Click here to read the Laval News Volume 25-01 online
This is a archived copy in PDF format of the Laval News Volume 25-01 that was published and distributed January 11, 2017.
This issue covers local events such us politics, sports and human interest stories. It features editorials and other columns
Martin C. Barry
Two young student-athletes from Laval were among 86 people who received a total of $262,750 in support awarded by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence through the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) during a gala held on Nov. 30 at the Sheraton Laval.
More than 650 guests attended the event which brought together bursary recipients, former recipients, sponsors, donors, partners, and members of the Quebec sports community. One of the conditions for receiving the bursaries is that recipients must maintain an elevated grade points average.
Mélissa Gougeon, a medical student who plays soccer for the Carabins at the University of Montreal, received a bursary of $1,750. Another Laval resident, Brian Harelimana, a business administration student who was recruited to play football for the University of Montreal’s Carabins squadron, received a $3,000 bursary.
A total of 45 bursaries totalling $147,000 were handed out to the best student-athletes graduating from Quebec CEGEPs who chose to compete in a Quebec university sport. Nine of these bursaries were for $8,000 and will be distributed over two years, $5,000 of which will come in the student-athlete’s first year.
“We are extremely proud of what our bursary recipients continue to accomplish,” said Claude Chagnon, president of the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence. “They stand out not only by their superior athletic abilities, but also by their discipline, their resolve and their commitment to academics and athletics. These are values we share at the foundation, and this is why we’ll continue to work to unite the business, sports and educational communities in order to promote the development of tomorrow’s leaders.”
With a new five-year plan from 2015 to 2020, the foundation’s primary goal is to increase by 35 per cent the annual amount in bursary funds and the annual number of bursary recipients. This year, $1.2 million will be distributed to more than 450 student-athletes. The foundation’s bursaries reward academic excellence, encourage the balancing of high performance sport and academics, highlight leadership, recognize perseverance and foster university recruitment.
Martin C. Barry
A long and traumatic chapter in the City of Laval’s history came to a dramatic conclusion last Thursday when Gilles Vaillancourt, the disgraced former mayor of Laval, pleaded guilty to charges of corruption and agreed to give up his million dollar condo on Île Paton and to pay the city up to $9 million.
Six-year sentence
Although he pleaded not guilty three years ago when charges of breach of trust, fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud were initially filed against Vaillancourt, on Thursday he entered a guilty plea at Laval’s Palais de Justice and was remanded in custody before sentencing Dec. 15 to what is expected to be a term of six years imprisonment.
“I sincerely regret the errors I committed,” Vaillancourt is reported to have said during the hearing. “I feel a pain that I will have for the rest of my life. I did a lot of things for Laval. But I made mistakes that are unacceptable.”
According to the prosecutor overseeing Vaillancourt’s case, ownership of the former mayor’s condominium estimated to be worth more than $1 million is being transferred to the office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
Swiss bank account seized
As part of an agreement, proceeds from a bank account Vaillancourt had set up in Switzerland containing more than $8 million are also being transferred to the DPCP, which has a mandate to deal with the proceeds of criminal activities. At Laval city hall last Thursday morning, Mayor Marc Demers held a press conference during which he reacted to the turn of events.
“Since the beginning of our mandate, we were committed to recover Laval citizens’ money,” he said, while adding that many people were convinced Vaillancourt would get off without punishment. “Since last April, we have been negotiating with his lawyers,” said Demers, before providing details of the settlement.
Among other thing, Vaillancourt voluntarily agreed to give up his $30,000 annual pension paid by the city. Total value of the pension is estimated at $500,000. As well, Vaillancourt transferred ownership of his condo to the city, although it is being held for the time being by the DPCP.
We got the maximum: Demers
While Demers said the city has effectively recovered $7.5 million from the former mayor, he later referred to an amount as high as $9 million. “I am convinced that we were able to recover the maximum amounts possible from Mr. Vaillancourt,” Demers said.
“Damages he caused to the citizens were undoubtedly greater but we had to take his assets into account and I am positive that we got the maximum.” Demers said “the amounts recovered today on behalf of Laval citizens prove us right for having undertaken all necessary actions to seek redress.”
‘Short changed,’ says opposition
The official opposition at Laval city hall also reacted. “The citizens of Laval are short changed in this agreement,” Action Laval leader Jean-Claude Gobé said in a statement. “We remove all other lawsuits including the most severe – charges of gangsterism with a trial. (If) we would have all the proofs, the sentence would be exemplary. There was organized crime and gangsterism, and just one or two years of jail time is not enough, it’s unacceptable.
“I am appalled,” Gobé continued. “Nine million dollars and a six-year jail sentence may seem huge. However, let’s not forget the magnitude of the fraud itself on the taxpayers over a period of almost 25 years, and that Gilles Vaillancourt will be able to get out of jail in one-sixth of the sentence – in other words, a year later. Given the seriousness of the offence and that he can begin to come out of jail after just one year is totally unacceptable.”
Gobé not happy with outcome
Furthermore, the leader of the opposition said the $8.5 million, including the $1 million condominium returned to the city “represents a small fraction of the real stolen amount hidden all over in tax havens.” He said a large part of that money will only end up being paid in taxes to the federal and provincial governments.
“By dropping all other lawsuits, absolving Gilles Vaillancourt of all the rest, the citizens of Laval will never see the color of their money,” said Gobé. “Only an exemplary sentence should be imposed to allow for a clean break from the past, which is not the case with this agreement.” Gilles Vaillancourt “will be walking down the streets of Laval in two years maximum,” Gobé predicted. “The message being sent to society is that we can rob the citizens, disregard the laws and get away with it.”
Laval City Hall Watch - December 7 2016
The members of the Executive Committee have agreed to grant an exceptional financial assistance in the amount of $ 25,000 to the Orchestre symphonique de Laval (Laval Symphony Orchestra) for the project “L’air du temps, rencontres musico-littéraires à la résidence”. This musical-literary program has as an objective to organize musical meetings at seniors residences. The aim is to present 56 mini musical performances in local CHSLDs (chronic care facilities) and several seniors’ residences in Laval.
At the public meeting of the executive committee held November 23rd the members of the Executive Committee endorsed several acquisitions of lots for agricultural consolidation purposes. It should be noted that in April 2016 the City of Laval implemented an innovative agricultural consolidation strategy the scope and largesse of which has never been seen before in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land in Quebec.
The lots acquired include: Lot 1 856 893 of the cadastre of Québec, 501.70 square meters, located between rue Debussy and avenue Papineau, for the sum of $ 500; Lot 1 492 863 of the cadastre of Québec, with an area of 464.5 square meters, located at the corner of Boulevard des Mille-Îles and Rue Debussy for $ 500 and Lots 1 492 347, 1 493 361 and 1 493 362 of the cadastre of Québec, with a total area of 1 393.5 square meters, located at the corner of Boulevard des Mille-Îles and Rue Debussy, for the amount of $ 1,500.
while the City’s Evaluation Service has been managing the transactions of the 21 land consolidation sites earmarked in the strategy, Laval has acquired 72 lots since 2015. Emphasis has been placed on Site 2 since April 2016 which is a pilot project of the Laval Agricultural Development Plan (PDZA) whose aim is the complete consolidation of this territory. Only for this site the administrators have already concluded 49 lots acquisitions.
Laval is one of the few cities in Québec where urban life is close to a permanent agricultural zone. This zone occupies 30% of its territory approximately 7000 hectares. This land area is operated by 121 farms in addition to a network of 53 farm kiosks. Annual revenues of $ 60 million are derived from the sale of agricultural products.
Agriculture is a major component of Laval’s economic vitality and integrates with urban activity in the same way as trade and industry. Support for Laval farmers is therefore very important especially in light of the fact that production of harvests for local consumption is ecologically more favourable.
On June 13, 2016, the City of Laval unveiled its Agricultural Zone Development Plan (PDZA). The PDZA aims to enhance the Laval agricultural zone by promoting the sustainable development of agricultural activities. This strategic diagnosis of the agricultural sector of Laval has identified key orientations and priorities for development in the next five years.
The executive committee was presented a summary of the highlights of Laval’s economic activities for the 3rd quarter of 2016. The Economic Development Service compiles a quarterly report tabulating actual economic data which is compared to performances of Laval’s economic activity and annual economic indicators of the last five years. This data provides a picture of the health of the Laval economy and its continued evolution.
For the third quarter of 2016 the following is particularly noteworthy. There was a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 6.6% from 5.4% in the second quarter of 2016. This is well below the average rate of 7.2% of the last 10 years in Laval. It is also a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the 3rd quarter of 2015 when it was 9.8%. As a result the number of residents calling Laval home has increased by more than 22,200 during this period. Also encouraging for continued economic development is that the value of building permits issued in industry and commerce has increased sharply. It has almost doubled compared to the same period in 2015 and increased by more than 20% compared to 2014.
The mission of the Armand-Frappier Biosciences Interpretation Center (CIBAF) is to promote understanding of scientific issues related to human health by offering educational activities to the entire population. The physical premises currently are located in the technological and bioscience park. The physical spaces available for the functioning of the CIBAF are insufficient, too small, poorly adapted to the functions of a science center. Also the facility is difficult to access for the general population it serves being located on a secure university campus.
The Executive Committee authorized the call for tenders by way of public bidding for professional services for the preparation of the functional and technical program studies and performance specifications and services required for the design and construction of a new center. The publication of the offer for services will be published shortly in local medias and in the SEAO electronic bidding system.
The location of the newly constructed Bioscience Center building will be in the immediate vicinity of the Cosmodôme in Laval. This relocation will favor a centralization of attractions in the scientific culture domain and also increase the visibility of this unique museum center.
A resolution was adopted by the executive to present the candidacy of the City of Laval for the Velo Quebec bicycle friendly certification. This Bicycle Movement initiative encourages communities and organizations to make cycling a real option for transportation and recreation for all. Laval wishes to submit its candidacy as a community at large developing a cycling network that favors the use of the bicycle as a real option in transportation and leisure, as evidenced by the bicycle racks attached to buses of the public transportation system.
Acceptance in this program allows a municipality access to tools and support services for the development and promotion of cycling.
Financial assistance of $ 12,385.50 (before taxes) will be provided to fund the project “For Equal Social Development in Laval ” specifically to the Secretariat for the Status of Women. This project involves providing specialized gender sensitivity training sessions and accompaniment to municipal staff and community and institutional partners engaged in the development of the Laval Regional Social Development Policy.
The deployment of this project will be carried out with the assistance of consultant Charlotte Thibault an expert in gender analysis. Her candidacy was presented by the Secretariat for the Status of Women.
Martin C. Barry
Residential property owners in Laval will be paying about 1.4 per cent more in taxes in 2017, according to the city’s latest annual budget which was released to the media on Monday.
While city officials point out that the hike is less than the 2 per cent rate of inflation, it means the average tax bill for a $337,000 house will be $43 higher when the invoice arrives by mail in April. If you paid around $2,774 in taxes in 2016, your bill could be approximately $2,817 in the coming year.
An $825 million budget
The fourth budget put together by Mayor Marc Demers’s administration since he and the Mouvement Lavallois formed the majority on Laval city council in 2013 foresees $825 million in operating expenses in 2017. This compares to $810.5 million in the 2016 budget a year ago.
Laval is allotting $944.5 million for its three-year (2017-2019) public works and infrastructure renewal budget (PTI), in annual instalments of $323.6, $306.2 and $314.7 million per year. According to the city, the amounts are being divided between renewal and rehabilitation of existing facilities and structures (43.9 per cent) and the development of new infrastructures (56.1 per cent).
“This budget and this triennial public works plan represent a fair balance between the development of large planned infrastructures and the growth of communities in various neighbourhoods,” Mayor Marc Demers said.
Balancing big and small
“We are structuring the city with major projects,” he continued. “We are also investing in local neighbourhoods as well as local services. The sustainment of neighbourhood life, as well as security, mobility, sustainable development and culture have a major place in the list of our priorities.”
During a journalists’ question period, Demers was asked whether his administration’s decision to keep the tax increase lower than in previous years was influenced by the fact 2017 is an election year. “Our goal was always to be below inflation,” he responded, while noting that Laval froze property taxes in its first budget. “We have always managed to maintain a balance and this remains our goal.”
Compared to the last PTI budget (2016-2018) of $848 million, the new PTI budget for 2017-2019 is almost $100 million larger. Demers noted that the cost for one of Laval’s biggest expenditures ever, Place Bell, comes to $200 million, which must be factored in. “We had to give ourselves the means to raise our capacity to realize projects,” he said.
Arenas and libraries
The three-year PTI plan includes $140 million for the construction of a bio-methane, composting and eco-centre facility. The city will spend $13.3 million rehabilitating several sports facilities, including the Mike Bossy and Hartland Monahan arenas. Laval says it will also invest in the upgrading of the Multicultural library, the Philipppe Panneton library branch and the construction of a new public library headquarters building.
The city’s contribution to the operating expenses of the Société de Transport de Laval is increasing by $4.7 million to $70.1 million. The city has decided to expand a municipal program providing at-home support for senior citizens. Laval is creating a new police investigation division to deal with sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The city is also adding $800,000 to a fund dedicated to social housing.
In terms of municipal administration, the city is pursuing a policy to have more legal services provided from within its own bureaucracy, rather than by outsourced legal firms. (This became a key issue during the former Vaillancourt’s time when the city’s legal division was much smaller and legal work was contracted out to a firm of lawyers which kept offices in a building right across the street from Laval city hall.)
Sablon leasing changes
In the new budget, the city also announced changes in the way it administers leases with organizations and community groups which use municipal buildings such as the Centre du Sablon, the Cosmodôme and the Place des Aînés.
According to Sylvain Gouin, a finance department official, the previous arrangement between the city and the groups established leases with a symbolic value of $1, which did not reflect the actual worth of the facilities, he said.
“We decided to make leases with these three organizations based on the actual market value of the facilities,” he added, while maintaining that the new arrangement will give a clearer idea of what each organization receives in subsidies from the city. The new arrangement won’t change anything in actual costs for the organizations, he insisted.
Click here to read the Laval News Volume 24-25 online
This is a archived copy in PDF format of the Laval News Volume 24-25 that was published and distributed December 21, 2016.
This issue covers local events such us politics, sports and human interest stories. It features editorials and other columns
Click here to read the Laval News Volume 24-24 online
This is a archived copy in PDF format of the Laval News Volume 24-24 that was published and distributed December 7, 2016.
This issue covers local events such us politics, sports and human interest stories. It features editorials and other columns
The City of Laval has announced that the Water Leak at the water filtration station that caused water to come out discolored yesterday evening has been resolved. The system had to be flushed out, and that is what caused the discoloration.
(SOURCE: Ville de Laval)
Martin C. Barry
Action Laval, the political party which finished second in the municipal election three years ago and has been the official opposition at Laval city hall ever since, launched its campaign for next year’s election with a meet-and-greet brunch at The Palace on Nov. 13, drawing up to 800 supporters.
Although Jean-Claude Gobé, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013, previously stated his intention to again seek the mayoralty in November 2017, he has now made it official.
“Alone before you, with Aglaia at my sides since exactly three years and ten days, it is with great humility that I thank you for your support,” he said, referring to the party’s only current city councillor. “This support strengthens my resolve to represent you once again as candidate for the mayoralty in the election next Nov. 5.”
Gobé also introduced 10 new representatives who will be running in the election, as well as Action Laval incumbent Aglaia Revelakis, who currently is the city councillor for Chomedey where she will be seeking another four-year term.
Revelakis praised her leader for the support she said he provided her in the last few years. “When I joined the team in 2013, he encouraged me and gave me the possibility to realize my dreams and political objectives,” she said.
Although Gobé has maintained a low profile since the last election, often sitting quietly in the public seats in the Laval city council chamber during meetings, he has also been a fairly constant presence at a good number of public events, keeping the party in the limelight. While Action Laval succeeded in winning just two seats in 2013, the party took in more than 24 per cent of the popular vote.
Action Laval’s seat count was reduced by half when St-Vincent de Paul city councillor Paolo Galati decided to leave the party and join the Mouvement Lavallois which has the majority of seats on city council. At one point formerly independent city councillor for Fabreville Michel Trottier also joined Action Laval, although he later withdrew and eventually formed the Parti Laval.
While virtually all the other mayoralty candidates in 2013 dropped out of sight following the election, Gobé points out that he never disappeared completely. “Contrary to others who had run for mayor, I did not resign,” he said in a statement issued to journalists at the launch. “Rather, I chose to support with all my experience Mrs. Revelakis in her remarkable work. With our considerable score, we formed an efficient and constructive opposition, a first in Laval.”
Shortly after the last election when Action Laval was recognized as the official opposition, the party began receiving an annual allotment of more than $600,000 from the city’s budget to pay the salaries of a half-dozen researchers, advisors and political assistants. While Revelakis’s annual salary as a city councillor was around $30,000, documents furnished by the city show Gobé was receiving $42,700 as a “special advisor” to the opposition.
In an address, Gobé noted that over the past three years he had little choice but to remain silent during the debates in city council since he had no right to intervene. “During these three years, I’ve had all the necessary time to take stock of the distance separating the bureaucratic preoccupations of the Demers administration and those of Laval residents,” he said, while adding that “the distance is enormous.”
Gobé said regarding Action Laval’s time on the sidelines to the more than 700 supporters gathered before him that “your journey in the desert is over. During this journey, we not only survived. We also knew how to reorganize, become prepared and, most of all, grow in numbers thanks to the dedicated and committed citizens of Laval who believe in our city. Your presence here is the best testimony in this regard.”
The 10 new representatives chosen to run for Action Laval are: Vittornio Di Genova (St-Vincent-de-Paul), Achille T. Cifelli (Val-des-Arbres), Stéphane Bacon (Duvernay/Pont-Viau), Julius Buté (Concorde/Bois-de-Boulogne), Elie Sader (Renaud), Sayed Malhem (L’Abord-à-Plouffe), Benjamin Romano (Ste-Dorothée), Kathy Barrette (L’Orée-des-Bois), Micheline Barbar (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin) and Benoit Gauthier (Sainte-Rose). The party says more candidates will be announced in the near future.
Laval City Hall Watch - November 23 2016
The Executive Committee authorized the acquisition of two lots located on Rue Debussy, north of Boulevard des Mille-Îles in Laval’s district of Auteuil. The lots encompass an area greater than nine hundred square meters. This acquisition will cost city coffers an amount of $ 30,000 and will be disbursed as part of the city’s program of land acquisitions for conservation purposes.
The administration has developed a policy on the conservation and development of the natural habitats of Laval in order to preserve and enrich its unique natural heritage. This includes a network of; 250 km of interior waterways, wetlands including inter alia, marshes, swamps and ponds. Also many green areas including forests, woods, meadows and the preservation of an agricultural zone which covers 30% of the territory are also spaces targeted by this policy. Administrators add that developing an environment also involves managing it to make it accessible to the public.
The City will shortly be issuing a call for tenders for a major renovation of the Hartland-Monahan arena. In light of the commitments that the administration has agreed to comply with under the Montreal Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases, Laval wants to replace existing operating HCFC R-22 refrigeration systems with greener alternatives.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is widely regarded as the world’s most successful environment protection agreement. It is the only treaty with universal ratification, with all 197 member countries of the United Nations having accepted legally-binding obligations to phase out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The Protocol sets out a mandatory timetable for the phase out of ozone-depleting substances including hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), such as R22 by 2016.
The Executive Committee agreed to award the contract SP-28898 to the corporation “Construction Caruso Inc.” for the sum of $ 77,585.20 (excluding taxes) for interior renovation work at the Bigras Community Center.
Laval’s engineering service has prepared technical plans for the installation of an aqueduct network to service part of Boulevard des Mille-Îles and other waterfront lots in the Auteuil sector. This infrastructure development recognizes the demand of the local residents who want to be served by the municipal waterworks network.
The executive committee as a first step to realize this goal has authorized the laboratory firm Les Services EXP Inc. to carry out a geotechnical study, a preliminary environmental soil characterization and a phase 1 environmental site study for the installation of a water main pipeline network linking Boulevard des Mille-Îles and other lots in the Auteuil sector. The cost of these professional services is $19,358 taxes in.
The Regional Council of Culture of Laval is recognized by the municipality as the official body responsible for overseeing cultural development in the region. The City is providing a grant of $ 75,000 to the Regional Council for Culture under the local and regional territorial development fund 2016 budget. Money for this grant comes in part from the now defunct CRÉ de Laval whose funds have been transferred to the newly created bureau for regional development and initiatives fund.
A grant of $ 500 has been awarded to the organization l’Association des citoyens et amis du Vieux-Sainte-Rose (Association of Citizens and Friends of Old Sainte-Rose) to defray the cost of the manufacture and installation of a patrimonial plaque on a heritage house in Old (Vieux) Sainte-Rose.
In addition financial assistance in the form of a $300 grant has been approved for the organization Aide aux personnes âgées, défavorisées ou handicapées de Laval (Aid to the Elderly, Disadvantaged or Disabled in Laval) for their annual Christmas party which is to be held on December 22nd 2016.
The 6th edition of the Laval Christmas Market will take place once again at the Center de la nature park. Over sixty artisans await you under a heated tent to offer you quality products. Exhibitors will display and present for sale gourmet delights, jewelry, toys, fashion accessories, decorative accessories, local food and wine products, and crafts. There are even treats for four footed friends. Natural Christmas trees, Quebec balsam firs between 5 feet and 8 feet tall will be available for purchase at a cost of $35 to $45, depending on size.
The Arts Village will also be transformed to highlight the magic of Christmas for young and old alike.
Many activities are planned including horse-drawn carriage rides that show off the beauty of the park,
mini pine tree decoration workshop for children under 12 years of age, writing letters to Santa and movies. Even Santa Claus and the Star Fairy will be present at special time throughout the weekend to greet visitors and take pictures.
The event is scheduled for the weekend of December 9th to 11th, opening at 10:00 am each day but closing at different hours over the weekend. Consult Laval’s website for a complete listing of activities and schedules. Some activities may require reservations. Parking is $7.00 on site but free for holders of Laval’s Carte Advantage.
Laval’s new 211 telephone information and referral line dedicated to social and community services is now live. A first of its kind in the Montreal area aide is available in both English and French with multilingual assistance as well in 200 languages. Operators are available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., year-round and through their data base with information on 300 organizations in the Laval and greater Montreal area provide residents with an unprecedented access to important community resources.
Diverse organizations dedicated to health and safety, psychosocial support, employment assistance and human rights are examples of the services 211 operators can refer callers to. The same information can be obtained online at the services website at https://www.211laval.ca
The City of Laval invested $305,000 in the five-year joint initiative with the Centre de Référence du Grand Montréal.
