The current issue of the Laval News volume 27-04 published February 20, 2019, (Laval’s English Newspaper) covers local events such as politics, sports and human-interest stories. It features editorials and other columns. Click on the image to read the paper.
Martin C. Barry
Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif has announced that a local umbrella group of women’s organizations will receive $295,725 in funding for a 36-month project whose goal will be to remove systemic barriers to employment for vulnerable women in the Laval region.
The Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine will collaborate with local partners in key employment sectors, service providers and women in Laval, whose lived experience of employment barriers include domestic abuse, poverty, housing, mental and physical health issues.
According to the organization and Nassif, a gender-based analysis will be applied to existing policies to determine common service gaps and barriers in transportation, access to child care, training opportunities, job-matching methods and other job placement issues. New procedures and protocols will be piloted through three community partners to create a model that can be incorporated into practices at the regional level.
“I believe that with this important project, and with the help of key partners, the Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine will be able to continue this noble mission they’ve chosen, which is to provide a more secure future for women in need, and to fight alongside them so their rights will be recognized,” Nassif said during an announcement made at the Centre communautaire Saint-Joseph last week.
“I am proud that the Government of Canada is committed to supporting their efforts through the Women’s Program at the Department for Women and Gender Equality,” Nassif continued. “Advancing equality continues to be at the heart of our government decision-making. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. We know that we when we invest in women we are strengthening the economy for everyone.”
Established in Laval around 30 years ago, the Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine draws together more than 30 groups and organizations, nearly a dozen of which concern themselves primarily with women’s equality issues.
“We are all very happy today to be participating in this announcement and to be launching this project that will improve the chances of women to get and obtain jobs, especially quality jobs through which they will be able to improve their economic security while ensuring their financial autonomy as well as their children’s,” said Table de concertation coordinator Marie-Ève Surprenant.
According to Surprenant, financial uncertainty was the most common problem her organization’s initial research discovered among women in Laval who will be benefiting from the program. Health and emotional problems, which tend to accumulate when women are faced with financial problems, also worsen, she added. “When you have these problems, it becomes difficult to hold down a job and ensure one’s economic security,” said Surprenant.
The subsidy will be spent on a program whose goal will be to improve the employability prospects of women facing poverty, homelessness, mental and physical health issues and other types of situations. The Table de concertation’s partner members will be called upon to contribute and take part in the program. The McKinsey Global Institute research organization maintains that women continue to be disproportionately affected by economic insecurity. In 2015, women in Canada earned 87 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The institute estimates that by taking steps to advance equality for women – such as employing more women in technology and boosting women’s participation in the workforce – Canada could add $150 billion to its economy by 2026. The institute also says that women are much more likely to work on a part-time basis, making up 76 per cent of all part-time workers, with 25 per cent of women reporting childcare responsibilities as their reason for working part-time.
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of profiles TLN will be publishing in recognition of outstanding accomplishments of current and former Laval residents in ventures at home and abroad. Today we feature the exceptional strides made by Sophia Trozzo, born and bred in Laval, now coordinating educational and cultural projects of international relevance and multinational importance. Here is Sophia’s story, so far, as told to Renata Isopo
In high school I took every writing opportunity, co-editing the yearbook, and taking natural-fit courses like journalism. Journalism class offered a taste of what the trade demanded: non-negotiable tenacity, dedication, critical thinking and great writing.
I was mentored by Renata Isopo, vibrant educator, consummate journalist, worldly, cultural, and fond of sharing treasures of wisdom and knowledge with students. I greatly admire her unapologetic unconventional philosophy of life. Having a teacher of positive influence at a young age, is a rare gift. I don’t underestimate how this has continued to shape me throughout adulthood.
High-school journalism led to internship at Courrier Laval, first real insight into how journalists should conduct themselves professionally. I realized a great journalist of integrity requires more than great writing. You need tenacity, attention to detail, and strong ethics.
Editor John Fasciano taught me that essence and substance are central to fair reporting, that I should think deeply about what questions to ask, to understand if I was motivated by prejudice or ignorance or simply to extract truth from facts. I was profoundly struck by his editorial philosophy that it was crucial for journalists to exercise the dual responsibility of “getting the right story and getting the story right.” And that’s a lesson four years of Journalism school tried to teach me over again. I had learned it at 18.
From Dawson College’s Honours Communication to Concordia Journalism, graduating in 2013 with Philosophy and Political Science minors. Study choices flowed from belief in thoughtful questions and genuine curiosity about the world.
At university, I spent a semester in France, studying Human Rights and International Relations at l’Institut d’études politiques de Paris Sciences Po, assisted by a Quebec government bursary for academic excellence.
Subsequently, I became digital project manager for MS Media, while tutoring English and Math at Oxford Learning. Creating a travel website, I published my photography and interviews with some of the world’s most extensively travelled people. At McGill University, I participated in the Women in House Program (2013), shadowing a Member of Parliament in Ottawa for a day, leading to volunteer work for New Democratic Party MP Rosane Doré Lefebvre, (Alfred-Pellan constituency), doing data entry and French to English translation.
From two summers of teaching English to children in Italy and travelling extensively across the peninsula, I discovered deep passion for roots, moving to Italy for a career in education. Intending to continue teaching, I was offered private-school work in Rome, but declined when the company I had been working for offered full-time recruitment-officer responsibilities at Sanremo headquarters. Four years later, I am still International Recruitment Manager, based on the Italian Riviera. Since 2015, I have recruited 1200 educators from Canada, UK, U.S.A. South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, for English summer camps in Italy.
It’s rigorous, demanding, fast-paced bilingual work, maintaining communication with international applicants and EDUCO coordinators across Italy. I deploy tutors to 200 summer camps country-wide, as the main point of contact for conflict management and general human resources.
Sharing love of Italy with hundreds of people in summer programs, many of whom have never been here before, or come with certain stereotypes/expectations in mind, like the idea that only Florence, Venice or Rome are worth exploring. After summers in small towns in the mountains of Brescia, in the Emilia Romagna countryside, or sea-side in Puglia and Calabria, they gain entirely new perspectives.
I’ve had the joy of creating several teachers’ courses, including English literature, based in Oxford, England, performing-arts school visits to Sweden, a Multicultural London tour, and Italian cultural programs for tutors, taking place in the mountain village of Bajardo (Liguria). Since 2015 I have maintained partnerships between EDUCO and UNITED WORLD SCHOOLS (London based Charity), fundraising for their Myanmar schools.
A non-profit organization, EDUCO promotes student-centred learning through theatre/drama. Accredited by Italy’s Ministry of Education, EDUCO was one of the first in Italy to utilize theatre/ drama power within learning frameworks, spending11 years successfully teaching English to Italian children through our touring theatre-in-education company, TEATRINO and ‘Theatre-in-Education Days’ (‘T.I.E. Days’). Annually, 100,000 Italians take part in our English Summer Camps.
EDUCO recruits English-speaking actors, performers, musicians, tutors and trainers from all over the world; our ever-expanding team of collaborators work out of Sanremo, Milan, Naples, Rome and Sicily.
Our summer program, an introductory TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, promotes performance and play. Recognized by the World TEFL Accreditation Association we’re also accredited the Italian government. Tutors attend a mandatory five-day orientation training course facilitated by our didactic team. Many are qualified teachers in TEFL, or CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), or pursuing education degrees. We focus on learning language through songs, games and drama-based activities. We assist Italy’s educational system, working with thousands of teachers on how to implement successful language acquisition strategies (games, workshops, songs, drama-based activities) in their classroom.
Assigning tutors to camps – north, south, and the islands (Sicily), EDUCO pays transportation and places students with Italian families who provide room, board, meals, and delicious cultural experiences.
La Bella Italia is much more complicated than a romantic summer of gelatos and gondolas. Prolonged time is needed to grasp how deep the problems run. To live here, you have to sacrifice high salaries. Wages are low, even for managers. I can’t complain, I’m much better off than many, but like others, I have to cope with overwhelming bureaucracy.
So why Italy? Because you can hop on a train, any direction, stop at any small town, find poetry. Because “slowness of life” is vital to memory, mental peace, true joy. Because life is not linear, that you need to confront chaos in order to build order, and because I love a good maze.
The greatest sacrifice is not having family close. With my daughter’s birth, I understood and felt its impact more than ever. With much grace, my family accepted my move to another continent, with my daughter by my side. For this, I am truly grateful.
Martin C. Barry
In spite of assurances by Mayor Marc Demers that changes he is seeking for Laval’s municipal charter won’t lead to abuses by his administration, a group of opposition city councillors is urging Quebec not to allow the changes – even though the government already has for five other large municipalities.
In their letter addressed to Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest, Laval city councillors David De Cotis (Saint-Bruno), Michel Poissant (Vimont), Isabella Tassoni (Laval-des-Rapides), Aglaia Revelakis (Chomedey), Paolo Galati (Saint-Vincent-de-Paul) and Daniel Hébert (Marigot) said they were “denouncing” Mayor Marc Demers’ attempt to modify two clauses from Laval’s charter.
Although four of the group are disaffected former Mouvement Lavallois members, Revelakis is the sole remaining elected member of Action Laval on city council.
“While analysts of municipal politics agree that the present Charter of the City of Laval gives too much power to the executive-committee, the new version which allows the executive-committee to make its own internal rules will go even further,” they said, noting that the City of Laval was placed under trusteeship six years ago as its political and administrative situations spun out of control.
“When the city was placed in trusteeship, the trustees saw that this Charter had allowed Gilles Vaillancourt to act outside the scrutiny of the municipal council. It should be recalled that the executive-committee is presided by the mayor and that the councillors who sit on it are appointed by him. He could thus govern without the Council intervening.
“It is for all these reasons that we are asking you to take a stand against any modification of the City of Laval’s Charter which would give additional powers to the executive-committee, some of which already caused considerable harm to Laval residents in the past,” added the councillors.
In a statement responding to the letter, Mayor Marc Demers maintained that there appeared to be confusion as to the extent of the impact the requested changes would make.
“At this time, these powers are delegated through the adoption of a by-law by a vote of simple majority,” said Demers. “The proposed modification would be such that this delegation by by-law would require a vote by 2/3 of the members of the municipal council. This would not significantly increase the powers of the executive.”
According to the mayor, the change the city wants made to its charter would allow the executive-committee to pass an internal by-law delegating certain powers to senior administrators. At the same time, he noted that some of this power currently exists in the municipal charters for the cities of Montreal, Longueuil, Lévis, Gatineau and Québec.
While pointing out that officials with the City of Laval are currently working on a new version of the municipality’s charter, Demers said that in the meantime city council needs to be able to pass internal by-laws allowing it to delegate certain powers.
In an interview with the Laval News, De Cotis, who publicly split last year from the mayor and the Mouvement Lavallois, said the dissident group’s current demand comes following a refusal by Demers to explain the charter amendments during the last city council meeting.
“He’s asking for a blank cheque, asking the Legault government to approve modifications to the charter that would allow executive-committee members to really pass any by-law they want, and in a sense create their own government within the executive-committee,” claimed De Cotis.
Although De Cotis didn’t know of any administrative abuses committed in the five other cities since they received the powers being sought by Laval, he said the city’s well-documented history of corruption and administrative abuse should serve as enough of a warning to refuse the charter change request.
For her part, Aglaia Revelakis told the Laval News she agreed with the other councillors that Demers was being unreasonable by not disclosing exactly what changes he wanted to make to the city’s charter. “We don’t know what they’re planning to change,” she said. “So why would we vote for something when we don’t even know what we’re going to be voting for?”
The current issue of the Laval News volume 27-03 published February 6, 2019, (Laval’s English Newspaper) covers local events such as politics, sports and human-interest stories. It features editorials and other columns. Click on the image to read the paper.
Renata Isopo
On January 22, following the January 21st Town Hall, TLN attended Laval Senior Academy’s Governing Board (GB) meeting which in a nutshell resonated disheartened sentiments concerning negative views expressed by parents.
As stated by parents at Town Hall, Laurier School Board’s declining enrollment leads to financial shortages, a deficit culture since parents navigate to consider different school choices across the Board and off-island. Numerous parents expressed preference for Rosemere High and not Laval Senior Academy, requesting transportation, refused by the Board. LSA principal Nathalie Rollin shared concerns with GB members searching for answers.
“It’s important to find solutions, to address concerns expressed at Town Hall,” she stated. “Nice things weren’t said about this school, and I don’t know why.” Rollin said eight teachers from LSA attended the meeting, with reports that at least one teacher had been denied participation because of lack of pre-registration on their part. Laurier Communications Coordinator Maxeen Jolin contradicted this claim, stating to TLN that no one had been turned away by organizers.
Live and learn experiences oriented around social themes bring together the LSA GB members on a united front, making them passionate about what’s going on in their school. Members noted LSA’s longstanding tarnished reputation will require considerable effort by parents, staff, teachers, and students to overcome.
“It’s a school where students should gather for social, academic, and emotional support; this is very important for the future,” stated spiritual animator Domenic Di Stefano. “We have to do more and have more parents involved which is not happening,” continued Di Stefano. “They don’t get involved.” Tony Beliotis, GB parent member and Parent Commissioner also expressed concerns. “As noted, on a slide, key features of the school’s travails are enrollment declines, low staff morale, and lack of community spirit.
“The problem is that this school does not have an identity,” Beliotis added, pointing out that “This school isn’t Laurier and it isn’t Liberty. The question is how to change that? Lack of identity has brought about a sense of loss and grieving for staff and students who have undergone much change. There has to be a sense of belonging. We’re judged by a perception of 20 years ago regarding this building.”
Di Stefano added, “It looks bad for LSA when it can’t sell tickets for spaghetti night. Only three parent volunteers run the event; only 50 tickets sold for an event that’s happening in two weeks,” he emotionally unloaded. “We don’t want to cancel. Please help sell tickets,” he implored GB.
“We need teachers to muster more than 50 people out of 1550. It’s the only way to demystify the perception of this school,” Tony Beliotis pleaded.
Salt to the wound, teacher Renée St-Germain sadly reported she’s having difficulty recruiting for the renowned former Laval Catholic 41-year-old Blue and Gold Revue, which a huge number of students used to line up to audition for with an overload of candidates who wanted to participate. Out of 1550, she’s lucky to get 150 to audition, too-low a cohort from which to build a viable cast and crew, in her view. “There’s apathy. If we don’t get the numbers, this may be the last year for Blue and Gold.” Solemn faces around the table. Di Stefano added that division must end. “We must develop a sense of identity, tradition, and community. We can’t do this alone, we must get parents involved. The question is how?”
Martin C. Barry
While a political battle rages on in the United States over whether to build a massive wall along the U.S-Mexico border to contain the flow of irregular migration, there will be no question of a similar barrier along the Canada-U.S. boundary, says the Canadian federal minister responsible for security along our border.
“I don’t believe a physical barrier is either practical on a 9,000-kilometre border or necessary,” Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair told Newsfirst Multimedia in a recent interview.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump remains transfixed on building a wall along that country’s southern border to fulfill one of the Republican president’s most cherished electoral promises, Blair sees Canada taking an entirely different approach to the security of its border.
“Let’s keep in mind that even on irregular migration we’re talking about a 9,000-kilometre border, and perhaps 30 to 40 people each day are presenting themselves to cross irregularly,” he said.
“It’s manageable. It’s not preferable. Our preference is that people would go to the regular point of entry and that we would manage it there. But for those who are crossing irregularly, the numbers are still within our ability to manage. And I’m confident that we are maintaining the safety and security of our country.”
Blair said that Canada hasn’t much need to even think of having a border wall, since control of the boundary the country shares with its southern neighbour is based on “the collaboration and cooperation of law enforcement on both sides of the border. We are applying our laws and we are deploying our resources in a way that maintains security.
“In other jurisdictions, in other areas of the world – not between Canada and the United States – there may be other challenges with maintaining the integrity of their border – and in those circumstances and in some areas some have found it necessary to have a physical barrier,” he continued.
“But we manage ours with law. It’s a filter. And we will absolutely keep out people who represent a danger or criminality in this country. But we also apply our laws for people who are entering. By international convention and under Canadian law if someone is seeking asylum, then they are entitled to due process. But there’s a right way of doing that.”
(TLN) On Jan 15, Laval city council adopted a by-law that included $1 million in spending for a program, in conjunction with the Quebec government, to give subsidies to owners of houses whose foundations have been damaged by settling of the soil.
Laval residents who are owners of such buildings have until March 18 to apply for financial assistance of up to two-thirds of the total cost of repairs for a total of $35,000.
“This subsidy will make it possible to offer some important financial relief to Laval residents who are going through difficult times due to damage to the foundations of their property,” says Sainte-Rose city councillor Virginie Dufour who also sits on the executive-committee.
“We are certain that the allotted sums will allow the greatest number of citizens possible who must restore the integrity and security of their building,” she adds.
To qualify for the program: you must be the owner of a residential building with 1 to 4 units; you must have had the necessary work done no more than 1 year before the coming into effect of the present by-law, or you anticipate getting the work done following acceptance of your application and issuing of the construction permit; you must have spent or anticipate expenses of at least $5,000 for the work; you must have installed or foresee installing at least 1 stake; you must have applied for a construction permit.
Martin C. Barry
Although there’s more than a year to go before the City of Laval plays host to the 55th Jeux du Québec finals, members of a local organizing committee joined Mayor Marc Demers, city councillors and several provincial MNAs last week to unveil the logo and to announce some of the first commercial and institutional partners who will be helping to provide support.
“The organization of the Jeux du Québec finals in Laval is a project uniting and bringing together the community, which emphasizes youth and the dynamic forces of sports associations, businesses and institutional partners,” said Mayor Demers.
Michel Allen, president of SportsQuébec which is the provincial organization behind the organization of the event, said he had complete confidence in Laval to organize a games event from July 31 to Aug. 8 in 2020 that will be memorable.
“Under the leadership of a committed administration, the COFJQ – Laval 2020 is putting everything into place to make this major competition a memorable event in the sports development of young athletes who will be taking part,” Allen said.
The City of Laval estimates 130,000 people will converge here next summer from all over Quebec for the Jeux du Québec finals. Laval previously hosted events for the Jeux du Québec finals in 1971 and 1991.
The corporate and institutional sponsors that will be providing support for the Jeux du Québec in Laval in 2020 are Vimont Toyota (which is lending a Corolla and a RAV4 with Jeux du Québec markings to the organizing committee), Courchesne Larose (fruit), MonCloudPrivé.ca (IT services) and SS Info (telephone services).
The institutional partners are the Government of Quebec, SportsQuébec, the City of Laval, Collège Montmorency, Sports Laval, Tourisme Laval, the Société de transport de Laval, the Commission scolaire de Laval and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board, Collège Laval, Collège Letendre and the Cosmdôme.
The top 3 Laval real estate agents for 2018 were announced last month by Rate-My-Agent.com. The review site compiled and published the list of top rated Laval agents based on ratings and reviews received during the past year.
In ranked order, the agents are:
Unlike other agent ranking sites, agents can’t pay to have negative reviews removed or hidden and cannot pay to be included on the list of top-rated agents. The company says the reviews are verified through a process they wouldn’t disclose in order to protect the integrity of the process. When asked if they’ve had agents try to cheat, a spokesperson confirmed, “Yes, there have been many attempts by agents to game the system and rankings, which is why we keep our algorithms a closely held secret.”
The list will be published annually based on that year’s verified reviews. Rate-My-Agent.com is a rating and review website for Canadian and American markets. It’s free for the general public and real estate professionals. The company pledges 50% of profit to worthy causes.
