City Watch

Adding to Laval’s architectural heritage

In order to update and enrich Laval’s architectural heritage, the City has added to its Inventory of Architectural Heritage a new listing of 789 heritage properties. This catalogue adds to the list amassed in 2015, which included 1949 properties. For the City, the new inventory provides an additional tool which will be used to guide decisions to better intercede in the conservation and enhancement of Laval’s building cultural heritage. This inventory will soon be available on the City’s history and heritage website (histoire.laval.ca) and in open data on the Quebec government’s Data Québec (donnesquebec.ca) website.

Grant applications to CALQ to benefit Maison des Arts

The City of Laval will present three requests for support to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) for the operations of the Salle Alfred-Pellan at the Maison des Arts. The support will allow the center to organize public exhibitions as well as receive work from outside Quebec under its Project Suburbs! 2018 program. Also, funds will help to support the specific programming of the 2018-2019 season at the Salle Alfred-Pellan.
Maison des arts de Laval’s mission is to offer high-level, multidisciplinary artistic programing and to provide the best possible venues for its display. Artistic endeavors supported include contemporary conceptions in creative theater, contemporary dance, world music and visual arts mainly targeting young audiences. The programming is also supported by publicity and activities used to raise public awareness designed to gain audience support.

Display in arenas

The members of the executive committee approved the renewal of the five-year agreement with the ARSEL / CSL Laval Sport Grouping for advertising in municipal arenas, for the period from February 1^st 2018 to January 30^th 2023. The Guimond Sports Complex, recently acquired by the City of Laval, was included in the agreement, to which was added the option of installing two digital screens in this arena entrance hall.

Requests for financial assistance

As part of the City of Laval’s financial assistance and special events support program, members of the executive committee granted a $ 65,000 grant to the Center des artistes for the Diapason Independent Music Festival. This festival which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year will take place from July 5^th to 8^th in 2018 in the Sainte-Rose district. Diapason showcases a collection of emerging artists from Laval and all across Quebec.

The Laval Regional Soccer Association will host the Toyota U15 2018 Soccer National Championships in Laval from October 2^nd to the 8^th. In order to support the Association in the organization of this major event, the members of the executive committee have granted financial assistance of $ 40,000 to the organization. Every year, the National Soccer Championships take place simultaneously in three different cities across the country and are composed of three events, the U-15 Cup, the U-17 Cup as well as the Jubilee Trophy and Trophy Challenge. For 2018 the cities of Laval, Saskatoon and Surrey have been selected to host the country’s top soccer competition events for some 550 players, coaches, support staff and officials from all of Canada.

From March 13^th to 18^th Collège Montmorency welcomed teams from across the country to compete in the Canadian Men’s Basketball Championship. The City has provided $ 5,000 in financial support to the organization for this event.

On March 23^rd the Alzheimer Society of Laval (SAL) held its big fundraising evening, the goal of which was to raise funds to help finance the direct services offered to the people of Laval. A grant of $ 5,000 was awarded to the organization to support the event. Alzheimer Society of Laval is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help and support people affected by Alzheimer’s disease or a related illness, as well as to educate and inform the public and professionals who work with the affected people. It also contributes to research.

A grant of $ 5,000 was awarded to the Water Interpretation Center (CIEAU), which organized a fundraising event on March 22^nd to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary and to organize a tribute to its builders. The revenues generated by this evening will, in particular, help develop the scientific teaching offer of C.I.EAU and facilitate the relocation of the center scheduled for September 2018.

To support the contribution of its partners in the field of sport, the city of Laval is working with the Regroupement du sport a Laval ARSEL / CSL. The $ 83,000 agreement approved by the members of the executive committee will finance the organization whose responsibilities are to support the Laval regional sport associations through various programs.

Laval partner of HackQC 2018

The members of the executive committee have given a contribution of $ 5,000 for the holding of the HackQC 2018. This second edition of the provincial hackathon will be hosted on the premises of the ÉTS (School of Higher Technologies) from May 4^th to May 6^th. A hackathon is a multi-day event. It brings together programmers, analysts, project managers specializing in computer programming technologies to collaborate on the development of applications on a specific theme.

The programming competition will bring together nine partner cities. The purpose of the event is to promote the development of the open data network of the Data Québec portal. This government platform, of which Laval is one of the five founding cities, brings together nearly 1,000 open data sets from several Quebec ministries, organizations and municipalities.

About 250 participants from academic and professional circles are expected to attend. Environment will be highlighted for this edition of the hackathon. Especially for the occasion, the partner cities will release their collected data on climate change, urban forestry and air quality.

Toponymic Naming Policy

The new Toponymic Naming Policy was adopted by the members of the Executive Committee and will be submitted for approval by City Council. It forms a formal framework for giving names to streets, roads, public buildings, parks or public places of interest. With this policy, the members of the executive committee also adopted a resolution creating the city’s toponymy committee. A call for nominations to recruit the members who will form this committee, which will be headed by Orée-de-Bois city councilor Yannick Langlois, will be published shortly by the Governance Secretariat.

$ 40,000 Grant to the Laval Beers Festival

As part of its financial assistance and special events support program, the city of Laval has awarded a $ 40,000 grant to the Laval beer festival. This festival, now in its 4^th edition will take place from July 13^th to the 15^th 2018 at Laval Centre de la Nature (Nature Center). The event provides festival-goers the opportunity to discover and sample a diverse inventory of fermented beverages most of which are brewed in Quebec. More than forty microbreweries will present their products. The festival also includes shows, presentations, street entertainers and a playground for children.

City Watch

Hôtel de ville de Laval, au 1 Place du Souvenir, Laval, Québec, Canada.

A pilot project with Quebec’s Department of Health and Social Services to control ragweed

The executive committee approved an agreement between the City of Laval and the Ministry of Health and Social Services concerning a pilot project for the control of ragweed in the residential areas of Sainte-Rose, Vimont and Auteuil. Financial assistance in the amount of $61,092.50 comes from the Green Fund of the Government of Quebec’s 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change and covers 75% of project expenses. This pilot project will be implemented this summer and involves inspecting vacant lots in targeted areas to inventory the presence of ragweed and test modified mowing practices. Pollen measurements will be taken daily upstream and downstream of the project areas to assess the effectiveness of the measures employed.

5th edition of Laval Earth Week

The city of Laval will promote various environmental activities as part of Laval Earth Week from April 16^th to 22th in partnership with various associations in the community. A plethora of planned activities include a guided tour of the Sainte-Rose water treatment plant, the Grand Spring Cleanup, a used bicycle collection and an afternoon of poetry on the theme of rivers. A day dedicated to celebrating natural milieus will also be presented.

Also, on April 22^nd a mobile waste collection (ecocentre) will be located at 1333 Chomedey Blvd. for the collection of hazardous household waste, electronic equipment as well as compostable waste. The City of Laval will have its first own permanent ecocentre in 2019, which is budgeted for in the 2019-2020 Three-Year Capital Works Program. In the meantime, the City is giving citizens the opportunity to bring their household waste that is not eligible for the regular trash to the mobile ecocentre which is set up at different locations on pre-set dates throughout the year. To find out the dates and locations of upcoming mobile collections consult the event page in the activities calendar of Laval’s web site.

Contract with Harpagon Theater

The Executive Committee approved a service agreement contract with Harpagon Theater for the operation of the Open-Air Theater program for 2018. This program showcases emerging professional artists in a production created to be diffused in an outdoor environment during summer. The program goal is to produce a new show annually that will be presented at the Nature Center its first year of production. The following summer the theatrical presentation will go on tour to diverse municipal parks of Laval. The productions are intended for young audiences and families and this format promotes accessibility to cultural spectacles free of charge. The city is financing the group in the amount of $108,297.25 (including taxes).

New Guidelines for Immigration and Cultural Diversity

The City of Laval will develop a policy paper on Immigration and Cultural Diversity. This project is part of Laval’s Strategic Vision for 2035 and will provide the municipality with a tool to help manage the integration of immigrants and the emerging cultural plurality. Given the evolution of Laval’s socio-demographic characteristics over the last twenty years, illustrated by a growing increase in the immigrant population (an increase of 84.1% between 2001 and 2011 and a proportion of 28.5% of the total population in 2016), Laval wishes to emphasize its role from a perspective of a welcoming city for immigration. The emphasis will center on two areas: the development of a document that will define the values, main principles and regional orientations for immigration and cultural diversity and the development and definition of a policy statement to guide the delivery and adaptation of municipal services to newly arrived citizens.

Contribution Agreement

On October 27th, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honorable Mélanie Joly, informed Ville de Laval that she approved, under the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, a contribution of $ 2,700,000 for the realization of the relocation project of the Armand-Frappier Biosciences Interpretation Center. Under section 3.11 of the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (chapter M-30) of Quebec, it is necessary to obtain the authorization of the Québec government in order to enter into a contribution agreement with a department of the federal government. To this end, the City of Laval has obtained an order from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy to finalize the contribution agreement with the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Laval host of the 42nd edition of the AQAIRS Development Session

From May 28^th to 31^st 2019 Laval will host the 42^nd edition of the development session of the Quebec Association of arenas, recreational and sports facilities (AQAIRS). This group of professionals include managers of recreational and sports facilities and sports club and includes nearly 400 members across the province of Quebec. Some 250 delegates from all regions of Quebec are expected to take part in the event. Members of AQAIRS provide leasing expertise and technical support for recreational and sports facilities in Quebec. The functions of this association are complementary to other networks recognized in Quebec such as AQLM (which operate in municipal recreation) and ARAQ (responsible for aquatic facilities).

Daniel Hébert to represent Laval in the Alliance of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Citiesc

At its meeting of March 21^st 2018 Laval’s executive committee approved its inclusion in the Alliance of the Cities of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. According to its by-laws only members or their authorized representatives may participate in the voting procedure at the Annual General Meeting therefore Daniel Hébert, Marigot District Councilor, has been appointed to represent interests of Laval.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is working actively with states, provinces, federal governments, First Nations, industries and organizations for the long-term protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed includes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, as well as the St. Lawrence River and related bodies of water such as Lake of Two Mountains and the Rivières des Mille Îles et Prairies.

Seven Laval citizens appointed to the Environmental Advisory Committee

The executive committee has named the seven Laval citizens who will sit on the Environmental Advisory Committee (Comité consultatif en environnement (CCE)). They include: Jean Lavoie, Elsa Dufresnes-Arbique, Réjean Gravel, Patrice Desrochers, Fatiha Bensadia, Sophie Blanchet-Vaugeois and Julie Vespoli.

Members of the CCE will analyze at the requests of the executive committee or the Environmental Service issues related to environment and to give their opinion. The Committee is chaired by Virginie Dufour, member of the executive committee, Sainte-Rose municipal councilor and environmental affairs officer. Aram Elagoz, District Councilor of Renaud also sits as an elected member.

  ENAP collaborates with the Fire Department

The Fire Security Service conducts promotion examinations for the ranks of Lieutenant, Captains and Officers in the Prevention Division every even calendar year. Since the promotion process include an assessment of administrative skills, the City of Laval has reached an agreement with the National School of Public Administration (ENAP). According to the terms of this agreement, ENAP will assist in the development of tools adapted to the needs unionized managers of the Fire Safety Service as well as aiding during the promotion processes. An ENAP professional will be part of the selection committee during the final interviews.