Voters choose Sona Lakhoyan Olivier as their new PLQ MNA
While the overall fate of the Quebec Liberals hung precariously last Monday night as election results from everywhere in Quebec rolled across TV screens, Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, the PLQ’s candidate in Chomedey, sprinted to a comfortable win, easily outdistancing her nearest rival by nearly 15 percentage points.
Jubilant mood at HQ
The mood at her campaign headquarters on Curé Labelle Blvd. was jubilant around 9:15 pm when at least one broadcast media declared her the winner in a six-way race that also included candidates from the Coalition Avenir Québec, the Conservative Party of Quebec, Québec solidaire, the Parti Québécois and the Green Party of Quebec.
Supporters of Sona Lakhoyan Olivier’s campaign to become the Quebec Liberal Party’s MNA for Chomedey celebrate with her last Monday evening at campaign HQ on Curé Labelle Blvd. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
At 10:49 pm, Élections Québec accredited Lakhoyan Olivier with 38.25 per cent of the total tally of votes (10,794 ballots).
Distant finishes
George Plantanitis of the CAQ was a distant second with 23.5 per cent (6,631 votes), followed by Konstantinos Merakos of the Conservatives with 21.7 per cent (6,124 votes), and Zachary Robert of QS, Rachid Bandou of the PQ and Sahbi Nablia of the Greens tailing with single digit percentages ranging from just under 8 per cent to less than 1 per cent respectively.
Newly-elected Chomedey Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, left, is congratulated by Silvana Senattore last Monday evening at campaign headquarters. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
“We worked very hard,” Lakhoyan Olivier said in an election night interview with The Laval News. “I had a big team helping me out.” As not all of the 205 polling stations in Chomedey had finished counting their ballots, Lakhoyan Olivier seemed in a mild state of disbelief when told of her win, saying she wanted to see for certain “if Chomedey has its Liberal values still.”
‘What we need now is a strong opposition’
Newly-elected Chomedey PLQ MNA Sona Lakhoyan
Saddened by CAQ win
Reacting to the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec government’s overwhelming second-term win, she said, “I guess the people of Quebec they want to continue with the same government where the PM [Premier François Legault] is running things by himself. I find this sad. I would have liked to see more choices: a government that respects all equally. It’s sad that this is where we are at.”
Quebec Liberal candidate for Chomedey Sona Lakhoyan Olivier (second from right) and supporters watched anxiously as the election returns came in last Monday evening before she was declared the winner. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Despite the CAQ’s electoral success, Lakhoyan Olivier maintained that while in office over the past four years, the government chose to neglect certain communities, while striving primarily to please others. “What we need now is a strong opposition led by Dominique Anglade and the Liberals, which is the only federalist party,” she said.
The CAQ sweep of 90 seats across Québec comes as no surprise, but the previous Liberal tide of 2018 in Laval that swept five of the six seats lost enough intensity and height to bring about a more extensive presence of the Legault factor island-wide.
Skeete re-elected
As expected, Christopher Skeete easily drifted to victory in Sainte-Rose, outdistancing his strongest rival – PLQ’s Michel Trottier by a wide margin. Trottier is no stranger to Laval politics, having successfully contested several campaigns at municipal level. After four years as leader of the opposition at city hall, Trottier bolted after his loss to Stephane Boyer for the mayor’s chair.
Christopher Skeete.
Asked to what he attributed his win and the massive success of the CAQ cross-province,
Skeet told TLN that the credit must go “To the Premier and his amazing leadership and the stellar team we have in general. “Skeet said he fought hard because he believes in the CAQ’s philosophy, strategies, aims, and belief that to govern effectively is to render service to all Quebecers. “I promised M. Legault that as long as he was there, I would fight a good fight with him. We managed to surprise a lot of people, imagine what we can do in the next 4 years.”
Asked if he had a message for those who didn’t vote for him, he replied that “it doesn’t matter that you didn’t vote for me, I’m going to be your MNA, the person speaking on your behalf in the National Assembly. I represent all 53,000 voters and their families in Sainte-Rose,” adding that “he was grateful to the people of Sainte-Rose who put their trust in me as their representative in Québec City. I hold their support in very high esteem and I will continue to be present to all residents of the district.”
Having spent the last four years carrying the heavy load of Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Québecers, in February of 2021 he also took on the role of Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism.
At press time, Skeete’s totals for 2022 were at over 13,000 votes, with a margin of 5,000 over Trottier.
Celine Haytayan
In addition to winner Skeete and runner-up Trottier, four other hopefuls sought the Sainte-Rose seat in the National Assembly: Lyne Jubinville of the Parti Québecois, Karine Cliche of Québec Solidaire, Pierrette Kamning Nguendjong of the Green Party, and Stéphanie Beauchamp of the Québec Conservative Party.
Of these six candidates, four are women, a changing-of-the-gender guard as only one woman out of eight candidates – Caroiline Bergevin of the Green Party – was courageous enough to throw her political hat in the ring in 2018.
Is there a seat in cabinet looming on the horizon for Skeete as he embarks on his second consecutive term in office as Sainte-Rose MNA? “Only time will tell,” the 43-year-old- veteran politician answered politely and cautiously, carefully choosing to stay on the good side of optimistic expectations.
Haytayan wins in Laval-des-Rapides
In the other five Laval-Island provincial ridings, at press time, the CAQ was declared winners or leading in three – with Alice Abou-Khalil leading in Fabre, Celine Haytayan in Laval des Rapides,and Valérie Schmaltz in Vimont. In Mille -Îles, Liberal Virginie Dufour was leading CAQ’s Julie Sélde by a narrow margin. One seat was declared lost to the CAQ.
Not surprisingly, in Liberal Bastion Chomedey, Sona Lakhoyan Olivier narrowly retained the riding for Anglade’s party, although the margin of victory was considerably reduced compared with the wins racked up by the three pervious MNAs – Guy Ouellette, Thomas Mulcair, and Lise Bacon in election-after-election since the early 1980s.
(NEWSFIRST) It took only eight minutes after the polls closed for tva host Pierre Bruneau to say the magic words: “If the trend continues, the next CAQ government will be in the majority.” A result that will not surprise anyone, in light of the many opinion polls that gave the winning CAQ team even before the start of the electoral marathon.
As soon as the first results of the advance poll were announced, the CAQ’s advances were such that the election of several candidates from François Legault’s party was confirmed.
The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) won the election and led another majority government. François Legault’s party, which won the 2018 election, won a second consecutive term. For its part, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) will return to the benches of the official opposition.
This is the first time since 2008 that a political party has won two general elections in a row. And it is also the first time since 1998 that Quebecers have entrusted the same party with two successive majority mandates.
The pollsters will therefore have seen it right: the CAQ had been given favorite from the beginning of the campaign, on August 28.
The government will once again be led by François Legault.
And he will in all likelihood count on an even larger team than the 76 deputies who sat for him at the time of the dissolution of the National Assembly, starting with the 25 members of his Cabinet, all of whom will be back in Parliament.
The CAQ also elected several star candidates, including Sonia Bélanger (Prévost), Martine Biron (Chaudière-Appalaches), Kariane Bourassa (Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré), Pascale Déry (Repentigny), Bernard Drainville (Lévis), Christine Fréchette (Sanguinet) and Suzanne Roy (Verchères).
In Duplessis, Kateri Champagne Jourdain was elected, who became the first Indigenous woman in history to enter Parliament.
Weakened opposition
The evening was much more difficult for the other formations, whose support is all around 15%.
For the PLQ, this is the worst score in its history. Its support had never fallen as low as in 2018, at 25%. That being said, the party should retain its place on the opposition benches with about twenty MPs, or even more.
Its leader, Dominique Anglade, was re-elected. She gave the signal tonight that she intends to remain in office, despite the retreat of her party. “In the coming days, months, years, I will deploy the same energy, the same conviction, the same ambition, she assured. The work has begun and must continue.”
The Parti Québécois (PQ) is also at a low level, with the party never winning less than 17% of the vote in 2018. However, its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, was re-elected, as were Pascal Bérubé (Matane-Matapédia) and Joël Arseneau (Îles-de-la-Madeleine).
Québec solidaire (QS), for its part, should end the evening with a score similar to that of 2018 in terms of votes and seats (about ten). His two spokesmen, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, in Gouin, and Manon Massé, in Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques, were easily re-elected.
Finally, the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) was on track to elect no MPs tonight. Defeated in Chauveau, its leader, Eric Duhaime, has however promised to be back on the ranks in four years.
Calling on his activists not to be too pessimistic, the former radio host recalled that Qs won only 4% of the vote in the 2007 elections, the first in which the party participated.
Trudeau congratulates Legault
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, quickly issued a statement congratulating François Legault, saying he looks forward to continuing to work with [him] to address the challenges that matter to Quebecers and all Canadians.
These include fostering the growth of the green economy, fighting climate change, finding solutions to labour shortages, making life more affordable, fostering the creation of affordable housing, investing in infrastructure and building a clean and prosperous future, he said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also hailed the victory of his friend François Legault. Let’s continue to build deeper ties between our two provinces and strengthen the economic ties between us that create well-paying jobs,” he tweeted Monday night.
Voters turnout
Voter turnout was only 66.13%, which is lower than the 66.45% in the 2018 Elections. At 5:30 p.m., the turnout was 44.63%. Advance voting reached a record high this year, with more than one in five voters (22.92%) going to the polls before election day. In 2018, the turnout at the end of the evening was 66.45%, which was then the second lowest result in history.
The record turnout belongs to the Parti Québécois election in 1976, when 85.27% of voters went to the polls.
No less than 880 people were in the ranks this year, or about seven candidates per constituency.
These elections put an end to a gruelling 36-day campaign. The next few weeks are obviously much quieter than the previous ones. The MPs elected today are expected to be sworn in in two or three weeks. In 2018, the Council of Ministers was presented 18 days after the elections.
The current issue of the Laval News, volume 30-24, published on October 5th, 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, October 5th, 2022 issue.
Smaller turnout attributed to some supporters taking long overdue post-Covid vacations
The 16th annual FILIA Walk a Thon, which was also the third held in Laval, drew a smaller crowd than is normally the case each year.
From the left, Sylvie Bégin from Vimy MP Annie Koutrakis’ riding office, Laval city councillor Sandra El-Helou, Montreal city councillor Mary Deros, Johanna Tsoublekas, Laval-Les Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury, Laval city councillor Aglaia Revelakis and Laval city councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis.
Even though the weather was beautiful on Saturday Sept. 17, an organizer of the event in St. Norbert Park attributed the lesser turnout to a number of the group’s members being on long summer vacations in the aftermath of the more than two-year-long Covid pandemic.
Vacations and donations
“I don’t think that we are going to have too many people this year,” said FILIA executive-director Johanna Tsoublekas. “Because you can’t imagine how many members are in Greece on vacation.”
Despite that, she said they had already received a good number of donations from absent patrons for FILIA’s meals-on-wheels and other programs, while helping to lead the way towards FILIA’s 40th anniversary celebration next year.
Walkers make their way along a circuit near Saint Norbert Park last Saturday during the FILIA 2022 Walk a Thon event. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Although a provincial election is taking place in just a few weeks, and in past years the Walk a Thon has offered campaigning politicians a venue to meet and greet, the only politicians who turned up last Saturday were elected officials from the federal and municipal levels of government.
Support from elected officials
Among them were Laval-Les Îles Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury, Sylvie Bégin from Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis’s riding office, Montreal city councillor for Park Extension Mary Deros, and Laval city councillors Vasilios Karidogiannis (l’Abord-à-Plouffe), Aglaia Revelakis (Chomedey) and Sandra El-Helou (Souvenir-Labelle).
The Walk A Thon is held in September every year as a fundraiser for the FILIA meals-on-wheels program. While FILIA’s mission at one time was to provide assistance to Greek women of the Park Extension Hellenic community and later throughout Montreal, the organization’s mandate now is to serve senior citizens and people of every description are welcomed.
Johanna Tsoublekas is the longtime driving force behind FILIA.
Although FILIA held the Walk a Thon during its first 13 years in Park Extension, which is still regarded by most Hellenic Montrealers as the centre of the Montreal Greek community, FILIA has been focusing increasingly on making its services available in Laval, while continuing to offer those in Park Extension.
Raising funds and exercise
Led for many years by Johanna Tsoublekas, FILIA’s services include home housekeeping and supervision, volunteer training and a healthcare clinic for the feet. During this year’s and the past years’ Walk a Thons in Laval, the walkers made their way along a circuit that went around Saint Norbert Park on Cartier Blvd. in eastern Chomedey.
For most of the guests, including El-Khoury, there was no better way to start the day. “It’s very good to be here on a sunny day like today in Laval,” he told the Laval News, noting that among his top priorities is attending the many community events that he gets invited to regularly in his riding.
Vital to the community
“Johanna and FILIA are very important to the city,” said Karidogiannis. “They help us help our senior citizens. That’s why we’re here supporting her and to wish continuing success to Johanna in the years to come. Whatever help she needs, we’re are always by her side.”
“I’m here to encourage FILIA and all the work that Johanna does in Laval and Montreal,” said Revelakis. “I’m here to support her and to wish her all the best. She does so much for all the seniors here and in Montreal.”
“I see being here as my duty and the very least I can do to support FILIA,” said El-Helou, who is responsible for senior citizen dossiers on Laval city council. “Especially after Covid, many seniors are now afraid of getting out,” added El-Helou. “I feel very honoured to be here with everyone. I am always more than happy to provide any kind of help they may need.”
The 13th annual edition of Notte in Bianco, held on Sept. 8 in support of the Guzzo Family’s foundation for youth mental health, raised more than $250,000 for youth mental health initiatives.
Vince Guzzo (second from left) is seen here with Foodtastic restaurant chain president and CEO Peter Mammas, along with Nicky Didaskalou (far right) and Shireen Morrissey.
Nearly 400 guests mingled, dined and danced the night away during the late-summer, dress-white fundraiser held at the Terrebonne home of Maria and Vincent Guzzo of Cinémas Guzzo fame.
Mental health research
Maria Guzzo, vice-president and head of charitable donations for the company, specializes in youth mental health at McGill University. Her husband, Vince Guzzo, president and CEO of Cinémas Guzzo, became well-known across Canada and elsewhere as a Dragon on the hit TV show Dragon’s Den.
Both have directed their philanthropic energies in support of youth mental health research, hoping to offer children and teens a better outlook on life through new research funded by their charitable organization.
Each year, several hundred guests pay $1,000 a ticket to take part in the Notte in Bianco event, which is regarded by many prominent Montrealers as a must-attend on the city’s social calendar.
This year’s Notte in Bianco supporters had a chance to sample some of the exotic offerings of Paris-based women’s fragrance maker Guerlain.
Dressed for the occasion
Based partly on a summertime party tradition the Guzzos brought back to Montreal from the Hamptons on the ocean coast of New York State where they have spent many of their summers, dress white is considered ‘de rigueur’ each year at Notte in Bianco.
If not for the Covid pandemic, the year 2022 would have marked year 15 for Notte in Bianco. “I think we’re coming back pretty quickly,” Vince Guzzo said in an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia, referring to the more than two-year-long pandemic.
Returning to normal
Regarding the family’s business, Guzzo was guardedly optimistic about its prospects – especially with the pandemic now retreating. “I think things are coming back pretty quickly – a quick return to normality,” he said, while noting that Tom Cruise’s summertime hit, Top Gun: Maverick, delivered well at the box office. He was hoping for business to be back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the last quarter of 2022.
Each year, several hundred guests pay $1,000 a ticket to take part in Notte in Bianco
Vince and Maria Guzzo, seen here during the 2022 Notte in Bianco on Sept. 8, hold the event each year as a fundraiser for youth mental health initiatives. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Although Cineworld, the second-largest movie theatre chain globally after AMC Theatres, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 7, and Guzzo expected AMC to follow suit despite their insistence otherwise, he suggested the downturn for these giants may lead to opportunities for medium and small players in the industry.
“We want to see what the opportunities are with the bankruptcies of those theatres, how many theatres they’re going to let go if any, what are the landlords going to do, can we strike some deals,” said Guzzo.
A keen interest in films
Following his arrival in Quebec from Italy in 1967, Vince Guzzo’s father, Angelo, became one of the pioneers of independent multi-screen movie theatres in Canada.
As a business person, he built a solid reputation for himself in the screening of movies, earning widespread respect in the industry. Vince Guzzo started going to the movies with his parents when he was four and soon became fascinated with the selection of films to be seen.
He developed what he calls a flair for a good film. During his teens, he was actively involved in the family business. His father took him along on many business trips to the United States to select movies for their programming.
They also caught a glimpse of Wellness Centre’s new rec room at end-of-summer event
A BBQ event held on the morning of Sept. 9 outside the Agape Senior’s Wellness Centre on Notre Dame Blvd. in Chomedey also was an opportunity for many of the seniors to take a tour of the exciting new recreation room.
The new billiards table in the recreation room at the Agape Senior’s Wellness Centre. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
Councillor’s invitation
The members of the Wellness Centre had been invited by Laval city councillor for Souvenir-Labelle Sandra El-Helou, who is responsible for senior citizens’ dossiers at Laval city hall, to come out and enjoy the BBQ which she sponsored and hosted.
According to Youth and Parents Agape Association executive-director Kevin McLeod, El-Helou offered to put together the late morning to noon-hour event and more than 200 senior citizens and other members of the community from Laval accepted the offer.
A great day for a BBQ
“It was a wonderful event, a beautiful lunch served to recognize their importance and the end of summer, and just to thank them for being there,” McLeod said in an interview with the Laval News.
On the lunchtime menu were chicken brochettes, potatoes and salad. Afterwards there were free gifts for the guests, including complimentary scarfs courtesy of Councillor El-Helou. The Coco Loco Family Breakfast Restaurant donated all the food. Background entertainment was provided by a professional musician who played keyboards.
Brand new recreation gear
At the same time, the seniors joined Agape staff in helping to open the new recreation room at the Agape Senior’s Wellness Centre. Caisse Desjardins de Chomedey played a key role in making the recreation facility possible through a $10,000 gift.
Agape executive-director Kevin McLeod (far left) and Laval city councillor for Souvenir-Labelle Sandra El-Helou are seen here with two guests during the Senior’s Wellness Centre’s annual BBQ on Sept. 9.
As well, outgoing Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette provided an additional $2,000, while Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete gave $2,500. The money purchased a range of recreation equipment for the room, including a billiards table, an air hockey table, wall-mounted television screens and a variety of other games equipment.
Fun and recreation await
“We just can’t wait to get all the seniors in here,” added McLeod, while noting that bringing all the financial support together to open the recreation room was a challenge in itself because finding funding isn’t always easy for non-profit organizations.
The Agape Senior’s Wellness Centre promotes physical, mental, social and emotional well-being among Laval’s English-speaking senior citizens 55 years of age and older. As described on the Agape website, “It is a place where seniors can go for health-related conferences, resources and referrals by our coordinator. For more specific needs, seniors can request an appointment with our social worker.”
The people of Laval-Ouest have a new firehall. Firehall No. 6, located at 580 Dagenais Blvd. West at the corner of 51st Ave., replaces an old aging firehall on 35th Ave. that once served the area. The new building cost $12.4 million.
According to Councillor Sandra Desmeules (Concorde–Bois-de-Boulogne), who sits on the executive-committee where she is responsible for public safety dossiers, the city decided to relocate the firehall in order to improve the fire department’s response time to fires.
“In Laval, we are already in a position to say that a minimum of 10 firefighters will be present on the scene of an emergency within 10 minutes of a distress call being received,” she said. “These numbers are more than statistics: they are a reflection of lives saved year after year.”
From the left, Laval city manager Jacques Ulysse, Bois-de-Boulogne councillor and executive-committee member Sandra Desmeules who is responsible for public safety dossiers, Mayor Stéphane Boyer, l’Orée-des-Bois councillor Yannick Langlois, and Laval fire chief Patrick Taillefer are seen here during the opening of the new Laval-Ouest firehall.
Here are some facts about the new firehall:
It is currently being considered for LEED environmental construction certification;
The garage doors have been designed higher and wider to allow access by new and larger fire trucks;
The firehall can accommodate eight firefighters per shift;
It has a special platform for training novice firefighters;
A solar-power wall will provide additional electricity for various needs;
The building’s exterior architecture has been designed so as to fit into the neighbourhood.
Councillors Cifelli and Piché ask city to recognize Quebec sign language
Action Laval opposition city councillors Isabelle Piché (Saint-François) and Achille Cifelli (Val-des-Arbres) are asking Laval city council to request that the provincial government officially recognize Quebec Sign Language used by the deaf.
An estimated 10,000 persons in Quebec use Quebec Sign Language, while more than 500 of these live in Laval. The federal government has already taken the step of recognizing Quebec Sign Language.
“In Laval, we already recognize LSQ, since our council meetings are signed directly for rebroadcasting online,” says Piché. “I am now asking my colleagues on council to send a message to Quebec.”
The last Parti Québécois government, under former Premier Pauline Marois, had initiated proceedings to recognize LSQ, although the legislation died on the order paper when elections were called.
“If this is a simple gesture for us, the municipal councillors, it is very significant for these people,” said Cifelli, referring to those who use LSQ.
Laval becomes a bee-friendly city
In an effort to add to its commitment towards biodiversity, the City of Laval says it has decided to sign onto the Bee City program.
A Bee City is a municipality or First Nations community taking action to help pollinators. The program is overseen by Pollinator Partnership Canada, which recognizes communities across Canada which take action to protect pollinators such as bees.
“Pollinators are essential to the preservation of biodiversity and contribute to the maintenance of food security,” said Laval city councillor Alexandre Warnet who is responsible for environmental and ecological dossiers.
“What’s important to keep in mind is that around 40 per cent of our food pantry depends on them, while 25 per cent of bees are threatened with extinction,” he continued. “So, we must act. I am therefore very happy to announce that Laval will be doing its part and will contribute to their protection.”
In becoming a Bee City municipality, Laval will be part of a North American network of municipalities which are being mobilized to protect pollinators.
The Bee City Canada program was launched in 2015. The City of Laval will be deciding in the near future what further actions to take in conjunction with Bee City to help pollinators here. In addition to this new commitment to help preserve bees, the City of Laval decided in 2020 to follow a program dedicated to ensuring the protection of monarch butterflies.
Office has at least 35 backdated cases left over from previous years
In her latest annual report tabled last week, City of Laval ombudswoman Nathalie Blais said her office managed to open 473 new complaint dossiers up to Dec. 31 last year, in addition to 35 backdated cases left over from previous years, for a total of 508 dossiers processed by the office over the past year.
3,869 complaints in nine years
Among the complaints dealt with in 2021, according to Blais, 61 per cent concerned environmental and ecological issues, as well as problems involving the city’s engineering, public works and urban planning departments.
Since its creation nine years ago, the Laval ombudwoman’s office has processed 3,869 complaints dossiers. The office claims that after being received, complaints are forwarded to city departments within 15 working days. The ombudswoman says some of the dossiers that remain open after several years haven’t yet been resolved because of their extraordinary complexity in certain cases.
Nathalie Blais, the City of Laval’s ombudswoman, says her department processed 508 complaints about various City of Laval services last year.
Pandemic took toll
The office also claims that in 47 per cent of cases, the ombudswoman can resolve the problem by providing relevant information to complainants, including information on their rights and the city department they should be dealing with.
“The past year was again marked by its share of challenges engendered by the pandemic,” said Blais. “In as much as communication delays are still present, our team works without stopping to reduce them, while at the same time fully playing its role as liaison between the citizens, the city and the elected officials.
Improving city services
“Now that we have a chance to get back together and re-establish dialogue, one of our priorities over the next year will be to contribute to the improvement of municipal services, which is after all at the heart of our mission following the treatment of complaints,” she added.
According to Blais, statistics compiled by her office show that the group asking the most for the ombudswoman’s help is 51 to 65 years of age. She said the office is currently working with an external consultant to develop a plan to better communicate with younger members of Laval’s population so that they are aware of the ombudswoman’s services.
Tree problem resolved
The ombudswoman’s office provided examples of some of the most outstanding cases it dealt with last year. In one, a resident drew the office’s attention to the fact a tree growing in an open public place was creating a safety problem because of its location on a narrow street.
The city’s position was that the municipality’s policy for preserving trees all but ruled out the possibility of cutting down the tree. After several months of discussions between various city departments, including exchanges with affected residents, the ombudswoman’s office finally persuaded the public works department that security ranked higher as a concern than the preservation of the tree.
‘One of our priorities over the next year will be to contribute to the improvement of municipal services’
Some other cases
The office had to intervene in a case where the public works department wasn’t being as transparent as it could be. A resident had made a request for asphalt resurfacing to take place on a certain street. Although public works knew the request was unlikely to be fulfilled, they withheld that information rather than risk the consequences of saying no.
The ombudswoman’s office convinced the department that frankness and transparency are almost always the best policy, as they allow residents at least to understand what is going on.
Upcoming challenges
The ombudswoman says she has a number of goals over the next two years, including a possible revision of the office’s branding and logo, the adoption of a new policy for working with the municipal services using new tools, increased accessibility, and the enlargement of the ombudswoman’s office team. Since the launching of a new ombudswoman’s office website at the end of 2020, they found that 42 per cent of complaints received last year arrived through the interactive form provided on their website.
Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez defends new approach – and mounting Liberal spending
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who is also lieutenant for Quebec in the Trudeau government. (Photo: Martin C. Barry, Newsfirst Multimedia)
As families in Quebec and other areas of Canada increasingly feel the pinch of inflation in the post-Covid economic era, last week the Trudeau government quietly announced new measures they claim will make life easier and more affordable for Canadians before the current year is finished.
During an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia earlier this week, Montreal-area Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant in the Trudeau government, maintained that the series of proposed measures had already been well received by economists.
Justifies new dental program
He cited the beginnings of a new dental insurance program as an example of something that could pay off in the long run by providing support so that families wouldn’t have to give up some of their most important priorities to be able to afford others.
“I went to the dentist not too long ago, and my friend, you probably know this, it’s expensive,” said Rodriguez. “So sometimes people can’t afford it. Quite often, actually. So, they make that decision, then you know what? They’re going to sacrifice other stuff.”
Regarding the Liberal government’s rent subsidy program, he said they estimate it will help about 2 million people, who can expect to receive a “top up” of about 100$ very soon from Ottawa. “We’re working on the mechanism,” said Rodriguez. “We’ll have more details soon, but that’s what it is.”
Denies influence by Poilièvre
According to recent news reports, newly-selected Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilièvre claimed that his election was what actually motivated the Liberal government into finally taking decisive action against the country’s mounting economic problems, including inflation.
“We started way before the election of mister Poilièvre,” Rodriguez responded. “We don’t govern based on who’s the leader of the Conservative parties. We govern based on the needs of Canadians. So, some of the programs that I’ve mentioned, like the increase of the pension, like the kind of workers benefit that the help of housing, you know, before the top up and many other programs were put in place way before mister Poilièvre.”
The government says doubling the Goods and Services Tax Credit for six months will provide $2.5 billion in relief
Defends spending record
Despite the new Conservative leader’s further claims that the government’s massive spending over the past two and more years may actually have been feeding inflation, Rodriguez defended the Liberal record, comparing it to the results obtained in the United Kingdom, following that country’s strategy involving restrained spending.
“England, which is led by a Conservative party, didn’t spend that much, okay?” he said. “Compared together, okay, well, they have an inflation around 22 per cent. It’s crazy inflation. So no, we invested in Canadians view because we had to.
“We invested in our businesses because we needed them to stay alive. How do you want to rebuild the economy if your businesses are not there anymore, especially in small and medium size fences? So, we invested. It wasn’t perfect, we know that. But I think we invested smartly and Canada is considered among the top.”
Three new measures
According to the PMO, the government’s first pieces of the new strategy, to be introduced in the upcoming parliamentary sitting, would include the following measures:
Double the Goods and Services Tax Credit (GSTC) for six months, delivering additional financial help to roughly 11 million individuals and families who receive the tax credit, including about half of Canadian families with children, and more than half of Canadian seniors. Single Canadians without children would receive up to an extra $234 and couples with two children would receive up to an extra $467 this year. Seniors would receive an extra $225 on average.
Provide a Canada Dental Benefit to children under 12 who do not have access to dental insurance, starting this year. Direct payments totalling up to $1,300 per child over the next two years (up to $650 per year) would be provided for dental care services. This would be the first stage of the government’s plan to deliver dental coverage for families with incomes under $90,000, and would allow children under 12 to recceive dental care while the government develops a comprehensive national dental care program, as previously pledged following an agreement the Liberals made with the NDP in exchange of support in Parliament.
Provide a one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit to deliver $500 to 1.8 million Canadian renters. This element would more than double the Liberal government’s Budget 2022 commitment, reaching twice as many Canadians as initially promised. The new one-time federal benefit would also be in addition to the Canada Housing Benefit currently co-funded and delivered by provinces and territories. The federal benefit would be available to applicants with an adjusted net income below $35,000 for families, or below $20,000 for individuals, who pay at least 30 per cent of their income on rent.
According to the Liberal government, doubling the Goods and Services Tax Credit for six months will provide $2.5 billion in relief to those who qualify for it. As well, the Canada Dental Benefit would deliver over $900 million to support dental health, starting in 2022-23.
National dental coverage
The Canada Dental Benefit would provide direct payments to eligible applicants totalling up to $650 per year per child for dental care services for applicants with a family income under $70,000, $390 for those with a family income of $70,000 to $79,999, and $260 for those with a family income of $80,000 to $89,999. However, parents or guardians of eligible children would need to apply to access payments.
The government said that a new national dental program is under development, with the goal of expanding dental coverage to under 18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, with full implementation for all families with incomes under $90,000 by 2025.
