Sources cited by Radio-Canada identified a man shot dead on Tuesday morning outside a ceramic tile business on Autoroute 440 near Le Corbusier Blvd. as a well-known narcotics dealer who was associated with the Montreal Mafia.
The Laval Police say they received a 9-1-1 call around 7:46 am Tuesday about a possible gunfire incident at Céramique 440 on Laval’s main autoroute near Chomedey.
When LPD officers arrived at the location at a strip mall, they found the body of a man on the ground next to a vehicle.
The victim was identified by several Montreal media (citing police sources) as 66-year-old Vincenzo Armeni.
Shortly after Armeni was found shot, police also found a sports-utility vehicle, badly damaged by fire, parked near an abandoned house on 71st Ave. in Chomedey near the Lachapelle Bridge.
Although the police didn’t immediately draw a link between the two incidents, burning a getaway vehicle is a well-known modus operandi used by hired killers to quickly destroy evidence.
According to the Montreal Gazette, Armeni received a 19-year sentence in 2007 for his role in a conspiracy to traffic 750 kilos of cocaine.
Also according to The Gazette, Céramique 440 is referenced a few times in an affidavit that was prepared to obtain a search warrant for an investigation into how the Montreal Mafia and the Hells Angels worked together to control drug trafficking in Montreal.
The Quebec ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food supply has issued a warning to persons who are allergic to wheat, gluten or sesame that two food products made by a Laval-based company may contain undeclared amounts of these substances and should be either thrown out or returned to the place of purchase.
The products, which have also been voluntarily recalled by the company, Traiteurs Chictay Lakay, headquartered at 6 des Merisiers St. in Saint-François/ Laval, were on sale up to Oct. 21 at several retail outlets in Laval and Montreal, as well as during the recent Festival Mosaïque de Laval in Saint-François.
The ministry says the products were sold in glass jars and were refrigerated at the time of sale.
The ministry noted that no other problems were encountered with the products in question, and that no reports of allergic reactions associated with the products were reported up to when the ministry issued its statement on Oct. 21.
The scene on Lauzon St. around 9:20 pm on Monday Oct. 17. (Photo: courtesy Laval Police)
More than four days after Laval Police found the bodies of his two children lifeless in their Sainte-Dorothée home, another attempt is expected to be made on Saturday morning to give Kamaljit Arora an arraignment hearing by teleconference hookup from his hospital bed to Quebec Court officials.
Since shortly after last Monday evening when two murders and an assault are alleged to have been committed in the family’s home on Lauzon St., Arora has been in a coma at Sacré Coeur Hospital in Montreal and unfit to hear the charges, according to statements made on Friday to Quebec Court Judge Simon Brisson Dolci.
Laval Police were called to Arora’s home where they found the bodies of his 13-year-old daughter, Anzel, and 11-year-old son, Aaron.
Kamaljit’s wife was also assaulted, and he faces an additional charge of attempting to strangle her, according to police.
According to media reports, Laval police officers believe Arora tried to take his own life before they arrived on the scene.
Transports Québec has announced that beginning tonight at midnight, most trucks and other heavy vehicles will be forbidden from passing over the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge between Montreal and Laval.
The ban, which the highways ministry says is for “preventive” reasons, will not apply to buses and emergency vehicles.
The Papineau-Leblanc Bridge carries Autoroute 19 across the Rivière des Prairies.
The provincial transport department is urging heavy vehicle traffic to use the Médéric Martin Bridge (Autoroute 15) instead.
In addition, Transports Québec says that the closing of the left-side lanes of the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge, heading north and south, remains in effect and will be indicated by pavement markings.
(A previous version of this article stated incorrectly, based on information provided by Transports Québec, that the truck ban would begin on the evening of Oct. 24.)
A collision around 4:45 pm on Friday Oct. 14 between two vehicles at the corner of Dagenais and Curé Labelle boulevards ended up causing additional damage when a lamp standard in the middle of the roadway collapsed atop several other vehicles waiting in the traffic.
According to a Laval Police Dept. accident report, one vehicle was heading south on Curé Labelle when a second vehicle came out of the parking lot near a McDonald’s restaurant and turned southward on Curé Labelle.
The two cars collided near the intersection with Dagenais. Following this, one of them (a BMW) struck a street light standard in the centre median, which fell atop the BMW, as well as a Kia Forte and a Ford F-150 pickup truck.
LPD investigates garage fire on Cléroux near 100th
The Laval Police Dept. has launched an investigation following a fire which broke out in a garage next to a residence on Cléroux Blvd., after it was deemed suspicious by the Laval Fire Dept.
The blaze took place on the morning of Saturday Oct. 15 near 100th Ave. in Chomedey. Not long after 9 am, 9-1-1 received a call reporting smoke billowing from the building. A great deal of black smoke visible for a quite a distance led to many more calls being received at 9-1-1.
(Photo: Courtesy of Association des Pompiers de Laval)
Around 9:15 am when the firefighters arrived, it soon became apparent to them that there was a danger the fire in the garage might spread to the adjoining house. Keeping it under control, they managed to declare the incident over by 10: 15 am, with most damage limited to the garage.
Damages have been estimated at $30,000 for the building and a further $20,000 for its contents.
LPD makes five arrests in restaurant extortion racket
The Laval Police said earlier this week that they made five arrests in connection with an extortion ring which allegedly was operating in Laval as well as on the North Shore.
In a statement, the LPD alleged the ring targeted local restaurant owners, offering a “protection service” in exchange for cash. At least one victim who refused to pay was targeted by death threats as well as threats their restaurant would be burned down.
The suspects face charges of arson, possession of incendiary materials, mischief and armed assault.
Marc Arthur Aurélien, 47, is alleged to have set fire to a restaurant on Curé-Labelle Blvd. in Chomedey on July 5. He was arraigned in court and remains in custody.
As well, Jean Jacques Tuelenake, 20, Tommy Gabriel Collin-Arias, 28, and Majdi Benbaha, 23, are alleged to have committed an armed assault against a victim while he was attending a party on July 9. Collin-Arias and Benbaha remain in custody, while Tuelenake was freed with conditions pending his next court appearance.
Isai Octavius, 20, also faces charges of setting fire to a restaurant on Curé-Labelle Blvd. on Oct. 7. He appeared in court and was released with conditions.
Ex-teacher jailed six years for sex abuse of eight-year-old
A 43-year-old former grade school teacher from Laval was sentenced to six years in prison last week after previously being found guilty of sexually abusing an eight-year-old boy while she was acting as his tutor.
Josianne Lévesque, who was in custody since last May, pleaded guilty at the Laval courthouse a year ago to having sexual contacts with the boy.
She had previously been the boy’s teacher in grade two at a private school in Montreal. According to evidence presented during the trial, she abused him sexually over a period of 17 months.
Lévesque gained the trust of the boy’s parents who took her on as his tutor. She took him out on excursions as a reward when he did well academically, but abused him sexually at the same time. According to the testimony, the boy suffered lasting trauma, including nightmares, flashbacks and insomnia.
WattByWatt is working with students to help disrupt how we power electronics
The revolutionary technology of a Laval-based tech startup, with some help from local university students, is leading towards a potential breakthrough that may one day mean you never have to plug in and charge your cellphone – because all you’ll need is light.
Based on Armand Frappier Blvd. in Laval’s Cité de la Biotech, WattByWatt was launched in January 2021 to produce renewable energy from light using perovskites, a naturally occurring mineral that is now being seriously considered as the future of solar cell technology.
Verging on breakthrough
WattByWatt says it is on a mission to produce energy from light efficiently and reliably. The company claims its patented technology, called Perovton, is on the verge of changing forever how everyday household and industrial devices are powered.
WattbyWatt’s core team. From the left: Robert Necula, Soroush Hafezian, Ibrahima Ka, Ivy Asuo, and Riad Nechache.
According to the company, the research is being propelled partly through an internship program funded by Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada while providing students with opportunities to work on real-world, leading-edge projects.
Working with the INRS
In order to help bring its flagship product to market, WattByWatt is working with three Mitacs interns from the nearby campus of the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) as well as from the University of Sherbrooke.
“The magic of this new photovoltaic material is that it works indoors,” says Pierre Des Lierres, WattByWatt Business Development Director, explaining that his company’s renewable energy system — financed by an initial funding of $4 million from private equity investors assisted by WhiteHaven Securities — harvests both natural and artificial light, then converts it into energy.
Recharging small devices
“Our technology means we can recharge small electronic devices like cellphones and remote controls, smoke detectors, and retail tags with the light energy we already pay for in our homes, offices, or industrial buildings,” he added. “At the same time, we’re eliminating the need to replace batteries, which will significantly reduce the billions of batteries that currently end up in landfills each year.”
In just two years, WattByWatt has grown to ten employees and is currently seeking an additional $25 million in funding as it gets into gear to scale up manufacturing. The value of tapping into cutting-edge research expertise at an affordable rate is huge, said Des Lierres.
Mitacs ‘a game-changer’
“The Mitacs internship program is a game-changer for us,” he said. “With the support of Mitacs, we’re procuring a leadership position for Canada in the renewable energy sector by training and hiring high-quality talent here.”
Laval-based WattByWatt has developed breakthrough technology to convert light to energy
WattByWatt, said to be the only Quebec firm developing a perovskite solar cell solution, is first in the world to patent a manufacturing process that enables the product to be made outside of a high-cost clean room, says the company. As a result, they expect manufacturing facility and production costs to be significantly reduced by as much as 50 per cent, allowing the technology to become widely accessible.
New research facility started
This month, WattByWatt is breaking ground on a 5,000-square-foot research development lab and pilot production facility in Laval that is expected to be up and running by March 2023. The first application will be a very small, yet powerful photovoltaic cell that measures less than one square centimetre and can produce more than one volt of charge from a 25-watt bulb, achieving a high efficiency rating.
Potential applications for this new energy system range from charging cellphones or Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, to powering the beacons and smart RFID tags found on items in the supermarket, to charging outdoor cameras or household WiFi networks. Currently, the company is in discussions with other corporate entities to adopt Perovton in their next designs of electronic products, and the plans are to commercialize within two to three years, said Des Lierres.
Positive eco-impact foreseen “If we can get this technology into every cellphone out there, for example, the environmental impact would be enormous,” he said, noting that it takes just under two kilowatt-hours of electricity per year to charge a single phone. “When you multiply that by the estimated 6.6 billion smartphone users globally, that’s a lot of energy we can save by removing the need to plug into the grid.”
Family event held in conjunction with annual Fire Prevention Week
As any adult in the habit of scrutinizing the toy section in department or discount stores probably knows, toy fire engines remain a perennial favourite among children – regardless of whether they are girls or boys.
Whatever generation you belong to, there is something about the shiny crimson red of the body paint, the blinking lights, and the shrill sounds of real or toy fire engines that continues to inspire children.
Firefighters with the Laval Fire Dept. are seen here with residents of the city’s Sainte-Dorothée district in one of the exit bays at the No. 4 firehall during the open house on Sunday Oct. 9. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
“They sure do,” said Jennifer Urquhart, who was visiting the city’s No. 4 firehall in Sainte-Dorothée with her children and some friends on Oct. 9 during an annual open house event the fire department holds for fire prevention week.
Learning at the firehall
Once a year, the Laval Fire Department puts out the welcome mat at its firehalls across the island. During this year’s event, held in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, kids of all ages had the opportunity to get up close to the shiny, bright red ladder and pump trucks parked in the firehall garages.
According to Urquhart, the children – Joshua, Amelia and their friend Matteo – had been looking forward to visiting the Sainte-Dorothée firehall for some time. “We’ve had it on the family calendar for a month now,” she said, noting it was the third or fourth year they attended the open house at their local firehall.
From morning to late afternoon, children and their parents got a chance to learn all about the work of firefighters, to watch and take part in equipment demonstrations, to receive fire prevention advice, and even to climb into a truck and feel what it’s like to do the work of a firefighter.
Fire prevention advice
During Fire Prevention Week, the Quebec Ministry of Public Security was emphasizing the importance of taking steps to protect households, noting that half of residential fires are caused by human error. It is estimated that 13 homes are damaged every day by fire, leading to 400 injuries and 29,000 people forced from their homes.
The Public Security Ministry says more and more fires are caused by devices powered by lithium-ion batteries, such as cellphones, computers and even scooters and electric bikes. Batteries in these types of devices should be checked regularly to see they are not damaged, and chargers that meet Canadian safety standards should only be used to make sure batteries don’t overheat.
‘Perseverance and determination can open doors,’ says Mayor Stéphane Boyer
In recognition of his pro-sports accomplishments in Major League Baseball, Charles Leblanc was presented by Mayor Stéphane Boyer with the City of Laval Medal on Oct. 11.
Originally from Laval, Charles Leblanc was presented by Mayor Stéphane Boyer with the City of Laval Medal in recognition of his long list of achievements in professional baseball, the most recent being his call-up to play for the MLB’s Miami Marlins.
During the private ceremony, Mayor Boyer gave a brief account of Leblanc’s track record, which started when Leblanc first played baseball in Laval, up to more recently when he became a team member of the Miami Marlins.
Like father, like son
“He demonstrates that perseverance and determination can open doors and that anything is possible when you are willing to believe. We are very proud to honour Charles for his sports achievements and to count him as an outstanding citizen who makes us all proud.”
“Charles Leblanc was born in Laval, and his passion for baseball was passed on to him by his father who had dreamed of playing in the MLB,” said Boyer.
Role model for athletes
During the ceremony, which took place with members and friends of the Leblanc family, Mayor Boyer noted that Charles Leblanc had exerted a significant influence on aspiring young athletes from Laval.
‘We are very proud to honour Charles for his sports achievements,’ said Mayor Stéphane Boyer
Before being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2016, Leblanc had played in 570 matches in the minor leagues. On July 29, 2022, the Miami Marlins selected the 26-year-old Leblanc’s contract and called him up to the major leagues for the first time.
His roots are in Laval
Leblanc began playing baseball in Laval for the “Associés de Laval,” a Laval-area elite minor league sports organization.
After completing a sports studies program at École secondaire Georges-Vanier, he attended the University of Pittsburgh. In 2016, he was the first player from the U of P to become a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s all-star baseball team.
The City of Laval recently welcomed two new municipal court judges.
Judges Jonathan Meunier and Caroline Dulong join a panel of municipal judges who, over the past two years, have seen their workloads increase, with new oversights for criminal proceedings, in addition to the civil and penal cases they were responsible for previously.
A growing judiciary
Judges Meunier and Dulong were officially welcomed on Oct. 5 following their earlier appointment by the Ministry of Justice of Quebec.
“Judges Meunier and Dulong are adding to our judiciary team, whose mission is closely linked to the security and quality of life of the citizens, as well as to the preservation of peace and public order in neighbourhoods,” said Justice Martine Hébert, president of the Laval municipal court.
Improved access to justice
“We are very pleased to be able to offer better access to the court, while ensuring that all Laval residents can obtain justice more rapidly,” she added.
From the left, the Honorable Martine Hébert, judge-president of the City of Laval’s municipal court, the Honorable Jonathan Meunier, municipal court judge, the Honorable Caroline Dulong, municipal court judge, the Honorable Claudie Bélanger, associate chief judge at Court of Quebec, who is also responsible for municipal courts across the province. (Photo: Vincent Girard, City of Laval)
According to biographical information furnished by the court system, Justice Caroline Dulong has a Bachelor of Law degree from University of Montreal and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 2000. She began her law career with a private practice, becoming a prosecutor in 2008 with the office of Quebec’s Director or criminal and penal prosecutions, where she was assistant chief prosecutor since 2014.
Two new municipal judges
Dulong was appointed to the Laval municipal court last May. Justice Jonathan Meunier also has a Bachelor of Law degree from University of Montreal. Admitted to the Quebec Bar in 2002, he worked as a prosecutor for criminal and penal cases since then. He has also worked in private practice for six years. From 2015 to 2020, he was with the DPCP, and was appointed to the Laval municipal court in February 2020.
New rules established to protect citizens who allege wrongdoing
Saying they remain committed to reaching a level of respect that’s in keeping with the highest standards for integrity and ethics, officials with the City of Laval are taking measures to improve the municipality’s rules and regulations for “whistleblowers” to report suspected ethical breaches and possible acts of corruption.
Among the important additions to the city’s existing whistleblower policy approved by Laval city council during its Oct. 4 public meeting were new measures to protect those who report alleged wrongdoing, and a prohibition on retribution against whistleblowers.
Encouraging transparency
“The new version of the Reporting Policy demonstrates the leadership being taken by the city on issues concerning integrity and ethics,” said Laval Police Dept. director Pierre Brochet, who has responsibilities for monitoring ethics and integrity issues within the city.
“We made some adjustments as regards criteria for receivability and the treatment procedures for reports,” he added. “The proposed changes will also encourage transparency, while building up the trust of whistleblowers towards the process used by the BIELT for treating reports.”
Some criteria to be met
With the new policy now in place, the city wants to raise awareness among residents of the mechanisms for reporting suspected wrongdoing confidentially. However, it should be noted that to be receivable, a reported allegation has to meet certain criteria to be defined as a “reprehensible act” as stated in the policy. For example:
Illicit activities can include theft, collusion and corruption;
Offences can include the violation of specific rules governing public contracts;
This can also include serious cases of mismanagement;
Or the abuse of authority and use of retribution;
There can also be issues involving the abusive use of city resources.
History of whistleblowing
While the term “whistleblower” at one time carried negative connotations and was regarded as a synonym for an informer or a snitch, American consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader is said to have popularized use of the phrase more positively, so that now it usually describes a person who reveals information about unethical, illegal, unsafe or fraudulent activities within a private or public organization.
The United States, where openness and freedom of expression tend to be encouraged, has been a breeding ground for whistleblowers and the positive changes they have often been able to achieve through their actions. One of the earliest examples to be dramatized was the 1973 film Serpico, starring Al Pacino at the beginning of his career, as a New York City Police Dept. officer who’d had enough of corruption within the NYPD.
Serpico and Silkwood
A decade later, Meryl Streep starred in Silkwood, about nuclear energy technician Karen Silkwood, a labour union activist who testified to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission about health and safety abuses at the nuclear facility where she worked. Later almost inexplicably, she and her home were found to be contaminated by plutonium, and she died in a car crash under circumstances regarded as suspicious.
The federal government’s Competition Bureau of Canada provides extensive information on the protections afforded to whistleblowers, while defining a whistleblower as “a person who voluntarily provides information to the Competition Bureau about a possible past, present, or future violation of the Competition Act.”
Confidentiality issues
According to the agency, the Competition Act includes specific provisions for protecting the identity of whistleblowers. Under the act, once the Bureau has provided an assurance of confidentiality to a whistleblower, the individual’s identity cannot be revealed without the individual’s consent.
However, while potential whistleblowers can decide how much personal information to provide, the Competition Bureau says it may be impossible to respond to a request or provide whistleblower protections that exist under the Competition Act if whistleblowers don’t provide a name or other information.
Whistleblower protections
Under the federal Competition Act, an employer cannot dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage or deny a whistleblower employment because he or she provided information under the whistleblowing program that was given in good faith.
The Competition Bureau says whistleblowers are also protected by other laws, including the Canadian Criminal Code, making it an offence for an employer to take disciplinary measures, or to threaten to do so, because the employee provided or planned to provide information to someone who enforces federal law.
