Re-engineering Traffic in the Baily / Cavendish / Glencrest area

March 15, 2010 at 22:27 (Police, Safety, Traffic / Parking, Urban Planning)
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Last week I attended a public meeting for the residents of District 3 residing is the area bordered by Cavendish, Silverson, Baily, and Côte Saint-Luc Rd.

Their opinions and suggestions were solicited on how to reduce or disperse the through traffic in their area.

Late last year, a city traffic study found a high volume of traffic on Baily Rd. and Grencrest Ave. Many motorists from outside the area use these streets as a shortcut to go from Cavendish Blvd. to Côte Saint-Luc Rd.

The purpose of the meeting was to find ways to reduce, disperse, or discourage motorists in a way that is fair and equitable to all residents in the immediate area. 

L-R: Councillors Dida Berku and Glenn J. Nashen with area resident Debbie Berke

Councillor Dida Berku made introductory remarks and explained what the city hoped to accomplish.  As chairman for Public Safety and Traffic I attended along with the city’s Traffic Engineer, Charles Senekal.

Residents were assigned to one of the eight tables and discussed possible solutions.  Councillor Berku asked for a spokesperson at each table to explain what solution their table developed.  Later, she summarized the conclusions of the tables and explained the next steps. 

This was an excellent process to hear all the points of view of local residents and to provide a forum to air their concerns.  The proposals now get transmitted to the Public Safety and Traffic committee for study.  The committee includes experts in traffic, urban planning, public security, police and members of the public at large.  A recommendation will then be put forward to City Council for consideration.

To view a synopsis of this public meeting on CSL-TV click this link: http://www.vimeo.com/10128165.

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Family wants answers after Alzheimer’s patient dies in cold

March 12, 2010 at 21:06 (News clip)
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Family wants answers after Alzheimer’s patient dies in cold

Fri Mar. 12, 2010 

ctvmontreal.ca

A Montreal family wants answers after laying their matriarch to rest.

CTV News has learned that Louise Simon, a 94-year-old Alzheimer’s patient, died after making her way out of the Griffith McConnell residence in Cote St. Luc last week.

Simon left her room in the middle of the night and managed to get outside wearing only her nightclothes.

Her family, who buried her on Wednesday, believes she was laying in the cold for at least two hours before someone found her.

On the morning of March 3, a night staffer spotted Simon lying outside.

Grandson Jordan Officer tells CTV’s Maya Johnson that she was last seen in her bed between 2:30 and 3 a.m. and was found around 5 a.m.

Simon was rushed to the Jewish General Hospital but died of heart failure as a result of exposure to the cold.

Daughter Patricia Simon says that she still agonizes at night, thinking about it.

“It was cold. She hated the cold. She hated getting cold — she was out there for a pretty long time,” said Patricia.

She said one of her daughters couldn’t contain her anger at the residence.

“The day that it happened, my youngest daughter Sarah went in and confronted them. She was beside herself that she’d lost her grandmother because as far as she was concerned, it was negligence.

Failed security?

Simon’s family says the security system at the residence clearly failed.

They want to know how she made it out of her room, through an emergency exit and down four flights of stairs without anyone noticing.

What’s more, she was wearing an electronic bracelet that’s designed to trigger an alarm, and automatically lock doors, if a resident wanders towards an exit.

Patricia says that an alarm should have sounded for fifteen seconds after her mother left the building, but if it did, no one heard it.

Response

Annette Rudy, director-general of the Griffith McConnell residence, declined CTV’s request for an on-camera interview, and instead issued a statement.

“In healthcare, we are bound by confidentiality laws so I cannot comment on any individual at Griffith-McConnell,” said Rudy.

“However, we do take reasonable precautions to keep all our residents safe.”

Rudy declined a second request to speak on camera even after Simon’s family granted permission to CTV to obtain information on the case,

But in an interview with CTV News in January, Rudy highlighted the technology and security measures in place at the residence.

Long, fruitful life

Now the family is left with their memories of Louise Simon, who was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Born in 1915, she served as a nursing officer with the Canadian forces in the Second World War.

She also wrote poetry and was a free spirit who left an impression on everyone she met.

Simon lived a long and fulfilling life.

It’s not the age at which she died, but how she died that’s upsetting her grieving family.

CBC News

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Meadowbrook meeting tonight in MoWest

March 12, 2010 at 20:57 (Environment, News clip)
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Meadowbrook meeting tonight in MoWest

By Joel Goldenberg

The Suburban

March 10, 2010

The group Les Amis de Meadowbrook is holding a public meeting regarding possible development of the Lachine half of the Meadowbrook Golf Course, 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 at the Edinburgh School gymnasium, 500 Hudson in Montreal West.

The invitation sent out claims that “the current owner of Meadowbrook, Groupe Pacific Canada, has informed the government of Quebec that Montreal has agreed to allow construction on the Lachine portion of Meadowbrook this year.

“When asked directly whether this is true, the City of Montreal has been evasive. The City of Montreal has also been evasive when asked when – or even if – it will consider the formal recommendation of its own agglomeration commission that Meadowbrook be preserved.” Côte St. Luc has rezoned its half of the site from residential to golf course.

But Suzanne Deschamps, vice-president of development and legal affairs for Group Pacific, said the invitation’s claim about the approach to Quebec is not accurate.

“Do I know people in Quebec? If I do, do I speak to them occasionally? Absolutely. But is there anything formal or have I informed anyone of something very specific – no. Not in the sense that the invitation seems to say.”

Deschamps told The Suburban that she is still working towards a environmentally-friendly project “that I believe will respect the wishes of most, if not everybody. This year, 2010, is the year of biodiversity, and that is an issue that one has to deal with, and when one is developing in a city, it is something one should be concerned about. We are trying to put in place and look at development in a very different way than most developers have looked at it in the past. That requires a lot more depth and study. I’m dealing with biologists, ecologists, in many things – it’s a complex project.”

Deschamps says she invites activists who want Meadowbrook to remain a greenspace to speak with her.

“To me, sustainable development and true sustainability not only in real estate development but in all economic activity starts with a conservation, and it’s only when you can sit down and truly talk that things can change. I would invite them to contact and talk to me.”

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Hampstead considering local traffic relief options

March 11, 2010 at 20:39 (News clip, Traffic / Parking)
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Hampstead considering local traffic relief options

By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban, March 10, 2010

Hampstead has several options it is studying to relieve traffic on the town’s quiet streets resulting from morning rush hour prohibitions in Montreal, Mayor William Steinberg told the March council meeting.

Montreal has banned left turns on eastbound Van Horne Avenue onto Clanranald and Coolbrook between 7 and 9 a.m. Monday to Friday. Fleet Road in Côte St. Luc and Hampstead becomes Van Horne in Montreal. And as a result of traffic measures taken in Hampstead, cars travelling east on Fleet cannot make any left turns in the morning rush hour until they hit Queen Mary Road, at which point they use an alternate route to Decarie other than traffic-clogged Fleet. The streets affected by increased local traffic include Holly, Belsize and Wexford Crescent, which are north of Fleet Road.

Steinberg said last week that, as a result of working with traffic consultant Naomi Ben-David to find a solution, “there are at least a few very interesting things that we are considering doing. We think any of these things will result in a significant improvement, but we haven’t quite reached the point of determining exactly what we’re going to implement.”

Councillor Harvey Shaffer, in charge of the traffic portfolio on council, said Ben-David “prepared a very well-reasoned report.

“I believe, in the very near future, Hampstead will be announcing an extremely good solution to the vast majority of traffic problems, going west to east on Fleet. This, no doubt, will reduce the density of traffic going north in Queen Mary, east on Holly and onto Belsize. It will also considerably reduce traffic that goes further eastward into the Wexford Crescent area and then north on Harland and east on Ferncroft.

“I will leave it to the mayor to make that announcement at the appropriate time.”

 

In my opinion:  More turning restrictions off of Fleet Road and Van Horne Avenue is the last thing anyone needs.  There are too many already.  The last set of changes on Fleet by Hampstead proved extremely problematic for Cote Saint-Luc and Hampstead motorists alike.  A workable solution was found thanks to Mayors Housefather and Steinberg, allowing limited access into Hampstead.  However, Montreal threw a wrench into this plan by prohibiting turns onto local streets near Decarie creating a virtual bottleneck all the way back into Hampstead. 

It’s time that Montreal (Cotes-des-Neiges-NDG Borough) recognized that Van Horne is a major thoroughfare and restrict parking and pave this pothole-ridden and decrepid road to ease the flow from the West End to Decarie Boulevard.   Parking should also be prohibited on Plamondon and Vezina, near Decarie, during rush hour.

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CSL slows down residential traffic

March 9, 2010 at 21:13 (Police, Press Release, Public Security, Resolution / Bylaw, Safety, Traffic / Parking)
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Cote Saint-Luc Council has voted to change the default speed limit across the city to 40 km/h from 50 km/h.  This new speed limit, mainly in residential areas, will fall in line with new limits across the Island of Montreal.

The bylaw, which I proposed for adoption at this week’s March council meeting, establishes 40 km/h as the new limit except where other speed limits are posted, namely, the 50 km/h postings will remain on Fleet Road, Côte Saint-Luc Road, Cavendish Boulevard, Mackle Road, Kildare Road and Guelph Road.

Of course, the speed limits remain 30 km/h in front of school zones and park zones and will be strictly enforced.

Having served on the Traffic Committee for years and now chairing the Public Safety and Traffic Committee I have heard from many residents about their concerns of “speeding” traffic on side streets.  As well, in the recent elections, many voters expresed a similar concern and indicated their strong support for a lower the speed limit.

Indeed, CSL Public Security Chief Michel Martel, a former traffic accident investigator with the Montreal Police department has advised that it is proven that a pedestrian hit by a car traveling at 70 km/h doesn’t have much of a chance of surviving while another hit at 60 km/h has a much greater survival rate.  Also, the stopping distance at 70 km/h is almost double compared at 50 km/h.  All this to say that with motorists often traveling in excess of 50 km/h on side streets this new lower limit will generally force drivers to slow down, will mean greater enforcement by police and will mean reduced injuries to pedestrians and safer streets for all.

It should be noted, however, that Neighbourhood Police Station 9 Commander Sylvain Bissonnette indicates that CSL is already one of the safest areas in the region with a very low traffic accident rate and few injuries to pedestrians.

In addition, I have recommended to the Public Safety and Traffic committee and to Council the notion of increased visibility of safety signs and crosswalks in school and park zones.  Painted lines will be twice the width and large white rectangles will be painted in between the parallel crosswalk lines to increase safety at key intersections.

New traffic calming measures are also in the works. Safety and security of residents and pedestrians is my top priority.

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A unique and exciting day on Parliament Hill

March 5, 2010 at 23:11 (Canada, Events, Jewish General Hospital)
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This week I spent one unique and exciting day on Parliament Hill visiting high-ranking political figures together with my good friend and fellow City Councillor Mike Cohen.  Mike serves as the English Montreal School Board communications and marketing specialist and writes for a number of newspapers, including The Suburban, The Jewish Tribune, The Montrealer, The Jewish Standard and Montreal Jewish Magazine.  

I serve as the director of Public Affairs and Communications for the Jewish General Hospital.  

Mike and I are very enamored with the political process – local, provincial and national. In our professional capacities we teamed up to deliver important messages to leading policy-makers.  Mike ably represented the school board while I promoted one of Quebec and Canada’s leading healthcare and medical research institutions.  

Mike and I began our day with a trip to the Ottawa National Advocacy Office of Canadian Jewish Congress. Mike worked for the organization when the head office was in Montreal.  I served as chairman of the CJC Quebec Region Jews in Arab Lands committee together with Martin Penn as well as the Syrian Jewry Task Force under Judy Feld Carr and also the Cuban Jewry Task Force.  We dropped by to say hello to Director of Government Relations, Eric Vernon, and Director of Operations, Joshua Rotblatt.   

L-R: Glenn J. Nashen, Joshua Rotblatt, Eric Vernon, Mike Cohen

Our first meeting on Parliament Hill was with Justin Trudeau, the Liberal MP for Papineau. Justin, of course, is the son of our late, great prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.  He seemed appropriately comfortable in his Confederation Building office. “I am abashed to admit how good this feels,” he says. “Every aspect of this job is so incredibly satisfying.”  

How would his father feel if he could see him now? “About a year before my dad died I realized that politics would be a possible path for me one day,” he recalled. “I knew that I needed to talk to him about this or I would regret it. Well, it turned out to be 10 minutes of the most awkward conversation I’d ever had. You see, he had basically already answered this question in the way he raised my brothers. ‘Know your values and principles,’ he would always say. He certainly did say that we should not do anything because we thought it was our appropriate path and with that in mind I know that he was extremely proud that I became a teacher.”  

Mike and I both believe that in the coming years Justin will be the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and ultimately our Prime Minister.  

Meeting with Justin Trudeau, M.P.

We were delighted when the Federal Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq , agreed to see us.  Ms. Aglukkaq was first elected to work for the Nunavummiut in the House of Commons in October 2008 and became the first Inuk to be sworn into the federal cabinet. Prior to entering federal politics she served in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly as the MLA for the district of NATTILIK (communities of Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak). During her time as an MLA, she was elected by her peers to be part of the Executive Council and first given the responsibility of finance minister and house leader, before becoming the Minister of Health and Social Services and the Minister for the Status of Women.  

She was absolutely charming and welcomed us so warmly. We spoke about last year’s H1N1 pandemic and the medical isotope shortage. The Minister may be making a trip to Montreal in the not too distant and I encouraged her to visit the JGH and the premier cancer centre in the province of Quebec, the Segal Cancer Centre.  

Glenn J. Nashen and Mike Cohen drop in for a meet and greet with Canada's Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq

Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, spent several years as a young student in Montreal. Long before he became the Alberta finance minister, leader of the Canadian Alliance and a trusted federal minister for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Day resided in St. Lambert, N.D.G. and Westmount.  The Prime Minister initially appointed him as Public Safety minister, moving him to International Trade and now the Treasury, where he has been handed the crucial task of getting our country’s finances back on track.  

While he was Minister for Public Safety he planned to visit my fledgling group known as the Cote Saint-Luc volunteer Citizens on Patrol.  A last-minute emergency scuttled that visit but I had the opportunity to meet him last year at a local synagogue speech to the community and once again this week.  

The Minister is warm, friendly and charming and spent several minutes chatting with us (the day before the speech from the throne and two days before the budget) about growing up in Montreal, about our respective institutions at the JGH and EMSB and much more.  

A visit with the President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Stockwell Day

Every step of the way these last four years Stockwell Day has been supported by Neil Drabkin, a lawyer and long time Côte Saint-Luc resident, as his Chief of Staff. Neil has a significant background in the political process, going back to the era of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. At that time Neil was a senior policy advisor and deputy chief of staff to the Minister of Citizenship, Gerry Weiner. He has also been a Tory candidate on a few occasions.  I’m proud to call Neil a good friend.   

Cohen and Nashen with Treasury Board Chief of Staff Neil Drabkin

I was very much looking forward to meeting an extraordinary cabinet minister, Steven Fletcher.  Fletcher was a young mining engineer in Manitoba in 1996 when an automobile collision with a moose left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. Despite the odds, he returned to university for his MBA and has been elected to Parliament in the last three elections, now serving as the Minister of Democratic Reform. He’s been travelling near Montreal recently to take French classes.  

He and his father, David, presented us with a copy of the book The Steven Fletcher Story: What Do You Do If You Don’t Die?  “Have your handkerchief ready,” his executive assistant warned us. Fletcher has such a great disposition. What an inspiration he is! His office is a beehive of activity, with meetings occurring non-stop.  His father told us that he has reached the highest level of elected office of any quadriplegic in the world. Truly amazing.  I invited him to come speak to an audience at the JGH this Spring.  

Meeting with an extraordinary Cabinet Minister, Steven Fletcher

Diane Finley is the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and also gave us a very warm welcome into her offices. The MP for Haldimand-Norfolk in Simcoe, Ontario told us that a number of years ago she spent a summer working at the Lachine plant of Rolls Royce Canada. Her boss was a gentleman by the name of Doug Finley who eventually became her husband. Doug is now a Conservative Senator and the party’s national campaign director. Diane Finely shared with us her battle with Graves Disease, an autoimmune condition which causes over activity of the thyroid. For some time she had to wear sunglasses in the House of Commons due to a hypersensitivity to light. “I had five surgeries and I am fortunate that the last one was successful,” said the minister, who is also responsible for the Federal Office for Disability Issues.  

Finley told us that when she was in opposition that office was not accessible to the handicapped. “There were actually two offices at the time,” she said. “Now we have one office across the river in Gatineau. Not only is it accessible; it is a showpiece for accessibility.   

We had a superb lunch in the famous Parliamentary Dining Room amid Members of Parliament and their exclusive guests.  Later in the day, at a cocktail reception by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute at the posh Rideau Club, we met the former Consul General in Los Angeles, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Laurie Hawn, as well as CTV national reporter Roger Smith.

CTV's Roger Smith and Mike Cohen

I was very impressed with the Parliamentarians and their senior staff whom we interacted with.  We received privileged access to these leading politicians.  We were welcomed very cordially by all and we invited each to come visit some of Mike’s schools and my hospital CEO and president on future visits to Montreal.  

Our day began at 6:00 a.m. and we returned home near midnight.  It was an exhausting day spent traversing Parliament Hill and downtown Ottawa, passing through airport-like security no less than 10 times.  A unique day in the life of two communications directors.   Exciting, fulfilling and professionally and personally rewarding.

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No farm animals allowed: CSL

March 4, 2010 at 21:49 (News clip, Resolution / Bylaw)
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No farm animals allowed: CSL

Many municipalities have little-known bylaws

By Joel Goldenberg

The Suburban

March 3, 2010

Côte St. Luc has many well-known and publicized bylaws – perhaps its most famous are its overnight parking prohibition between 3 and 6 a.m., its pioneering requirement for bicyclists to wear helmets and also innovative ban on smoking in public places, well before Quebec made the latter province-wide law.

Other bylaws are obvious and by no means unique – putting out garbage at the correct time, keeping your dog leashed and out of parks, and no unauthorized parking in handicap zones.

But others are less obvious. Côte St. Luc’s website lists many of them. In that city, you can’t:

1. “Keep live farm animals or fowl on your land,” so do not expect to find any live cows, chickens or turkeys in local backyards and homes. There have been no such incidences in Côte St. Luc, The Suburban has been told, at least in recent years.

2. “Park a trailer, truck anywhere except for loading or unloading purposes.” However, in neighbouring Hampstead, one can frequently find trucks and trailers parked on Glenmore, at a home where the filming of major motion pictures has taken place over the years, to the annoyance of some residents.

3. “Put more than a total of six receptacles or plastic bags outside a building for garbage collection.” In this case, a major spring cleaning should take place over time.

4 “Make loud noises such as excessively honking your horn, blaring loud music or using any other sound reproduction device to do so.” So no bass-heavy rap music on Côte St. Luc streets.

5. “Feed pigeons, squirrels and other wild animals or poultry.” Bylaw #1 should take care of much of that issue.

In Hampstead, one otherwise little known bylaw has been gaining more prominence at monthly council meetings, the prohibition against speaking from the floor except during question period. Thanks to frequent violations by some council regulars and Mayor William Steinberg ordering a ticket issued during a council meeting – the order was later withdrawn and switched to a warning – that bylaw has been well publicized.

Other interesting bylaws also relate to decorum at council meetings. An attendee can be expelled if he or she is verbally disruptive, but also disruptive from a motion perspective. Thus, technically, attendees can be ordered to leave if they “wander away from the topic under discussion” or “move about between the council table and the public.”

The decorum bylaw also applies to reporters or residents who want to record meetings for their own library. For instance, “the use of a mechanical or electronic voice recording device is authorized during town council meetings on the condition that the equipment is used silently and without in any way disturbing the proceedings. The recording device must remain in the user’s physical possession.” This might indicate that a reporter or resident cannot leave his or her recorder running in the council chamber while taking a bathroom break.

Back in 2005, The Suburban reported that another Hampstead council meeting-related bylaw says that only council members “and officers assisting them, may be filmed or photographed by means of a still, video or television camera or any other device for recording images, and only during question period, may the people asking the questions of the council members also be photographed or filmed.” However, The Suburban was assured it would not be prosecuted if it took a picture of an audience member, for example, disrupting the meeting from the floor. Also, no action was taken during the fractious 2009 election campaign when some council meetings were filmed by a supporter of mayoral candidate and former councillor David Sternthal.

Another aspect of the decorum bylaw, the prohibition against “shouting, heckling, singing, making noise or any other gesture likely to negatively impact the proceedings.” Pretty much every one of these has been violated in the last few years – except for the singing.

On the other hand, Hampstead is not unique in designating a maximum of 30 minutes for their question period. However, not too many area municipalities follow that rule to the letter. Two Hampstead question periods at one meeting lasted a total four hours, ironically after an unsuccessful attempt to actually restrict the time to 30 minutes because of lengthy question periods at previous meetings.

In Montreal West, a recently posted 2008 bylaw decrees if a resident has more than two dogs or four cats, he or she “shall be considered to be operating a kennel or shelter.” The bylaw also says kennels and shelters are not allowed in the town’s residential zone. A permit must be obtained to open a kennel or shelter altogether.

However, there is one exception to the dog and cat limit rule. “In the event that a female dog or cat gives birth to a litter of puppies or kittens, [they] may be kept by the owner for a period not exceeding three months.”

As they say, ignorance is no excuse. Read your municipality’s bylaws.

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Recycling company won’t take material from outside bins: Housefather

February 27, 2010 at 20:33 (News clip)
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Recycling company won’t take material from outside bins: Housefather

By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban, Feb. 24, 2010

Earlier this month, Hampstead councillor Michael Goldwax warned that recycling contractors do not pick up material if it is outside the recycling bin on pick-up day.

At this month’s Côte St. Luc council meeting, mayor Anthony Housefather had to give the same advice to the one resident who showed up that night to ask a question.

The resident told council that if someone places anything extra next to the bin, “even an IGA bag, he refuses to take it.

“God forbid, he should bend over and do this. Can you explain why?”

Housefather explained the contract for recycling for the entire island of Montreal was accepted “under certain terms and conditions.” The mayor pointed out that recycling, in many cases, is only picked up by a mechanical arm on the pick-up vehicle.

“The whole point of this was to reduce the cost for all of the cities to make it easier, so they would have one person in the truck and not two or three. They’re never going to come out — if they were to do that, it would defeat the whole principle of using the arm.”

Housefather also said that exceptions to the rule were made in the first weeks of the contract, and that instructions were also given to residents on the proper method of placing their recycling bins for pick-up.

The resident pointed out that, in one instance, the bin fell on a windy day and the cover was open.

“God forbid someone should bend over…”

Housefather said there are some occasions where the driver will go outside the truck, “but not usually.

“Garbage and compost collection are done by city employees,” the mayor pointed out.

Councillor Steven Erdelyi told the resident that if his bin is overflowing with recyclables, he can contact the city to upgrade to a larger-sized bin — for instance, from 120 litres to 240 or from 240 to 360 litres. Erdelyi said another option is to make use of a large bin at the corner of Baily and Westminster, near the strip mall.

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Danyluk and other mayors take fight to Quebec City

February 26, 2010 at 22:27 (Finance, News clip, Quebec, Resolution / Bylaw)
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Danyluk and other mayors take fight to Quebec City

By P.A. Sévigny, The Suburban, Feb. 24, 2010

Following last January’s soaring “agglo” fee hikes, TMR’s Vera Danyluk and other city mayors have all decided to give Mayor Gérald Tremblay’s city hall administration a pass in order to take their fight to Premier Jean Charest’s government in Quebec City. During a recent interview, Danyluk told The Suburban she felt she had little choice because Tremblay “isn’t listening, and what’s worse, he evidently doesn’t care.”

As opposed to his previous term when ignorance was often Tremblay’s best and only defence, Danyluk and the other mayors are doing their best to let both Tremblay and Premier Jean Charest know about the gathering storm of over rising “agglo” rate hikes.

Last month, Danyluk was the first to fire a shot across the central city’s bow when Town of Mount Royal’s council all accepted a motion to request the province to redefine the Montreal Agglomeration’s legal framework. As of early next month, several cities are planning to pass their own motions calling upon Quebec’s Municipal Affairs to deal with the city’s festering problems in order to resolve the growing confrontation between the Tremblay administration and the island’s independent suburbs.

Apart from their objections to the arbitrary 12.6 percent increase in fees the city imposed upon its so-called “suburban partners,” the new motion specifically condemns the several occasions when Tremblay administration officials proceeded to plan and prepare the city’s new budget without ever bothering to consult the suburbs who finance up to 20 percent of the agglomeration’s total expenses. Aside from totally ignoring the recommendations put forward by the year-old Commission Ad-Hoc du budget 2010 (volet agglomération), Danyluk’s motion also mentions how Tremblay waited until the last minute before telling “agglo” budget representatives there would be no changes made or even considered to the city’s new 2010 budget.

Apart from the fact the Tremblay administration continues to use its massive political majority to completely dominate the agglomeration’s affairs; money is at the heart of the argument. As Premier Jean Charest’s new Minister of Municipal Affairs, Laurent Lessard will surely have to delve into the city’s arcane accounting methods — especially as they concern the $92 million the city says the suburbs owe to assorted municipal employee pension funds along with another $62 million earmarked for mass transit expenses.

Danyluk is not the only one of the island’s mayors who wants to pick a fight with Tremblay’s city hall. As of last Monday’s deadline, the mayors of at least two more island municipalities are getting ready to pass their own motions for a radical change in the agglomeration’s political infrastructure. As of Monday, the 1st of March, both the cities of Westmount and Côte St. Luc are planning to pass similar motions in order to warn the province about the looming confrontation.

“We know all about Vera’s motion,” said Côte St. Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather. “It’s a good idea but we think we should pass our own motion.”

Apart from the fact he may be facing yet another political firestorm, the ghost of last year’s epic water-meter scandal could be coming back to haunt Gérald Tremblay. Few, if any, of the city’s suburban mayors are willing to pay the millions due after Tremblay cancelled the contract they never approved of and never voted for. More to the point, the mayors still recall how Tremblay used his overwhelming majority on council to force the agglomeration’s various members to carry their share of the proposed contract after which he now expects the agglomeration to share the penalty for cancelling the contract. And once the new motion hits Lessard’s desk, the minister will also learn how Tremblay’s Montreal could be facing a major lawsuit after the mayor pushed his new Règlement Concernant la Quote-part pour l’Alimentation en Eau Potable through the island’s Urban Agglomeration Council during its regular meeting at the end of last January.

Danyluk’s motion also requests the minister immediately appoint a mandataire — someone who will have the mandate and the authority to oversee and validate all of the “mixed expenses” the Tremblay administration imposed upon the agglomeration in the 2010 budget. Finally, in order to provide some balance to the city’s overbearing authority on the agglomeration’s council, Danyluk requests the minister amend the law in such a way as to make it mandatory all future agglomeration budgets and related items be adopted through by-laws — all of which can be contested to the appropriate authorities, including the courts.

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[CSL-TV] Message from the Mayor: Property taxes / Message du maire: Le compte de taxe

February 25, 2010 at 09:22 (En français, Finance, Montreal)
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Mayor Anthony Housefather discusses 2010 property taxes (February 22, 2010).

Maire Anthony Housefather commente le compte de taxe 2010  (22 février 2010).

Click here: http://vimeo.com/channels/csltv#9664361

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Feds, Quebec help CSL build intergenerational/aquatic centre

February 25, 2010 at 08:24 (Canada, Finance, News clip, Quebec, Recreation)
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Feds, Quebec help CSL build intergenerational/aquatic centre

By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban, Feb. 24, 2010

One of Côte St. Luc’s biggest hopes in the last several decades has been for a recreation centre with the city’s first publicly-run indoor pool and much needed space for its popular men’s and women’s seniors clubs.

Thanks to much hoped-for financial contributions from the federal and Quebec governments, this will become a reality. Senator Judith Seidman, Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Laurent Lessard, D’Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman and Côte St. Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather announced Friday at Côte St. Luc city hall that the 5,456-square metre $17.3 million project will go ahead — Ottawa and Quebec will each contribute $5.78 million under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund-Quebec, while Côte St. Luc will provide the remaining third.

The centre, geared to seniors and children, will contain a 25-metre swimming pool, a wading pool, an indoor terrace next to the pools, portable bleachers for 200 people, multifunctional community halls, a physical fitness room and dance and warm up studios.

“In supporting this project, we are seeing to it that the population enjoys the high quality of life for which our country is famous,” Seidman said.

Lessard praised Bergman for his hard work in advocating for and working with Côte St. Luc for the last two years to help make the project a reality.

“We are leaving the municipality a legacy of quality infrastructure with which to face the challenges of the future… This is an excellent project for the community.”

“This is a historic day for Côte St. Luc,” said Bergman. “This project, for me, was born in a meeting with the mayor and several councillors, including Ruth Kovac, Allan Levine and Mike Cohen.” The three councillors were present at the press conference.

“Healthy and active seniors make for a good society,” he added, “and in this building, our seniors can devote so much of their time to maintaining their health, and keep themselves active — have somewhere to go and something to do… I’m so pleased to be part of this project.

“I perhaps excuse myself to Laurent for having called him so much,” the MNA joked. “I got his attention so much on this project — I really felt in my heart that this was something our community needs.”

Housefather had special thanks for all involved, especially Bergman.

“He’s really the person who has done so, so much for this community and city,” the mayor said, also citing Bergman’s help in saving the city’s Emergency Medical Services.

“We never could have built this centre on our own,” Housefather added. “We have no such indoor pool in the whole west end of Montreal. This incredible facility will allow us not only to serve the young families in Côte St. Luc… but all of our neighbours across the west end of Montreal. For that, we’re enormously thankful.”

Asked by reporters about the project schedule, Housefather said “we’re hoping to do this as quickly as possible. We’ll have to follow Quebec law — a contract over a certain size has to go to tender, for professional services and the construction, we have to adopt a loan by-law for Côte St. Luc’s third of the project.

“I’m very much hoping that we’ll be able to break ground by this fall.”

The mayor added that the centre will be in one of two possible locations.

“There wasn’t enough space next to the gym [at Mackle Road and Parkhaven] to do the building between the gym and the Griffith McConnell Residence. There are two locations in play. The first is Trudeau Park. That’s where it will go, unless the English Montreal School Board, which has been requested to sell us land next to [the former Wagar High School], agrees. They will be discussing this at their meeting of Feb. 24. If they sell us this land, and we do it in a very quick way, that’s where we would put it because it’s right across from our recreation department. Also, one of Côte St. Luc’s goals has been to return an English public high school to Côte St. Luc, and having that building next to an [potential] EMSB school would encourage them to put one back here and allow the students to make use of the centre. We’re very much hoping that happens.”

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[CSL-TV] Message from the Mayor: intergenerational and aquatic centre / Message du maire: centre intergénérationnel et aquatique

February 23, 2010 at 13:51 (Canada, En français, Events, Finance, Quebec, Recreation)
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Mayor Anthony Housefather discusses the project to build an aquatic and intergenerational centre in Côte Saint-Luc (February 22, 2010).

Le Maire Anthony Housefather commente le projet pour construire un centre intergénérationnel et aquatique dans la Ville de Côte-Saint-Luc  (22 février 2010).

http://vimeo.com/channels/csltv#9664725

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Infrastructure cash making splash in Côte St. Luc

February 20, 2010 at 10:57 (Canada, Finance, News clip, Quebec, Recreation)
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Infrastructure cash making splash in Côte St. Luc
 
 
The Gazette, February 19, 2010 3:02 PM 
  
 
MONTREAL – An infusion of $11.5 million in federal and provincial infrastructure money is allowing the city of Côte St. Luc to build an $16 million “intergenerational centre” that will boast two indoor pools and permanent digs for community services now scattered across the municipality.

“Every study shows that when your population reaches 28,000 residents, you need an indoor pool,” said Côte St. Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather. “We have a 50-metre outdoor pool, but not indoor pool.”

Once the project is completed, however, residents will have choice of taking a plunge in an indoor, 25-metre, 10-lane pool that can be used for races, synchronized swimming or water polo, or a 20-metre pool that can be used for swimming lessons.

“This is going to be great for our kids to have indoor swimming,” Housefather said. “This will be a permanent home for our seniors’ clubs now using rental facilities, a permanent house for our Legion branch and to improve our activity rooms for the recreation department.”

The two-storey, 5,450-square metre complex will be constructed on one of two sites being considered on Mackle Rd. near Parkhaven Ave., and the city hopes the project will be completed by next year.

The final price tag for the complex will be divided equally between the city, province and federal government.

  ***

Government Press Release:

Building Canada Fund — Quebec, Communities Component
Canada-Quebec investment of $11,571,880 for construction of an intergenerational/aquatic centre in Côte-Saint-Luc

Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec, February 19, 2010 – Senator Judith Seidman, acting on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today joined Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, and Lawrence S. Bergman, Member of the National Assembly for D’Arcy-McGee and Chair of the Government Caucus, in announcing that the City of Côte Saint Luc will receive $11,571,880 in joint government financial assistance under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec for the construction of an intergenerational/aquatic centre.

The project involves the construction of an intergenerational/aquatic centre covering a total gross area of about 5,456 square metres in the City of Côte-Saint-Luc. This new complex will comprise a 25-metre swimming pool, a wading pool, an indoor terrace adjacent to the aquatic pools, portable bleachers for about 200 people, multifunctional community halls, a physical fitness room and dance and warm up studios.

The new complex will bring sport and recreational facilities under one roof and boast modern equipment tailored to contemporary indoor leisure and fitness activities as well as suite of activities for persons aged 55 and over. Students from nearby schools and residents from surrounding cities and boroughs will also be able to benefit from the activities and services on offer at the new centre.

“Côte-Saint-Luc’s construction of a new intergenerational/aquatic centre will serve the interests of its residents and businesses. In supporting this project, we are seeing to it that the population enjoys the high quality of life for which our country is famous. Indeed, the Government of Canada is committed to equipping every community with modern facilities and equipment to ensure citizens’ health and safety. The renewal of public infrastructure is part of a broad action plan that will enable us to thrive and prosper in a healthy environment,” stated Senator Judith Seidman.

“By participating in this project, the Government of Quebec is moving forward to ensure the province’s municipalities have infrastructure that meets their unique realities while fostering sustainable development. By injecting new capital into the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, our government is looking to accelerate the execution of numerous infrastructure projects throughout the province, like this one in Côte Saint Luc, in an effort to improve Quebecers’ well-being, create jobs and promote a high-performance economy. In this way, we are leaving the municipality a legacy of quality infrastructure with which to face the challenges of the future,” said Minister Laurent Lessard.

“Côte-Saint-Luc is the Island of Montréal’s third largest city and its population is growing faster than that of Quebec as a whole. It is important that the City have all the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of its increasing number of residents,” added MNA Lawrence S. Bergman.

Completion of this project will necessitate an overall eligible investment of $17,357,821. The governments of Quebec and Canada will each contribute $5,785,940 toward the work, for a total of $11,571,880 in combined government funding, while the City of Côte Saint Luc will assume the remaining third, or $5,785,941, of the project’s costs.

The Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec is a cost-sharing initiative aimed at funding infrastructure projects in communities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. These communities are thus able to use this assistance to improve infrastructure that is in major need of revitalization, including water treatment plants, water supply systems and cultural and sports centres.

For provinces, like Quebec, that have committed all of their funding under the Communities Component, the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides for up to $500 million in additional funding for projects that will be completed by March 31, 2011.

In Quebec, a joint federal-provincial contribution of $232 million will be used to fund 106 infrastructure projects.

The contribution from the Government of Canada has been awarded through Canada’s Economic Action Plan. To learn more about this plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

For further information on the Government of Quebec’s Quebec Infrastructure Plan, see www.infrastructures.gouv.qc.ca.

Aussi disponible en français : www.dec-ced.gc.ca.

 ***

News conference to announce funding from the governments of Canada and Quebec for an aquatic and intergenerational centre in Côte Saint-Luc (February 19, 2010).

Conférence de presse pour annoncé une importante aide financière des governements du Canada et Québec pour la construction d’un centre intergénérationnel et aquatique à Côte Saint-Luc (19 février 2010).

http://vimeo.com/channels/csltv#9671256

***

In my opinion:

This is HUGE news for our City.  I congratulate Mayor Housefather whose  steadfast leadership ensured the success of our application bid for this Multi-generational Aquatic Centre.  Also, MNA Lawrence Bergman must be thanked for his commitment and dedication to our community in this dossier and others, such as saving EMS.

I have advocated for a beach-like, fun waterpark area in this facility for young families who just want to have a great time splashing around in warm, shallow water.  Slides, fountains and play equipment is a great way to have fun during our long winters. 

Many of our residents have visited such waterparks at LaSalle’s Aquadome, and at hotels in Ottawa, Quebec City or even Lake George.

We must ensure that a section of this new CSL Multi-generational Aquatic Centre has a waterpark for the littlest CSLers too!

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Speed factor in fatal CSL crash

February 17, 2010 at 15:29 (News clip, Police, Traffic / Parking)
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Speed factor in fatal CSL crash

By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban

Speed was at least one cause of a fatal and fiery crash in which a driver lost control heading northbound on Côte St. Luc’s Cavendish Boulevard and crashed a BMW into the street’s underpass at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, says Station 9 commander Sylvain Bissonnette.

“It was going at more than 100 km/hr,” the commander said. Cavendish has a 50 km/hr speed limit and the road curves near the underpass.

“The car hit the wall and the person was so badly burned that we were not able to recognize the driver. The body was transported to the morgue, and an autopsy will tell us who it was exactly. We can not say now if the victim was a man or a woman. It was that bad. We also couldn’t see the driver’s license.”

Bissonnette said that the actual owner of the car was informed of the accident, but said more details about the circumstances would be known in the course of an investigation, which will include a reconstruction of the accident scene.

“We have ideas [about the circumstances], but we want to make sure.”

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Fiery car crash kills man in Côte St. Luc

February 17, 2010 at 11:45 (News clip, Police, Traffic / Parking)
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Fiery car crash kills man in Côte St. Luc
Cavendish Blvd.: Smashes into concrete walkway
By KATHERINE WILTON,
The Gazette
February 17, 2010
 
A man killed early yesterday in a horrific car crash in Côte St. Luc was on his way to meet friends near the Cavendish Mall when he lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a concrete stairway.

The driver probably died on impact or was unconscious before the car burst into flames after hitting a staircase that leads to a pedestrian walkway at an underpass on Cavendish Blvd., police said.

Although Montreal police said yesterday they couldn’t release the victim’s name, several of the driver’s friends identified him as George Leonte, 20, of Côte St. Luc.

When Leonte failed to turn up by about 2 a.m., one of his friends headed home and drove past the smouldering vehicle on Cavendish Blvd., just north of Fleet Rd.

“I was thinking: ‘I hope it is not one of our friends,’ ” said the friend, who didn’t want his name published because he didn’t want to upset Leonte’s family. “It is very sad.”

Friends said Leonte moved to Montreal from Romania about two years ago. They said he was a good-natured young man who loved music.

Police investigators said he was travelling at a high speed when he lost control of his BMW and crashed into a concrete staircase. The car left the road and travelled about 75 metres on a grassy slope before the collision.

The speed limit on that section of Cavendish Blvd. is 50 kilometres an hour.

Police often set up radar traps at the underpass to deter speeders and have installed electronic speed billboards that show motorists how fast they are travelling.

“We have been very pro-active with campaigns against speeding,” said Commander Sylvain Bissonnette of Station 9 in Côte St. Luc.

Bissonnette said the signage and road markings in the area have all been updated over the past two years.

Stacey Bindman was watching television just after 1:30 a.m. when he heard a loud noise. He initially thought his wife had fallen out of bed, but after seeing that she was all right, he looked outside and noticed an ambulance and a fire truck behind his house.

When Bindman went outside and walked across the overpass, he looked back and saw firefighters dousing the burned car.

Another friend said Leonte liked his car, but didn’t like to speed.

“He knows his car goes fast, he didn’t have to prove it,” said the friend, who spoke only on the condition that his name not be published.

“He did everything in his power to be a good driver.”

Allan Bernstein, a Côte St. Luc resident, said many drivers speed on Cavendish Blvd. as they approach the underpass.

“The police are often there with their speed guns, but they have to enforce it more,” he said.

Two Laval men died this month when the car they were travelling in hit a guard rail at the entrance to the Viau Bridge and plunged into the Rivière des Prairies. Police are still investigating the crash, but said yesterday that speed was a factor in the accident.

kwilton@thegazette.canwest.com
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Fiery+crash+kills+Côte/2574253/story.html

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