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.

Martin C. Barry

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard joined hundreds of members of the Quebec Liberal Party in a celebration at the Embassy Plaza last week marking an historic moment in the PLQ’s history – the 150^th anniversary of the governing provincial party’s founding.

As coincidence has it, Canada and the PLQ have something in common: they both came into being in 1867. As such both are celebrating their 150^th anniversaries this year, although the PLQ’s is probably the lesser known of the two celebrations.

PLQ’s 19^th century roots

While Liberal Party of Quebec may seem moderate and centrist today compared to other provincial political parties that espouse views considerably further to the left, the PLQ is in fact descended from 19^th century political forces which were the most radical in their day.

The PLQ’s ancestors were the Parti canadien, sometimes also called the Parti patriote, which supported the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837 which was suppressed by British forces which governed Quebec back then.

The PLQ is also descended from the Parti rouge which had a key role in the early struggles for responsible government and which was known for its antagonism towards the Roman Catholic Church which dominated Quebec society back then. The Parti rouge was inspired by the political thinking of Louis-Joseph Papineau.

Not all MNAs attended

Among those who attended the March 25 celebration were Mille-Îles MNA Francine Charbonneau, Fabre MNA Monique Sauvé, Laval-des-Rapides MNA Saul Polo, and former MNA for the riding of LaFontaine (who now leads the Action Laval municipal opposition party) Jean-Claude Gobé.

Sainte-Rose MNA Jean Habel and Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette were unable to attend as they were on a Parliamentary mission outside Quebec. Vimont MNA Jean Rousselle also couldn’t be there as he was sidelined with a health problem involving his eyesight that that it necessary for him to take it easy for a few days.

“In 150 years we’ve never hesitated to do things which were difficult,” Premier Couillard said in the event’s keynote speech, alluding at one point to the late President John F. Kennedy and his famous words to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Couillard’s take on the phrase was that tough decisions sometimes require the courage of individuals who aren’t afraid of challenges.

Couillard touched on several other issues, including the PLQ’s ability to strike a proper balance between social justice and economic growth. “It must be said that the Liberal Party of Quebec is the party for the economy,” said Couillard. “It’s always been that way and today we remain the party most dedicated to the economy.

Economy and education

“People have sometimes come to me saying what is your priority – the economy or education?” Couillard continued. “I have no problem saying that it’s the two. You can never separate them. The other important link is social justice, which allows us to offer more than an empty lecture on solidarity, but rather concrete actions coming from solidarity. It’s the most effective way we know to generate wealth, and it’s always been that way with the Liberal Party of Quebec.”

A believer in social justice

Couillard maintained that the PLQ’s latest budget reflects these principles. “It’s not true that in Quebec everyone gets the same chance, and it’s not true that in Quebec everyone is born with the same opportunities. So a government has a duty in the name of solidarity to equalize the inequalities in order to give everyone an even chance.”

Alluding to his ancestral roots as a member of one of the earliest families to arrive in New France from Europe more than 400 years ago, Couillard insisted that a pedigree like this doesn’t confer on him a status superior to anyone else in Quebec. “We are all citizens of Quebec with the same importance and the same influence,” he said.

(TLN)

Laval mayor Marc Demers reacted favourably overall to the Quebec Liberal government’s 2017 budget which was released last week. According to Demers, the new budget contains measures that augur well for the coming years.

“We are pleased with the Quebec government’s intention to invest more than $255 million in the construction of 3,000 new social housing units, although it would have been preferable that money would be available over the next three years,” said the mayor, noting that the investments are scheduled only for the year 2020.

Mass transit investment

“Taking into account that active mobility and mass transit are priorities for Laval residents, the sums announced by the Finance Minister over five years to improve the service offer, including an increase in the frequency of buses, is good news,” the mayor added.

“It will be interesting to see how the new aid package from Quebec for longstanding senior citizen owners is implemented,” he continued. “This type of program, combined with Laval’s measures, including a subsidy for at-home seniors 65 years of age and older and the free public transit for seniors, contributes to the legitimate recognition that we all owe them.”

Quebec’s life sciences strategy

Demers said the City of Laval is also pleased with an additional investment of $117.5 million the provincial government is making for the implementation of a life sciences strategy. “We are impatient to know the life sciences strategy of the government. We hope that these measures help sustain the emergence and development of businesses on Laval’s territory.” It’s worth noting that pharmaceuticals is one of the important poles in Laval’s life sciences sector.

The mayor also said that the city is very happy with the government’s announced investments in the agricultural and food production sector, including $19.2 million in 2017-2018. “Whether it’s the modernization of buildings, the reduction in use of pesticides or the development of greenhouses, there is no doubt these measures will echo favourably among our farmers,” said Demers.

Martin C. Barry

The City of Laval will be doing its part throughout the month of April to raise awareness of the impact of autism by lighting up the exterior of City Hall in a pleasant blue aura as a sign of Laval’s ongoing support for the cause.

Mayor Marc Demers, as well as executive-committee vice-president David De Cotis and executive-committee member Ray Adams, were on hand at the Laval Sheraton on March 30 for the official launch of Autism Awareness Month.

Understanding autism

This year, up to 20 organizations in Laval that provide services for those with autism and their families have united in an effort to promote Autism Awareness Month. They are doing their part to help organize a range of activities to raise the public’s awareness of autism.

The Laval Knights of Columbus District 54 are playing a prominent role in this year’s Autism Awareness Month. One of the largest events, taking place on April 22 between 10 am and noon, will be the Knights’ Walk for Autism. The walkers will be setting off from the Laval Sheraton to cover a 3.7-kilometre course.

A united effort by groups

Among those on hand for the launch were Germain Larivière, executive-director of the Société de l’autisme et des troubles envahissants du développement de Laval, Danièle Dulude, president and executive-director of the CISSS de Laval, Commission scolaire de Laval commissioner Françoise David (representing CSDL president Louise Lortie), and Jean-Marc Laccopo, president of Services du Chat Botté de Laval which assists those with autism and their families.

Sarah Scopacasa, a CSDL student, spoke briefly on what it’s like to be afflicted with autism. “For a number of years now, we have been proud to say that we are a municipality which is a friend of the autistic,” said Demers, noting that the city has implemented a number of measures to assist the autistic.

City has a role to play

These include providing police and fire personnel with special training and knowledge to recognize situations involving autism. “For us this is important and it is something that continues to develop,” Demers continued. “A large number of our staff have been trained and this remains a daily challenge since we also have new staff to deal with.”

David De Cotis pointed out that 2017 marks the second year the Société de transport de Laval (STL), which he leads as president, takes part officially in Autism Awareness Month. “Public transit has a key role to play in the integration of all citizens into life in Laval,” said De Cotis.

Autism and the STL

“That’s why to us it remains important to be vigilant to sensitizing our drivers and supervisors, but especially our dedicated teams in adapted transport. We have a team of supervisors which has been specially trained and who share their knowledge with our employees so that they better understand the behaviour of autistic persons, while also refining their approaches for intervention.”

According to De Cotis, teams from the STL and from Autisme Laval will be present at Laval’s Montmorency Metro station on Wednesday April 19, and at the Cartier Metro station on Wednesday April 26 to provide information to passengers. Products from the Bio Ferme de Laval will be on sale, with the proceeds going towards the cause.

Needs taken into account

“The inclusion of each individual in our society, no matter how he or she might be different, is essential for us to live together,” added De Cotis. “At the STL, we are very aware of the needs of special clientele and we take great pride to offer and adapt our services on our regular network as in adapted transport.”

The Knights of Columbus’s Walk for Autism will be starting at the Laval Sheraton and make its way east along Le Carrefour Blvd., south on Le Corbusier, west on St-Martin, north on Pierre Péladeau, east on Cosmodôme then north on Terry Fox to end back at the Sheraton. Information is available by calling (450) 663-5551, local 5. Additional information is also available at the following website: www.regard9.ca.

Martin C. Barry

A bit of a setback was announced at Agape NPI Partners’ latest meeting. Agape Inc., the founding player in the Networking Partnership Initiative group, saw its application for $100,000 in funding from Ottawa for a new English Speaking Seniors’ Wellness Centre in Laval turned down recently.

NPI Partners, which was founded by Agape more than five years ago, brings together organizations in Laval that are active in the health and social services sector for meetings during which they share strategies and trade information.

Not among the finalists

Agape executive-director Kevin McLeod, who led the March 29 meeting in the auditorium at Laval’s Cité de la Santé hospital, said a funding application had been made to the federally-financed Community Innovation Fund which is overseen by the Quebec Community Groups Network.

According to the QCGN’s website, the CIF is a resource for Quebec’s English-speaking communities “to put social innovation into action.” Out of 40 funding applications received by a QCGN committee, fewer than a dozen were chosen as finalists.

“We did not get chosen,” said McLeod, noting that most of the successful applicants were in the Montreal region, while others were in the Magdalen Islands, Gaspé and Quebec City. Disappointed with the outcome, Agape reached out to its local representative in Ottawa, Laval-Les Îles Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury.

El-Khoury working on it

“Mr. El-Khoury is very aware that we did not get the funding,” McLeod said, while being careful to point out that the situation “is not his doing. He’s not the one who said don’t give them the money. But since it is federal money, Mr. El-Khoury will be doing a followup.”

El-Khoury, who attended the NPI Partners meeting, said he had already intervened and would have had something “positive” to say right there, but couldn’t announce it for a few days yet. “We are doing our best in order to reopen the file,” he said, while adding that he was trying alternative paths for obtaining the necessary funding. “I’m doing everything within my means, in my power as MP and representative of Laval-Les Îles in order to be able to do something,” said El-Khoury.

McLeod said the application Agape made “was quite solid” and that a lot of work by Agape personnel had gone into it. “It’s a big application and all the proof is there that there is definitely a need for this Wellness Centre. We have the numbers.”

Quebec money might do

As for a Plan B, McLeod said Agape had taken into account what it might do in the event its application was rejected. The alternative involves getting help from the provincial government. Two weeks ago or so, Agape was among several Laval-area social services groups which received invitations to attend a lunch with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard.

“I didn’t get too excited because last time I went to one of these events I was one of 200 people sitting in a big room and I spoke for about three seconds,” McLeod said. Still after a little investigating, he decided the event would be worth going to. And as things turned out, he ended up seated at the same table as Premier Couillard, as well as Mille-Îles MNA Francine Charbonneau, who among other things is the Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.

“Being opportunist, as Agape is, we took the time to leave two of these folders for Mrs. Charbonneau and Mr. Couillard,” he said, referring to some printed promotional material for Agape. All the same, McLeod admitted “we do prefer federal money.”

Not giving up on project

The reason for that, he continued, is that as a non-profit organization, receiving a considerable amount of money from the provincial government can change your status. Thus when dealing with large amounts, “we’d much rather deal with the federal government than with the provincial. But if we can deal with both that would be even better.”

So while Agape’s funding application to Ottawa would have allowed the Wellness Centre to operate for two years, with additional funding from Quebec “maybe it could sustain us for four years which would be even greater.” As for the Wellness Centre, “it’s not forgotten,” said McLeod. “We’re not letting it go. And we will not let it go until we get it. Rest assured it will happen.”