Martin C. Barry

Former federal Conservative cabinet minister Tony Clement aimed some sharp barbs at the new Liberal government and its leader, Justin Trudeau, during a five-to-seven event held at The Palace on Le Corbusier Blvd. last week by Laval-area Tories holding one of their first gatherings since the election last October.

‘A wrong decision’

Clement, who retained his seat in the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka despite the Conservatives’ massive electoral losses, is now the Conservative opposition’s official critic for foreign affairs. Regarding one of the Trudeau government’s most recent and controversial decisions – to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from active combat duty against ISIS – Clement said:

“This is such a wrong decision. It’s wrong on so many different levels because we have a great military tradition of working with our allies on common causes to defend our security – to defend, quite frankly our civilization – against those who would seek to destroy it.”

Canada ‘backing away,’ he said

Noting that, after attacks by terrorists in Paris over the past year, France, the U.S. and the U.K. “are stepping up” to the challenge of combating ISIS, Clement said Canada under the new Liberal government “is stepping away.”

Clement put an ironic spin on Justin Trudeau’s claim – following the Liberal victory – that “Canada is back.” Clement said the Liberal government’s response to international terrorism is actually an example that “Canada is backing away. Not a very good sign. And this is being repeated, of course, in many other foreign policy files including cozying up to (Russian president) Mr. Putin. And this is of great concern to those Canadians of Ukrainian origin.”

Clement said the Conservatives also have concerns about the Liberal government’s decision to remove sanctions against Iran, as well as the fact the Liberals want to normalize Canada’s relationship with that country, “which is a state sponsor of terror even today,” he said.

On the election results

Looking back on the October 2015 election, Clement said “the results, of course, were disappointing. Any result where you don’t gain government is disappointing.” He continued, “people just wanted change. It had been a long time – 10 years is a long time in modern politics. I did not get the sense of a complete rejection of everything that Conservatives stood for.

“Do we have to change some things in our party, in our message, in our communications? Absolutely. But we start with a good base: 99 members of Parliament, 33 of those are brand new, with 12 MPs from Quebec. But it’s a great mixture of experience, but also some new points of view in our caucus.

Preparing for next election

“So I want to report to you that we are feeling good,” he said, “that we feel that we can ask the difficult questions, demand the answers on behalf of Canadians, on behalf of taxpayers, on behalf of Canadians who want to feel safe and secure within our borders and outside our borders. And we feel we have a mission, and of course the ultimate mission as a political party is always not only to stand by these principles and these values, but also to be there come election time with a message that we can govern.”

Among the guests for the evening were Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, as well as a number of Montreal-area Conservatives who ran in the last election, including Anthony Mavros who was a candidate in the Laval riding of Vimy. In an interview with the Laval News, Housakos expressed cynicism regarding the Liberal government’s stated intention of reforming the Senate.

Housakos on Senate reform

“So far they have a process in place that’s a sham,” he said. “They have appointed a committee to vet Senate nominations, a committee which is going to provide a list to the Prime Minister that is not binding – a list that is confidential. So in what way is this system any different than what previous Prime Ministers have done in the past?”

While Housakos acknowledged that even former Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about reforming the Senate, while continuing to make appointments to the chamber, Housakos insisted that “any Prime Minister who’s genuine about Senate reform should recognize the only way to do it is through a constitutional discussion with the shareholders of the country.

 Martin C. Barry

The first “open house” to be held by Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif since she and her staff moved into new offices on Le Corbusier Blvd. nearly a month ago drew an overflow crowd of constituents, friends and well-wishers on Feb. 20.

Dignitaries show support

Among the more than 100 people who came and went during the morning hour reception were Alfred-Pellan Liberal MP Angelo Iacono, Thérèse-De Blainville Liberal MP Ramez Ayoub, a representative of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Liberal MP Linda Lapointe, Laval city councillor for Saint-Martin Aline Dib and many members of the local Lebanese community.

Addressing the crowd, Nassif thanked constituents for voting so overwhelmingly for her in the Oct. 19 election which saw the Liberals win an impressive 46 per cent of the votes in Vimy – far outdistancing the second-runner up NDP. Nassif won the seat after running unsuccessfully for the Liberals in two previous federal elections in Laval.

Community leaders speak

Among those who got up to speak during the event was Aïda Karibian, a member of the Armenian Canadian Council. “I would like to thank Eva for being so perseverant over the years,” she said. “We will be behind Eva all the way. I admire her perseverance, I admire her energy. Her family is behind her: her husband, her children. So I wish her good luck.”

Viken Attarian, president of the Liberal Party of Canada Quebec region’s policy commission, said that Nassif, who he first came to know five years ago, managed to cheer up the members of the commission who normally are very serious, and that “she rolled up her sleeves” and helped with the translation of long and complex documents. (Nassif is a professional translator.)

Her work with the Liberals

As well, he said Nassif brought up important points on social justice while she was active with the policy commission. “And so you people of Laval who know her, you might also wish to let others know how fortunate you are to have someone who opens her heart so completely,” Attarian continued. “Eva is the embodiment of perseverance. She never gave up. She failed twice, but kept on going and showed incredible spirit. I think she sets an example by her own life and her own actions. A true leader.”

Sits on several commissions

In an interview with the Laval News, Nassif pointed out that she now sits as an associate member of the House of Commons’ Committee for Immigration and Citizenship. As well, she sits on three other Parliamentary standing committees: Status of Women, Pay Equity and Library of Parliament. In addition, she is a member of two Parliamentary Associations/Inter parliamentary Groups: the Canada-China Legislative Association and the Canada-France Legislative Association.

Martin C. Barry

Some of the tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment money promised by Justin Trudeau during last year’s election campaign could soon start flowing into Laval and other parts of the country, according to Marc-Aurèle-Fortin Liberal MP Yves Robillard.

Pleased with turnout

In preparation for the federal budget expected in March, Robillard held a consultation meeting on Feb. 10 at the Gabrielle Roy branch of the City of Laval library network on Dagenais Blvd. Robillard and his team issued a statement afterwards saying they were pleased with the turnout as well as the feedback they obtained from those who attended.

“Our government committed itself to listen to the citizens and our preparations for the 2016 federal budget reflect that,” Robillard said. “Together we talked about what means should be taken to stimulate our economy to improve things for the middle class and to make our community a place where it’s good to live.”

City councillors attended

Among those attending were several Laval city councillors, including independent councillor for Fabreville Michel Trottier and Mouvement Lavallois councillor for Auteuil Jocelyne Frédéric-Gauthier. Both expressed satisfaction with the openness of the proceedings, which they said represented a shift in attitude on the part of local MPs since the election of the Trudeau government last October.

According to a commitment made by Justin Trudeau during the campaign, the Liberals would make what they call “the largest new infrastructure investment in Canadian history” – nearly $125 billion over ten years, and nearly double what the Conservative government was spending. The program would include dedicated funding to provinces, territories and municipalities for public transit, social housing and environmental infrastructure needs.

Federal infrastructure money

Two weeks ago, the Trudeau government announced that Alberta will be immediately receiving a $700 million package of infrastructure funding from Ottawa to assist the oil-rich province during a time when its economy is suffering seriously from low petroleum prices. The funding had previously been promised by the former Conservative government but had apparently never been released.

In an interview with the Laval News, Robillard suggested that an even larger amount of funding will be heading in Quebec’s way during the current year. He said $1.5 billion remains to be distributed in the province from a federal government commitment dating to 2015 and which was part of the budget for that year.

“For us $1.5 billion is a big investment for Quebec,” said Robillard. “But, of course, the projects that qualify for some of this will have to be structured projects. There are some we are already hearing about which are sports-related projects. Others involve road infrastructure. But I think the important thing for us will be that this $1.5 billion is evenly distributed.”

Fabrose soccer stadium

Robillard was not as certain as to how much of the amount the Laval region will be receiving. However, he did speak of one project in particular in the Fabreville area whose supporters have been clamoring to receive financial support for some time: the proposed construction of a $6 million outdoor soccer complex to serve mainly the Club de Soccer Fabrose.

While remaining coy about the federal commitment to the project, Robillard did say that “it would also serve the needs of Vimont-Auteuil.” He said he is currently working on the project in conjunction with local provincial Liberal MNA Jean Habel in Sainte-Rose and Vimont Liberal MNA Jean Rousselle, as well as federal Liberal MP for Laval-Les Îles Fayçal El-Khoury.

“The project is coming along very well, but now we need to have a coordination meeting to present the budget to the minister,” he continued. “What I will be doing, along with the municipal, federal and provincial, is to present a structured project. All the studies are completed. It’s fairly simple now to present it to the minister for infrastructure projects.”

Still working on project

In an e-mail sent to the Laval News this week, Robillard’s political assistant, Geoffroy Desautels, clarified the funding issue. “To date, there is no known official investment for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin,” he said. “Following the consultation process and starting next week Mr. Robillard will be making representations to the Minister of Finance in order to maximize the infrastructure investments for Laval.

“It would be premature to say anything concerning numbers or to single out specific projects, even if from a personal perspective Mr. Robillard is aware of certain shortcomings in his riding, notably as concerns sports infrastructure,” he added. “In this sense, the outdoor soccer stadium being developed by Fabrose interests him in particular and he intends to make pressure in order to obtain the support of the federal government in this dossier.”

On February 10, 2016 a group of North Star Academy Laval students spent the day at the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Laval. The day was filled with a tour of the facility, presentations from the various departments and a much anticipated introduction to case-studies. Our students benefited from the knowledge shared by the various professionals and enjoyed observing and interacting with the staff. We would like to thank AGAPE for organising such a great event! Pictured above Teacher Mme. Cassandre Patry, with students Jessica Tiramani, Safaa Seddougui, Salwa Seddougui, Mariz Saman and Bianca Garabedian

(TLN) The City of Laval in conjunction with the Caisses Desjardins de Laval is inviting non-profit groups recognized by the city to submit the names of worthy volunteers to be candidates for the 32^nd annual Hosia volunteer recognition awards evening taking place on May 3.

The deadline is March 4. The awards ceremony is taking place at the André-Mathieu concert and performance hall. The selection of winners is being made by a special jury. Caisse Desjardins de l’Ouest de Laval executive-director Jacinthe Godmer is this year’s jury chairwoman.

The judges will be evaluating candidates on the following criteria: diversity, impact, determination and innovation in volunteer efforts. Forms for submitting candidacies can be downloaded from this web site: www.evenements.laval.ca.

(TLN) In the name of citizens, municipal councillors and employees of the city, Laval Mayor Marc Demers offered his condolences earlier this week to the family of Claude Ulysse Lefebvre, Laval’s third mayor (1981 – 1989) who has died.

Consulted citizens

“Mr. Lefebvre passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones after a well-lived life during, a large part of which was dedicated to developing Laval,” Demers said in a statement after meeting with the former mayor’s family.

Claude Ulysse Lefebvre will be remembered for a number of advancements in Laval, including the creation of the Consultactions, which were forums during which Laval residents were invited to speak openly on the policies of the city and to express their wants and needs in the various districts.

Expanded libraries

Lefebvre also will be remembered for greatly expanding the Laval municipal library system following a public consultation, and for making the Maison des arts de Laval a reality. Known for his great love of culture and his ability to listen to people, Lefebvre’s record included the revitalization of several commercial arteries in the former towns and villages that make up Laval.

Martin C. Barry

Outrage. That’s the only word that comes close to describing one Laval business owner’s feelings of frustration after 17 years of fighting with the City of Laval over a chronic but as yet unresolved flooding and sewer backup problem on Notre Dame Boulevard in Chomedey.

Monster on the loose

“We’re fighting a monster called Ville de Laval,” Jane Moraitis, owner of the Oneiro II boutique, which specializes in formal attire and accessories for baptisms, first communions and confirmations, said in an interview with The Laval News.

“They deprived us of our dream being accomplished, our time with family and friends, suffering great losses, and suffering with health issues caused by immense fatigue and stress?” added Moraitis.

In Greek, the name of her boutique, Oneiro, translates literally as dream. But since buying their building in the late 1990s, the situation has been anything but. “We started out with big dreams of making something exclusive and big, which it is, but this is what we’ve ended up with,” she said.

A year after purchasing the building at 3812-18 Notre-Dame Blvd. in August 1998, they faced the first of a series of floods: it was a huge inundation that destroyed an estimated $27,000 worth of merchandise in the basement, not including lost patterns and plans or time spent cleaning up.

In Greek, Oneiro, means dream, but since buying her building in the late 1990s, Jane Moraitis’s situation has been anything but.

A nightmare grows worse

Her family’s dream of success came to a halt. While the insurance company paid the first $10,000, the city – citing a variety of reasons – refused to pay the balance of $17,000. She took precautions by closing the valves on the floor of the basement and by placing all the boxes of merchandise on bricks.

However, when the city decided to repair and enlarge the street in front of the business about eight years ago, the problem worsened and became a nightmare. Every time there was a heavy rainfall, the street became a river, since the sewers appeared inadequate to do their job properly.

On June 3, 2014, rainwater came in from the front doors of the business. That day, according to Moraitis, she and other members of her family removed 48 huge buckets of water from the basement floor and spent days afterwards cleaning and disinfecting. Then during another large downpour on June 14, water in the basement rose to about a foot, ruining everything that had been placed on the bricks.

The next day, they realized they had close to $14,000 in damages, and this time their insurance would not cover it. And since the problem was recurring, they were now at risk of not being covered anymore. Fed up and tired, they sought a solution by calling a building inspection company, which helped guide them to a foundation specialist.

Expert said sewers blocked

After being told it was not a foundation problem, they consulted a drain specialist. The report from the drain specialist shocked them. According to Moraitis, there was absolutely nothing wrong with their building, but the  specialist agreed with the insurance adjuster that since the building has a flat roof, the water from the roof had nowhere to go when the sewers were so badly blocked.

Moraitis maintains there’s pretty much nothing she and her family can do, as the only solution would be to force the city to fix inadequate sewers. She said that when the insurance adjuster visited the surrounding area, the other store owners told him that they also had sewer blockage problems and floods for years, which more recently had become a nightmare.

According to Moraitis, she was told by municipal officials in September 2014 that the city acknowledged the sewer problem and that it would be dealt with within a few years with the help of some government subsidies. But when nothing further was heard, she attended a city council meeting in December 2014 to bring up the issue again. Sparks flew in exchanges between Moraitis and the mayor and the council president.

Waiting for their day in court

Feeling they had no choice but to go to Small Claims Court, on Jan. 29 she and her family asked the court for a postponement of their case. In the meantime, she maintains, the city offered a settlement, $1,000, which she and her family declined.

Moraitis claims that she asked the city that if such huge problems with the sewers on Notre Dame Blvd. existed for so long, how come they gave permits in the area for businesses like a baby and children’s store, a restaurant, a depanneur and an old age home?

In a final ironic twist, Moraitis said that during the first week of June 2015, a sink hole appeared on the surface of Notre Dame Blvd. outside their business. They could see the asphalt rising into the air, under which was a black hole, meters wide and deep, as far as the eye could see. Although the city poured gravel in and patched it up, she wonders: if the street collapses one day, will the city be blamed if somebody gets hurt?