Martin C. Barry

‘A good cigar is a Smoke.’

– Rudyard Kipling –

Without apologies to Kipling, who knew a thing or two about stogies all the same, there were plenty of cigars to go around – just as a good number of toasts of single malt scotch whiskey were hoisted and downed – during the Hellenic Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal’s cigar tasting evening at Stogies Crescent St. cigar lounge on Jan. 25.

“This is our fifth annual cigar event where we invite clients, as well as guests and members of our business community to take part in an evening of fine cigars while enjoying a good drink,” said Evan Kiousis, vice-president of marketing for HBOT Montreal.

A convivial atmosphere

In Stogies’ upstairs cigar lounge and bar where up to 70 people crowded during the event, the air was thick with fragrant cigar haze. As well, the atmosphere was as convivial as a 19^th century gentlemen’s club. Although a few women members of the HBOT were present, they were outnumbered by their merry male counterparts. And by the look of things, the men appeared to be getting the most enjoyment from the cigars.

“Cigars are something that are enjoyed in a social setting,” said Kiousis. “Very few people like to smoke cigars by themselves. Some people do. But we do this because it’s a very social and convivial environment and it’s conducive to sharing experiences and business practices.”

Among those networking were entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors, accountants and other professionals. They shared stories, and in some cases offered advice on how to attain professional success. “We invite our clients, our friends to participate in an evening to see if we can increase the presence of Hellenic business people in the community and to show them the strength of the Greek community in business,” added Kiousis.

Mentoring younger members

“We’re very proud of what the community has accomplished and we’re looking to further that, while mentoring young up-and-coming Greeks and allow them an opportunity to meet other more successful Greeks. We want to help the younger generation get to where we are quicker with everything we’ve learned.”

As he suggested, a new and younger generation is beginning to make its presence known in the HBOT, just as an increasing number of women are also becoming members. “There are more women coming on board than we’ve had in the past,” said Kiousis. “Especially in the legal, accounting and medical professions. And they’re coming on board to share their experiences and to try to help the up-and-coming generation in the Greek business community to go further.”

Vanessa Velentzas, an auditor and senior manager at Montreal-based accounting services firm Richter LLP, typifies the younger generation the HBOT would like to see more of in its membership. “I think it’s important for people of my age to realize that we are a presence in the Hellenic community and that it’s important for us at a young age to start building relationships,” said Velentzas.

The HBOT holds many events

According to HBOT president John Charalampopoulos, the board is actively trying to recruit younger members “in order to take this organization to the next level and continue for years to come,” he said. In an average year, the HBOT holds more than a half-dozen important events, several of them for networking. Including smaller gatherings, the board holds an event each month, he added. The HBOT also interacts and occasionally holds events in conjunctions with other groups in the Montreal region, including the Italian and Jewish chambers of commerce, in order to broaden network connections.

The HBOT’s Deka Awards Gala, celebrating Hellenic excellence, is without doubt their largest annual event. Held this year on May 10 at The Windsor downtown, the awards recognize outstanding Hellenic individuals and businesses in greater Montreal who through their creativity and excellence have contributed to the enrichment of the region. The award winners are chosen by a selection committee made up of professionals and business people. The deadline for the 2017 Deka Awards is Feb. 14 and nominations can be submitted by e-mail to info@hbotmontreal.com.

Martin C. Barry

Although the City of Laval got the go-ahead last week to build 124 new units at the long-neglected Val-Martin social housing project thanks to $18.2 million from Quebec and Ottawa, the number still falls far short of a 1,000-unit goal to match Laval’s needs, according to Mayor Marc Demers.

Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos and Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs Martin Coiteux were at the Habitation Raymond-Goyer in Chomedey on Jan. 16 to announce more than $407 million in funding over two years for the creation of additional affordable and social housing across the province.

Needed: 1,000 units social housing

Questioned by the Laval News about the city’s projected requirements in social housing, Demers cited a report issued by Laval a few months ago. “The needs are about 1,000,” he said, while pointing out that Ottawa, Quebec and the city agree this is only the first installment of several over the next few years which should bring the number of completed social housing units in Laval much closer to the target.

Nonetheless, Demers was visibly pleased with the commitment made by Quebec and Ottawa, following years of buck-passing and foot-dragging over which government bore more responsibility for social housing. All the while, the Val-Martin housing project deteriorated to the point a large number of its units became mould-infested and uninhabitable and had to be boarded over.

“What’s happening today is strongly symbolic of the willingness of the three levels of government to take on a problem that unfortunately afflicts society all across the country, in the province and in Laval,” said Demers. “Laval will stand out as a symbol showing there is willingness to solve the problem of affordable social housing.”

$407 million for the province

The two governments maintain that their investments will help improve access to affordable and social housing for households in need, particularly by supporting seniors and victims of family violence while addressing repairs of existing social housing. The work, which will begin in the summer of 2017, will be carried out over a two-year period.

Under the agreement, $286 million is being committed by Ottawa and $121 million by Quebec. The announcement was made near the site of Immeubles Val-Martin. Also on hand were Vimy MP Eva Nassif, as well as Francine Charbonneau, Minister responsible for Seniors and Anti-Bullying and Minister responsible for the Laval region and many other elected officials.

“Our government is committed to investing in affordable housing, strengthening our communities and helping to create jobs and grow the middle class and those working hard to join it,” Duclos said, adding that the federal government hoped to provide better lodging for families, seniors and individuals while laying a strong foundation for a sustainable economic future.

Val-Martin serves as example

“This agreement will help Quebec build and renovate more social and affordable housing units, while keeping all the flexibility needed to prioritize and develop major projects,” said Coiteux. “The case of Immeubles Val-Martin is a great example of what we can do with this funding. The funding announced today is in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars invested every year by the Government of Quebec in support of Quebec households in need of affordable housing.”

“Our government is working alongside the Quebec government in order to give people living in Quebec greater access to affordable housing, and to make improvements to social housing. We are committed to grow the economy while strengthening our communities, including Vimy,” said Eva Nassif, MP for the riding of Vimy where the Val-Martin housing project is located.

Was hard work for Ouellette

Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette said he felt it was an especially important moment. “In the 10 years I’ve been in politics, it’s 10 years we’ve been talking about Val-Martin and 10 years we’ve been pushing this file,” he said, while adding that he found it meaningful that the federal and provincial officials chose Laval to announce the funding envelope for the entire province.

The province wide funding includes $48.4 million to support the construction, repair and adaptation of affordable housing for seniors; $22.2 million to support the construction and renovation of shelters and transition houses for victims of family violence; $94.5 million to help address the demand for repairs as social housing units age and to improve efficiency and reduce energy and water use; and $242.4 million as part of the commitment to double current funding levels under the IAH Agreement to increase the supply of affordable housing in Quebec.

(TLN)

During the Jan. 17 meeting of Laval city council, council passed a resolution calling for a new code of ethics for employees. Revised and added to, the proposed ethics code would include the following changes:

The introduction of a rule forbidding employees from accepting gifts, regardless of the value; new commitments by employees after they no longer work for the city, including clauses pertaining to lobbying, loyalty and protection of the public interest; new rules enshrining the sorts of remunerate or volunteer activities an employee can take part in.

A major change for Laval

“The city underwent a major transformation over the last few years, and as regards ethics this change was marked by numerous fields of improvement for which Laval received recognition,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “The updating of the employees’ code of ethics, which was done with their cooperation, is yet another demonstration of renewal in Laval.”

Serge Lamontagne, director-general of the city, said Laval is also working on the preparation of a code that will apply to Laval’s many suppliers in order to assure the most transparency possible in the way things are done. “This document will be echoing the ethical responsibilities of employees,” Lamontagne said.

Martin C. Barry

While the month of January can be a dull and depressing time of the year, a hopeful ray of light shone for the staff and clients at Agape in Chomedey last week when city councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis dropped by with a $450 donation to the charitable services group.

First time for everything

Although it was the first time Karidogiannis, who represents the district of l’Abord-à-Plouffe, made a major donation to Agape, he said it’s something that will probably be an annual tradition from now on.

“We’re allocated a certain amount of money every year to help support our community organizations, and it’s up to us to find which ones need support,” he said. “Agape is at the top of my list. This is the first year, but hopefully not the last. And hopefully we can make this donation grow somehow.

A friend to Agape

“I’m always offering a helping hand whenever Betty needs something,” Karidogiannis continued, referring to the organization’s secretary-treasurer Elizabeth McLeod. “It’s not always easy, but I try to help as much as I can. They’re also my neighbours because I live just down the street. The people that Agape helps are also my neighbours. And you never know when you may also be in a position to needs Agape’s help.”

Agape was just one on a list of eight or nine charitable organizations that benefited from donations from Councillor Karidogiannis. They included local community supermarket Au Panier de Chomedey on Lévesque Blvd. West. “I had four-and-half thousand dollars at my disposal this year and it was partitioned to as many groups and organizations as possible,” he said. “And hopefully next year it’ll be for even more.”

Praises anglo services group

He praised Agape for being the only group of its kind in Chomedey to stand up for the rights of its principal clients. “It’s the only anglo services community organization in the neighbourhood, which is very important since the anglophone community is growing,” said Karidogiannis.

In an interview with the Laval News, McLeod said the money “will help us feed more people. We have more refugees and immigrants coming in. We have people who arrived in this country last year who are no longer receiving support and they’re starting to come to us now. So every penny that we receive now really helps us to feed everyone who comes in to us.”

Ongoing refugee crisis

While maintaining that the refugee situation hasn’t changed much since last year at this time when it was being treated as a crisis, she added, “we sort of got used to dealing with it. We’ve kept most of the families who arrived. The bigger crisis happens when they’ve been here a year and their support runs out. They’re learning French, but they can’t find a job. That’s when they become eligible to apply for welfare which is not a large enough amount of money to survive.

“So we have to continue seeing to their needs, feeding and clothing them. I don’t see an improvement over last year, but I do see a regular flow continuing of what started for us last year. We have to bear in mind through this that we still have our regulars. Some of our people can’t work because they have severe handicaps and restrictions for work. Others suffer from mental health issues. We have to take care of all of them. These are some of the biggest challenges we face.”

A tight financial situation

All this being said, Agape is not anticipating any major increases in subsidies or donations in the near future, McLeod continued. “I would love to say yes, that all kinds of money is coming in and we can all be happy about it, but this is not the movies.

“Our biggest concern is to make sure that we can keep our heads above water,” she said. “Being the secretary-treasurer, of course, I always feel the big responsibility of seeing that our financial affairs stay proper. But the money just doesn’t come in. We’ve been operating at loss for a few years. We promised our chartered accountant that this year we would break even, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”