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.
Martin C. Barry
As the federal minister responsible for the implementation and enforcement of Canada’s new marijuana legalization and regularization laws, there’s no mistaking the fact Bill Blair stands one hundred per cent behind the Trudeau Liberal government’s groundbreaking policy.
If anybody might be in a position to question the government’s stance, it could easily be Blair. The veteran policeman and former chief of the Toronto Police Service spent years fighting on the front lines against drug-related crime as a narcotics squad officer.
“As a police officer for 40 years, I was involved in drug enforcement,” Blair, who is Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, said in an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia while on a ministerial stopover in Montreal.
As chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police’s Organized Crime Committee, he said he was “well aware of the impact that illegal drug trafficking as controlled by organized crime was having in all of our communities.”
While noting that the link between organized crime and illegal drug trafficking had a lot do with an escalation of violence in Canadian cities these past few decades, Blair also pointed out that organized crime was earning billions of dollars in profits each year being the sole purveyors of a range of illegal substances that included marijuana.
Since the only means of controlling the situation available to society was criminal sanction, young people got swept up in the overall enforcement of the country’s drug laws, “which was disproportionate,” added Blair, “and was actually causing in many cases more harm. We wanted to discourage their use of the drug. But we also did not want to saddle that child with a criminal record for the rest of their life.”
According to Blair, all of this transpired long before he was asked by Justin Trudeau to run in the suburban Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest in the October 2015 election. Blair and the future Prime Minister discussed the possibility of radically changing Canada’s cannabis laws.
“We talked about Canada’s control of cannabis. And he said ‘What do you think of legalizing it?’ And I said if we lift the criminal prohibition it gives the opportunity to get the situation back under control. Because currently the situation we were in was we had the highest rates of use among our kids in the world. And this is a dangerous drug for children. This is a drug that can have very serious implications for children.”
Leading up to the changes last October by the Liberal government to the country’s longstanding prohibition on cannabis, more than a third of Canada’s population had been breaking the law, Blair added. As such, “we began the process of looking at how do we reduce the harm of this drug.
“Some people say to me, ‘Well you’ve legalized cannabis.’ And I say no – we’ve regulated the daylights out of it. We’ve brought in all sorts of new rules – enforceable, proportionate, sensible rules – that control every aspect of its production, its sale and its consumption.
“Whereas before we had only one tool and it was like a sledgehammer and we were trying to drive a nail. And no one wanted to swing the sledgehammer. But now we have the right suite of tools to control the system. And I believe it’ll result in a healthy situation for our children and a safer situation for our communities.”
Blair insisted that neither he nor the Liberal government would ever consider going down the same route with other street drugs as it has done with marijuana. “Cannabis is not a drug that kills people,” he said.
“But unfortunately with other more serious drugs which are deadly – the opioid crisis, for example, crystal methamphetamine, which is ravishing some of our prairie and northern communities – those drugs represent such a significant risk. And we don’t have a system of regulated production and control.
“There is no alternative. We can go to a Health Canada-regulated production facility for marijuana, for cannabis. But we’re not going to create a similar thing for crystal methamphetamine. So there will be no other source other than the criminal source.”For drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl, Blair said an important of the approach for dealing with them is to “interdict the supply to keep those drugs out of our country. We need to be very effective at restricting the supply. But we also have an enormous amount of work to do – and we have embarked as a government on this – to reduce the demand for those drugs. And that’s to prevent people from beginning to use them in the first place.”
(TLN) At noon last Jan. 21, a group of around 60 people, mostly elected officials and other dignitaries, paid homage to Quebec’s Fleur de Lys flag in a ceremony which took place outside Laval city hall.
All had accepted an invitation from the Société nationale du Québec to mark the 71st anniversary of the flag. The flag was first unveiled on Jan. 21, 1948 by the government of Premier Maurice Duplessis. It first flew on the flag pole at the Quebec Parliament building in Quebec City, replacing the Union Jack.
Gilles Desroches, a historian, gave a presentation on the origins of the flag, with particular emphasis on the Fleurs de Lys. He suggested these elements of the flag were inspired by details which originated on a banner belonging to Clovis, king of the Franks during the 5th century.
Despite the cold, the flag in which millions of Québécois take pride was raised on the main mast outside Laval city hall while a musical piece paying tribute to the flag was played by musicians and accompanied by song words. The event culminated with a wine reception inside city hall courtesy of the mayor.
Renata Isopo
Last January 21st multiple voices and interests were reflected by parents, teachers, politicians, and community members on several aspects of the tarnished reputation and curriculum of Laval Senior Academy (LSA), perceptions of concern to stakeholders. About 100 people filled LSA’s cafeteria , sitting on edge, not knowing what to expect from this Town Hall whose origins dated back to November 2018, when 189 parents sought freedom of choice for schools their children could attend, asking specifically for Board-funded transportation to Rosemere High.
The group gathered to digest addresses from Laurier Board Director-General (DG) Gaelle Absolonne and Chairperson Paolo Galati. At the outset, freedom of choice and paid transportation were off-table, replaced by intention to discuss, at length, LSA’s merits, portrayed as a school second to none.
Participants were treated to a five-minute presentation by one of two INM facilitators who introduced herself as Valerie, stating the objective was to provide structure and ease communication between stakeholders and the school board, delineating format and procedure for unfolding of proceedings. The focus was on input and suggestions from stakeholders concerning demands for 2019-2020, as TLN reported in its previous issue. No surprises. A back seat was taken by hired facilitators.
Galati and Absolonne delivered power-point presentations of LSA curriculum and successes, emphasizing its 94.4 graduation rate. Galati repeatedly reiterated that “transparency” was imperative and the town hall was a path to solutions. Focusing on Laurier history and territory, he announced that “This school board covers three regions – Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudière, has 15 municipalities and a unique character. It’s the size of Belgium.”
Absolonne added that the Board boasts 14,000 successful students and 1750 dedicated employees, elaborating on business and vocational centres, hinting at a new 240 School offering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), a curriculum-based approach of educating students in specific disciplines based on real-world applications. Teacher qualifications were not discussed. “We produce bilingual students – something specific to celebrate,” she stated, echoing the Board’s slogan of An English education, a bilingual future.
Adding more to the LSA promotional/marketing bullet, Absolonne noted that ”The school offers 50 extra-curricular activities, it’s in a perfect location for transportation, and students have access to STL benefits 24/7. The benefit of LSA is location, location, location.” No details omitted – from safety to police partnerships.
An unnamed parent misunderstood the objective. “I came for transportation and school choice, not for a sales pitch,” adding that success rates are not the only priority when choosing a school. Not holding back, she complained that “teachers don’t care about students, and kids are taking over the classroom.”
“What’s being done about the LSA rumours,” she asked Absolonne. Quick to respond, the DG said “They are exactly that – rumors. We have dedicated staff.” No response from parent.
Parent representative Theresa Andrusko, in obvious frustration, addressed the crowd and officials. “This is a sales pitch. We want to know about transportation,” echoing the unnamed parent. “Rosemere is under-utilized and that’s not being addressed. Why are 300 students leaving for other boards?”
“The aim of this Town Hall,” Galati responded, is to know the problem.” However, he informed the crowd that out-of-zone transportation would not be provided. Disappointment for those awaiting a positive response. Zoning determines bussing, he repeated. Parents wishing children to attend Rosemere, if there’s room, must provide their own transportation.
Parent Laura wanted to know: “What are the numbers over the last two years, why are students leaving, and where are they going?” Absolonne responded that it was about demographics and student-numbers at LSA and Laval Junior Academy (LJA). Not satisfied, Laura deplored poor transportation service since her child can’t get on most of the time due to over-crowding, or the driver doesn’t stop. When she inquired at Société de Transport de Laval (STL) she was told to contact customer service, which is the school. Deadlocked.
Former Laurier Board Chairperson Jennifer Maccarone, parent of child presently at LSA, commented publicly: “We must respect the framework of the law or there may be legal repercussions.” Also in attendance was former commissioner Ailsa Pehi, telling TLN she came for her son who will soon be eligible for LSA. City Councillor and Laurier Senior graduate Isabella Tassoni, told TLN she came to get to know the issues and for more information about stakeholders’ concerns.
Parent Cristina Silva told TLN that two of her children who graduated from Laval Senior Academy and accepted by Marianopolis College suffered lack of organizational and study skills coming from the public sector. “They were not prepared for higher education. Work is needed.”
Half the attendees left during intermission when Galati announced unequivocally that transportation to Rosemere would not happen, and not negotiable due to zoning restrictions. 40 people stayed for small-group discussions, two specific questions to be answered for INM to produce a report, with solutions, submitted to the Board.
TLN learned that a teacher was turned away for lack of registration. Laurier Communications Coordinator Maxeen Jolin told TLN that no one was turned away since places were available. In a post-meeting scrum with Galati, Jolin, and Commissioner James Di Sano, Absolonne told TLN that outsourcing could cost up to $10,000. Asked if it was worth it considering the number of parents (40), she said that lots of work is involved. “If we get the results we’re looking for, it’s worth it.”Questioning outsourcing at a cost of up to $10,065 in public funds, TLN was told by Laurier Secretary-General Stephanie Krenn the event was not financed by taxpayers. In part, Krenn stated: “The funds used to pay for these services do not come from taxpayers’ revenues. The profits generated by our QualificAction services, (a service that offers customized training for businesses) has enabled us to reinject generated profits within our community.”
Martin C. Barry
The Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation’s Annual Gala fundraiser raised $48,265 for educational equipment, programs and resources at schools and training centres across the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board’s territory in the Laval, Laurentian and Lanaudière regions.
Held at the Embassy Plaza in Laval on Jan. 24, the popular event raised nearly $9,000 more than last year’s January Gala. “The amount is very good,” SWLF president Christian Fréchette said when asked about the increase. “People are participating in our fundraising efforts and we’re very happy about this,” he said.
A silent auction segment during the gala featured, among other things, Montreal Canadiens jerseys signed by left-winger Jonathan Drouin and right-winger Brendan Gallagher, a photo montage of Habs goalie Carey Price, a framed photo montage with CD of Céline Dion, as well as many items of jewelry, art and home accessories.
The evening’s Grand Prize was a $1,500 gift certificate for an all-inclusive trip, cruise or guided tour of the winner’s choice. It was won by Gordon Truesdale, a member of the Lake of Two Mountains High School teaching staff. There was a good turnout by elected officials from all over Laval and the North Shore areas.
Among them were Laval mayor Marc Demers (who was accompanied by more than a half-dozen of his city councillors), Westmount-St. Louis MNA Jennifer Maccarone (formerly chairwoman of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board), Mille-Îles MNA Francine Charbonneau, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles MP Linda Lapointe, Rosemère mayor Eric Westram who was accompanied by town councillor Melissa Monk, and councillors from the municipality of Lachute.
According to SWLSB chairman Paolo Galati who delivered one of the evening’s addresses, the board’s schools and training centres have managed to achieve a graduation rate of 85.9 per cent. As a result, the SWLSB now ranks among the 10 best school commissions in Quebec.
“We have achieved this success thanks to our 1,700 outstanding employees who ensure that all our students reach their full potential,” said Galati.
“The Council of Commissioners is grateful to have a partner like the Foundation. The board of directors work tirelessly year after year in raising funds to meet the needs of our schools and adult education and vocational training centres.”
SWLF president Fréchette revealed that the foundation has raised $850,000 since it started. “You should be proud to be contributing to such a noble cause – education,” he said. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s future. The better education they receive, the better equipped they will be in their life!
“I would like to thank my colleagues on the board of directors for their dedication and involvement,” he added. “Without them, the foundation would not be able to reach the goals set out and be in the position to hit the million-dollar target by the end of 2020.”
In a special segment this year, Fréchette, as well as SWLF vice-president Ailsa Pehi and treasurer Harold Ashenmill, paid tribute to former SWLSB chairman Maccarone, who was elected to the Quebec National Assembly in the provincial election last October after leading the school board since November 2014.
