Newly-elected Fabre MNA’s locale is in the heart of Sainte-Dorothée
Newly-elected Member of the National Assembly for Fabre Alice Abou-Khalil finally got a chance to touch base with some of her provincial riding’s constituents on the evening of Friday Dec. 16, when she held a pre-Christmas reception for the official opening of her new office.
Newly-elected Fabre MNA Alice Abou-Khalil welcomed all those, who despite winter road conditions, came to the inauguration of her new riding office. Her colleague, Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete was among her guests on Friday Dec. 16.
In a way, it’s not a new office – at least in the sense that Abou-Khalil opted to move into a locale at the corner of Principale and Hôtel de Ville in Sainte-Dorothée previously occupied by former MNA Monique Sauvé.
Official opening
In an interview with the Laval News, Abou-Khalil said she and her staff moved into the office around a month ago, but needed time to renovate a bit before inviting visitors in.
During the gathering, Abou-Khalil and her staff spent some time paying homage to the volunteers who helped with her political campaign leading up to the election last October. As well, representatives of local community groups dropped by. In all, around 120 people accepted the invitation.
“The message was very simple: to let them know that we’re here for them, the office we have here is for them,” she said.
Help available
“They can just make an appointment and come anytime from Monday to Friday,” Abou-Khalil continued. “We can see how we can be of help because we are here to help them. After all, I am their elected representative and they need to know that I am here.
“It’s also to wish them a Merry Christmas and hope that the year 2023 is a lot better than the last two years when there was Covid and other things,” she said. Alice Abou-Khalil’s constituency office is located at 538 rue Principale in Sainte-Dorothée (H7X 1C3). The office’s phone number is (450) 689-5516.
However, $246 million bill may rise to $308 million with inflated construction costs
STL general manager Guy Picard (seen with Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault) said the transit agency is facing steep construction cost increases because of economic problems that include inflation (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Federal, provincial and municipal officials were on hand last week at the Société de transport de Laval’s headquarters for the announcement of major new public transit funding, while at the same time turning the first shovels of gravel for the construction of the STL’s new 100 per cent electric garage.
Quebec Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault, who is also the Minister of Transport, announced $142 million in new funding to help the STL reach its goal of buying just electric-powered buses by the year 2025.
A growing electric fleet
And since the electric fleet will need supporting infrastructure, the STL is expanding its garage area by 50 per cent, while adding a 20-megawatt electrical input said to be several times the electrical power used at Laval’s Place Bell.
Quebec Transport Minister and Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault addresses guests and media last week at STL headquarters. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
When completed, the all-electric garage will have the capacity to accommodate 145 electric buses. In all, the STL will be spending $246 million on the project, a significant amount of which will come from other sources, including the federal government.
Inflationary challenges
In the meantime, the STL, like other public transit agencies in Quebec, is facing enormous increases in costs for development projects because of mounting challenges for the province’s economy, such as astronomical inflation and overall instability in global finances.
“We are facing, just as with any other infrastructure project, cost increases,” STL general manager Guy Picard told journalists during a question-and-answer session at the STL garage. He said the transit agency currently is dealing with 25 – 50 per cent increases in costs for the construction projects it undertakes, although he insisted the STL is managing to keep the situation under control.
Laval mayor Stéphane Boyer (left) said the STL’s growth is a sign of ongoing progress towards developing a more prosperous City of Laval. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Will open in 2025
According to Picard, the electric garage project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2025, is on schedule in spite of the anticipated cost hikes. He told journalists that the $246 million originally set aside for the project may rise to $308 million. While Quebec and Ottawa are footing most of the bill, the STL is committed to shouldering 15 per cent (at least $18 million) of the eventual total cost.
In addition to the sums provided by Quebec, the federal government is also contributing to the project. “Mass transit plays an essential role in the attainment of our climate goals,” said Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis who was accompanied by fellow Laval-area MPs Fayçal El-Khoury and Angelo Iacono.
Important step: Koutrakis
The federal government allotted more than $85 million for the STL’s garage expansion, noted Vimy MP Annie Koutrakis. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
“That is why I am pleased to be here today for the start of work on the enlargement of the Société de transport de Laval’s garage, to which our government allotted more than $85 million in federal funds,” she added “This is an important step towards electrification of the city’s bus fleet, which will help reduce its carbon footprint while encouraging sustainable development.”
“What’s important to see in the beginning of work on this garage is a vision for the development of Laval,” said Mayor Stéphane Boyer. “Here, road transport contributes 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions on our territory. There is no doubt whatever that the future lies in the development of green, efficient and easily accessible mass transit. I congratulate the STL for all the efforts it is making, and of course I thank the Quebec government for its generous financial participation.”
From the left, Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis, Sainte-Rose CAQ MNA Christopher Skeete, Quebec Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault, Laval mayor Stéphane Boyer and STL general manager Guy Picard turn the first shovels of earth and gravel to mark the beginning of work on the transit agency’s future all-electric garage. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Improved mobility: Skeete
“This project will allow for the modernization of infrastructures in order to offer to Laval residents better mobility,” said Sainte-Rose CAQ MNA Christopher Skeete, who is Minister Responsible for the Laval Region in the Legault government.
“Electrification of transport is necessary to reach our ambitious goals to address the issue of climate change. I would like to point out the work done by the team at the STL, which is showing itself to be proactive and greener, while finding better solutions in mass transit.”
The current issue of the Laval News, volume 30-29, published on December 21st, 2022. Covering Laval local news, politics, sports, and our new section Mature Life. (Click on the image to read the paper.)
Front page of the Laval News, December 21st, 2022 issue.
In a special weather statement now in effect, Environment Canada suggests that the 2-3 days leading up to December 25 will be tough on anyone who might have been expecting to get last minute shopping and chores done in time for Christmas.
According to the weather agency, an intense low pressure system will move over Western and Central Quebec beginning Thursday evening and affect these areas through Saturday.
Significant snowfall amounts, strong winds and blowing snow are expected over the areas to the north of the St Lawrence river, while over the areas to the south, some of the precipitation will fall as rain at times heavy.
Freezing rain is also likely in the snow-to-rain transition area.
As there is some uncertainty as to the system’s track, Environment Canada said on Tuesday afternoon that it was still too early to provide details regarding expected precipitation amounts.
However, by Saturday afternoon, in the wake of the system, snow squalls could also be possible over southern parts of Quebec with the passage of cold air over the Great Lakes.
The arrival of this cold air will see temperatures drop below seasonal values on Christmas Day and early next week.
Road conditions are expected to be difficult and power outages are also possible.
The weather service also cautions that wet and heavy snow may add significant weight to trees and some structures.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather advisory, saying that a significant snowfall is expected in the Laval and greater Montreal regions beginning early Friday
According to the national weather service, precipitation is expected to begin Friday morning and quickly accumulate to the point of making travel difficult.
As temperatures will be near the freezing mark, heavy and sticky snow is expected, meaning heavy loads of the white stuff to be cleared from driveways and household entrance steps.
Even if motorists plan to modify or maintain their travel plans, the agency is advising they allow more time on Friday to get to a destination, while being extra cautious.
The union representing workers at Cité de la Santé reports that a patient who was being held in the psychiatry ward and who had a history of violent acts committed against hospital employees has been missing since the beginning of the month after breaking out and escaping.
Cité de la Santé hospital in eastern Laval.
According to a report by the French-language television outlet TVA Nouvelles, law enforcement officials have been searching for the patient, who managed to break a hospital room window by smashing it with a table that had been bolted to the floor.
The shattered window at the Cité de la Santé’s psychiatric ward. (Photo: Courtesy of Syndicat des travailleurs CSN — CISSS de Laval)
While the union says the patient was known to have assaulted hospital workers on several occasions, the CISSS de Laval which oversees Cité de la Santé cited privacy regulations while declining to furnish further details.
The union maintains that the escaped patient is potentially dangerous.
At the same time, it should be noted that the union, the Syndicat des travailleurs CSN — CISSS de Laval, has been in a dispute with Cité de la Santé management over the safety of employees in the hospital’s psychiatric ward.
The CISSS de Laval recently announced the implementation of some new measures in the psychiatry department, including the upgrading of some windows with stronger security.
Two men from Laval are part of a trio of suspects arrested by York Regional Police north of Toronto earlier this week on suspicions they defrauded a 73-year-old woman out of $5,000 as participants in a “grandparent scam.”
(Image courtesy of Canadian Bankers Association)
Dikran Artin Khano, 22, and Kasson Roker, 19, both from Laval, and Kaouane Rami, 21, of no fixed address, are charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime, and extortion.
Roker and Rami are also charged with failing to comply with a court order.
According to the York Regional Police, the suspects, who contacted the woman by phone while claiming to be law enforcement officials, told her that her grandson was in jail and that he desperately needed $9,000 in order to be released.
The YRP alleges the suspects went to the victim’s residence, where two of them waited in a vehicle while a third collected $5,000 from her.
After the suspects left, the victim received a phone call informing her that she had to pay $4,000 more.
The investigators were later able to locate the vehicle in nearby Brampton and stop the scam before any more money was taken from the elderly woman.
Two illegal cannabis “grow ops” were raided in Laval last week as the Laval Police said they succeeded in dismantling a piece of a criminal narcotics operation of historically large proportions.
According to an LPD press release, the force seized over $8 million of cannabis and equipment on Nov. 30 from two plantations on Leman Boulevard in Laval’s Duvernay district.
Photo: Courtesy of Laval Police Dept.)
Although one of the two plantations had a permit from Health Canada, the LPD said its production capacity greatly exceeded the number of plants allocated by the federal ministry.
The following materials and equipment were seized during the police operation:
2,271 marijuana plants worth $2,271,000;
69.8 kilos of cannabis resin worth $279,000;
1,314 dried marijuana plants worth $5,214,000;
And production equipment worth $500,000.
Three men arrested during the operation were released on a promise to make court appearances at a later date.
LPD asks potential sex assault victims to come forth after Laval man charged
The Laval Police Dept. is asking for the public’s assistance in a case involving a man from Laval who faces charges of committing a sexual assault and a robbery seven years ago.
Nabil Taher. (Photo: Courtesy of the Laval Police Dept.)
Nabil Taher, 41, was arrested last March and released with several conditions to observe, according to the LPD. He was arraignedat the Palais de Justice de Laval in July. According to an account issued by the LPD, Taher is alleged to have met the victim on a dating website in September 2015.
It is alleged that he sexually assaulted the victim at a motel and also made threats while demanding money. As the LPD believes there could be other victims, they are asking anyone with potentially useful information to phone the police force’s confidential hotline at (450) 662-4636, or 9-1-1. The file number is LVL 150912-002.
A dozen local community groups are signing up for ‘Ma famille, ma communauté’
Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region Christopher Skeete were joined by several other Laval CAQ MNAs on Nov. 22 for the launch in Laval of a new social services program designed to minimize the impact on children when troubled family circumstances make it necessary to find new homes.
New to Laval
The Quebec Social Services’ Ministry’s new ‘Ma famille, ma communauté’ (My family, my community) program, which is now being introduced here, brings together resources from several levels of the government (including youth protection and adult services) in order to allow vulnerable families to be followed more efficiently when an intervention is necessary.
According to a statement from the ministry, the program is expected to improve access to local social services by allowing service providers who are involved to more efficiently be made aware of the various health and social circumstances being experienced by children and adolescents requiring assistance.
From the left, Laval-area CAQ MNAs, as well as Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant (third from left) and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region Christopher Skeete (third from right), are seen here during an announcement of the new ‘Ma famille, ma communauté’ program in Laval on Nov. 22.
Children’s needs
Although overseen by the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval, the program is largely community-based, drawing together a number of partners to provide children, who may be at risk of needing placement, with services that include transportation and eventual reunification with their natural families.
“Thanks to this new intervention approach which has been redeveloped, the Ma famille, ma communauté program will be assuring better care for children and youths who are the most vulnerable,” said Skeete, who is the CAQ MNA for Sainte-Rose.
“I feel very proud to welcome this initiative in our region, and I would like to congratulate the various partners who became involved in the realization of this project,” he added.
A track record
“The Ma famille, ma communauté program has proven itself worthy everywhere it has been deployed,” said Carmant. “I hope to extend it to the various regions of Quebec. I would like to thank all the players who are involved, all the committees and all the teams who pooled their efforts to create a larger circle to watch over the children in the region of Laval.
“Each child deserves to be able to develop and grow in an environment that is secure, caring and stable for the good of his or her development,” he continued. “This program is part of a range of actions taken by our government in order to bring children back to the centre of decisions that concern them.”
Groups interested
To date, according to the social services ministry, a dozen community groups in the Laval region have signed letters of intent stating their willingness to participate in the program. In addition, several other groups, some of which are involved while others are not, expressed their willingness to take part in a team-based decision-making process as interested parties.
In July 2020, the CAQ government, then in its first term in office, made the decision to allot $90 million in order to upgrade and improve social services for troubled youths and their families. According to the ministry, a further $3 million will be allotted annually for the implementation of the Ma famille, ma communauté program.
On Nov. 24, officials with the City of Laval celebrated a milestone moment: a record 700th speed bump had finally been installed near schools and parks after a two-year campaign.
According to a statement issued by the city, speedbumps were installed near a total of 67 schools and 139 parks. At the same time, between 2020 and 2022, bike paths, elevated intersections and sidewalk protrusions were also added near five educational institutions to encourage active mobility.
Message to motorists
“Whether children in school zones are getting around near parks by foot, by bike or by car, the city hopes to get motorists to adopt the most secure types of behaviour, to reduce their speed and to be more aware of their surroundings,” says city councillor for Sainte-Dorothée Ray Khalil, who is responsible for public works on the executive-committee.
“It’s one of our priorities. Thanks to a much greater sense of security, families are being strongly encouraged to get around on foot or by bike. Our wish is that parents and children prioritize getting around actively, although currently several are being driven to school by car.”
The latest speed bump
According to the city, the 700th speed bump was installed on 15th Ave., near École de la source in the district of Fabreville, towards the close of an initial phase of speed bump implementation that began in the fall of 2020.
A second speed bump implementation phase, currently in development, will be taking place on other residential streets. The measures are part of a series of traffic calming measures which Laval has been implementing since 2017.
The city says that each speed bump is deployed while taking into account the specific needs of each street or neighbourhood in terms of modifying street signage, creating elevated intersections if necessary, or installing an electronic speed display should one be needed.
