Guy Ouellette, the Liberal MNA whose arrest by the province’s anti-corruption unit (UPAC) stunned Quebecers last fall, says he never disclosed any information about UPAC’s work to the media.

The former high-profile provincial police officer was called to testify at a hearing into the stay of proceedings request by lawyers representing Nathalie Normandeau, former Liberal cabinet minister and party fundraiser Marc-Yvan Côté and their four co-accused.

Normandeau, the ex-Liberal deputy premier, is facing corruption-related charges, along with her former chief of staff, Bruno Lortie, two former Parti Québécois staffers, and Côté.

Ouellette was summoned by Côté’s defence lawyer, Jacques Larochelle, who is trying to have the charges thrown out, arguing UPAC documents leaked to reporters have robbed the accused of their right to a fair trial.

Questioned by Larochelle, Ouellette said he never directly or indirectly provided information that aired in a Radio-Canada report, called Mon Ami Sam, which linked Côté to former MNA Sam Hamad.

“I played no role in this,” he answered.

Lino Zambito testimony discredited

Ouellette denied several of the claims former construction boss Lino Zambito made in court yesterday.

Zambito testified that it was Ouellette who told him members of the Liberal caucus, including Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux, were displeased by the reappointment of the head of UPAC, Robert Lafrenière, only weeks after Normandeau’s arrest.

Zambito suggested Lafrenière wanted “a big catch” to ensure his position and precipitated Normandeau’s arrest, which coincided with the tabling of the Liberal government’s 2016 budget.

Zambito added Ouellette had told him the Liberals wanted to replace Lafrenière at the end of his 5-year mandate, and that Denis Gallant, a lawyer with the Charbonneau Commission, was “on the short list” to replace him.

Ouellette said he had not given out this information “directly or indirectly,” and that he only heard of such a list in a newspaper article.

Toxic workplace at UPAC

In the days following his arrest, Ouellette alleged UPAC was framing him and suggested it was trying to conceal “irregularities” which had come to his attention, as chair of the parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing UPAC’s work.

When asked in court if he thought Robert Lafrenière was “the right man for the job,” Ouellette said the workplace relations at UPAC could certainly be improved.

“To get optimal results, the work environment wasn’t ideal,” Ouellette answered.

Ouellette was never charged following his arrest and eventually returned to the Liberal caucus.

Sections of the search warrant against him, unsealed last month, show UPAC suspected him, as well as two alleged accomplices inside the anti-corruption unit, of leaking information to the media.

Reporters showed up at raids before police

UPAC investigators Stéphane Bonhomme and Richard Despaties were suspended on Oct. 25, 2017, the same day that Ouellette was arrested.

They were also called to testify Thursday.

Both vehemently denied having leaked any information to reporters, and both said the tense work environment could have led any employee to leak the information.

“I am totally innocent. One hundred per cent,” Bonhomme told Quebec court Judge André Perreault.

He said he knew there was a serious confidentiality problem within UPAC when he started seeing reporters arriving before police when UPAC carried out search warrants.

“We suspected there were people who were making phone calls,” he said.

Bonhomme said plenty of people at the office had access to reports which were stored in an unlocked cabinet in the main office.

“That means 75 people minimum,” he said, adding computers weren’t well accounted for either.

‘You’re pushed aside, suspended or paid to shut up.’- ex-UPAC investigator Stéphane Despaties

Despaties, who has filed a grievance against his former employer, testified that during his last two years with UPAC he was responsible for forwarding complaints to his superiors.

He said he was bothered by the fact that at least four or five files which he considered serious never led to a formal investigation.

“This went against my values,” he explained.

Despaties said the only time he spoke to journalists about UPAC was to talk about the psychological harassment he said he witnessed.

Despaties that the general level of workplace dissatisfaction could have led to employees leaking sensitive information.

He said several of his co-workers have either left or received compensation after filing grievances of their own.

“You’re pushed aside, suspended or paid to shut up,” he alleged.

Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette testified Thursday at a hearing into a stay of proceedings request by Nathalie Normandeau and her five co-accused. (Radio-Canada)

Martin C. Barry

Hundreds of families from all over the Montreal region converged on the Berge des Baigneurs in Laval’s Vieux Saint Rose neighbourhood on the afternoon of Sunday Jan. 28 for day three of Laval en Blanc, an enthusiastic celebration of winter, offering a seasonal counterpoint to the city’s popular Fête de la Famille during the summertime.

Who would have thought there was so much fun to be had during this dismal time of the year? For many parents, fun in the cold and snow was a discovery in itself – although they learned a lot from their children, because the kids knew it all the time.

Face off against ‘Rocket’

While there were literally dozens of activities to be enjoyed, one of the highlights of the afternoon was a trio of ball hockey matches played between children attending Laval en Blanc and three key players from the Laval Rocket: Yannick Veilleux, Jordan Boucher and Daniel Audette.

While there were snow sledding, ice skating and even some musical performances to be enjoyed in the warmth indoors, the Mendonca family of Montreal came all the way to Laval to take in the festivities having heard about it from friends who reside here. “We were determined to do some ice fishing this weekend, but there was nowhere else where it was being offered said the family’s father, Tony Mendonca.

(TLN) Laval mayor Marc Demers met last week with Quebec Minister of Transport and Electrification of Transit André Fortin and Laval Regional Minister Francine Charbonneau for discussions on a range of topics, including the financing of the Montreal region’s new transit agency.

Laval’s ARTM funding

During the discussions, Demers raised the issue of the City of Laval’s contention that it is being charged an excessive amount for the ARTM in proportion to other member municipalities. According to Demers, Laval’s contribution is expected to rise to $23 million by 2020 without the benefit of any additional service.

At the same time, the mayor brought up a few other transit dossiers which are a priority for Laval, including electrification of the STL’s fleet. The STL plans to operate at least one bus line that is entirely electric by the year 2020. Laval is hoping that support to meet this goal will be available from Quebec.

REM train to cross Laval

The mayor also raised the issue of the Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM), the region-wide high-speed electric train that will be crossing Laval’s territory. While Laval is in favor of the project, Demers told Fortin and Charbonneau that there remain certain problems to be worked out, including some security issues.

Regarding the ongoing and unresolved issue of the completion of Autoroute 19 in eastern Laval, Demers suggested to the two Quebec ministers that an additional highway traffic exchange would be necessary and would help accommodate the management of other forms of traffic such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Martin C. Barry

As a resident and taxpayer in the City of Laval, how angry are you about the efficiency of the city’s snow removal this winter? Be that as it may, if you were a retired couple living on Bennett St. in Laval’s Chomedey sector, you’d be fuming indeed during this winter of snow removal discontent.

Never as bad

“We’ve been living here for 28 years and we’ve never had a problem like this,” said Andreas Pantelis, who lives, along with his wife, Eleni, less than a block from Centre du Sablon and across the street from Sablon Park.

“We’re paying taxes and I think they should do better than this,” said Pantelis. “This year is much worse. Sometimes they come once in a blue moon and they just throw the snow on the side in the park when there’s too much snow and they can’t do anything else.”

Poor snow service

While in the past, according to Pantelis, the city’s snow removal crews cleaned away snow banks from one side of Bennett (which is a secondary street where snow removal is slower), so that residents might at least have room to park their cars, that’s not the case this winter, he insisted – and it’s taking a toll on him and his wife.

“She has problems, I have problems and it’s a mountain of snow,” he said, noting he suffers from a heart ailment, while Eleni has a problem with a joint in one of her legs. When a snow removal crew arrives – often in the early morning hours – everyone with a car parked on the street (and Pantelis owns three) has to move quickly. In addition to all this, there is often nowhere else to park.

Neglected side streets

“I see everywhere else, they clean one side of the street, then they put up no parking signs, they go the next day and they clean the other side,” Pantelis continued, while complaining that the city should carry out snow removal evenly on all streets, rather than neglecting side streets like Bennett. “I don’t think the way they do it is the right way.”

Pantelis told the Laval News that when he has called the City of Laval’s 3-1-1 hotline for public works, he was told by the operator to park in his driveway. He claimed that repeated calls to 3-1-1 failed to spur the city into action. But as he also pointed out, he’s unable to move the mountain of snow sitting on the street in front of his driveway because of his heart condition.

Waiting, nearly a week later

On Thursday last week, six days after the snowfall, residents on Bennett St. were still waiting for snow on both sides of the street to be cleared away. “When I called, they told me that by the end of the week probably,” said Pantelis, while adding that another heavy snowfall was expected.

With the new snow, he continued, the city crews would begin another cleanup, starting with the main streets, but leaving the unfinished snow cleanup on the side-streets to be continued along with the newly-fallen snow.

Rather than treat side-streets as low-priority for snow removal, Pantelis reasons the city should take into account that streets like Bennett, which are next to large green spaces like Sablon Park, should be given a higher priority when they are near schools and are more likely to be used by children and parents.

What 3-1-1 said

During the Laval News’ interview with Mr. and Mrs. Pantelis, we asked them to call the City of Laval’s 3-1-1 public works hotline so we might get some idea of the response to their complaint about poor snow removal service. What follows is a slightly shortened transcript of the exchange.

Pantelis: Good morning, my name is Pantelis and I called you a couple of days ago about the snow we have in the street. We can’t walk, we can’t park. You told me that you were going to take care of it, but nobody has showed up.

3-1-1: That’s for sure we will take care of it. But we don’t know exactly what day they will do it because the residential is the last thing we take care of. And we received a lot of snow so this also doubles the time. In two days we received many centimetres of snow. It’s a big quantity and we have a lot of streets to take care of, so you have to be a bit patient.

Pantelis: You say it’s going be the last day when it’s going to be cleaned?

3-1-1: It’s always the last we do, sir. It’s always been like this, sir.

Pantelis: No, no. It’s not always like this. I live here for 28 years.

3-1-1: Sir, I am working here for more than that, so I know this is always the way they treat all the streets. We have your request, sir, you have to be patient and we have a lot to do.

Pantelis: But this is a one-way street.

3-1-1: Yes sir, I know that street. I live in Chomedey sector, too.

Pantelis: Okay, there is a school behind my house, there are people passing by to go to Centre du Sablon, and it’s a main street to me.

3-1-1: It’s not a main street. We have a by-law from Gouvernement du Québec so that we have to do big streets before small residential streets.

Pantelis: I went yesterday everywhere in Chomedey and I see you cleaning a lot of streets.

3-1-1: Just be patient. We received a lot of snow. We are doing our best, sir.

Pantelis: Yes, I understand, but at least clean one side so that we can park.

3-1-1: We will do, sir. Just be a bit patient.

Pantelis: We had the snow fall on Friday and tomorrow is Friday. You’ve had a week already.

3-1-1: We’ve got to work all the weekend, sir, don’t worry.

Pantelis: Well I hope you will try your best, because it’s frustrating.

3-1-1: We try, sir. As I told you, we have a lot of snow to take off so just be patient.

Pantelis: I know that. But at least to me one side should be clean so we could park.

3-1-1: I can understand that, sir, but you have driveways on that street.

Pantelis: I have a driveway, yeah, but it takes only one car. I have three cars already.

3-1-1: Yes, but it’s not the city’s fault that you bought three cars.

Pantelis: No, it’s not the city’s fault, but where am I going to park?

3-1-1: Sir, I’ve just told you the request time. Be patient. We cannot do more than that. If we could stop nature from sending snow it would be what we would want for us and for you. But we can do nothing about that.

Martin C. Barry

With Action Laval no longer the official opposition at Laval city hall since last November’s municipal elections, the party’s lone member on city council, Chomedey councillor Aglaia Revelakis, was asked by the Laval News about the future of the party as well as her own plans.

What the future holds

“We are looking forward to a great year are continuing to do the great work that we were elected for at city hall,” Revelakis said in an interview with the Laval News during a break at the first city council meeting for 2018 on Jan. 16.

Regarding her own future, she said, “Right now I’m with Action Laval. I got elected under the banner of Action Laval. Right now I’m here at city hall. I got elected by the citizens of Laval, and for now this is the plan. For the future, it’s hard to say anything else, but right now I’m here. And if anything else happens we are sure to let you know.”

A reversal of roles

In the meantime, Action Laval and its former rival for official opposition status, the Parti Laval, have switched office spaces on the ground floor at Laval city hall. Revelakis, who is regarded as an independent on city council, is currently the only elected councillor occupying her office space which was set aside for any independent members.

The Parti Laval – which is led by former Fabreville councillor Michel Trottier, who is biding his time on the sidelines after failing in his bid for the mayoralty in the November election – now occupies a small suite of offices used by Claude Larochelle, the only city councillor elected under the Parti Laval’s banner.

(TLN)

As part of public consultations being made by the Quebec government leading towards the legalization of marijuana, officials from the City of Laval presented a brief to their provincial counterparts recently containing comments on the proposed legislation – Bill 157.

“The government recognized the necessity to increase the autonomy and powers of municipalities,” said Laval Mayor Marc Demers. “It is in this spirit that we have proposed various modifications to Bill 157. Laval hopes, among other things, that the Quebec government gives municipalities financial levers and rules allowing to better deal with the use of cannabis on our territory.”

Marijuana-free zones

According to the mayor, Laval wants to be able to establish zones where the sale of marijuana would be prohibited to youths. These zones would be in areas around schools, for example, as well as near recreational facilities or youth drop-in centres. The mayor noted that this type of practice has already been implemented in some U.S. states.

In addition, according to Demers, the City of Laval wants Quebec to grant municipalities the right to a veto on questions concerning the location of marijuana points of sale. As well, Laval is not ruling out the possibility that it would enact regulations making it illegal to consume marijuana in public places such as parks and green spaces. The city would also like to have the right to prohibit the use of marijuana during large public outdoor events such as Laval’s annual Fête de la Famille and the Fête des Pompiers, for example.

Estimated costs for Laval

According to the mayor, the city currently estimates it will cost Laval at least $1.5 million to implement new measures made necessary by the legalization of marijuana. These would include new equipment and training for police officers. The city wants to know whether and how these costs might be shared by other levels of government.

Mayor Demers also noted that it will be difficult to detect the presence of cannabis in individuals using it, although a principle of zero tolerance will prevail as regards the operation of motor vehicles. For this reason, the city wants Quebec to define in its legislation just what zero tolerance will mean when applied.

Martin C. Barry

With the unmistakable but unconfirmed certainty that a provincial election will be taking place in October, Quebec Liberal Health Minister Gaétan Barrette paid a visit to Cité de la Santé in Laval on Jan. 16 for the inauguration of two new endoscopy diagnosis rooms made possible with funding from Quebec.

And while he was there, Barrette told the media attending the event that he will be running in the election for another term as the Liberal candidate for MNA in the riding of La Pinière in Brossard on Montreal’s South Shore.

Polo to run again

At the same time, Laval-des-Rapides Liberal MNA Saul Polo confirmed he also expects to be in the running once again, although he was waiting last week for party leader and Premier Philippe Couillard along with the riding association to approve his nomination.

With the addition of a network of “superclinics” in Laval by Barrette’s ministry, effectively taking a burden off Cité de la Santé’s emergency department, the minister said CISSS de Laval has become one of the most efficient and performing in the network of provincial health care agencies across Quebec.

According to Barrette, Cité de la Santé’s emergency department stood out positively recently after having registered the shortest period of patient overcrowding.

New clinic system praised

“There is a direct correlation between the emergency here at Cité de la Santé being less congested over the past holidays compared to all the other hospitals in the greater region of Montreal,” Polo said in an interview with the Laval News.

“The reason is these clinics are having a direct impact, so people are becoming more and more aware that they can go to any of these clinics instead of to the emergency Cité de la Santé,” he added. “We don’t live in a perfect world, but I think in terms of health care we’re offering better and better services and more accessibility as well.”

More endoscopies

The new endoscopy facilities will allow Cité de la Santé to carry out 7,440 additional diagnoses of ailments in the digestive tract annually.

“When we know that colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer in Quebec, you can understand the importance of early detection of this disease, which at the same time reduces as much as possible the waiting times of patients for this type of examination,” said the health minister.

“The needs in the region of Laval in terms of health are increasing steadily, notably because of its demographic growth,” added Francine Charbonneau, the MNA for Mille-Îles and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.

Earlier detection of cancers

“It is thus crucial to adapt the capacity of the services offered with respect to this increased demand,” she continued. “I am therefore very pleased with the implementation of this project which will allow even more cancers than before to be detected as quickly as possible, contributing at the same time to saving numerous lives.”

On the question of his running in the October election, Polo said that “ultimately the prime minister has to approve my candidacy with the support of the riding association first. But my intention is to submit my candidacy for another run at it.”

Some election speculation

Whatever the outcome of the election, it’s anyone’s guess what party and what candidate the voters in Laval-des-Rapides will end up choosing. The riding is notorious for its voting pattern instability, wavering closely between the Parti Québécois and the Liberals almost from election to election.

However, what is more certain is that the citizens of Laval-des-Rapides appear to be strategic in their choice of who to support, making the riding a “bellwether” of the overall trend. They are known to have supported the winning party in every general election since 1981 when the riding of Laval-des-Rapides was created.