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Laval Police Dept.’s 2026 K-9 calendars now on sale for $5 each

Martin C. Barry
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Laval Police Dept.’s 2026 K-9 calendars now on sale for $5 each

All proceeds are going to the Fondation Martin-Matte for head trauma

For dog lovers, it’s that time of year again.

Yes, after 17 years of success, the Laval Police Dept.’s annual canine calendar is out once more, featuring gorgeous images of man’s (and woman’s) best friend, while raising funds for the care and well-being of head trauma victims.

During the 2026 dog calendar launch at the LPD’s new headquarters on Curé Labelle Blvd. last week, a cheque for $31,617 was handed over to officials with the Fondation Martin-Matte, representing the proceeds from the sale of the 2025 calendar.

Members of the Laval Police Dept. and its K9 dog unit, as well as representatives from the Fondation Martin-Matte, are seen here during a recent launch for the LPD’s 2026 dog handlers’ calendar at LPD new headquarters on Curé Labelle Blvd. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

A year of beautiful canines

Members of the Laval Police Dept. continue to channel their strengths and energies behind the cause for the benefit of the Fondation Martin-Matte.

While some police and fire departments in Canada and the U.S. have also raised money for good causes through calendars – albeit sometimes featuring alluring photos of police and firemen – the LPD has always taken the high road in the belief that in Laval, a picture of a cute dog will always draw more attention.

Laval Police chief Pierre Brochet said members of the LPD are as eager as ever to publish the annual dog handlers’ calendar, while continuing to support the Fondation Martin-Matte.

Constable Labelle of the Laval Police Dept.’s strategic dog unit takes one of the squadron’s latest canine members in training through some paces during the launch of the Laval Police’s 2026 dog handlers’ calendar last week at LPD headquarters. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

‘Firmly committed,’ says LPD chief

“For 16 years now, our police service has been firmly committed to supporting the improvement of the quality of life of the many people affected by head trauma,” Brochet said during a press conference last week to announce the latest fundraising results.

“Every day in Quebec, around ten people lose their independence as a result of such trauma, nearly half of them following a road accident,” he added. “As we do every year, we invite the public to purchase the calendar in large numbers. Priced at $5, it provides real help to victims and their loved ones.”

$643,694 over 16 years

The proceeds of the sale of the 2026 calendars, all going to the foundation, will help persons who’ve suffered head traumas. It has been more than 16 years since the LPD published the first calendar, which then as now features photos for all the months with police dogs posing with their police officer handlers.

Laval Police chief Pierre Brochet said members of the LPD are as eager as ever to publish the annual dog handlers’ calendar while continuing to support the Fondation Martin-Matte. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

The amount raised this year brings the total contribution of the LPD to the foundation to $643,694. The money pays for respite and leisure activities for persons who’ve been diagnosed with head trauma resulting from accidents or other causes.

The LPD has been promoting the calendar since the untimely death of Constable Éric Lavoie, who was a dog handler with the police force. He died of a head trauma following a road accident which happened when he was on duty and responding to an emergency call.

Where to buy them?

The calendars are now available at the LPD’s eastern detachment station, located at 2785 Francis-Hughes Avenue; at the LPD’s investigation centre located at 2911 Chomedey Blvd., and at Laval Police Dept. headquarters and west end station, now located at 2455 Curé-Labelle Blvd.

They are also available online on the Martin-Matte Foundation website at: https://www.fondationmartinmatte.com/calendriers-des-maitres-chiens. Due to the postal strike, it is best to purchase your calendar at one of the LPD’s police stations.

Housing, health, and hunger dominate Laval’s community debate

Matthew Ralph Daldalian
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Housing, health, and hunger dominate Laval’s community debate

By Matthew Daldalian – The Laval News

Two familiar rivals for Laval’s mayor’s chair, incumbent Stéphane Boyer (Mouvement lavallois) and opposition Claude Larochelle (Parti Laval), traded plans and a few jabs at a tightly run community debate that stayed laser-focused on bread-and-butter issues.

Hosted by Corporation De Développement Communautaire De Laval (CDCL) and moderated by communications veteran Antonine Yaccarini, the event was built to inform, not inflame.

How the night worked

All mayoral candidates were invited; Boyer and Larochelle took the stage in alphabetical order after a draw set the opener. Each had 2:30 for introductions. The debate then moved through nine questions—three per theme—with two minutes per answer and a brief right of reply at the end of each block. 

CDC Laval gathered additional questions from residents and city-based organizations, and both candidates closed with two-minute statements. A notable absentee was Action Laval.

Housing

If there was one through-line, it’s that both candidates see housing as foundational. Larochelle called it “the first element of human dignity.” Boyer opened with a clear primer distinguishing social housing (heavily subsidized, sometimes “$150,000–$200,000 per unit”) from so-called affordable projects run to lower margins over time.

He argued Laval’s toolbox is working: “1,078 units under construction, 68% of which are social.” Key tools, he said, include a municipal land bank, a start-up fund to cover early design and studies, land donations, and tax credits.

Larochelle agreed on the distinctions but wants the City to lean harder into social units that are permanently off-market. He pledged to increase the start-up fund from $300,000 to $500,000 annually and to raise the per-project non-repayable grant from $50,000 to $75,000 to help co-ops and non-profits get shovels in the ground.

On Québec’s new “superpowers” that let cities fast-track certain projects, Boyer said Laval framed their use narrowly: “we’ll use it only in three cases”—for social or affordable housing, for non-profit projects, or when a project offers community benefits (for example, land for a school).

Larochelle welcomed the accelerant but warned that “superpower means super responsibility,” urging transparent criteria and clear legal obligations, and arguing these fast tracks should prioritize projects with 20–25% social housing.

For the chronically under-resourced community sector, Boyer touted a $3-million annual social-development fund and free permits for social housing in the new urbanism by-law; he also pointed to Laval’s draw on the Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) housing fund, receiving roughly twice its contribution back as projects advance.

Larochelle praised the new Politique Régionale de Développement Social (PRDS) coordination cell but called for a bigger community share of the overall affordable stock (currently under 10%), more frequent coordination among the City, Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux (CISSS), Office Municipal d’Habitation (OMH), and technical resource groups, and predictable funding so organizations “aren’t living project to project.”

Mental health

Neither candidate pretended mental health is a municipal core service; both framed the City as a facilitator.

Boyer highlighted the PRDS—a shared plan with indicators and owners across City, CISSS, Société de transport de Laval (STL), and community partners—saying it has attracted private foundation dollars to Laval’s approach. He pressed Québec to sustain critical services the City helped stand up, including a homeless shelter the City funded 100% to launch.

Larochelle focused on municipal proximity: training front-line city staff (libraries, transit, frontline services) to recognize distress, and supporting on-the-ground organizations who meet residents where they are. His refrain: multi-year, stable agreements. 

“We must stabilize multi-year funding agreements,” Larochelle said, so groups can retain staff and plan services instead of gambling on one-off grants.

Food security

Both men acknowledged “food deserts” in parts of Laval, neighborhoods where residents have little or no convenient access to affordable food, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

Boyer leaned on planning: mixed-use zoning, density along boulevards and downtown, and rules that now permit front-yard gardens. He also cited the new urban agriculture and “nourishing community” policies, support for market pop-ups, and a bid to activate rooftops for greenhouses or solar on larger projects. 

On the production side, the City is buying back fragmented farmland to re-assemble plots for cultivation and nudging speculators to lease land or pay more in taxes.

Larochelle framed a neighborhood-first lens. “No one should have to take a bus to buy fruits or vegetables,” he added.

Larochelle pushed for true grocery options (not just corner stores), more community and collective gardens, and continued support for mobile markets that could strengthen the local food loop while creating jobs.

Taxes, rents, densification

Asked about rent hikes, Boyer was blunt: the City cannot cap increases (Québec sets that), so the best lever is to grow the non-profit housing stock that stays more affordable over decades. 

He also promised a by-law to regulate demolitions, after a contentious winter case on Cartier Boulevard. 

Larochelle backed stopping demolitions of more “modest” units and said the City simply needs to build more: 3,500 to 4,000 homes a year just to meet growth, compared with roughly 2,000 recently. More supply across categories, he argued, helps moderate prices.

On densification, Larochelle backed transit-oriented growth but cautioned against defaulting to towers, advocating “gentle” density such as row houses and triplexes, while protecting natural areas and not overloading aging underground infrastructure.

Boyer added that the new urbanism code sets graduated height limits and even “a 45-degree angular-plane rule” so taller buildings step down near low-rise streets. He also wants more underground parking and 25% vegetated space minimums so growth doesn’t feel like wall-to-wall concrete.

For seniors and isolation, Boyer pointed to free public transit for 65+, saying it doubled ridership, plus cultural programming that brings performances to residences. Larochelle said stable support for Meals on Wheels and neighborhood-level activities would be beneficial, and flagged exploring off-peak free transit (waiving fares during lower-demand times) for low-income residents to make parks, libraries, and events more accessible.

The bottom line for Laval residents

Boyer’s overall message was that Laval’s newer tools are delivering and should be scaled. 

Larochelle argued the city must go further and faster on durable social housing, multi-year funding for community organizations, and neighborhood-level services that reduce isolation and bring food and culture closer to home.

Both agreed on the stakes. As Larochelle said, “Housing is the first element of human dignity.” And as Boyer put it, the City’s role is to build the conditions; rules, land, partnerships so those dignities are within reach.

Running Independent in the race for Laval

Matthew Ralph Daldalian
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Running Independent in the race for Laval

By Matthew Daldalian – The Laval News

Running without a party banner is never easy in municipal politics — and for Aglaia Revelakis, the longtime councillor for Chomedey, it means knocking on every door herself.

The four-term incumbent is seeking re-election as an independent after more than a decade in local politics. Once a recognizable face under the Action Laval banner, Revelakis is now forging her own path in one of the city’s most notable districts.

Ground work

Revelakis says the experience of campaigning solo has been challenging but rewarding. “I do door to door every day for five hours a day, every day,” she said. “Without knocking on the doors, you cannot get the information that is right.”

Her strategy is simple: focus on direct contact. With a small group of volunteers and limited funds, she’s relied heavily on community ties built over 12 years in office. Unlike candidates backed by major parties, independents don’t benefit from shared budgets or central resources.

“Each person has a certain amount of budget that is allowed per candidate,” Revelakis said. “When you’re with a party, you also have the mayor’s section of the budget to use.”

Her total campaign spending limit, she noted, is not as high as what party candidates can collectively mobilize.

Connecting with voters amid frustration

At the door, Revelakis said she encounters residents frustrated with local issues: snow removal, potholes, speeding, and bike paths that many feel were poorly implemented. She says those daily conversations motivate her to keep pushing as an independent voice.

“People have to understand that I am independent,” she said. “It is very important for the citizens in my district to understand that.”

Some residents still associate her with her former party, but Revelakis says most are receptive once she explains her decision to run on her own. She said her independence allows her to prioritize local needs over party politics.

A long history of community involvement

Before entering politics, Revelakis was already deeply rooted in Chomedey’s civic life. She sat on the first board of directors for the Centre du Sablon when it was founded, and also served on boards for the CLSC Norman-Bethune and Grand Boulevard Desjardins bank. She was previously active in provincial and federal political associations but says municipal service remains where she feels most connected to residents.

“I’ve always wanted to give my 100 per cent and give back to my citizens,” she said.

Door-to-door democracy

Without a party machine behind her, Revelakis has leaned on a more traditional approach: daily canvassing and face-to-face contact. While she’s had issues with campaign signs being lost, she insists they’re not what wins elections.

“The signs don’t get you the votes,” she said. “It’s the door to door that gets you the votes.”

As Election Day approaches, Revelakis says she’s focused on encouraging turnout rather than party loyalty. “Every vote counts,” she said. “People have to go out and vote.”

At 12 years in office, Revelakis has built her political survival on one principle: that being independent doesn’t mean being alone.

Laval News Volume 33-20

Laval News Staff
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Laval News Volume 33-20

The current issue of the Laval News, volume 33-20, published on October 22nd, 2025.
Covering Laval local news, politics, and sports.
(Click on the image to read the paper.)

Action Laval councillors help raise funds for community in Vimont-Auteuil

Martin C. Barry
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Action Laval councillors help raise funds for community in Vimont-Auteuil

On Saturday last week, $1 from every breakfast at Au Blanc d’Oeuf went to SBEVA

On a crisp and sunny autumn Saturday morning when many Laval residents have nothing more complicated on their agendas than taking things easy, there’s probably nothing that could fill the bill better than a morning meal with family and friends at a cozy breakfast hideaway.

That was just the idea on Saturday morning last weekend when Action Laval city councillor for Saint-Bruno and Stefano Piscitelli, the party’s candidate for Vimont in the November 2 elections, sponsored a fundraiser at Au Blanc d’Oeuf, a breakfast restaurant on René-Laennec Blvd. in Vimont.

From the left, Action Laval candidate in Vimont Stefano Piscitelli, Au Blanc d’Oeuf employees Michael, Marlaine, Emma and Marianne, and Action Laval city councillors David De Cotis and Isabelle Piché. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

For the benefit of the SBEVA

A dollar from the proceeds from every meal served was going to the Service Bénévole d’Entraide de Vimont-Auteuil (SBEVA), which is an important community player in Vimont-Auteuil for providing assistance to needy families and individuals from the area.

In addition to the satisfaction customers could feel from donating to a good cause, there were also some amazing raffle prizes to be had, including Montreal Canadiens tickets, gift certificates to restaurants like Buon Gusto, and gift baskets, some containing bottles of premium liquor.

‘Giving back to the community’

“This all about giving back to the community,” De Cotis said. “SBEVA is an organization that provides vital services like Meals-on-Wheels that are critical in our community,” added Piscitelli, who’s been an active volunteer and coach with sporting organizations in Vimont for several decades.

Breakfast time last Saturday at Au Blanc d’Oeuf. From the left, David De Cotis, Isabelle Piché, Giada Piscitelli and Stefano Piscitelli. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

Andy Ruscitto, Au Blanc d’Oueuf’s owner, said he was more than pleased to provide the place for a worthy fundraiser, given that it was for such a good cause. “This is something we thought would be good for the community since some people are a little less fortunate than others,” he said.

LPD warn seniors and others of ‘distraction thefts’

Martin C. Barry
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LPD warn seniors and others of ‘distraction thefts’

The Laval Police are urging residents to be cautious after receiving dozens of recent reports from victims of “distraction theft.”

According to the LPD, more than 40 people have come forward with similar experiences involving jewelry thieves targeting mainly the elderly.

The suspects, who appear to be from Eastern Europe, operate in public places, particularly shopping centre parking lots, according to the LPD.

Distraction theft is concerning not only the police, but also the banking industry which sees itself forced to absorb rising amounts of losses from stolen credit cards taken during distraction thefts.(Photo: Courtesy of TD Bank)

They typically approach their victims under various pretexts, such as asking for directions or recommending a restaurant in the area. Once a conversation is underway, the suspects thank their victims by offering a piece of jewellery as a gift.

They then take advantage to discreetly steal the victim’s more valuable jewellery, including bracelets, watches, necklaces or rings.

Some recent fires in Laval

The fire on 90th Ave. in Chomedey. (Photo: Courtesy Association des Pompiers de Laval)

September 25, 1:04 am. Building fire on 90th Avenue in Chomedey. Residential structure. Flames apparent in the basement. Code was 10-07, meaning intervention necessary

Media reports state that the Laval Fire Dept. transferred an initial investigation they undertook into this fire to the Laval Police for arson investigation.

The LFD reportedly found enough evidence on the scene to suggest that a criminal inquiry would be in order.

October 1, 5:26 am. Building fire on Lavoisier St. in the Laval-des-Rapides sector. Residential structure.

Flames apparent coming from a rear balcony. Code was 10-07, meaning an intervention was necessary.

Volvo Laval joins Pink in the City for Breast Cancer Awareness Month launch

Martin C. Barry
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Volvo Laval joins Pink in the City for Breast Cancer Awareness Month launch

The theme at this year’s gala will be ‘The Magic of Hope’ on October 24

With just a few weeks to go before Pink in the City’s annual gala for the benefit of breast cancer care at the McGill University Health Centre, dedicated supporters gathered at the Volvo Laval dealership in Duvernay last week for an event marking the official start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

‘Worthy cause,’ says Groupe Taddeo

The cocktail/buffet dinner with live music was a warmup for the gala, while marking the first time Pink in the City partnered with Volvo Laval’s new owners, Groupe Taddeo Auto, for an awareness-raising event.

Dr. Sarkis Meterissian, director of the Breast Center of the McGill University Health Centre, addressed guests at Pink in the City’s gathering at Laval Volvo last week for the launch of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

“It’s a very worthy and important cause to us as we’ve had people in our family affected by breast cancer,” said Victoria Taddeo, vice-president of sales and marketing with the company, which also operates Honda and Polestar dealerships in Laval and Montreal.

Pink in the City’s Bobby and Denise Vourtzoumis, are seen with sax musician Zena Bernoty during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month launch at Laval Volvo. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

Volvo EX30 to be raffled

Volvo Laval contributed a 2025 Volvo EX30 battery electric subcompact crossover SUV to raffle off for the benefit of Pink in the City, with tickets going for $150 a pop. The EX30 is among Volvo’s smallest SUVs, but a variant is reportedly among the fastest accelerating Volvos ever.

“I’m so happy to see so many people wearing the color pink, because that is the symbol of us remembering all the courageous women who have fought or are fighting breast cancer or who will be diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Pink in the City co-founder Denise Vourtzoumis, adding that “there’s no excuse not to raise money for breast cancer.”

Relief for breast cancer patients

Dr. Sarkis Meterissian, director of the Breast Center at the MUHC, explained how the donated money is used to help provide relief to breast cancer patients under treatment.

“As survivors will tell you, chemotherapy, surgery and rehabilitation are a real pain in the you know what,” he said.

Among the guests were (from the left) Laval News publisher George Bakoyannis, Royal LePage Humana Centre real estate agent Voula Kottaridis, Pink in the City’s Denise and Bobby Vourtzoumis and Laval News editor and co-publisher George Guzmas. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

“The money you’re giving, for which we’re very grateful, is allowing women to get back to their normal lives. Your money is paying for them to get things like dieticians, exercise, psychotherapy, kinesiology, to try and get back to the women they were before they were diagnosed. And that is not easy after all the treatments we give.”

Gala not to be missed

The 2025 Pink in the City Gala is scheduled for Friday, October 24 at the Château Royal in Chomedey/Laval, with cocktails at 6:30 pm and dinner at 7:30.

Guests enjoyed a hot buffet-style dinner of pasta and other Italian delicacies. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Laval News)

The event is presented by Pink in the City in collaboration with the MUHC Foundation to support breast cancer patient care, research and education.

The theme will be “The Magic of Hope,” celebrating survivors and honoring fighters and angels, with proceeds directly benefiting the MUHC Foundation’s Breast Center.

First Nations claims ‘not settled,’ says Mulcair, defending land acknowledgments

Martin C. Barry
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First Nations claims ‘not settled,’ says Mulcair, defending land acknowledgments

‘There’s still a lot that has to be done,’ former Chomedey MNA tells Concordia U audience

Are Canada’s national anthem sung at the beginning of major sports events and the “land acknowledgment” recited at the start of many public gatherings to recognize Canada’s indigenous peoples at odds with one another?

The question was one that former federal NDP leader and Chomedey Liberal MNA Tom Mulcair answered following a talk he gave on legal issues affecting indigenous rights and the environment in Canada on September 25 as a Jurist-in-Residence program guest at Concordia University.

Indigenous issues advocate

Over the course of his political career – especially at the federal level – Mulcair advocated strongly for respect for court rulings and international obligations towards Canada’s indigenous peoples, according to an iPolitics summary of the NDP’s positions under Mulcair’s leadership published in 2013, two years before the 2015 election.

Former NDP leader and Chomedey Liberal MNA Tom Mulcair continues to advocate for indigenous Canadians’ rights more than seven years after leaving politics. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)

According to CTV News report a few months before the election in which Mulcair and the NDP would suffer a major setback after finishing in a distant third-place, he advocated for a “nation-to-nation” relationship between the First Nations and the federal government.

Hollow statements

But as one attendee at Mulcair’s lecture pointed out, land acknowledgment statements, which typically refer to “unceded” lands or territory originally belonging to First Nations, tend to ring hollow in the context that no further action is being taken to restitute the First Nations.

She also suggested that some of the words in O Canada and in land acknowledgments stand in contrast if not outright contradiction to each other.

She recalled recently being at a recent hockey game in western Canada where some fans from First Nations sitting next to her were appalled that a land acknowledgment was recited just before everyone stood up for the country’s national anthem.

‘It’s not settled,’ said Mulcair

While Mulcair conceded that land acknowledgments have no binding legal effect, he maintained they still have the ability to keep within people’s minds the understanding that “this is not ours as of right – this is something that belonged to people who were there before,” he said.

“Land acknowledgments are a way of putting into the general public’s mind that we should be thinking about this stuff – that it’s not settled and that there’s still a lot that has to be done,” he continued.

“That’s the best way to look at it.” While insisting that land acknowledgments are helpful, Mulcair had nothing more to say in terms of taking the statements a step further.

Ottawa faces blowback over request Supreme Court set limits on ‘notwithstanding’ clause

Martin C. Barry
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Ottawa faces blowback over request Supreme Court set limits on ‘notwithstanding’ clause

‘It’s a direct attack on Bill 21,’ says Quebec’s Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge

Provincial leaders from Quebec and other parts of the country reacted poorly last week after federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced that the Liberal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to set limits on how the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom’s “notwithstanding” clause is used to override conflicting provincial laws.

“As Attorney General of Canada, I have filed a factum with the Supreme Court of Canada outlining Canada’s position on constitutional issues raised by the use of the notwithstanding clause,” Fraser said in a statement.

“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a pillar of our democracy and a reflection of our shared values,” he said. “It guarantees fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, belief, expression, religion, and association.

Decision’s lasting impact

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser faces sharp criticism from several premiers of Canada’s provinces after asking the country’s Supreme Court to set limits on the in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’s “notwithstanding” clause. (Photo: Courtesy of Sean Fraser, Facebook)

“It also guarantees equality before the law, and the right to life, liberty and security of the person. The Charter protects these rights for everyone in Canada, and they are at the heart of our democratic society.

“This case is about more than the immediate issues before the Court,” Fraser added. “The Supreme Court’s decision will shape how both federal and provincial governments may use the notwithstanding clause for years to come.”

The notwithstanding clause has proven to be controversial since its inclusion in the Charter of Rights, which was part of the Constitution of Canada enacted by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Liberal government in 1982. The clause was included as a political compromise to obtain the support of the provinces for the constitution and charter.

Deal broke a deadlock

The inclusion of the clause is widely viewed by political scientists and analysts today as a deal struck to break a deadlock between the federal government and the provinces during the constitutional negotiations, allowing legislatures to pass laws that temporarily override certain Charter rights if necessary.

Some, but not all, Charter rights are subject to the notwithstanding clause. The clause authorizes governments to temporarily override the rights and freedoms in sections 2 and 7 through 15 for up to five years, subject to renewal.

The notwithstanding clause has been used most often by Quebec to justify legislation deemed necessary to safeguard the French language, as well as by Alberta, which invoked notwithstanding to enshrine a definition of marriage as being exclusively heterosexual.

‘Attack on Bill 21,’ says CAQ

In Quebec within just a few hours of Fraser’s announcement, members of the Coalition Avenir Québec government weren’t mincing words when reacting to Ottawa’s intervention – especially regarding its potential impact on Bill 21, the province’s “religious symbols” secularism law.

Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette accused the federal government of not only attacking Quebec, but also of attacking the parliamentary sovereignty of the legislative assemblies of all of Canada.

“They want to break the deal that they had,” Jolin-Barrette told journalists in Quebec City, alluding to the federal government’s original intention for including the notwithstanding clause.

Quebec’s Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge, went further, accusing the Carney government of hypocrisy.

He said the federal government claims to not be against the secularism law, while opposing the measure put in place to safeguard it. “It’s a direct attack on Bill 21,” he said. In a statement, Fraser emphasized that his request for limits is not only about Quebec’s secularism law, 

‘Overreach,’ says Ontario’s Ford

In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford warned that Ottawa’s bid to curb the province’s use of notwithstanding would be an overreach his government would not tolerate, as he also maintained that provincial governments have the full political backing of voters.

“It’s way overreach with the courts,” Ford told The Toronto Star. “Again, parliament – federal parliament, provincial parliament – they’re supreme because the people are supreme, not judges ruling on stuff that shouldn’t even be in front of the courts.”

Jolin-Barrette appeared to agree with Ford. “These people have been elected by people of each province,” he said, while maintaining that the federal government was trying to use a back door in its arguments to try and rob the provincial legislatures of their powers.

Elections Québec takes special measures for municipal elections because of Canada Post strike

Martin C. Barry
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Elections Québec takes special measures for municipal elections because of Canada Post strike

Voter reminder cards may not be arriving as usual with postal service out

Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer Jean-François Blanchet has made a special decision to allow municipalities to deliver election-related documents by means other than direct delivery to voters during the 2025 municipal general election. Blanchet says the decision was necessary given the current disruption to postal services.

“Postal services are a key element of the electoral process,” Blanchet said in a statement issued by his office.

“In the current context, municipalities, responsible for organizing their elections, will have to make considerable additional efforts to find other solutions,” he said. “I urge voters to be understanding and take the time to contact their municipality to obtain all the information they need to exercise their right to vote.”

Alternative measures

Blanchet said his decision would not prevent municipalities from delivering their documents by mail if the strike ends quickly and postal services resume as normal. But in the meantime, the chief electoral officer’s office is proposing various alternative measures.

If municipalities are able to, they are being encouraged to prioritize a solution that will ensure the delivery of two documents to voters’ doors, in accordance with the spirit of the electoral act: the notice of registration on the voters’ list and the reminder card.

The municipalities are being told they can use another delivery service or rely on their staff or a group of volunteers, for example. If they are unable to distribute personalized registration notices in the name of each voter, they can distribute a non-personalized notice to each door.

They should then allow voters to verify in person their registration on the voters’ lists, but also by telephone or online. They can also disseminate general information through posters, advertisements and their websites. If municipalities with 20,000 or more inhabitants are unable to deliver their reminder cards to voters’ doors, they must allow them to verify their polling place by telephone, according to the chief electoral officer.

Mandatory Mailings

Under the legislation respecting elections and referendums in Quebec’s municipalities, all towns and cities are required to send a notice of registration by mail to all addresses in their territory. This notice indicates the names of the electors registered on the lists of electors at each address. It may also indicate that no one is registered at that address. It also indicates where and when the board of revisors will sit. This notice should be sent between October 6 and 15, depending on the municipality.

Nearly 92 per cent of Quebec’s approximately 6.4 million electors are registered on the list of electors. Nearly 98 per cent of them are registered at the correct address. Between October 11 and 21, each municipality must hold at least two electoral list revision meetings to allow voters to register or change their registration if necessary. The locations, dates and times vary from one municipality to another.

Owners and co-owners

Élections Québec invites voters to use its online service to check their registration on the provincial electoral list. The majority of people registered on this list are also registered at the same address on their municipality’s electoral lists. However, this is not the case for people who are eligible to vote as owners or co-owners of a building or as occupants or co-occupants of a business establishment within the municipality.

In addition, anyone who has changed their address and modified their registration on the electoral list since September 5, including through the Quebec Change of Address Service (SQCA), must contact their municipality to make this change of address, even if the information is up to date on the Élections Québec website.

Make sure you are registered

Voters should not assume that they are registered on their municipality’s electoral lists, even if they voted in the last federal election, since the electoral lists used in the upcoming election are separate. No one will be able to make changes to the electoral rolls on election day. This is an important difference between federal and municipal elections.

To be eligible to vote in the 2025 municipal elections, you must meet these five conditions on the November 2, election day:

Be registered on the electoral lists of your municipality; Be 18 years of age or older; Be a Canadian citizen; Be in one of the following situations: domiciled in the municipality and, for at least 6 months, in Quebec; Be the owner of a building in the municipality or the occupant of a business establishment located within the municipality for at least 45 days. 5. And still have the right to vote (unless it has been revoked because of non-residency or other reason).

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