Click here to read the Laval News Volume 24-08 online
This is a archived copy in PDF format of the Laval News Volume 24-08 that was published and distributed April 16, 2016.
This issue covers local events such us politics, sports and human interest stories. It features editorials and other columns
The Laval Police are reporting that the death of the newborn baby found in a Laval home is linked to the woman found in Riviere des Milles Illes. And report that she was indeed his mother. Autopsies will be performed on both mother and baby to determine cause of death. Even though the deaths are suspicious, it has been determined that father is no a suspect in the deaths. He is also cooperating with the Police in finding out what happened.
The Rainfall warning is in effect for the regions of Laval, Montreal, Châteauguay, La Prairie, Longueuil & Varennes. Due to the heavy rain that is expected, because the ground is still frozen it might reduce the ability to absorb rainfall.
Rainfall amounts between 25 and 40 millimetres are expected by Friday morning over several of the above mentioned regions. So localized flooding in the low-lying areas is possible.
Some essential steps to take to prevent a flooded basement during the spring thaw or excessive rainfalls.
(1) Keep Gutters & Downspouts free of debris and downspouts aware from the foundation.
(2) Inspect the exterior foundation and your basement’s walls and floors.
(3) If you have a Sump Pump, check to make sure its free of debris.
(4) Check the sewers and septic tanks. During extended heavy rainfalls, they tend to clog.
These are just some of the ways to prevent flooding in basements.
Quebec senator and former NHL coach Jacques Demers has been hospitalized after having suffered a stroke. He is currently receiving treatment.
More to come on his condition.
Although the Olympic qualification period officially closes on April 4th, final events last weekend saw five Canadians in position to clinch an Olympic berth. Canada could have at least one athlete in each discipline, among them, Laval’s Joseph Polossifakis who will represent the nation in men’s sabre event.
These 3 Laval divers are in the spotlight, having recently won together 4 silver medals in the Dubai world competitions. All 3 will be representing Canada in Rio this summer.
At age 16 Jennifer Abel was the youngest Canadian diver at Beijing 2008. At London 2012, it was Abel and partner Émilie Heymans who won Canada’s first medal of the Games with their 3m synchro bronze. Abel was a double medallist at Toronto 2015, adding gold in the individual 3m event. Abel will also be competing alongside synchro partner Pamela Ware. The two have already qualified Canada for the Summer Games in both the individual and synchro 3-metre event.
In their second Olympic Games at London 2012, Roseline Filion and partner Meaghan Benfeito won 10m synchro bronze. At the 2015 Pan Am Games the pair won gold in the 10m synchro event and shared the podium in the individual 10m event, in which Benfeito took bronze behind silver medallist Filion.
Roseline Filion participated the in Rio Olympic qualifier 2 months after breaking her ankle in order to qualify a second spot for Canada on 10-metre event. Canada’s first spot in the 10-metre event was secured last July. They also qualified Canada for the 10-metre synchro event spot.
The snow has been melting steadily over the past week and our soccer teams are gearing up for another season. The first outdoor soccer will be played by Laval’s AAA competition teams on April 16th. As for the recreational, A and AA teams, they will be starting a few weeks later.
On Aril 16th, the first home opener will take place on the College Laval field where Étoiles de l’Est U16M AAA will be hosting St-Hyacinthe at 5:30, followed by the men’s Seniors playing Royal Beauport at 7pm.
The Delta home opener will be played also on the 16th, by its U16F AAA team at 7pm at the CEGEP Montmorency field against Brossard.
The following day, April 17th the home opener for Fabrose will be U15F AAA hosting Sherbrook at 1pm at Roi du Nord, followed by U17F AAA at 3pm against Victoriaville.
Also on the 17th, the Chomedey Soccer Club will open the season with its U17M AAA team on the Liberty High School field at 5pm against Fabrose.
As for the Monteuil Soccer Club’s U15F AAA, they play their first game on home soil on April 24th at 5pm at CEGEP Montmorency against Fabrose.
Come out and encourage your teams.
As the regular indoor soccer season draws to an end, there was one last major event to look forward to. The 26th Laval Indoor Soccer Cup 2016 was held April 1,2 and 3 for boys teams and the following weekend April 8, 9 and 10 for the girls teams.
A total of 160 teams will be participating in all categories from U9 to U21, recreational, A and AA.
Games will be played at the Bois de Boulogne Multi-Sports Complex on the 3 indoor synthetic fields and in the Dome on the synthetic east and west fields.
The participating Laval teams are:
CS CHOMEDEY (M U-09 A- D2) |
| CS CHOMEDEY (M U-09 A- D1) |
| CS CHOMEDEY (F U-10 A- D1) |
| CS CHOMEDEY (M U-10 A- D2) |
| CS CHOMEDEY BLANC D1 (F U-08 Locale) |
| CS CHOMEDEY LIGHTNING (F U-14 A- Competition) |
CS CHOMEDEY U12 (M U-13 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-12 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-09 A- D1) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-13 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL (M U-13 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL (M U-09 A- D1) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-09 A- D2) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-18 A- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL (F U-15 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL NOIR (M U-11 A- D2) |
| CS MONTEUIL NOIR (M U-09 A- D2) |
| CS MONTEUIL NOIR (M U-14 A- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL ROUGE (M U-10 A- D2) |
| CS MONTEUIL ROUGE (M U-09 A- D2) |
| CS MONTEUIL U15 (M U-16 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL U16 (M U-16 AA- Competition) |
| CS MONTEUIL U16 (F U-17 AA- Competition) |
| DELTA DRAGONS (M U-12 AA- Competition) |
| DELTA DRAGONS (M U-16 A- Competition) |
| DELTA DRAGONS (M U-10 A- D1) |
| DELTA DRAGONS BLANC (M U-10 A- D2) |
| DELTA DRAGONS BLANCS (M U-09 A- D2) |
| DELTA DRAGONS JAUNES (M U-09 A- D1) |
| DELTA DRAGONS JAUNES (M U-11 A- D1) |
| DELTA TORNADES (F U-10 A- D1) |
| DELTA TORNADES (F U-11 A- D1) |
| DELTA TORNADES (F U-09 A- D2) |
| DELTA TORNADES (F U-14 A- Competition) |
| DELTA TORNADES D1 (F U-08 Locale) |
| DELTA TORNADES JAUNES (F U-09 A- D1) |
| FABROSE FUSION (M U-11 A- D1) |
| FABROSE FUSION (F U-10 A- D1) |
| FABROSE FUSION (F U-13 AA- Competition) |
| FABROSE FUSION (F U-09 A- D1) |
| FABROSE FUSION BLANC (M U-08 Locale) |
| FABROSE FUSION BLANC (F U-12 A- Competition) |
| FABROSE FUSION BLEU (M U-11 A- D2) |
| FABROSE FUSION D1 (F U-08 Locale) |
| FABROSE FUSION JAUNE (F U-13 AA- Competition) |
| FABROSE FUSION JAUNE (F U-09 A- D2) |
| FABROSE FUSION JAUNE (M U-08 Locale) |
Good luck to all and see you there.
Martin C. Barry
Hundreds of patriotic Greek Montrealers converged on the Hellenic Community Centre in Côte des Neiges on March 26 to take part in the annual Greek Independence Day gala.
Greeks trace their modern-era quest for independence back to 1821 when the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire began and continued for more than a decade.
Following a protracted war in which Greek patriots received support from Russia, Britain and France, Greece finally received recognition as an independent nation in 1832. Today, the Greek Revolution is celebrated on March 25 each year, with ceremonies taking place in the days leading up to and following that date.
Among the dignitaries seated at the head table were former Canadian Ambassador to Greece Robert W. Peck who was the Philhellene of the Year (and who was accompanied by his wife Maria Pantazi-Peck), Greek Consul General in Montreal Nicolas Sigalas, Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros, Vimy Liberal MP Eva Nassif and Laval city councillor for Chomedey Aglaia Revelakis.
Also among the dignitaries were Parc Extension city councillor Mary Deros, Saint-Laurent Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa and Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal President Nicholas T. Pagonis. Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette was presented as the official marshal for this year’s Greek Independence Day parade on Jean Talon St. in Park Extension a week later.
Among several people presented with special plaques recognizing their years of efforts and contributions to the Montreal Hellenic community were Panagioti Tzima. A Canadian citizen for more than 50 years, Tzima came to this country from Kastoria, Western Macedonia. In Canada he became an engineer and worked for many years in the pulp and paper industry. Also honoured with a plaque was World War II Greek armed forces veteran Theofanis Moutis.
A choir of children from Montreal-area Greek schools, led by Multimedia music producer Maria Diamantis, performed the Greek and Canadian national anthems as well as other Hellenic folk compositions. A group of Greek youths also staged a theatrical reenactment depicting a class in a clandestine Greek school in early 19th century Greece during the time of the Ottoman oppression.
Former Ambassador Peck and his wife presented the HCGM with a special gift: a large painting depicting ‘Mykonos.’ In an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia, Peck, who served two terms in Greece with the most recent ending last November, said: “I was in Greece at a very difficult time, but needless to say we worked hard to try to promote opportunities between both of our countries.
“The many challenges facing Greece were such that I was very, very touched by what I saw at a very human level,” he added. “Now with the refugee crisis on top of Greece’s existing problems it makes life for everyday Greeks that much more difficult. But my message as a friend of Greece is that we have to continue to work and support Greece in good times and bad – Canada always has – and to try to find ways that help the country move forward.”
In a speech, HCGM President Pagonis said the example of the 1821 Greek patriots along with the “high values of the Greek revolution, including freedom, democracy and humanity” should be followed today in the context of the current crises in Greece involving economic hardships, refugees and the dangers of terrorism. Pagonis had special praise for the women of Greece who have been making special efforts to feed the refugees. “This is exactly what Hellenism stands for,” he later told Newsfirst Multimedia.
Federal Minister of National Revenue Dianne Lebouthillier Last Month visited the office of Laval-Les Îles, MP Fayçal El-Khoury for a meeting to hear the concerns of his constituents and owners in the Taxi industry about the unfair competition of UBER.
Laval Representatives of the Regroupement des propriétaires de taxi de Montréal (RPTM) et du Comité de concertation et de développement de l’industrie du taxi (CPCDIT) expressed their concerns and the problems that taxi owners and drivers of Laval and Montreal face with the unfair competition of Uber.
They mentioned that this company is operating in illegality. They asked the Minister to support the Government of Quebec and the city of Montreal in their fight against a company that does not pay its taxes while grabbing more and more their income. – “All we want is that governments implement laws, asked the industry representatives in turn.
The minister stated that she understood very well the frustrations of industry. She recalled the limits imposed by the exclusive federal-provincial jurisdiction while stressing that her government has initiated legal proceedings against Uber. “Be assured that your message is heard and directed to the right people ” said the minister and MP for Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madelaine.
The problem particularly affects Mr. El-Khoury as hundreds of taxi drivers live with their families in the riding of Laval-Les Îles.
(TLN) The Société de Transport de Laval (STL) says it is pleased with measures contained in the Infrastructure and Investment Plan announced last week by Federal Minister of Finance Bill Morneau.
“The investments announced in the budget are a significant step forward to ensuring the long-term financial planning of public transit,” the STL said in a statement. The STL said it wished to highlight some of the priority projects taking place in its area of service.
“The creation of the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund is a step forward to ensuring the short term sustainability of the equipment and services that we already have in place,” said David De Cotis, president of the STL’s board of directors and vice-president of the City of Laval’s executive committee.
He said that as a part of the $924 million dedicated to Quebec over a three-year period, the STL plans to consolidate the financing required to acquire new buses, build new storage and maintenance infrastructures for vehicles and pursue the development of preferential bus measures (PBM).
In addition, the STL believes that the second phase of the Infrastructure Plan’s $48 billion investment, which will be rolled out as of 2018, represents a major opportunity for Laval and, more globally, for the Montreal Metropolitan Community, to implement a long term vision for the development of the Metro system and the finalization of the blue line.
“Our intention is to offer the citizens of Laval transportation solutions that meet our goal of encouraging sustainable mobility throughout our service area,” added De Cotis.
