Martin C. Barry

Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif has announced that Bio-K Plus International Inc. has been approved for a grant of up to $50,000 to allow the company to reach new markets in the United States with their probiotic capsules and beverages.

According to Nassif, who made the announcement on April 24 at Bio-K’s headquarters on Armand Frappier Blvd. in Laval, the funding will be used to help raise consumers’ awareness about the health benefits of probiotic products, while increasing Bio-K Plus exports to the United States.

Rising awareness of product

With well-targeted promotional activities such as product demonstrations and tradeshow exhibits, the company hopes to increase demand for their products in all regions of the U.S. Probiotics are microorganisms which are believed to provide health benefits when taken orally. Since the late 1990s, the market for consumable probiotic products has grown as the public’s awareness of their benefits has also become greater.

The funding is being provided through the federal government’s Growing Forward 2 AgriMarketing program. Nassif said the Liberal government is committed to helping farmers and food processors grow their businesses, expand existing markets at home and abroad and create jobs to benefit the sector and all Canadians.

Expanding into global market

“Advances in innovation, such as this line of probiotics, help to keep Canada on the cutting edge,” said Nassif. “The government of Canada proudly contributes to expanding markets globally, which improves agricultural business competitiveness, creating jobs, helping grow the middle class and fostering long-term growth for the sector in Vimy and all across the country.”

Nassif praised the company for the progress it has made over the past two decades. “In 20 or so years, you have built a world-class business, while introducing consumers throughout the world to your products,” she said, while noting that Bio-K grew from 10 employees in the beginning to 100 now.

Company creates jobs

Nassif said the company is an example of the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to create employment in the Canadian economy, and that Bio-K is considered a pioneer in its domain through the development of cutting-edge and scientifically-based production methods. “If Canada remains at the forefront, it’s thanks to your advances in innovation – your range of probiotics being a good example. I have a lot of respect for everything you do.”

“This financial assistance will help with our development in the United States,” said Isabèle Chevalier who is co-president of Bio-K Plus International along with her brother François-Pierre. “The funding will be used, among other things, to hire a resource in the U.S. territory and to develop our worldwide innovation, which is recognized by Health Canada for the primary prevention of Clostridium difficile infections in order to reduce infections and alleviate the suffering of patients in hospitals,” she added.

Species known to invade homes in Canada include the carpenter ant, the little black ant, the odorous house ant, the thief ant, and the pharaoh ant. While some of them can sting, most of them are not aggressive. However, carpenter ants are well known for their ability to damage wooden structures and they can become a nuisance.

Here are some tips to find carpenter ants:

1. Completely inspect areas of high moisture, wood in contact with the soil, areas where ventilation is poor, and exposed structural lumber.
2. Figure out if there is actually an infestation of carpenter ants or if it is just individual ants wandering in the house. Look for a high concentration of ants in a particular area like under the kitchen sink.
3. Pay attention to foraging ants and the patterns of their movement. For example, there may be a trail communicating with a parent colony outside. (Note: ants are most active after sunset.)
4. Notice if there are swarms of winged ants trying to escape to the outdoors, usually in the spring.
5. Look for piles of sawdust-like borings outside galleries dug by ants.
6. Listen for the sound of an active colony, which will create a dry rustling noise that can be heard best at night during high ant activity and quiet time in the house. Use a wine glass or stethoscope to listen to the walls.

Ants

What are they?

Ants are tiny insects and may be black, brown, red, or yellow. Adult ants range in size from as small as 1 millimetre (1/16 to 1/32 inch), like little black ants and thief ants, to as large as 13 millimetres (1/2 inch), like carpenter ants.

Should I be concerned?

Most ants commonly found in Canada are not aggressive, although some can sting. Ants should be tolerated as much as possible since they cause little damage in the garden. They can even be considered beneficial because they eat other insects like young silverfish and moths.

Species known to invade homes in Canada include the carpenter ant, the little black ant, the odorous house ant, the thief ant, and the pharaoh ant. Pavement ants can become a nuisance in lawns, gardens, and pathways, as well as indoors.

Carpenter ants are larger than other species, although the sizes of the workers vary. They can cause structural damage to homes as they destroy wood to make room for their nests. Piles of sawdust may mean you have carpenter ants.

How can I get rid of ants?

Prevention

Ant colonies send out scouts to search for food. Ants are attracted to many types of food. They enjoy eating sugary and greasy foods (like peanut butter or crumbs) and are also attracted to the “honeydew” produced by aphids on infested houseplants. A successful scout leaves a scented trail for other workers to follow back to the food source.

Removing access to food and water is the easiest way to avoid pest problems:

• Store ant-attractive foods in glass jars with rubber gaskets, or in plastic containers with lids that snap tight.
• Keep kitchen countertops clean. Sweep or vacuum the floor often, especially around pet dishes.
• Rinse containers before putting them in the garbage or in recycling bins.
• Empty kitchen garbage containers often.
• Place composters at a reasonable distance from your house.
• Place pet food dishes in a shallow dish of water. Ants can’t swim, so they won’t be able to get at your pet’s food.

Physical control

• Repair and seal as many visible cracks in the foundation and exterior walls of your house as possible.
• Indoors, caulk along baseboards, cracks, and crevices to keep ants from passing through your house. If needed, use duct tape or petroleum jelly to temporarily seal cracks.
• Ants will not cross sticky barriers. Try placing two-sided tape around the legs of plant stands.
• Flood ant nests repeatedly with a garden hose to encourage the ants to move farther away from your house.
• Pour boiling water and detergent down the nest to temporarily reduce the population of a colony.

Non-chemical products

• Diatomaceous earth can be placed in cracks and crevices as a non-chemical means of control. This powder is made up of crushed microscopic marine fossils that scratch the outer “skin” of ants, causing them to dehydrate and die. Diatomaceous earth will remain active as long as it is kept dry. It is non-toxic to humans and pets, but be careful not to inhale the dust when applying this product.
• Natural gum resins can be applied around the base of trees and vines.

Important!

If you use a pesticide to control your pest problem, read the label to make sure you are choosing the right product for the right pest. Follow all label directions and warnings carefully. Always look for a Pest Control Products (PCP) number on the label so you know the product has been approved by Health Canada. See Use pesticides safely for more information on using pesticides safely.

Many chemical products can be used by consumers to control ants:

• Chemicals, sprays, and dusts can be used effectively as barrier and nest treatments. Applying a chemical directly on the nest may eliminate colonies. Anthills show where the colony has built a nest, so look for anthills in your yard or follow the ant trails back to the nest. Nests located indoors in wall voids can be treated with dusts that can be puffed into the area.
• Chemical barrier treatments can be applied to baseboards or door and window frames to keep outdoor nesting species from searching for food indoors. Spraying indoors where trails have been noticed may cut off food and water sources for an indoor nest and encourage the colony to split into multiple new colonies. If the treatment seems to increase the number of ants, try using a bait system to control them.

Did you know?

Some provinces and municipalities have placed more restrictions on the use of certain approved lawn and garden pesticides. Please check with your city, province, or local lawn care centre for more information.

Bait systems

Ants gather food and bring it back to the nest to feed ant colony members. So a bait system must work slowly enough to allow the poison to be fed to all members of the nest. This is a highly effective way of getting rid of nests. Baits containing boric acid are generally of low toxicity to other animals.

• Place bait stations directly in the path of foraging ants, but out of the reach of children and pets. Ant trails are commonly found along baseboards, the carpet edge along walls, or along the edges and inside corners of cabinets.
• Use plenty of bait stations. Two different baits at the same time will give better results.
• Keep baits available for at least two weeks. Repeated bait applications may be needed.
• Do not use chemical sprays to kill ants while using a bait system, or the bait system will not work. Reapply the bait if needed.

Carpenter ants

What are they?

The red carpenter ant and the black carpenter ant are two of the most common types found in Canada. The red carpenter ant has a dark brownish-black body, with a reddish-brown upper body. The black carpenter ant is dark brownish-black all over.

Carpenter ants are from 6 to 25 mm (.24 to 1 inch) long. A carpenter ant’s body is divided into three segments, with a very slim waist separating the upper body and lower body. Their antennae are bent and in sections. Male and female adults have wings at mating time.

Should I be concerned?

Carpenter ants are well known for their ability to damage wooden structures. They are also a nuisance in homes as they search for food. Carpenter ants eat both plant and animal matter. Their natural food sources are insects, other small invertebrates, and sweet body fluids from aphids and other insects. Protein and sweet foods found in and around homes also provide food for foraging workers.

Carpenter ants build nests by burrowing into wood. They dig tunnels (called galleries) much longer than those created by termites. The wood is not eaten, but thrown from the nest as sawdust-like shavings.

Did you know?

Carpenter ants are sometimes confused with termites, but it is easy to tell the difference between them. The termite has straight antennae and a thick waist, and the carpenter ant has a very narrow waist and “elbowed” (bent) antennae. Termites are found only in certain areas in Canada.

Carpenter ants live in large colonies with hundreds of workers (all sterile females), several males and females that reproduce, and one or more queen. When part of an established colony goes into a nearby structure, it sometimes establishes a smaller satellite colony there. Some experts believe this is the main way carpenter ants invade houses.

How do I know if I have a problem?

Outdoors, carpenter ants are found in dead trunks of standing trees, stumps, or logs, or under fallen logs and stones. They can sometimes mine sound wood, but they usually choose a soft type, like pine.

Indoors, because they prefer moist, decaying wood, carpenter ants can signal a moisture problem, or wooden structures that are decaying. As well as tunnelling in the trim of buildings, wooden steps, and window sills, ant colonies can nest in houses without attacking structural timbers, using hollow spaces like wall voids, attic spaces, and hollow doors. They can even be found behind books in libraries, behind drawers in dressers and cabinets, and in styrofoam insulation.

Carpenter ants get into houses by several ways:

• windows
• holes in foundations
• heating ducts and air-conditioners
• power or telephone cables
• points where tree branches or other vegetation come in contact with the house
• wooden structures attached to houses (like porches and sheds)
• firewood brought into the house

To find carpenter ants:

1. Completely inspect areas of high moisture, wood in contact with the soil, areas where ventilation is poor, and exposed structural lumber.
2. Figure out if there is actually an infestation of carpenter ants or if it is just individual ants wandering in the house. Look for a high concentration of ants in a particular area like under the kitchen sink.
3. Pay attention to foraging ants and the patterns of their movement. For example, there may be a trail communicating with a parent colony outside. (Note: ants are most active after sunset.)
4. Notice if there are swarms of winged ants trying to escape to the outdoors, usually in the spring.
5. Look for piles of sawdust-like borings outside their galleries and slit-like openings in woodwork.
6. Listen for the sound of an active colony, which will create a dry rustling noise that can be heard best at night during high ant activity and quiet time in the house. Use a wine glass or stethoscope to listen to the walls.

How can I get rid of carpenter ants?

Physical control

• Clear away any decaying or infested wood from around buildings.
• Remove firewood from inside buildings and away from the sides of buildings.
• Do not bury stumps or other wood debris close to your house.
• Pay attention to the state of landscaping props (like decorative bark, retaining walls, and driftwood).
• Correct humidity problems in your home.
• Replace decaying or infested structural wood with sound material.
• Remove food sources to discourage ants from invading buildings.
• Keep food in sealed containers and regularly sweep up all crumbs and other food fragments.
• Keep your home clean to prevent re-infestation.

Products

Important!

If you use a pesticide to control your pest problem, read the label to make sure you are choosing the right product for the right pest. Follow all label directions and warnings carefully. Always look for a Pest Control Products (PCP) number on the label so you know the product has been approved by Health Canada. See Use pesticides safely for more information on using pesticides safely

Chemicals can help you eliminate existing nests and prevent new nests from forming. Chemical control works best when you use it along with physical control.

Once a colony is well established, you usually need to locate and treat the actual nest site for permanent or long-term control. In the case of a satellite colony, the parent colony should be located and destroyed for most effective control. In difficult situations, use a professional exterminator.

Various pesticide products for are available for homeowners, and can help reduce the number of ants infesting your house. If you plan to do an indoor application, check the product label to make sure it is registered for use inside your home. There are also several other commercial products available to professional pest control operators.

For commercial food processing or preparation, use products specifically labelled for these areas. Carefully follow all label directions and warnings. Remove or cover all food, packaging material, and utensils before treatment. Afterwards, wash all surfaces that may be in contact with food and rinse thoroughly with water before re-use.

Please note: When applying pesticides, you should leave any dead ant bodies where they are. Other scavenging ants will either eat or bring the dead ant back to the nest to feed the rest of the colony. In this way, the pesticide’s effect is passed on.

For more information on ants:
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/pest-control-tips/ants.html

(TLN) During Laval city council’s April 4 meeting, the council members passed resolutions limiting the maximum  building height.

According to the city, Laval has never imposed building heights. As a result, tall towers could be built anywhere and this contributed to an uneven form of urban planning. The city took action to correct the situation.

New urban planning

“Laval is giving itself modern urban regulation in order to create interesting living areas,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “This is the end of anarchy and the beginning of planned development in Laval.

According to Demers, one of the desired effects of the new rules will be design a downtown area that is harmonious. The vast area takes in the Carrefour Laval, the Cité de la Biotech, Collège Montmorency and other locations. The building heights for the downtown area will gradually from six storeys near residential areas to 10, 15 and 25 storeys or more.

Building heights vary

“An emblematic neighbourhood where entertainment, culture and business are important is taking shape in Laval,” added Demers. “We want to make it a place that is inviting, stimulating and beautiful.”

In older neighbourhoods of Laval, the maximum heights will vary from six to eight storeys, out of respect for the established standard. The new rules approved by council apply on an interim basis, until a new urban plan is adopted. In the meantime, modifications will be possible.

Traffic calming coming

According to the mayor, Laval’s residents are looking for safe streets. Following a recommendation by the executive-committee, council awarded two contracts worth a total of $7.5 million for comprehensive traffic analyses to get an understanding of the traffic calming measures that will be necessary.

“Laval residents want somewhere to live that is peaceful,” said Demers. “Car traffic is one of the most report irritants. We take this preoccupation seriously and we are putting into place important measures to answer the expectations of the citizens with regard to neighbourhoods that secure and peaceful.”

Martin C. Barry

A career fair held at the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board’s Vimont Competency Development Centre on des Laurentides Blvd. in Laval drew the attention of students to the many career possibilities that are now available to qualified job candidates.

A big turnout

Among the estimated 700 people attending the half-day event on the morning and early afternoon of April 4 were students from Laval, the North Shore and the Laurentian region. The event was funded by a grant from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation.

The participating groups and organizations included school commissions and community colleges from all over the Montreal region, as well as Concordia University, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Montreal Fire Department.

Very high placement rate

“A lot of the board’s students don’t know the options that are available to them,” said Heather Halman, CDC Vimont’s director. She said the key is to give them employment opportunities in order to sensitize them to what’s available in their own community.

“For the programs being offered here today, most of them lead to 80 to 95 per cent employment as soon as they finish,” she added. “Many even find jobs where they’ve completed internships. A lot of our students don’t know the options that are available to them. So the key is to give them employment opportunities to sensitize them to what’s available in their own communities, rather than having to go to Montreal or somewhere else.”

Jobs for skilled tradesmen

According to SWLSB assistant director-general Frederick Greschner, a new vocational training centre, which is located in Saint-Eustache and which is going to be run in conjunction with the Commission scolaire de la seigneurie des Mille-Îles (CSSMI), will offer training in English and French in a number of trades that are currently in demand, including commercial and residential painting, welding and fitting and preparing and finishing concrete.

“Our new multiservice center in collaboration with CSSMI is a hallmark event for us as we are working in partnership to offer bilingual options in the trades for our students,” Halman added. “A bilingual education for a bilingual future is really what this center is all about: finding employment options for students in the region where they reside rather than displacing them.”

CSSMI/SWLSB work together

She pointed out that completion of the Vocational Training Centre will mark the first time in Quebec that an English and French school board unite to offer services. “Plumbing and Heating will be starting with full groups – one English and one French,” she said.

“And we are in the process of recruiting students for welding and fitting with one English and one French group as well as residential and commercial painting. The potential number of students could be close to 400 and this is a great opportunity for the community. And all lead to high opportunities for students to be employed right away on graduation.”

SWLSBCareerFair1: From the left, CDC Vimont director Heather Halman and SWLSB assistant director-general Frederick Greschner are excited about the potential of the new CSSMI-SWLSB Vocational Training Centre (seen on banner) which is set to open in Saint-Eustache in September.

SWLSBCareerFair2: Rosemount Technology Centre (RTC) was among the training institutions which took part in the SWLSB’s job and career fair.

Martin C. Barry

For a third year since the creation of the Laval Ethics and Integrity Office (BIEL), police chief Pierre Brochet has tabled a report of efforts made last year to keep track and prevent acts of corruption from taking place within the administration of the City of Laval.

In September 2013 when Brochet was first hired in the wake of the municipal corruption scandal involving former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, he was given a mandate to oversee internal investigations. Following the election in November that year, the BIEL was created and has worked with the police department since then.

Proud of their work, says Brochet

“We’re very proud with the results,” Brochet said in an interview last week with the Laval News, while adding that experience is making the task of compiling each year’s report easier. “We’re writing the book,” he said, noting that Laval Police is the only police department in Quebec mandated to carry out the task in this specific manner.

“There are two models in Quebec: the model with the Inspector General and our model,” he added. “And when I think about it, I think the best place to put such an office was with the police service. Because as part of my function I have a certain independence with regards to criminal investigations. We’ve done work and there’s momentum now with the system in place.”

As Brochet pointed out, the past year saw the police department and the BIEL concentrating on the recuperation of large sums of money from contractors who had worked for the city. This was accomplished largely with the assistance of Quebec Bill 26, although the City of Laval used the law to its fullest extent taking into account the past history of corruption here.

Snow contracts investigated

“We were able to support the efforts to recover lost sums – and we’re talking about millions of dollars – which is why it was very important for us.” Last year, as well, said Brochet, BIEL and the police department conducted a close examination of the City of Laval’s administrative procedures for dealing with contractors – particularly those who handle snow removal.

“We had seen a certain amount of fraud in the area of snow removal. So we conducted an in-depth evaluation of the system’s procedures in order to identify areas where there were risks.” However, there is still a fair amount of work to be done recovering money, Brochet added. “There’s a good potential,” he said.

While doing their work, BIEL and the police investigators conducted more than 100 individual inquiries, although 68 of them were found to be administrative issues, and only 36 were deemed to merit a full police investigation. Brochet was asked by the Laval News how the investigators were able to judge the differences between the two classifications.

A rise in reported incidents

While noting that in 2015 the City of Laval started a new policy allowing employees as well as members of the public to report suspected instances of corruption, he said that beginning that year there was a significant increase in reported incidents with 150 files of the sort opened and a slightly smaller number the following year.

“The goal here is basically to be as transparent as possible,” Brochet continued. “People have been letting us know about preoccupations they have in terms of ethics and integrity. From there we do an initial analysis, and following that first analysis it becomes classified either as something that is simply administrative because there is no criminal aspect to it, or it becomes more criminal and it’s handled by our investigators.

The UPAC alternative

“There’s also another option: If we see that a tip we received actually seems related to corruption, then we send it directly to UPAC [Quebec’s Unité permanente anticorruption]. This too shows that we are hiding nothing in Laval. We are truly transparent. And if some information comes our way it will be noted and it will be investigated.”

Brochet was careful to point out that even though BIEL and the Laval Police Department take all the tips they receive seriously, the ultimate goal is either to exonerate those involved, or find incriminating evidence in other cases so that further action can be taken if necessary. “We take everything seriously that we receive from citizens, employees or suppliers,” he said.

Martin C. Barry

Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif announced last week that six non-profit organizations in western Laval will be receiving a total of $124,691 from the federal government in the coming months to carry out improvements at their offices and facilities.

The subsidies, announced by Nassif at the Croix de Secours Arménienne de Laval community centre on des Prairies Blvd., were given to the groups under the auspices of the federal government’s New Horizons program, which funds projects that enhance the lives or provide assistance to senior citizens.

Six groups get subsidies

The groups receiving the grants are Croix de Secours Arménienne de Laval, Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Association Lavalloise des Personnes Aidantes, Rendez-Vous des Aînés, FADOQ – Mouvement des Aînés du Québec Région de Laval and Comité des Loisirs de l’Habitation Raymond-Goyer.

“This is not something that is just for this year,” Nassif pointed out to a gathering of the groups’ leaders, who will have to apply for the subsidies all the same. “New Horizons is something that will be repeated every year.” Nassif said there could be even more money available to community groups through another program known as Pan-Canadian Projects.

Another government program

According to the Pan-Canadian Projects website, projects may be funded up to $750,000, for up to a maximum of three years. The eligible recipients include not-for-profit organizations, coalitions, networks and ad hoc committees, for-profit organizations, municipal governments, research organizations and institutes, educational institutions, public health and social services institutions, and aboriginal organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities).

An information handout from Nassif’s office says the approved projects range from upgrading of community kitchen facilities and lighting systems, to purchasing equipment for indoor activities. While Nassif’s office didn’t immediately divulge the amounts allotted for individual projects, it would appear that the breakdown was about even.

Karidogiannis grateful

Laval city councillor for Val-des-Arbres Christiane Yoakim and l’Abord-à-Plouffe councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis were on hand for the announcement. “These are important grants that are being made available to support the needs of older residents in a municipality like Laval to break the isolation they sometimes experience,” Karidogiannis told the Laval News. “We thank the federal government for having these kinds of programs and we look forward to more coming along.”

“We’re always interacting with all levels of government and other elected officials,” he added regarding the city’s involvement in persuading Ottawa to support the local projects. “It’s important to create good relationships with them so that we can better communicate the needs of our citizens. The federal and provincial governments are important players in Laval in providing us with support.”

Church lighting replacement

Nick Furfaro, a member of the board of wardens at Holy Name of Jesus parish, said they were generally pleased with what they received. According to Furfaro, the church was allotted $25,000. Their project involves converting the lighting system inside a church hall from incandescent to LED. “The seniors who use our hall have a hard time seeing, especially since we have no windows in our church and it gets very dark,” he said.

The Croix de Secours Arménienne de Laval (known to some as the Armenian Relief Society) also received $25,000. The money will be used to renovate and upgrade a kitchen. “It was very much needed because our installations were very old and we were having great difficulty with our tasks,” said Maggie Hajjar, a member of the group’s executive-committee. Among other things, Croix de Secours Arménienne de Laval will be replacing consumer-grade stoves with industrial-quality models using the money from the federal government.