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Quebec Minister for Senior Citizens Francine Charbonneau joined Laval city councillor Christiane Yoakim who also deals with senior citizens issues for the unveiling on Sept. 13 of the program of activities for the 2018 Laval Senior Citizens Week, which is taking place Oct. 10 – 21.

Making life better

This will be the 29^th year that the city holds this event in conjunction with around 20 senior citizens’ groups around Laval. “The quality life of senior citizens is at the heart of our priorities,” said Charbonneau.

“We know that the seniors of Quebec would like to age at home while remaining active and autonomous, and while remaining part of society. Collectively we must pursue our efforts in order to encourage this willingness, while supporting the participation and social inclusion of senior citizens.”

Efforts for seniors

Yoakim said, “The annual rendez-vous which is Laval Senior Citizens Week allows the City of Laval to see all its efforts to help seniors come out in the form of concrete events that encourage active aging, while improving health and assuring the security and promoting the participation of seniors in all aspects of community, cultural and economic life.

“It’s with this view that Laval Senior Citizens Week offers services to seniors by proposing again this year a varied program of activities and that enriching and entertaining,” she added.

Calendar of activities

The calendar of this year’s Laval Senior Citizens Week has more than 50 activities, including shows (a major one features singer Bruno Pelletier), exhibitions, conferences, workshops on horticulture and art, as well as sports activities. Also, the Laval public library network is offering its own senior citizens week activities bringing together grandparents and children.

The program of activities is available at City of Laval offices, at the library branches, at the multiservice desk at 1333 Chomedey Blvd., in community centres or on the web at www.evenements.laval.ca. For even more information, go to lewww.aines.laval.ca.

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Officials with the community organization “Les Habitation Le Repère” were pleased last week to announce details on the progress of their community seniors housing project.

This residential project for senior citizens with moderately diminished autonomy is being led by residents of Laval who were preoccupied by the precarious situation of seniors and their difficulty in finding housing that is affordable and adequate for their needs.

In all, 141 housing units will be provided in a 10-storey building through the project on a site at 3270 St-Elzéar, between boulevards St‑Elzéar, Chomedey, Daniel-Jonhson and Autoroute 440. The area is served by public transit and is a few minutes away from Laval’s main hospital: Cité de la santé.

Demographic changes

It should be remembered that Laval, like other communities, is exposed to the demographic shock from the aging of its population. In June 2016, the school of urban planning and architecture at the University of Montreal commented on the situation in Laval.

“The inventory of housing on the territory is relatively weak, while a third of households devote more than 30 per cent of their revenue to housing themselves,” they said. “Thus it should come as no surprise to learn that 526 persons have already expressed their interest for the project, as witnessed by the long waiting list.”

According to Mayor Marc Demers, the City of Laval “has supported this project of 141 housing units by basing its decision on recommendations of the CCU. We also supported it financially because not only is there a drastic need in the midst of our community, but we are also a MADA city (Municipalité amies des aînés).

More powers sought

“Already the numerous demands for this project demonstrate forcefully the necessity for Laval to obtain more powers in matters concerning housing,” Demers added. “It is urgent for the city to sign an agreement over several years with the next provincial government in order to have all the autonomy necessary to answer to the imposing needs expressed, as witnessed by the long waiting list for the new affordable housing units.”

A project like this would not be possible without solid partners. This is why the governing council, consisting of Danae Savides and Claire Lachance as well as Raymond Monette, Nicolas Liounis, Martin Côté, Savas Fortis and Daniel Proulx, wished to salute the commitment of the City of Laval, which supported the initiative as presented to the Société d’habitation du Québec, another essential partner.

Years in the making

“The unveiling of this project is the culmination of several years of efforts which led to cooperation and collaboration between the various organizations,” said board president Danae Savides. “A project like this is an important answer to the housing needs of elderly people with medium and low revenue in Laval.

“This is why we want to thank all those who supported this project,” she continued. “We want especially to thank the City of Laval, as well as the MNA for Ste-Dorothée Jean Habel who received the support of the minister responsible for Laval Francine Charbonneau and the minister for housing Lise Thériault.”

When completed, the project will have 129 3 ½ room apartments, but also nine 4 ½ room apartments and three studios. The architectural firm handling it is Campanella & Associés. The project is expected to be completed by the spring of 2020.

Martin C. Barry

Montreal-based movie theatre tycoon Vincenzo Guzzo – whose company, Cinémas Guzzo, operates the largest number of film screens and multiplex venues in Quebec and third largest in Canada – was given a grand welcome last week into the Dragons’ Den, one of the CBC’s top prime time TV hits across Canada.

Getting the star treatment

Cinémas Guzzo’s Méga-Plex Lacordaire in Saint-Léonard was the setting for a Hollywood-style evening – complete with “red carpet” treatment – for Guzzo and five of the Dragons.

In the lobby, they basked in the adulation of several hundred adoring fans, while gleefully signing autographs, before watching episode one of Dragons’ Den Season 13 on one of Cinémas Guzzo Lacordaire’s big screens. Vince Guzzo is one of two new Dragons recruited this season to replace former Dragons Joe Mimran and Michael Wekerle.

A Dragons’ Den welcome

Along with another new Dragon (Lane Merrifield), Guzzo joins a cast of entrepreneurs and investors that also includes Arlene Dickinson (who wasn’t present last week for the première), Manjit Minhas, Michele Romanow and longtime regular Jim Treliving this season.

The show, which airs Thursday evenings at 8 pm, is hosted by the CBC’s Dianne Buckner, who hosted another of the national network’s longtime hits, Marketplace, previously. This season’s 20 Dragons’ Den episodes were taped in Toronto over a three-week period.

An empire from one theatre

Vince Guzzo’s father, Angelo, who has almost always maintained a low profile in the company although he remains chairman of the board, was spotted at the launch, but he kept his presence discreet as usual. The senior Guzzo sowed the seeds for what would become Cinémas Guzzo during the early 1970s.

After arriving in Canada from Italy in 1967, and working for several years at an aircraft manufacturer as a machinist, Angelo Guzzo decided to buy a theatre in 1974. What followed some years after this has become part of the lore of the Canadian movie theatre ownership and management business – which up to the 1970s was dominated by corporate interests based largely in the U.S.

He took on ‘the big guys’

According to a biography of Vincenzo Guzzo posted on the CBC website, “Guzzo always believed he could turn his dad’s small theatre business (along with his own law and business degrees) into the mega-scaled empire it is today. He just needed to take on the big guys. In 1998, Vincenzo did just that, when he sued the biggest movie competition in Canada to gain equal opportunity for the little guy to show first-run releases – and won!”

In addition to Cinémas Guzzo’s 141 screens, nine IMAX cinemas and 10 locations (with three more set to open later this year), the 49-year-old Vincenzo Guzzo also has diversified the family’s investments into a construction subsidiary (Groupe Guzzo Construction Inc.), which is a successful general contractor that built all the Guzzo theatres.

Expanding the business

Most recently, Vincenzo has expanded the operations again and become a restaurateur, opening a chain of trendy Italian pork sandwich locations called ‘Porchetta,’ as well as two successful fine-dining establishments, with a third slated to open this past summer. Guzzo is also selling his porchetta (as well as Cinémas Guzzo movie passes) direct to consumers through Costco outlets.

Along the way, Vincenzo Guzzo and his wife, Maria, have become renowned philanthropists, giving generously to numerous hospitals, culminating in the establishment of the Guzzo Family Foundation in 2007. The foundation has aggressively invested in cancer research at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital and at McGill University.

The season opener of Dragons’ Den, as well as full episodes during the coming TV season and behind-the-scenes content, can be viewed online at cbc.ca/dragonsden.

Renata Isopo, Special to The Laval News

On Thursday, September 20, at the Metalium plant in Laval, Mayor Marc Demers in the presence of Pierre Drapeau – president of L’Association des Fournisseurs de Chantier Davie Canada, Frederik Boisvert – vice president, public relations, at Davie, Canada, and Simon Albert – vice-president of Metalium,  announced his support for the largest Quebec and Canadian maritime shipbuilding plant and for all the shipbuilder’s suppliers and employees residing in Laval.

Laval has partnered with Davie Canada since 2012, considering that suppliers and employees of the shipbuilder are situated on Laval territory.  More than $6 million in contracts and employment was earmarked to revitalize the suffering plant.

An important Laval plant, Metalium was a key partner in the delivery of the Asterix, the first support marine ship of service to the Canadian marines in more than 50 years, and the first ship to be delivered by a Canadian shipbuilder in more than 20 years.

In the framework of the international call to tender for the construction of the new cruise ship, the CTMA VACANCIER,  Laval suppliers are demanding Quebec content of 50% to secure 1600 direct and indirect jobs, and that the half billion dollars of the contract remain in Quebec to benefit the Quebec naval industry.

Mayor Demers stated that in the specific case of the construction of the new cruise ship financed by the Quebec government, “I give my full and wholehearted support to the Laval suppliers requesting the minimum of Quebec content of 50% instead of the projected 30%. This will entirely depend on the  government elected  October 1^”

During a post-conference interview with The Laval News, It was revealed by a reliable source that Davie Canada extended an invitation to all provincial parties to visit the plant in Levis, Quebec.  The PQ attended and offered full support.  It was a no show for the CAQ with no sign of interest.  The PLQ neither attended nor responded to the invitation. Quebec Solidaire, no news.  This is a concern for Davie and Metalium.

Building ships locally means paying attention to regional (Laval) and Quebec shareholders’ profits and respecting the welfare of the sector’s labour force. The shipbuilding industry generates hundreds of jobs-domestic costs that can be negotiated.  For Levis, a city of half million people and few employment opportunities, the impact can be devastating.  The decline is disastrous when the construction of ships is awarded to other countries.  Keeping shipbuilding in Quebec is a battle for shipyard workers that must be waged in this shipyard crisis.

“The CTMA VACANCIER contract  would employ 1900 naval workers,”  stated Pierre Drapeau, adding that not getting the contract would mean a tragic of loss of jobs for 1000 Quebecers.

The marine industry has always been susceptible to structural change and the sector has had to repeatedly adapt to changing circumstances.  For many sectors, the marine industry is one of the most important employers.  The challenges of the shipyard industry are reflected on everyone through subcontractors and suppliers. It’s important that the decision makers, the politicians, co-operate with Davie Canada and its Laval partner Metalium.

Co-operation between the provincial government and the shipping industry is imperative.  Davie and Metalium are eager to secure the much needed boost to the industry.  It will be up to the incoming government to be an engaged and supportive player throughout the entire process and in other important initiatives of the industry.  Significant investment in shipbuilding projects is a shot in the arm for this manufacturing sector and will promote growth for at least three years if Davie and Metalium win CTMA VACANCIER contract. The industry will also spill over to promote growth in other manufacturing subsectors such as fabricated metal products.

“During the unveiling of the marine strategy, the Couillard government had foreseen the creation of 1990 jobs in the naval construction sector,” stated Metalium vice-president Simon Albert.

With more than 1000 jobs lost only at the Davie shipyard,  Albert emphasized that they are far from making up for lost employment, but with the construction of the new cruise ship, it would offer the extraordinary opportunity to rectify the situation, and, rapidly.  For this reason suppliers of the Davie Canada plant, present in more than 13 administrative regions, are demanding that the minimal content granted by the Quebec government be raised from 30% to 50%.

Pierre Drapeau, on behalf of the workers and suppliers who come from all regions of Quebec, thanked Mayor Demers for his leadership in this dossier which is of the utmost importance for the future of the Quebec maritime industry.

Frederik Boisvert, vice president of public affairs at Davie Canada reported the following at the press conference:  “Davie Canada generated economic benefits of three billion dollars since its recovery in 2012.  Its supply chain includes 879 suppliers in Quebec.”

“Davie Canada was elected the North American Naval Plant in 2015—the only Canadian maritime plant to have ever received this distinction,” Boisvert concluded.

Mayor Demers pledged his support and will be active in this project to ensure its success.  Apparently,   the 22 elected members of Laval City Council would have also expressed their support, according to  David De Cotis, City Counsellor for Vimont/Auteuil . De Cotis, former chair of STL and Laval deputy mayor, told The Laval News  in a telephone interview that he would have been present at the press conference had he been informed.  He insisted that Claude LaRochelle, City Counsellor for Fabreville. should have been present since the Metalium plant is located in his jurisdiction.

“Awarding the contract to Davie Canada and Metalium would save jobs, create jobs and be a huge boost to the economy of Laval and Quebec,”  De Cotis concluded, pledging his own support for these two important players in Laval economic affairs.

Martin C. Barry

If laughter is the “best medicine,” as an old bit of folk wisdom maintains, then a group of volunteers from health and social services establishments in Laval got a good dose of it on Sept. 20 when the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval held an event where the volunteers had a chance to upgrade the knowledge and learning for their tasks.

Laughter as medicine

During one of the morning sessions given at the Centre for the protection of children and youth on Cartier Blvd. West, Isabella Bitetto, who is responsible for volunteers and leisure activities at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital and who is also certified in laughter specialist, led a presentation in the importance of laughing.

Bitetto gave the session participants a taste of the training she received from the World Laughter Tour, an organization with local chapters which, according to their website, are part of a “worldwide movement for health, happiness and peace by encouraging everyone to tap into the positive benefits of laughter and humor.” Bitetto took part in a laughter workshop in Montreal in 2009.

Some serious laughter

“The importance of laughing is very serious,” she said without any intentional irony. “Children don’t question and they do it with all their hearts. We the adults we control ourselves because it isn’t always appropriate. But laughing from the heart is a universal language which is understood the world over for the message it expresses: joy, peace and enjoyment.”

Bitetto led the group through a number of physical laughter exercises. While some may have found them a little silly at first, before long it was obvious the mood in the room had grown lighter and that everyone – including yours truly – was more relaxed.

Bitetto’s session prepared the group for the workshop that immediately followed hers, which was on a far more serious topic: how to deal with patients or health and social service clients who are agitated or who are being aggressive.

Dealing with aggression

Josée Meunier, a clinical councillor at the CISSS’s multidisciplinary services department, provided some very valuable tips on recognizing when people are very upset and how to deal with such incidents in the most appropriate manner.

Meunier is a certified Omega trainer, specialized in maximizing the security of employees working in health and social service establishments against any type of aggression they might be exposed to. She summed up four days of information provided during the training in on hour.

“I feel certain that many among you since you have been volunteers have had to face situations involving aggressive behaviour,” she told her audience. And indeed a show of hands revealed that the majority of the volunteers knew exactly what she was talking about.

‘Understanding’ is key

A key message in her talk was that health and social service workers and volunteers should make efforts to try to understand exactly why clients or service users are angry. Among other things, she said body language can also be very important when dealing with tense situations and that workers or volunteers should learn to position themselves in potentially non-threatening ways when facing the unknown.

As well, she said that keeping a measured distance physically from clientele can also be useful as this is less likely to heighten the level of tension when such is the case. As such, she suggested not standing too close to patients or clients so that they don’t feel overwhelmed or don’t end up making the worker or volunteer feel physically overwhelmed.

Meunier noted that some volunteers have been known to resign after being involved in verbal or even physical confrontations with patients or clients because they were so upset afterwards. She suggested that even volunteers need to be prepared for this sort of thing as aggressiveness by some patients and clients has unfortunately become part of life in health and social service establishments.

Martin C. Barry

Sacred Heart School of Montreal is growing again. The school’s international program is growing. The school’s enrolment has grown for a third year. And now Sacred Heart is one of a few select high schools in Quebec – and the first all girls’ school in Montreal – to offer a Grade 12 program.

“Our growth is proof to me that people want values-based education,” says Shawn O’Donnell, Head of the school for the past decade.

“They want an education that is more than just academics and that involves true values and character building,” he says. “We believe there is more of a need for our education and our values-based program than ever.”

Faith-based, but inclusive

With a total school population of 230 girls, Sacred Heart School of Montreal offers boarding for 16 students, with room to accommodate 20 more boarders. The school prides itself on the small class size it offers, as well as a low 6:1 student/faculty ratio. One-hundred per cent of Sacred Heart School of Montreal graduates advance to post-secondary education.

While Sacred Heart School of Montreal was founded and continues to be based on traditional Catholic beliefs and values, girls from a wide spectrum of faiths are enrolled as students. “We’re very inclusive and various faiths are represented at the school,” says O’Donnell.

“Studies show that girls learn differently from boys,” says Director of Advancement Lili Le Fèvre, explaining some of the reasons the school offers single-gender education. According to O’Donnell, the girls are able to learn in a natural environment where they don’t feel pressure from the opposite gender. “They are free to be themselves,” he says.

The Grade 12 program

As of August 2019, Sacred Heart School of Montreal will become the first all girls’ school in Montreal, and one of a select few high schools in the entire province, to offer a Grade 12 program. The program, offered in English, will be delivered online through a partnership with the Ontario Virtual School (OVS), in conjunction with physical classes taught by teaching specialists at Sacred Heart School of Montreal.

Students will be able to choose between a Commerce and a Science stream. Girls must have completed Grade 11, but do not require a Certificate of English Eligibility to attend. At the end of the one-year, full-time program, students will receive a Grade 12 diploma (OSSD) from the Ontario Ministry of Education, enabling them to apply to universities in Quebec, other Canadian provinces, the United States, and throughout the world.

In Montreal since 1861

As part of a world-wide network of Sacred Heart schools operated by the Society of the Sacred Heart in more than 40 countries on six continents, Sacred Heart School of Montreal has been providing faith-based education since 1861 when the Convent of the Sacred Heart first opened its doors as a school for young girls.

At that time, the school was located on St. Hubert St. in Montreal and the enrolment was just 15 pupils. It was only after several changes of location that the current building on Atwater Ave., which has been a landmark for generations, opened in 1928 and started to receive students.

In 1982 the former convent was renamed Sacred Heart School of Montreal, as it underwent a transformation that installed a lay administration, with an understanding they would continue abiding by the mission and philosophy of the founders.

Vast educational experience

Sacred Heart School of Montreal is well-positioned to lead among providers of education in Montreal, in an increasingly crowded domain where some relatively new private educational institutions have no more than a few decades of experience behind them.

A strong point in Sacred Heart’s favor is its direct affiliation with hundreds of other Sacred Heart schools all over the world. With the sort of globe-trotting, fast-paced lives that many successful parents now lead, knowing there’s a Sacred Heart School in a distant city can be comforting.

Using its international network, Sacred Heart School of Montreal has a well-established exchange program that can provide enriching travel and learning experiences to senior students. Some of these exchanges have seen girls from Sacred Heart pursue studies in England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, France, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.