‘The next time somebody will be killed,’ Michel Saintonge tells city council
Firearms incidents which have become more commonplace in recent years in the City of Laval’s otherwise tranquil residential neighborhoods were the focus of a complaint made by a Duvernay resident to city council during its May 6 public meeting.
Local attempted murders
Michel Saintonge said he wanted to talk about two recent murder attempts in Duvernay’s Val-des-Arbres sector, the first one having taken place around three weeks earlier. The Laval Police found spent ammunition cartridges in the parking lot as well as the yard of a nearby elementary school.
He said that on the Sunday before, a series of gunshots was again heard, this time on Cap-à-l’Aigle St. also in Duvernay/Val-des-Arbres.
So, while acknowledging that he didn’t expect the Laval Police to be everywhere all the time, he asked how it was possible for two “completely out of control” events like this to take place in such a small area of Laval over the space of just three weeks.
‘Truly unacceptable’
While noting that the target of the second attack wasn’t killed – “fortunately for him,” added Saintonge – he pointed out that children often play on the nearby streets. “I don’t understand the Laval Police’s priorities,” he said, wondering why they don’t seem to be devoting more resources to take care of the situation.
“I find this truly unacceptable, to say the least. The next time somebody will be killed. I hope it won’t be a child. But we’re going to do what? The journalists will be arriving, the police will arrive. But now for the situation we’re in, we’re just lucky fortunately that nobody died.
“Two murder attempts with rapid-fire handguns,” he continued. “This means they found around seven spent cartridges on the ground, while the second time they found three or four cartridges, including what was in front of the residence of my daughter.”
Daughter ‘in shock’
He said his daughter was unable to speak for herself at the May 6 council meeting “because she’s in shock,” while her two children also have been staying home because they feel so uneasy with how things are going in their neighborhood.
“So, you have here honest people – honest citizens – who are living in a peaceful neighborhood. And what are the police doing? I am raising questions about the competence of the management of the police. And I would like to know what concerted action the police will be undertaking in the next hours and days?”
He maintained that the Laval Police haven’t been out patrolling the streets. And while the person targeted in the attack still lives there, Saintonge said the police haven’t done anything in particular to protect him.
LPD are onto it, says Khalil
Speaking on behalf of Mayor Stéphane Boyer (who was absent on May 6 for personal reasons, according to a city hall spokesperson) Sainte-Dorothée city councillor Ray Khalil, the executive-committee vice-president, insisted the city and the Laval Police “make every effort to reassure citizens.”
Still, he allowed Concorde–Bois-de-Boulogne councillor Sandra Desmeules (who is in charge of public safety dossiers) to respond in more detail. According to her, the police responded immediately and established a security perimeter.
“At the present time, the investigation is underway,” she said, while adding the police haven’t been able to provide additional details as it remains an open investigation.
“But I can tell you again that they are still working on the dossier and they are making all efforts possible to make arrests.” She took issue with Saintonge’s comments on the competence of the police, while defending Laval Police director Pierre Brochet.
Jacques-Plante bike path rejected
A group of residents from Jacques Plante St. in the city’s Chomedey district complained to the council about a bicycle path recently added on their street – “and this without a consultation in our neighborhood which is directly impacted,” according to a spokesperson.
The last time the spokesperson was at council, he left behind a petition containing at least 70 signatures of residents asking for the bike path’s withdrawal. “It’s been almost six months we have yet to receive an answer specifically for rue Jacques Plante,” he said.
Lost parking and collisions
He said the issues facing the residents include a 50 per cent reduction in parking, narrowing of the street, and increased risk of collisions between bikes and motor vehicles.
“We are asking the city to take all the right steps to find a solution, because the new bike lanes are not secure for both bicyclists and the drivers,” he continued. “The whole neighborhood is complaining about the deterioration on a daily basis and it is affecting our quality of life.”
