Martin C. Barry

If one thing became clear during a public consultation held at Église Saint-Martin in Chomedey Oct. 24 on Laval’s parking policies, it’s that an overwhelming majority of people want the city to abandon its wintertime policy requiring car owners to park on alternate sides of streets to accommodate snow removal.

“It’s about time I think,” Chomedey city councillor Aglaia Revelakis said in an interview with the Laval News. “The residents in my district have come to me numerous times to complain about this issue.”

New parking rules coming

Under the city’s recent rules for winter season street parking, car owners have been required to abide by posted restrictions prohibiting parking from Oct. 30 to April 30. However, according to Revelakis, this year because of warmer than usual weather the city decided not to begin the winter season parking period until Nov. 1.

While the alternate-side parking regulations will be in effect this winter, a new system of parking rules is expected to come into effect next year, reflecting suggestions made by the residents during the consultations. In addition to the Oct. 24 consultation meeting, the city has also been holding consultations in other districts of Laval.

Facts on parking here

Some basic facts about cars and parking in Laval: In all, there are 250,000 cars in Laval. That number breaks down to 1.6 automobiles per household. Excluding private driveways, there are 520,000 parking spaces in Laval (42 per cent on the street, 58 per cent off-street. Three-quarters of the drivers in Laval have at least two parking spaces located on private property.

Following a plenary session, during which the nearly 80 residents at the meeting broke up into a half-dozen focus groups to discuss parking problems, an overwhelming majority agreed the city should abandon the wintertime alternate-side street parking system and find another way to carry out snow removal.

Alternate parking disliked

“Alternate parking has got to go – it should never have been there in the first place,” said longtime resident Nick Furfaro. “Second, is that the city should rethink its whole cycling situation. Because I think that too much importance has been given to having the cycling paths, in comparison with how many people actually use them.

“We’re not in Europe,” added Furfaro. “We’re in Quebec. We know exactly our situation in summer and winter. So should we have some cycling paths? Yes. But should we have them to the extent that we now have them and in the space that they occupy? I think the answer is no.”

Many parking complaints

In an interview with the Laval News, l’Abord-à-Plouffe city councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis conceded that, like Revelakis, he too has had to contend with grievances about parking. “Complaints in general about the parking,” he said.

“In the winter, it’s inevitable because of the snow and the parking situation gets tighter. It’s a combination of factors. Used to be that if it snowed on a weekend, the city wouldn’t be able to tackle it until the start of the week. But the rules have changed now. The employees for the city will be working all weekend so hopefully that will improve things.

Changing the culture

“It’s very hard to change the culture of people,” Karidogiannis added. “Thinking that they can dump their snow wherever they feel like. When you clear your driveway, that snow has to stay on your property. It doesn’t go out onto the street. That just augments the problem.

“There are all sorts of little things like this during the winter. But as we have learned during this consultation, there is an abundance of parking in Laval. We just need to find ways to maximize its potential. I think there are a lot of people who think that the space for two or three vehicles on the street in front of their home is their space, and if they can’t find parking in front of their home they get upset.

Garages not being used

“And a lot of people also don’t use their driveways for whatever reason or their garages,” said Karidogiannis. “A lot of them have been turned into storage spaces. Mind you, the size of cars has changed from what they were back in the day. In any case, there are a lot of adjustments to make in the thinking of people. We’re a growing city – especially Chomedey. It’s very dense, a lot more housing and a lot more cars. So parking a short distance from your house or around the corner or on another street is a reality we have to face and hopefully people start adjusting their attitude about it.”

Martin C. Barry

Patriotic Greeks from all over Montreal joined elected officials from across the region and leaders from the Hellenic community for a ceremony on Oct. 28 at the Greek Community Centre in Côte des Neiges marking the 78^th anniversary of the historic day during World War II when Greece rejected its occupation by Axis forces.

Ohi Day is celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and Greek communities around the world each year to commemorate the refusal by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas when presented with an ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on Oct. 28, 1940.

When Greece said ‘No’

The ultimatum was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador to Greece. It demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain strategic locations, or otherwise face war. The name for the day comes from Metaxas’ straightforward reply. “No,” he is reputed to have said curtly, following which he added, “Then it is war.”

In response, Italian troops stationed in Albania, which was an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border, marking the beginning of Greece’s involvement in World War II. On the morning of Oct. 28, Greeks took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting “Ohi.” Since 1942, it has been a national celebration marked annually.

Many dignitaries present

Dignitaries who attended this year’s event organized by the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal included the Consul General in Montreal for Greece Michalis Gavriilidis, the Ambassador from the Republic of Cyprus Vasilios Philippou, Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif, Saint-Laurent Liberal MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros, Laval city councillor for Chomedey Aglaia Revelakis, Montreal city councillor for Bordeaux-Cartierville Effie Giannou, and local Greek community representatives.

In a keynote address, HCGM president Nicholas Pagonis noted that Ohi Day, which took place near the beginning of WWII, marked the first time an Axis power encountered firm resistance. “That was something remarkable which no other nation at that point in time had been able to achieve,” he said.

The new Greek Consul

In an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia, Consul General Gavriilidis said that in the two months since he arrived in Montreal, he’s already had the opportunity to meet many local Greeks as well as other Canadian citizens and residents. Previously stationed in the Austrian city of Vienna, Gravriilidis’s duties there included multilateral diplomacy.

He takes over responsibilities in Montreal which were previously handled by former Consul General Nicolas Sigalas. “Greeks often need the Greek state next to them to help them get through all the paperwork they sometimes have to do to manage their affairs in Greece,” Gavriilidis said. “The Montreal community is very close to Greece and we are here to support them in any way we can.”

Martin C. Barry

Is marijuana a gateway drug? Is it addictive? Are teenagers vulnerable to the effects of marijuana? Recently Canada became one of the few countries in the world to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

The debate surrounding its legalization has been in the spotlight in Canada and most westernized countries. Proponents of legalization frequently point out the huge social, economic, political and law enforcement costs related to the “war on drugs.”

Scientific evidence

Despite all these things, one thing has become certain: Now it is time that to use science to answer to some of the questions relating to the use of cannabis.

In a highly-detailed and scientifically-focused presentation on Oct. 18 at Concordia University’s Loyola Campus on the purely evidence-based aspects of the effects of cannabis on people, Dr. Mary C. Olmstead, a professor of psychology and addictions researcher at Queen’s University, discussed the long-term impact of cannabis use on brain function.

Teenagers most at risk

Although she didn’t necessarily have all the answers to the questions, Dr. Olmstead maintained that continued neuroscience research should inform the development of guidelines for recreational marijuana use in the future, while suggesting that so far the issue has been driven primarily by political considerations. Her exposé also made clear that adolescents are primarily at risk if they start using cannabis.

Regarding the persistent rumor that today’s marijuana is many times stronger than the substance which was produced and smoked by an earlier generation during the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Olmstead confirmed that in the last 40 or 50 years “the compound composition of cannabis – at least street cannabis – has changed dramatically.

Rising psychoactivity

“In the 1960s, the average cannabis plant that would be confiscated on the street in North America contained around 3 per cent of THC [the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana]. And within the last 10 years this has risen sometimes as high as 30 per cent.”

Conversely, cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid found in marijuana which does not have intoxicating effects and is believed to actually counter THC, has fallen by a comparatively equal amount, she added. “So it really is true that the marijuana that’s on the streets these days is far more potent than it was 40 years ago.”

The ‘gateway drug’ theory

Describing the effects of THC, Dr. Olmstead said that “at relatively low doses there’s often a feeling of euphoria or well-being. As the dose is increased, there’s feelings of anxiety, impaired cognition.”

If she didn’t necessarily debunk certain beliefs often associated with drug abuse, Dr. Olmstead pointed out nonetheless that some ideas, like the notion of a “gateway drug” that invites individuals into full-blown addiction, had its origins in a New York City adolescent drug use study during the 1970s. According to the findings, the use of marijuana always preceded the use of other illicit drugs.

Teenage use of cannabis

“If you’re using cannabis during adolescence, the risk of increased addiction is much higher,” she acknowledged. “In fact, in some of these studies they talk about the linear relationship: the younger you begin, the more you use, the higher the risk. So I would say that is actually not debated.”

Citing other studies involving exposure to harder drugs, she continued, “There is something unique about the adolescent brain that makes it particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of drug administration, that seems to be coming across.

Risk of psychiatric disorders

“If cannabis is administered or if there’s a high level of cannabis exposure during this period, then the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders increases dramatically,” she continued, noting that teenagers are particularly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders during adolescence.

Of all the evidence compiled in a review of health problems caused by cannabis, Dr. Olmstead said “the one thing that is emerging that is reasonably conclusive is that in vulnerable individuals, someone who has risk factors for psychotic conditions who begins using cannabis in adolescence, the risk of psychosis is increased.”

TLN

The Giant Steps Foundation hosted its annual general assembly on Oct. 17. The audited financial statements were presented and another terrific year was reported by the foundation. The board members were elected and a review of the events of the year was confirmed. Giant Steps’ annual auction, the school’s largest event for the 2018-2019 year, will be held on May 8 at Le Windsor in downtown Montreal. For more information on this event, please write to foundation@giantstepsmontreal.com.