(TLN) During their last meeting, the members of Laval
city council unanimously approved a motion to rename Parc des Prairies
Bernard-Landry Park in honour of the former Quebec Premier.
“Bernard Landry was the only Quebec Premier to have
also been an MNA from Laval,” Mayor Marc Demers pointed out.
In memory of
“We felt it was important to honour his memory. He was
a man with heart and with convictions, a major politician and an excellent
teacher. He mastered the art of teaching, of persuasion and of encouraging
growth.”
Landry,
who died last year, was the Parti Québécois MNA for Fabre from 1976 to 1981,
and then for Laval-des-Rapides from 1981-1985. He was a key member of several
governments. He served as Premier of Quebec from 2001-2003.
Toponomy commission
The
decision to rename the park was following a recommendation made by the City of
Laval’s toponomy commission, which is composed of residents
and one city councillor.
“The toponomy commission studied the request for
Bernard Landry Park and made a favourable recommendation since the new name
pays homage to someone who made a significant contribution to the development,
dynamism and well-being of the community,” said Councillor Yannick Langlois
(district of L’Orée-des-Bois) who presides the commission.
(TLN) The Laval Police Department says it is working
in close conjunction with the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP following the gunning down recently of an
individual suspected to be involved in organized crime at the Sheraton Laval.
During the incident in which the front door of the
Sheraton was shattered by gunfire, hundreds of people, including children and
seniors, witnessed as several gunshots were fired.
Project
Repercussion
“We will not hesitate to double up our efforts to
maintain at all cost the security of our citizens,” said Laval Police chief
Pierre Brochet, noting that the gunman fired with impunity and with seemingly
complete disregard for the consequences of his actions.
In response, the Laval Police, the SQ and the RCMP
have launched Project Repercussion. One goal of the trilateral force will be to
monitor more closely establishments in Laval known to be hangouts for organized
criminals, such as bars, restaurants and other licensed establishments.
(TLN) Since 2017, no less than 400 citizens, partners
from the municipal, community and health sectors, as well as elected officials,
have been walking annually in order to underscore the importance of World Elder Abuse
Awareness Day in Laval.
A seniors walk
On
June 14, participants from Laval will be gathering at Parc des Prairies for the
two or four kilometre walks. Participating
organizations will include the Table régionale de concertation des aînés de Laval, FADOQ – Laval Region, DIRA-Laval, AQDR
Laval-Laurentides and CISSS de Laval.
“To be able to provide active and quality aging to our
seniors is at the heart of our priorities,” says FADOQ – Laval Region
executive-director Andrée Vallée. “We thus judge it important to be a major partner on
this walk which is organized with the goal of raising awareness while
encouraging the proper treatment of elderly persons from the region.”
Third near
now
This will be the third year for the walk, which is
taking place June 14 from 8:30 am to 1 pm. The walk will be followed by a talk
given by Denis Fortier, physiotherapist and author, on the importance of
remaining active with aging. The walk will start from the main chalet in Parc
des Prairies (5 du Crochet Ave.) beginning at 9:30 am.
To register, visit the Facebook page Laval en marche pour la bientraitance des
personnes aînées, or the Web site, lavalensante.com, or phone
450 686-2339. A help line for senior abuse can be
contacted at 1 888 489-2287 for additional information and support.
(TLN) The Laval Police Department will be holding
their first annual Fraud Prevention Day event on May 18 in conjunction with the
force’s observance of Police Week.
The event will be taking place in the parking lot of
Laval Police headquarters at 2911 Chomedey Blvd. from 9 am to 3 pm.
Police officers will be on hand to provide information
on various types of fraud that have become common, such as online phishing,
fraudulent e-mails, identify theft, Web fraud and phone fraud schemes.
Destroy
confidential docs
At the same time, staff from police headquarters will
have equipment available for those who wish to shred confidential documents in
large batches free of charge.
These types of documents can include insurance forms,
personal cheques, declarations of revenue for income tax, receipts, bills, bank
statements, as well as papers on which personal information like date of birth
or social insurance numbers might appear.
According
to the Laval Police, nearly 17,000 incidents of fraud were reported by victims
last year.
May 7 – Laval police are searching for potential underage
victims of sexual exploitation following the arrest of convicted pedophile,
Michel Fradette.
Police allege 39-year-old Fradette tried to solicit
sexual favours from a 12-year-old girl.
His cellphone allegedly contained thousands of photos and videos of
child pornography.
At the time of his arrest, Fradette was on parole after
being sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a
nine-year-old girl.
Investigators say they believe Fradette may have other
victims who have yet to come forward.
Mafia Murder at
Laval Sheraton
May 4 – Laval police were called to the scene of a fatal
shooting at the Laval Sheraton last Saturday. The incident took place at around
10 p.m. in front of hundreds of witnesses, including children.
The victim was identified as 49-year-old Salvatore
Scoppa, whose criminal record includes guilty pleas for assault causing bodily
harm and breaking and entering. He was
the brother of Andrew Scoppa, alleged to be an influential figure in the
Montreal Mafia.
The shooting in Laval was the first of three fatal
shootings in the Montreal area in the span of eight days.
A 25-year-old man was fatally gunned down in a Brossard
restaurant on Friday night. Two days later, another man was killed outside a
residence in Terrebonne.
Police Seek
Possible Witnesses
May 1 – Laval police are seeking witnesses to the
homicide that took place during the evening of Thursday, April 25, in Ste-Rose
at the corner of Boul. Marc-Aurèle-Fortin and François-Baillargé St.
Police want to hear from anyone who was in that area
between 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Anyone with information can speak confidentially with an
officer by calling the info-line at 450-662-INFO (4636).
(TLN) As areas of the City of Laval alongside
riverfronts continue to recover following the devastating spring flooding
several weeks ago, city officials say they are continuing to provide assistance
to residents impacted by the floods.
In a statement issued by the city last week, officials
said recovery operations are getting underway as the waters recede, and that
inspection tours are being undertaken by teams composed of personnel from the
fire department and CISSS de Laval.
Recovery
underway
In all, the city expects that more than 1,600
residences affected by flooding will be visited. Last Monday evening, the City
of Laval held an information meeting at the Château
Royal in Chomedey for all residents impacted by flooding who wish to apply for
compensation from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security.
As
well, the city announced that as of May 14 a centre for the support of those
affected by flooding would be opening to offer information and answer questions
of all types. Located at 2785 Francis-Hughes Ave., the centre will also house a
temporary office for help to flood victims operated by the Public Security
Ministry.
Volunteers needed
In addition, the city is organizing a major cleanup operation taking place on May 25-26 for the collection of used sand bags and other debris left over from the flood. Volunteers are currently being sought for this operation. Visit inondations.laval.ca if you are interested.
In
the affected areas, business is starting to get back to normal, with garbage,
recycling and kitchen waste pickups gradually back to normal schedules. Special
collections are also being organized for the pickup and disposal of demolition
debris from damaged houses. According to the city, property owners will be
expected to separate the debris from their properties into categories before it
can be picked up.
An orderly cleanup
Here
are some instructions to follow: – Sand bags should be left on the edge of the property
or next to the street, with wooden pallets with bags to be thrown out. For
sanitary reasons, sand bags contaminated by flood water must be disposed of
carefully.
–
Debris from the river and from demolition should be deposited around the same
spot as old sand bags. Other items to be disposed of, such as old tires, paints
or electronics, will be collected by the city on May 25. They should be left
for pickup in the same place as the previously mentioned items.
In
all, according to the City of Laval, 85 streets in Laval suffered flooding,
while 355 buildings were flooded. As well, 117 families needed to be evacuated.
Of these, 17 families were sheltered by the Red Cross. Around 1,000 civic
address in Laval found themselves cut off by water or were impacted by the
floods.
The
City of Laval’s executive-committee made several key decisions and
recommendations to city council during its May 1 public meeting.
Among
other things, the committee recommended to council to award a $6,398,523
contract to Uniroc Construction Inc. for rehabilitation of street
infrastructure on Conrad-Chaumont Ave., Des Prés St., Dubé St., Bon-Pasteur
Blvd., Place Montmorency, Giroux Ave., Lavoisier Ave. and D’Argenteuil St.
Street rehabilitation
The
work is for the replacement of covering on the underground water conduct and
for the rehabilitation of the roadway at the same time.
Along
the same lines, the executive-committee also recommended to council to award a
more than $6 million contract to Duroking Construction/9200-2088 Quebec Inc.
for waterworks rehabilitation and other work on Lucerne, de Bernina, de Cologne
and Pépin streets, as well as on Lévesque
Blvd.
The
committee recommended the awarding of a more than $86,000 mandate for a study
to be carried out by Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) on the
renaturalization of green spaces along autoroutes in order to help reduce heat
islands on Laval’s territory.
Upgrade for Jeux du Québec
In
order to improve sports facilities in Laval for residents as well as for
athletes who will be coming here in 2020 for the Jeux du Québec, the
executive-committee recommended awarding a contract to Gestion S. Forget Inc.
for more than $725,000 to bring baseball fields in Rosaire-Gauthier Park up to
standards.
The committee recommended the approval of a three-year
agreement for services with an organization known as Canopée,
whose mission is to work towards the improvement of
woods and forests in Laval. An amount of more than $190,000 is being awarded to
the organization to develop its services. They will also be receiving an annual
subsidy of $36,000 over the next three years to cover operating expenses.
The latest annual report filed by Laval’s Ombudsman
confirms that more complaints about city services were dealt with by the
Ombudsman than in any other year since the office’s creation six years ago.
According to the report on the Ombudsman’s activities
last year, 2018 set a record with 635 dossiers treated, which is 21 per cent
higher than in 2017. Of those cases, 62 per cent were dealt with in less than
30 days, while 42 per cent of that number were responded to in five days.
Case by case
The report says that 58 per cent of the complaints
concerned the public works, engineering and urban planning departments. More
than 40 per cent of the issues were resolved by directing the complainants to
the departments in question, the report added.
In
only 20 per cent of the cases did the Ombudsman’s office have to intervene
directly with the municipal administration. In 38 per cent of these cases the
office initiated an in-depth investigation. While 51 per cent of complaints
made were filed by men, 49 per cent were from women. Just 6 per cent of all
complaints received were from English-speaking persons.
Some 2018 interventions
In
its latest report, the Ombudsman’s office provided examples of some of the more
noteworthy interventions made in 2018. In one, a property owner who had been
impacted by the 2017 floods filed a complaint that he didn’t receive adequate
flood damage compensation because the value of his property was underestimated
in the latest municipal property roll.
The
end result was a substantially lower compensation payment from the Quebec
Ministry of Public Security for a flood damage claim. While the Ombudsman
determined that the time limit for contesting the property roll had already
expired, the office was still able to intervene and explain the situation to
the ministry, resulting in an increased compensation payout.
Case referred to legal
affairs
In
another more serious case, the Ombudsman’s office saw fit to forward a file to
the city’s Bureau for Integrity and Ethics (the BIEL, which interfaces with the
Laval Police Department), as well as the legal affairs department.
According
to the Ombudsman, an investigation by her office revealed that expert
consultants with the city were aware of potential traffic problems which were
likely to emerge near a major (though unidentified) real estate project being
considered for development. Among other things, said the report, conspicuous
zoning changes led the Ombudsman’s office to refer the matter to legal affairs
and the BIEL.
Caseload growing larger
City of Laval Ombudsman Nadine Mailloux
In
an interview with the Laval News, Ombudsman’s office director Nadine Mailloux
explained why the number of complaints received has been rising. “When I
started in 2013 the office wasn’t very well known,” she said. “When I first
arrived at the office there were perhaps 50 complaints waiting for me that
year.
“What
I have worked at since then is making the Ombudsman’s service more and more
well known. There is a consistency in the increase. There were some small
increases in the first few years, but since the last three years in particular
I think it’s been around 20-22 per cent increases because I think we’re
becoming more and more well known.”
Wants to resolve problems
Mailloux
said that considering the level of complexity of the complaints brought to her
office’s attention had substantially increased in 2018, “we are looking at things from the standpoint of the
citizens, our ability to put ourselves in their place and to re-explain things.
That is why, in our opinion, the only thing we can do is to be exacting,
transparent and vigilant. We are committed to finding resolutions.
“We
deal with the dossiers of persons who, like us, hope to be treated with respect
and equality,” she continued. “It is possible to act with fairness and empathy,
all the while being respectful of the regulations and logic in their
application. It is our hope to see this wisdom-filled approach in the
interventions made by the employees of the City of Laval.”
From the left, Louis Beaulieu, director of Transplant Québec and Laval mayor Marc Demers hoist the Transplant Québec flag, marking National Organ Donation Week.
(TLN) During National Organ Donation Week, the City of
Laval decided to show its support for Transplant Québec
by flying the green ribbon flag, a symbol of the transplant movement across
North America.
Laval is joining an awareness-raising movement in
which hundreds of other towns and cities are also participating.
“The more there are of us talking about this, the more
we will be increasing the chances of improving or saving lives, because organ
donation is a gift of life,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “We are inviting all Laval
residents to actively reflect on the importance of organ donation, but mostly
to speak about it with those close to them.”
Ways to
consent
There are three ways for individuals to give their
consent for donation of organs or tissue: Sign a consent form provided by the
Quebec Health Insurance Board (RAMQ); Sign a sticker provided by the RAMQ and
place it on your health insurance card; Sign a consent agreement for organ and
tissue donation with the Chambre des notaires du
Québec.
In
2018, 497 persons benefited from transplantations in Quebec thanks to tissue or
organ donations made by 164 donors. Out of this number, two donors from Laval
made it possible for four persons to have transplants. As of Dec. 31 last year,
805 persons were waiting for organ donations in Quebec, of which 51 were in
Laval.
People on missions are rarely defeated, although sometimes delayed in reaching objectives. At a media conference last autumn, speaking for everyone in need of organ/tissue transplants across Canada, Federal Member of Parliament (MP) Ramez Ayoub (Thérèse-De Blainville) strongly stressed urgency of House of Commons Motion 189, specifically aimed at these medical initiatives.
Recently, to mark National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week, Ayoub re-iterated his commitment to the cause. “(This) is an opportunity to lift the veil and encourage people to sign the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec’s Consent to Organ and Tissue Donation form. The goal is information and awareness, hence the importance of campaigns and national weeks. I care deeply about this issue. That is why I introduced Motion M-189, calling upon the federal government to reaffirm its commitment and to encourage organ/tissue donations in Canada by supporting national efforts, in collaboration with provincial/territorial authorities and stakeholders” says Ayoub, in a press release. “I am very proud to see, through an announcement in support of Motion M-189, that our work has paid off. The Honorable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced April 8, additional $3.4 million funding over two years for Canadian Blood Services, to improve organ/tissue donations and transplantation systems.”
This
funding, added to $3.58 million provided annually to Canadian Blood Services by
Health Canada, will support public education and awareness campaigns,
professional education, development/implementation of best practices, and
system improvements to promote effective and timely access to care.
Budget projections – 2019-2020
Ayoub is gratified for attention paid by Federal Finance Minister Morneau to this cause that’s so close to his heart, citing that in the recently tabled budget Ottawa proposes to provide Health Canada with $36.5 million over five years, $5 million annually, towards developing national data and performance systems for organ donation/transplantation, in collaborative efforts with provincial/territorial partners.
The
goal, says Ayoub, is to improve data consistency and quality, allowing more
donors and recipients to be effectively matched, ensuring that Canadians have
timely and effective access to organ transplant opportunities. “It’s more
important than ever for citizens to talk to loved ones, friends, and work
colleagues about organ donation,” he pleads.
What can we do to help?
At the September press conference, Ayoub introduced several important supporters. Chaîne De Vie, the non-profit Organ Donation National Educational Awareness Project is an integral participant. According to Ayoub, the Québec-based organization widely promotes understanding and importance of organ/tissue donations.
Prominent
individuals strengthened Ayoub’s message. Dr. Pierre Marsolais, internal
specialist and founder of the Regional Center of Organ Donation at Montreal’s
Sacré-Coeur Hospital, was transparent about the need to develop better
strategies. “Donation and transplants are not sterile medical processes, but
personal human deeds, acts which touch people personally, and intimately, giving
recipients a new lease on life, enhanced quality living, and new outlooks on
humanity.
“In Quebec, 4500 are waiting for donors,” Marsolais told TLN, pointing out that between 2006-2015 donors declined. Wait-time is four years. Québec has the least donors, although augmentation has occurred in recent years. Donors also change their minds, Marsolais acknowledged. Donors’ families need support, and he encourages everyone to share responsibility. “It’s the only way to save lives.”
Chaîne
de Vie, central to the mission of informing/sensitizing students on this
delicate issue, has an array of people committed to the cause: founder/president
Lucie Dumont; Youth Ambassador Tristan LeBlanc; Isabelle Tétrault, daughter of
a donor and ambassador to schools; and Johane Michaud, spokesperson for young
adults. Organ recipients Joe Hajj and Yves LeBlanc, Carole Du Paul, wife of an
organ donor, mayors from several cities, and medical and business associates
all strongly support the cause.
Available to all Canadians
“I sincerely believe we must do better for those whose only hope is an organ donation,” Ayoub states, emphasizing that disseminating information within schools and establishing open communication with young people are crucial. Declining organ/tissue availability is a global phenomenon. Canada and Québec face substantial shortages and lives are lost. Reasons include misinformation and reluctance to talk about death, leaving difficult decisions to families unprepared to consent when the time comes. “Although 90% of Canadians favor organ donation, only 20% manifest interest. Unfortunately, 10-15% have consent withdrawn by family at time of death,” Ayoub cautions.
A problem with a cure
All
ages can donate – youngest at 48 hours to oldest at 88. Minors need parental consent. Donor families
have different stories, such as those of Isabelle Tétrault, Carole De Paul, and
Johane Michaud. But all reflect generosity
of the human spirit, in time of grief and tragedy, to rise above personal
concern to help others. For Isabelle, Carole, and Johane it’s the ultimate gift,
the utmost act of human kindness. To give back for gifts received, they are actively
involved in promoting Dr. Marsolais’ mission in support of donors and their
families, participating in programs that inform through education in hope of
more research toward organ/tissue donation.
Saving lives through corporate support
Chain
of Life, unique and intergenerational, founded and coordinated by Lucie Dumont,
aims to educate high-schoolers on organ/tissue donations, encouraging them to
become ambassadors in family discussions. The project unites health and
education sectors to save lives.
“It
is through teaching units, integrated into English courses, that this project
mobilizes. 200 Québec teachers are on board, with potential to reach 100,000
young people province-wide,” Lucie Dumont told TLN.
Values
conveyed by Chaîne de Vie encourage
young people to demonstrate community
commitment by undertaking concrete actions.
Privately funded, major supporters are DESJARDINS ($250,000), TELUS
($20,000), and FONDATION ST. HUBERT BBQ ($15,000). Approved by the Quebec
Government, the project is accessible to all school boards.
