got thinner and thinner, in some cases to the point of non-existent.

“This mess really did a number on me financially” lamented Dimitrios Tsekeris, owner and operator of Atomic restaurant. “The storm knocked out my telephone line, and Bell did not forward it to my other one. I spent six hours with three delivery guys and three orders in total” he said.

Mr. Tsekeris explained that when one of his two lines are busy, his incoming phone calls are transferred to his alternate lines. In this case, although his primary line got knocked out, the ringing sound could be heard just the same. Thus, no busy sound was available to forward the switch to his alternate line.

Efthimios Mourelatos, owner of the Mourelatos grocery stores – one of which is located in Laval – was also upset.

“I lost 50,000 dollars in goods that perished. I could have done without that” he quipped.

Dry cleaner Peter Beros echoed the same sentiments: “People only have one thing in mind at this time; to find shelter and warmth” he said in trying to put a rational face on a 40 percent drop in his business.

…and so do morals

The storm’s damage did not limit itself to a physical aspect. The human spirit was also tinted; mainly by greedy merchants who jacked up the prices of essential items during the crucial days. A well known United States-based department store chain raised the prices of batteries and flashlights  by 100 percent. Some Laval gas stations tripled the price of propane, while other merchants tripled the price of firewood. Certain restaurateurs also took part in the pricing of shame…

Their actions were despicable enough to warrant an outcry – no less surprisingly – by fellow merchants. “It’s despicable” protested pharmacist Spiros Fengos, who owns and operates a Pharmaprix on Curé-Labelle boulevard. “It just goes to show you how low some people can get” he continued, and added that he was also in a position to gouge but does not regard it as part of his moral make-up. “I sell approximately 57 “C” size batteries in an entire year. I sold 102 during the storm, in one day” he explained. I had increased revenues all while managing to keep a good name for my business during tough times” he explained; “I just can’t understand why someone would choose to shoot themselves in the foot” he concluded rhetorically in reference to the gougers.

Mr. Tsekeris also weighed in to the criticism. His target was the Labelle boulevard Canadian Tire branch. He usually fills up his 16 ounce propane tank for $2.99 or a 14 ounce tank at $1.99. Upon his arrival to fill up, he was shocked by the price increase. The 14 ounce tanks would now cost $9.99 to fill up.

Good Samaritans

If the human spirit was tinted during the storm, it was also and by the same token, strengthened.

Almost immediately as soon as the effects were starting to be felt in Montreal, the people of the Saguenay – the scenes and memories of flooding still fresh in memory – responded by sending enormous quantities of firewood to Montreal and the most hardest hit surrounding areas.

Several organisations – even corporate enterprises – got into the act.

On January 13 Heinz Canada shipped a truckload containing 2,000 cases of jarred and canned food to assist the relief effort in Quebec in response to a plea that Canadian companies contribute to a food distribution centre established at St-Hubert Military Base in Montreal.

“We contacted Quebec authorities and learned that jarred infant food and cereal were urgently required” said Paul Sneddon, Heinz Canada President and CEO. “Therefore, half of our shipment to Montreal consisted of jarred baby foods and cereals. We are very concerned about the large number of affected people, including many of our own employees and their families” he concluded.

The Canadian mortgage and housing corporation also helped in a very tangible way. The federal housing agency turned over its vacant housing units with electricity and water to Quebec public security, for people who had been affected by the power outages.

The Canadian Auto Workers’ union donated $250,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help it meet the needs of victims of the massive ice storm.

“The Red Cross faces an incredible challenge as it races to provide support to thousands of Canadians who have been without power, light, heat and warm meals during this crisis,’’ said CAW president Buzz Hargrove.

The CAW has also asked its local unions across the country to help raise more funds for ice storm victims by contributing the equivalent of $1.25 per member, which means another $250,000 is committed to the massive relief effort. The CAW has more than 200,000 members.

In the past the CAW has also made substantial donations to those needing disaster support. The CAW gave a matched donation of $250,000 to victims of flooding in the Saguenay Lac. St. Jean region of Quebec in 1996 as well as $191,000 to the victims of the Manitoba flood of 1997.

The Independent Order of Foresters, a Toronto-based international fraternal benefit society with over one million members, has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross to help victims of the Eastern Ice Storm, and the president of the organization is calling on other organizations in Canada to give what they can. Volunteer fundraising efforts by IOF members were also held at International Headquarters and throughout the organization’s local chapters to give further aid to its members and communities. Some chapters have already delivered much-needed goods to Montreal area shelters.

In response to urgent requests from Montreal area municipal officials, Scott Paper delivered 80,000 rolls of hygienic tissue products to various shelters in the south and west shore of Montreal. In the last two weeks, Scott paper has delivered a total of 300,000 rolls of hygienic tissue products to community shelters in Quebec.

AT&T Canada has contributed $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Ice Storm Relief Fund to help relief efforts in Québec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, on behalf of the 7,000 Canadians who work for the AT&T Canada branded family of companies across the country.

“This has been a truly devastating experience for the people and businesses of Québec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada,” said Jim Meenan, President and CEO of AT&T Canada Enterprises Inc. “We hope our contribution will help Canadians get through this difficult time and return to their normal way of life as quickly as possible.”

Réno Dépot opened up its stores on a 24 hour basis, taking in people who were looking to get away from the darkness and the cold, and serving as a staging point for the tonnes of goods that were collected by volunteers.

“The generosity was beyond belief” said Réno-Dépot spokesperson Nathalie Szuszkiewicz, in commenting the effort made at the Laval branch. “In just under two days, three 45 foot trucks worth of goods were collected and hauled out to the hardest hit areas.”

Even the banks welcomed the opportunity to polish up their image. Most of them announced sizable donations.

The Bank of Montreal, the CIBC, the Scotiabank Group  and the Toronto Dominion Bank all made 200,000 dollar donations intended to help disaster relief efforts for areas of Eastern Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces affected by the ice storm.

Agape representative Betty McCleod was elated at the reaction she got from various members of Laval’s ethnic communities. “I did not have to make one single phone call. Everything came on its own, in advance. The outpour of generosity and solidarity was amazing. We got enough goods together to feed forty families” she said with elation visible on her face.

Pondering the aftermath

In Laval, the “all clear” was sounded on Wednesday January 14th, in what municipal officials call a successful mobilisation of various emergency resources working well together at the same time. Power had been entirely restored…

During the crisis, a total of three shelters were opened; one in the Centre d’Accès and the other one at the Centre Saint-Joseph. For a brief while, the Cosmodôme also became a shelter. The part of Laval to suffer the most damage was the western area, including Chomedey. In addition, the closing off of the Lachapelle bridge – for de-icing – caused some tense moments for motorists.

On the bright side, however, according to Sergeant Greene, there was no overabundance of crime. Four homes on Elliot street were looted as a result of the storm but the perpetrators were found and arrested almost immediately.

“The call for volunteers was also answered rather impressively” continued Sergeant Greene. As soon as we requested some volunteer help, we got at least 800 call-backs. Green also mentioned that the shelters were adequately staffed, with various activities and that even food was handed out at the Centre de Bénévolat and various fire stations where firefighters could be found on duty.

According to City sources, the effort had succeeded to the point where Laval felt able to offer aid and expertise to other communities. As a result, it sent a generator to Saint-Bruno and ten volunteer police constables to the South Shore.

The LPD media relations officer also pointed out that firefighters and police constables put their contract negotiation gripes aside, and came out in full force, to aid in the disaster.

Some Lavallers, however, have some serious gripes of their own about the way things were handled in their city.

“First of all, I would really love to know who the genius who decided that the January 2nd snowfall should not be picked up, is. They all fell for those idiot predictions about it melting; just like in Montreal. Are they not bright enough to suspect that in the middle of winter, regardless of whatever water we get, things might just freeze” lamented a male Chomedey homeowner, punctuating the word ‘freeze’ and making it clear that he was not at all impressed with the conditions of the side streets. My street is un-navigable to cars” he protested pointing to hardened snow which had hardened atop some four inches of ice.

The plights of motorists have encountered great difficulty in getting around in various municipalities who decided to not clear the January 2nd snowfall. Before it turned into ice, the snow was imprinted by car tires, thus becoming somewhat of a forced railroad and preventing motorists from steering their car. Vehicles are to be thrust forward on grooves formed by the elements. “Should anyone park further away from the sidewalk and closer to the center of the street, I have no choice but to smack him. I can’t get my car out of these snow tracks” he continued. “It’s happened to many people I know.”

A senior citizen, who gave her name only as Carole, told TCN that she was surprised nobody came to get her. “I did not even know where the shelters were. I had no access to newspapers and no batteries. How would I be able to find out where to go?” she protested. The information should be given out much more efficiently.”

The seventy-two year-old Chomedey resident felt that this was a crisis that only the young and mobile can survive. Our needs (those of senior citizens) were not looked after that well. We have special needs” she said.

Tallying the cost

As the dust begins to settle, Lavallers and Quebeckers in general, realise that they have been shaken from their very foundations. Twenty-one lives were lost as a result of the dreaded iceman’s deeds. Merchants, farmers and producers lost millions in revenues, as the total cost breaks through the two billion dollar barrier and keeps climbing. People find themselves exposed to potential rate hikes from insurance companies who will most certainly use the storm as an excuse to jack up their prices. Some businesses have been unmasked as crooks and bandits. Hydro-Quebec, a supposed world giant and a model of efficiency and technological advancement throughout the globe, is backed into a corner, facing dozens of embarrassing questions. Even the politics has changed. Nobody talks of referenda and sovereignty, and some uncomfortable moments and situations of the past in Canada’s military have been more than compensated for by the great job the troops are said to have done in assisting Hydro and police crews.

Slowly, the province tries to rise again. We all just hope that the second ice storm predicted in the Farmers’ Almanac for February will not come true…

Martin C. Barry

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government now half-way through its first mandate, Newsfirst Multimedia had the opportunity recently to touch base with one of the senior members of the Trudeau cabinet.

First elected an MP for the riding of Vancouver South in 2015, Harjit Sajjan was appointed Defence Minister by Justin Trudeau in November that year. Sajjan was the first Sikh Canadian to become Defence Minister.

Newsfirst Multimedia Co-publisher George Guzmas and journalist Martin C. Barry had the privilege to sit down with Sajjan for an interview at the federal cabinet’s Quebec region offices in Old Montreal. What follows is an abbreviated transcript of the interview.

Newsfirst: As an Indo-Canadian, you are seen as a role model by many young people in the Indo-Canadian community, including a good number in one of our readership areas. What is your message to young people in general, including Indo-Canadian youths?

Harjit Sajjan: I look at it regardless of what your origins are. What’s important is to have the confidence to believe in yourself. People think that looks attract. I always feel that actually confidence attracts. What I always say is believe in yourself. Don’t let anybody tell you what you can’t do. Just have pride in yourself and if you want to learn more about your culture learn it. But, more importantly, learn about others. That’s the biggest thing: to genuinely learn about other cultures. And when you learn about each other, that’s when you break down those barriers. The ultimate thing is if you want to make a difference and it’s your choice, go for it. That’s what really excites me – how we can set an example. Because we had mentors in our lives who helped us and now it’s our responsibility to help the next generation.

Newsfirst: Canada held a joint exercise recently with the U.S. to simulate a nuclear attack on both countries. Can you tell us a little bit about Canada’s preparedness for the possibility of nuclear war?

Harjit Sajjan: Certainly when it comes to the safety of Canadians this is what the Canadian Armed Forces are for. We’re looking at foreign threats, we look at all conflicts and especially anything that can impact us back at home. And we conduct joint exercises with our allies. In fact, I can hardly even keep track of how many exercises. But more importantly, on a daily basis we work with the U.S. quite regularly. And that’s why in our defence policy a part of it is called A Secure North America, with our most important ally the U.S. In fact, we probably have 800 personnel actually in the U.S. We actually have generals who are deputy-commanders of the U.S. corps’s, in making cases working at headquarters like Pacific Command out of Hawaii and many other places including CENTCOM [United States Central Command]. So we do a lot of exercises. But this is what good militaries do – prudent planning, making sure that we train. We always want to make sure that we train well. But let’s never forget the most important thing is diplomacy. And [Foreign Affairs] Minister Freeland is working extremely hard. Especially when it comes to North Korea, we’re working with the U.S. and other allies to allow diplomacy to work.

Newsfirst: Has there been a growing awareness lately of the nuclear issue given the tensions over North Korea?

Harjit Sajjan: We’ve been monitoring the situation with North Korea for some time. Obviously we’ve seen an increase in some of the missile testing, which we unequivocally condemn. We asked them to de-escalate the situation. Because it’s not good for them, it’s not good for our allies in the region. And we’ll continue to find different ways. Our government is committed to working with our allies. And, as I stated, Minister Freeland has stated that she’ll be working with the U.S. and many other allies in terms of trying to come up with potential solutions to this. And until then we’ll always keep planning and making sure that Canadians are always safe.

Newsfirst: In terms of support for civilian infrastructure like electricity, water, fuel in the event of a military cataclysm, does the Ministry of Defence have any plans for providing support to civilians?

Harjit Sajjan: Canadian Forces are here to provide all the necessary support needed for any type of disasters. As we prepare for any type of horrible disasters that we hope we never come to, we have to keep in mind what are the things that we mainly respond to in natural disasters. So whether, for example, it’s floods and a week later it’s something else we have to deal with, those are the things. For example, in Quebec here we will always be quick to arrive and slow to leave to make sure Canadians are confident that the Canadian Armed Forces, with all the other security partners working with the provincial government and with the municipalities, will always be there for them to give that sense of calm. I’m very proud of all the work the Canadian Armed Forces have done, because I like to visit a lot of the communities in the region, as I’ve done for the fires situation in B.C. as well. We’ll always be there for Canadians.

Newsfirst: It seems that the current policy of the U.S. is not to intervene should Canada come under ballistic missile attack. How endangered might we be from an attack by North Korea, for example?

Harjit Sajjan: As I’ve stated, we monitor these situations extremely closely and we’ve been doing this for a very long time. In fact, this is one of the reasons why in our national defence policy we look at the various threats. In fact, we actually had our national defence committee go down to NORAD to take a look at what they do to make a recommendation. So what some people sometimes look at is the defensive aspect of missile defence. What I look at is what are we trying to protect ourselves from. So when we talk about the air threat from ballistic missiles, we fully understand that and we work very closely with NORAD – it’s a bi-national command that we have. But what I also want to do, and it’s in defence policy, is how do we look at all perils and threats. So I don’t want to just focus on one threat and then not be set up for the next. The military is there to also potentially look at flexibility for dealing with new threats. So when we do the analysis for this as we move forward, especially when it comes to North American defence and modernization, we’re going to be looking at all sorts of threats – from the air, land, surface, on the water, and also underwater as well. And that will allow us to figure out what are the things that we need. So we don’t just want to focus on one issue, we want to make sure that we’re looking at it from a completely holistic aspect of things, and then we’ll make some decisions.

Newsfirst: You served in Afghanistan. What sort of impact did that have on you personally, compared to other learning experiences in your lifetime?

Harjit Sajjan: When it comes to my experience, I’m very fortunate. I had the opportunity to serve. It allowed me to see the tremendous impact that our Canadian soldiers can have on the ground, and the need also for them. But we need to support them. And so as the minister now, I realize that if we’re going to sustain something like this we’re going to have to make sure that they’re well looked after, and our defence policy now does just that. And so it really helped form my thinking on this, and that’s one of the reasons for putting our people first – it’s because of our experience in Afghanistan. Coalition members always want us to be part of the solution when it comes to many different conflicts. So it also gives us a far better understanding of what type of tools are needed to understand conflict. And our defence policies put in the right resources into certain areas, especially when it comes to intelligence. That’s why we’re going to be making sure that our Canadian forces can have the technology and the tools for the future. But let’s never forget our number one asset is always our women and men in uniform. And looking after them and then giving them the right tools is really going to make the difference.

Newsfirst: There was controversy over your role in Operation Medusa in Afghanistan. We understand from reading various sources that you made a significant contribution to the operation in terms of intelligence gathering, although perhaps it has been misunderstood. Can you set the record straight on this matter?

Harjit Sajjan: I’ve been very clear on this. Regrettably, to talk about your own experience in this political realm, people often want to take it a different way. I’m very proud of my service. I got to meet people who served in those areas and I’ve very proud that I was able to serve with them. They know what I’ve accomplished and I know exactly what other people have accomplished. I think what people should know is that regardless of anything, you should be proud of the impact that you have. In fact, for me I found it very disappointing from the opposition on how they tried to portray and attack my service when at the end of the day it’s not what I did nor how I served. So I’ll always be very proud of my service, because when my children look at me, my daughter she looks at me to this day and she knows how long I’ve been away from her, and I have a son now who didn’t know this. So I want my children to be very proud of the fact so that they can have an impact on this world. My daughter knows that I gave up a career to go serve in Afghanistan. I actually gave up my policing career because I couldn’t get leave of absence to deploy a third time when I deployed with the Americans on their request. But I gave it up because my service was needed, so I went. So I am extremely proud of what I’ve been able to do and it serves me well as a minister now that I can ask the right questions, I can put the right resources, and it is my privilege to be able to serve them.

Newsfirst: In terms of Canada’s role as a peacekeeper, the government has said it wants the country to resume its past role as an international peacekeeper, although so far we are seeing relatively little of that resolve being turned into action. Is there more peacekeeping in Canada’s future?

Harjit Sajjan: It isn’t always just about peacekeeping, it’s about what is Canada’s contribution going to be to the U.N. on peace-support operations. And Canada is committed. We’ve made the announcement of how we’re going to do this. We committed a little over a year ago what we’re willing to contribute based on our analysis and how we’re going to do it. What we want to do is make sure that when we contribute something it’s actually going to have an impact on the ground. For any government, it is a difficult decision anytime you send your most precious treasure into conflict zones. So you want to make sure they’re going to have the right impact on the ground, and to do this they have to be well-supported, trained and equipped, have the right rules of engagement and the right mandate, as well. But what we’ve offered the U.N. right now is exactly what the U.N. was looking for: innovative ways on how to have an impact on their peace-support operations, rather than just picking locations and putting all your resources in one area and expecting a mass of changes, which is not going to happen. What we’re trying to do is, there are already missions that are ongoing, great work has been done. But there’s been challenges, as well. So what we want to do is our contributions have an impact and support the United Nations’ work that’s going on. At the same time, some of those challenges, for example, were troop-contributing nations having been part of the problem. There have been peacekeepers who have not done their jobs well. We need to make sure that these things change. And so we’ve offered up an initiative on how to help the entire peace-support operation. So what we’re trying to do is help the U.N. to make all their missions better. Imagine if other nations also followed suit in doing this with the principles we have outlined, now you might actually see for the long-term of having a substantial impact for not just one mission, but potentially across the board.

Newsfirst: Based on the allocation of budgets, in what state (equipment and personnel) are the Canadian Forces in now?

Harjit Sajjan: ‎Our government’s new defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, establishes a new vision and approach for defence. Our government has laid out an ambitious yet realistic plan so that Canada can meet defence challenges now and into the future. Defence spending will increase over the next 10 years from $18.9 billion to $32.7 billion annually. The regular force will grow by 3,500 members and the reserves by 1,500. Investments will also be made to acquire, maintain, and upgrade CAF capabilities.

Newsfirst: What would be the ideal number of troops and equipment for the Canadian Armed Forces?

Harjit Sajjan: To ensure the CAF has the people and capabilities it needs to succeed on its missions, we will increase the size of the regular force to 71,500 personnel, and the reserve force to 30,000, and better support their health and welfare. Our government will also undertake the largest defence modernization effort in decades, supported by a rigorous, evidence-based capability planning process‎. Additionally, we will invest in areas such as intelligence, targeting and Arctic capabilities. We will also pursue critical enablers in the space and cyber domains.‎

On November 23rd and 24th, Agape’s Kevin McLeod and Ian Williams took part in a 2 day exchange conference* in Quebec City put together by the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN). The exchange conference “Building Together” joined over 20 community health and social service networks (NPIs) across Quebec along with many public partners from the Integrated Health and Social Services Centres (CISSS) and Integrated University Health and Social Services Centres (CIUSSS).

The event had four primary objectives: To highlight several Adaptation projects that were carried out in 2013-2018; To review the implementation of health projects aimed at English-speaking individuals and communities in Quebec; To highlight best practices and priorities for new projects in 2018-2023; To encourage networking between all of the partners.
The conference highlighted several success stories and the partnerships that have built successful results together. The conference was also a key opportunity to develop new ideas and collaborations for improving access to health and social services for English-speaking communities and individuals across the province. There was a deeper understanding of the issues facing many communities and how those issues have been addressed through creative programing and adaptation of services.

“It was great to see all of the organizations come together with great ideas and success stories, all benefiting the English-speaking minority population of Quebec.” said McLeod. “We have a good working relationship with the CISSS Laval (Health and Social Services Centre) and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them. The last census shows that there are 90,980 English-speakers in Laval which represents 21.8% of the Laval population. The numbers keep growing in our favor, services must do the same.”
Agape had the opportunity to share their own success stories as well as display the many services/projects offered to the English-speaking community of Laval such as the Adaptation of health and social services initiative*, Networking and Partnership Initiative (NPI)*, Health Promotion Projects (HPP)* for youth and seniors, Community Health Education Programs (CHEP)* and the McGill Training and Retention of Health Professionals Progam.*

“Agape has been around for many years now and we offer so much more than a food, clothing and furniture bank. It’s nice to see that Laval English-speakers are finally turning to Agape for many different services. ” McLeod added.
Welcomed at the reception were special guests Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services and Kathleen Weil, Minister responsible for Relations with English-Speaking Quebeckers, Minister responsible for Access to Information and the Reform of Democratic Institutions.
“We spoke with Minister Weil and we agreed to schedule a meeting in the New Year,” McLeod explained. “Agape would like to welcome her at our organization and we would like to introduce her to the English-speaking population of Laval.”
*Initiatives funded by Health Canada through the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018: Education, Immigration, Communities.

(TLN) On Nov. 20, around 1,000 children, parents, citizens, elected officials and representatives from community and school organizations walked along the streets of Laval before finishing up at Laval city hall during an event to mark the annual International Day for the Rights of Children.

The procession, which started at École des Quatre-Vents, concluded with five children reading key articles from the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Children, followed by short speeches by Mayor Marc Demers, CSDL president Louise Lortie, and Chantal Gignac, executive-director of the Maison des enfants Le Dauphin.

“Laval is the city of families par excellence,” said Demers. “It distinguishes itself by the choice place accorded to children through the city’s leisure programs as well as its policies, created to encourage their development while assuring their security. In short, children are at the heart of the priorities of the administration in Laval.”