Martin C. Barry

To celebrate Centre du Sablon’s 25^th anniversary, members of the Chomedey community were invited to the centre on Sunday Sept. 16 to take part in a Family Fun Day that included a range of activities and a picnic lunch.

Those who’ve lived in Chomedey longer than a quarter-century may remember a time before Centre du Sablon, when the building and its facilities were operated as the Chomedey branch of the Montreal region’s YM-YWHA organization.

A new beginning in 1993

In the early 1990s when YM-YWHA officials were increasingly finding that keeping their Chomedey centre open was no longer sustainable, a grassroots effort began in Chomedey, with assistance from the City of Laval, to take over the centre with a new mandate to serve a wider spectrum of the population.

“We’re here to stay and we invite families to come in,” said Angelo Faraoni, general manager of the centre, who was hosting the Family Fun day along with Liisa Shafer, Centre du Sablon’s director operations and human resources.

Activities for all

On the grounds behind the centre, staff and volunteers helped conduct demonstrations of yoga as well as exercise “boot camps.” There was also a bake sale, with proceeds going towards reinvesting in the centre’s activities, and there was face-painting for the kids and inflatable games. Strolling magician Blair Marshall was also there to demonstrate some of his powers of illusion.

“After 25 years, Centre du Sablon is, of course, a very important presence in the Chomedey community,” said Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette who came during the afternoon to enjoy some of the festivities.

Chomedey city councillor Aglaia Revelakis sat on the first board of directors that was set up to oversee Centre du Sablon when the centre first came into being. “I am very happy to see how it has evolved over the last 25 years and where we have taken it,” she said.

Thanks expressed to board

“And I would like to congratulate the board of directors,” she continued, “as well as Angela, for the tremendous work they do to keep the centre going and to have activities for the community at large – the English community most.

“The focus is on the English community. It’s open to everybody, but we need an English centre, and this is the focus in Chomedey. We continue building and growing the centre and taking it towards newer paths in the future.”

Du Sablon has lots to offer

According to Shafer, the centre meets the needs of a wide range of residents from Chomedey. “It brings sports and leisure activities to people who might not necessarily be able to afford it,” she said.

“And we offer a vast variety of activities for all ages and all ethnicities. We have Arabic classes, English classes, French classes. We have all sorts of sporting classes, and of course our aquatics. Almost every one of our aquatics classes is full. And we have many special needs classes. There is something here for everyone.”

(TLN)

Once again this year, the Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research will be taking place in Laval. The popular event will be held at Parc des Prairies on Sunday Sept. 16 beginning at 10:30 am. Members of the community are invited to take part in this non-competitive family event by walking or jogging to raise money for the cause.

A number of schools in Laval are holding Terry Fox Days for their students, although on Sept. 16 the Terry Fox Run in Parc des Prairies will be open to all. Participants can solicit donations online beginning from the web site terryfoxrun.org, by gathering donation pledges from friends and family members, or by making donations in person on the day of the Terry Fox Run.

Research paying off

The work done by participants in Terry Fox Day has led to some tremendous results. “We have visited research centres in Montreal where the Terry Fox Foundation financed research projects on cancer,” says Jeffrey Marshall, who has spearheaded organization of the Laval Terry Fox Run in the past few years.

“We must continue to support this very important cause and contribute to helping make Terry Fox’s dream a reality,” he added. “Let’s do our part while participating in Terry Fox Day on Laval this year.” Those wishing to serve as volunteers can get in touch with the organizers qc@terryfox.org, or by calling 1-888-836-9786. For additional information, the web site is www.terryfox.org/fr/.

Martin C. Barry

“Politics is not democracy,” Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Manon Massé told a boisterous crowd of supporters who got together on Sept. 4 at the Dallas Bar on Cartier Blvd. West to launch the party’s 2018 provincial election campaign in the Laval area.

Defining democracy

“Democracy is you,” said Massé, who shares spokesperson status with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “And if you don’t concern yourself with it, you can be sure that the politicians will be taking care of it. We’ve known for a long time that the system as it is currently organized, that the system with the decision-makers we have now, is offering us solutions which make no sense whatever.”

The message from Massé and her party was that “it takes a change of direction with people who have enough courage, like the people from Québec Solidaire, like you, people with enough courage to go and find the money necessary to make the necessary economic change to make sure that our water, our natural resources, and even the relationship between us and nature, is taken care of.”

A ‘radical’ alternative

Massé said the QS members who now sit in the National Assembly don’t want to be there just to vote for a system that never changes. “What we want is to take power because we want to change things profoundly, and I am going to use the word ‘radical.’”

Originally from the town of Windsor in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Massé grew up in a family whose existence depended largely on the paper mill which was and remains that municipality’s principal employer. In talks to Québec Solidaire members, she often emphasizes her working class roots and the necessity for Quebec’s economic strategy to increasingly reflect the needs of workers.

Environmental issues

Québec Solidaire candidate in Laval-des-Rapides Graciela Mateo, who was one of several speakers during the rally, said QS shares the same environmental preoccupations as a large segment of the Quebec population and stands ready to take action.

“The resources of this planet are not inexhaustible,” she said. “Its various eco-systems can’t go on being disturbed indefinitely. There is no time left. Each act counts. We can no longer accept the unacceptable, doing nothing, the absence of political courage to make things happen.

Time to act, says candidate

“We know that if we had better public transit by making it more accessible, we would use our cars less often and we will pollute as well,” she continued, pointing out that Québec Solidaire recently proposed cutting public transit fares in half across the province. She said the party also wants to encourage local and urban farming as another way of reducing pollution while contributing to healthy lifestyles.

“You will find when you see our platform that our plans are ambitious,” she continued. “But there’s a reason for that – there’s no time left and we must act right away. Climate warming is affecting our lives and quality of living in each instant. But only one MNA in the National Assembly isn’t good for much. So we need your participation. But what else do we need? We need Manon Massé in order to have the courage to change things at the root.”

Martin C. Barry

The eleventh annual Notte in Bianco, a dress-white fundraising event held on Sept. 6 at the Terrebonne home of Maria and Vincent Guzzo of Cinémas Guzzo, raised around $300,000 to help support innovative children’s mental health research.

Summer white tradition

Based partly on a summertime party tradition the Guzzos brought back to Montreal from the Hamptons on the ocean coast of New York State where they have spent many summers, dress white is considered ‘de rigueur’ each year for Notte In Bianco.

Several hundred guests pay $1,000 a ticket each year to take part in an event that is regarded as a must on the Montreal social calendar. The guest of honor this year was Steve MacLean, a Canadian astronaut who served as a mission specialist on the International Space Station in September 2006. MacLean is also a former president of the Canadian Space Agency.

Shared concern for youth

The Guzzos discovered recently that MacLean shared their concern for youth mental health causes and decided to invite him aboard for their event. “A lot of youths look up to him since it’s every boy’s or girl’s dream to one day become an astronaut,” said Maria Guzzo. “We decided he was the perfect fit.”

MacLean said in an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia that when he was asked, he accepted without hesitation, “because it is an important issue. But especially there are now ways to deal with youth mental health problems. It’s something that if caught early enough, intervention can really make a difference. I’m here to support that.”

Guest star Gloria Gaynor

The evening’s star musical guest was 1970s-era disco queen Gloria Gaynor, best known for her hits ‘I Will Survive’ and ‘Never Can Say Goodbye.’ In the past, Notte In Bianco has welcomed Corey Hart, Taylor Dane, Ginette Reno and many others. This year’s guest list also included Hydro Quebec CEO Michael Penner, Parasuco Jeans founder Sal Parasuco, as well as Nadia Saputo, a member of the Saputo family of Saputo dairy products fame.

Although proceeds from Notte In Bianco went for the first eight years towards a research chair at University of Montreal investigating links between environmental causes and cancer, in 2015 the Guzzos decided that goal had been attained and shifted the focus of their fundraising towards youth mental health.

Numerous causes supported

However, according to Maria Guzzo, part of the funds raised each year through Notte In Bianco continue to support an imaging unit at the Jewish General Hospital’s Pavilion K emergency department, as well as to the Shriners’ Hospital which they also furnished with equipment used for medical imaging.

The imaging units were donated to better accommodate patients at the hospitals’ emergency departments as well as to provide a more functional working environment for health professionals. The units reduce test wait times for patients in emergency, thus shortening waiting times for test information coming from external clinics.

Martin C. Barry

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board chairwoman Jennifer Maccarone, who is running for the Quebec Liberals in Westmount-St. Louis in the Oct. 1 provincial election, says she isn’t taking victory for granted, even though voters in the riding have been known for generations as being PLQ supporters.

Working the territory

“I think what’s important in any election is that the candidates get out and work their territory to make sure that they’re well known, while taking the time to understand the needs of the community that they intend to represent,” Maccarone said in a recent interview.

“Nobody has a crystal ball to see what’s in front of them,” she added. “That being said, I’m going to be a hundred per cent committed to the campaign to make sure that I do my best to earn the respect and right to represent the citizens.”

Opposes CAQ plans

Maccarone, who until recently chaired the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) while spearheading opposition to the Liberal government’s discarded plan to close school boards, said the Coalition Avenir Québec’s ongoing agenda to do away with school commissions was one of the main reasons she decided to run.

“The CAQ’s platform is in large part one of the things that gave me the impetus to want to launch myself into politics and be part of the Liberal team,” she said. She said she stands by the PLQ’s commitment to defending the rights of Anglophones.

Says PLQ defends Anglos

“They [the PLQ] have made it clear that their platform and their commitment to the English-language minority community is the only one that we can genuinely count on going forward in the upcoming election,” she said.

“They’ve made it clear that it is their intention to protect our minority language institutions – school boards included. And the CAQ has made it very clear that their intentions are disrespectful and their intentions are to completely dismantle and destroy the institutions that are very important to us.”

Martin C. Barry

A large crowd of supporters of incumbent Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette gathered at a Notre Dame Blvd. office on Aug. 28 for the launch of Ouellette’s 2018 provincial election campaign.

Liberal since 1960

This will be the fifth campaign the Quebec Liberal Party veteran wages in a riding where support for the PLQ remains highest among the six provincial ridings in the Laval region. Voters in this area of Laval have consistently voted Liberal since 1960.

Joking with the crowd, Ouellette pointed out that the photo used on his campaign poster makes him appear ageless. “For those of you who’ve seen my picture on the wall, I was told that for this campaign – I don’t know if it’s Photoshop – but with my old 2007 photo and with the one from 2018 I seem to have just a little bit more grey, I seem to be growing younger with the years,” he quipped.

Won’t be easy, says Ouellette

While Ouellette won the 2014 election in Chomedey with a record 73 per cent share of the vote (a level not seen since 1985 when former PLQ MNA Lise Bacon won with more than 72 per cent support), he told supporters at this latest launch:

“This will not be an easy campaign. But I will tell you that I am very, very happy to be starting this campaign with you all. I think we have come a long way over the past 11 years.”

While acknowledging this, Ouellette also wished all his volunteers and other supporters success while helping out on his campaign. “I am pleased that you are here with us tonight,” he said. “Good campaign, and just spread the word that in Chomedey on Oct. 1 it will stay Liberal.”

Aiming for six of out six

At the same time, he noted a pattern in Quebec provincial elections that involves Laval’s six ridings. “If we want to be in government we need to have six ridings in Laval,” he said. “Without six it’s dangerous. And normally at six Liberal MNAs in Laval we are in power.”

Noting that Laurier-Dorion Liberal candidate George Tsantrizos was also present at the launch, Ouellette said, “We need him and I want to be in the National Assembly with George Oct. 2.” Not to be forgotten, he also told his supporters, many of whom are from countries such as Greece, Lebanon or Morocco, that they should remember to remind friends and relatives, who may be overseas around election time, to be back to vote on Oct. 1.

A demanding riding

“Every riding is different, but this is a riding where you need to work seven days a week because the citizens of Chomedey like to see their MNA over weekends,” Ouellette said in an interview with the Laval News. He noted that the 2012 provincial election marked the first time in recent memory that the Laval region’s National Assembly seats were split, with two seats going to the Parti Québécois and four to the Liberals. At that time, the PQ formed a short-lived government.

Pointing out that the Laval Liberal MNAs worked proactively for 18 months with the PQ government, Ouellette said, “I can tell you that a caucus divided in Laval is not in the interests of the people, because the files and the importance of Laval need to be recognized in Quebec City. Laval is a city that is in expansion mode for the future so it needs to be adequately represented at the government level. In my experience over five campaigns, having MNAs who are all Liberal in Laval with a government that is also Liberal is beneficial for everyone.”

Martin C. Barry

Even though summer isn’t officially over until mid-September, it came to an unofficial close in Laval this past Labour Day Sunday when the city held the Fête de la Famille at the Centre de la Nature.

A true ‘family day’

Laval’s annual “family day” celebration devoted to moms, dads and kids was back with music, shows inflatable games and much more. While some rain fell, it wasn’t enough to keep away families determined to have fun – although there were noticeably fewer people at this year’s Fête de la Famille event.

Personnel from the Laval Fire Department were on hand as always to give hands-on demonstrations of firefighting techniques. There was also stage entertainment, animals for petting, as well as boats and canoes to be rented on the lake.

An election year Fête

Being a provincial election year, it would have been a fair bet that candidates from many parties would be at the Centre de la Nature soliciting electors’ support. As it was, the Laval News ran into a small delegation from the Laval chapter of the Parti Québécois that included the party’s six candidates in the region and some of their supporters.

The City of Laval plans to hold the next Fête de la Famille on Sunday Sept. 2 next year from 10 am to 6 pm. As always, all the activities will be free. The program of activities will made available next summer.

Martin C. Barry

An ongoing factional dispute on Laval city council involving standing committee and governing board appointments saw city councillor and former executive-committee second-in-command David De Cotis undergo a virtual meltdown during the Sept. 4 council session.

This came after Mayor Marc Demers reversed De Cotis’s previous appointment as head of the STL – which had been made by opposition councillors in June when they still were the majority – in order to name a councillor of Demers’s own choosing to head the Laval transit corporation’s board.

Had been on good terms

De Cotis was president of the STL from 2014 to 2017, having been appointed by Demers following the 2013 election when the Mouvement Lavallois first swept into office, replacing the administration of disgraced former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. Following the 2017 election, De Cotis and Demers appeared to be on good terms under the banner of the ML, which De Cotis had essentially founded.

However, after the 2017 election Demers appointed Councillor Gilbert Dumas as the new head of the STL, while De Cotis was given new responsibilities involving economic development. Although De Cotis had no obvious objections at first, his departure from the ranks of the ML earlier this year, along with several other  former ML councillors, to sit with the opposition was followed by the opposition’s move to remove Dumas and restore De Cotis as the STL’s head.

De Cotis speaks his mind

Most of the Sept. 4 council meeting, including the public question period, took place in an overall atmosphere of decorum and order. However, about three-quarters through, after an item for appointing Saint-François councillor Éric Morasse as STL board president was approved – with some justifying statements by the mayor – De Cotis raised his voice to speak. Doing so, he spoke out of turn, against council protocol, and in defiance of official speaker Christiane Yoakim. Suffice it to say that he held nothing back.

Among other things, De Cotis told Demers “you’re a liar” and “a liar is what you are” in response to the mayor’s explanations of why De Cotis was removed and replaced by Morasse. De Cotis continued in that vein until Yoakim seemed ready to signal two Laval Police officers that De Cotis should be removed. De Cotis gradually contained himself and finally went silent.

Demers justifies his actions

Justifying his actions, the mayor maintained that De Cotis had been delinquent in his duties as head of the STL when he failed to notify city council’s executive-committee that a $648,000 STL contract for computer data management wouldn’t immediately be awarded after being withdrawn from STL board’s July meeting agenda.

Defending himself, although clearly in a very agitated state, De Cotis maintained that during his nearly four-year mandate heading the STL he was never called upon by the mayor to provide an account of STL board decisions. “What he’s saying is lies,” insisted De Cotis. “You are accusing me of having badly managed the STL and it is exactly the opposite.”

De Cotis also objected to the mayor’s assertions that Councillor Morasse had better qualifications to head the STL board. Among other things, Morasse was listed as a member of the board of a citizens’ committee for mass transit in east-end Laval when he was a candidate for the Mouvement Lavallois before the 2017 municipal elections.

De Cotis defends his record

De Cotis pointed out that his own professional curriculum over the past 15 years or so includes more than a decade of mid-level project management at Bombardier Aerospace, as well as four years of similar experience at Via Rail Canada.

While the mayor recently was able to re-establish an administration majority on council by persuading a few dissident councillors to sit once again with the ML, in the end the vote for Morasse to head the STL was deadlocked at 10 councillors for and 10 against. Council speaker Yoakim was forced to vote in favour in order to get the motion passed.

Among the dissident councillors who recently accepted the mayor’s invitation to return to the ML fold, Councillor Aline Dib (Saint-Martin) suddenly bolted from the chamber just as it became evident a vote was going to be taken, while Councillor Sandra El-Helou (Souvenir-Labelle) voted unhesitatingly against the nomination of Morasse. A third, Councillor Aram Elagoz (Renaud), chose to vote in favour.

Laval-Ouest wants new skatepark

During the public question period, Joel St-Pierre, a resident of Laval-Ouest since last year, told Mayor Demers  that a skatepark located in St-Antoine Park in Laval-Ouest is badly in need of maintenance and repairs. He suggested that a new skatepark made of concrete should be developed.

“It is the new standard in the industry and needs less maintnance,” St-Pierre said, while noting that skateboarding has been accepted as an Olympic event at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. He submitted a copy of an online petition with more than 180 supporting signatures. Demers acknowledged that there is a demand in various areas of Laval for new skateparks and that the city is evaluating whether to place them on a list of recreation service priorities.