V-E Day commemoration ceremony in Côte Saint-Luc on Sunday, May 5, 2013

Royal Canadian Legion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Members of the Brigadier Frederick Kisch Branch 97 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Mayor Anthony Housefather, the Côte Saint-Luc city council, dignitaries, veterans and residents will commemorate Victory in Europe (V-E) Day on Sunday, May 5 at 2 pm at Veterans Park.

 

“My generation and those of my children and grandchildren will never be able to fully pay back the Canadian soldiers who fought to defeat tyranny during the Second World War,” said Ruth Kovac, who is the co-chairperson of this event with Councillor Allan J. Levine. “By liberating Europe our veterans also ended the genocide against the Jewish population of Europe and others targeted by the Nazis.”

 

VE Day parade in Cote Saint-Luc 2008

Councillor Levine said we must continue to honour those who have served and those families who lost loved ones for our country.

 

“I encourage everyone to come on May 5 and show support for our veterans who still continue to do so much for our community and look after their own,” Councillor Levine said. “Indeed, this year our veterans raised more than $31,000 during last November’s Poppy Fund Campaign. Those funds were then returned to the community through donations to local organisations, such as the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Jewish General Hospital, the Salvation Army, the Old Brewery Mission and many others.”

 

Cote Saint-Luc cenotaph in Veteran’s Park

Victory in Europe (V-E) Day was May 8, 1945, the date when the Second World War Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. The cenotaph at Veterans Park honours the memory of those who gave their lives in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War.

 

VE Day 2008: Mayor and City Council with Parade Marshall Bob Feldstein in CSL Veterans Park

This year’s commemoration will be conducted by Brigadier Frederick Kisch Branch 97 President, Frank Levine. Veterans Park is located next to the City Hall and library (5801 Cavendish Blvd.) In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held indoors at the City Hall.

George Nashen in front of the Cote Saint-Luc cenotaph in Veterans Park on VE Day 2012

Veterans’ Day 2011

Make remembrance more than something you feel.

Make it something you do.

CSL City Council honours its veterans in front of the cenotaph

Every year the City of Cote Saint-Luc honours its veterans who established the bustling suburb when they returned home after the Second World War.  Their numbers may grow smaller year after year, but our resolve to remember and to honour their service and their sacrifice grows stronger with time.

Standing at Attention: The Cote Saint-Luc Cenotaph

As our veterans began to age, the City started commemorating Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) each May, when it was easier for the vets to gather outside in warmer weather than on a typical November 11th.   The local Frederick Kisch Branch 97 of the Royal Canadian Legion nowadays spends Remembrance Day indoors at the commemoration at the YMHA on Westbury Ave in Snowdon.

George Nashen

This year, I’m very proud to honour my own father, George Nashen, who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII.  Like many others in his class at Baron Byng High School he rushed to volunteer despite being on the young side. and to the chagrin of his protective mother.

My father was stationed in London, England where he was posted to the accounting division to handle the mountains of paperwork pertaining to supplying the troops serving overseas.  While he didn’t see the front lines, many of his close friends did, never to return.  On many occasions, the bombardment over London forced him to take cover with many close calls – one such bombing just a few blocks away blowing out the glass doors to his bedroom.

George Nashen and grand-daughter Nicole at 2011 CSL VE Day ceremonies

After the war, my father was one of the builders of modern Cote Saint-Luc, marrying and moving in during the boom years of the 1950s and starting a family.  Like so many Cote Saint-Luc families with similar stories, ours has been here ever since.

My father continues to be a role model for our large and expanding family.

On this Remembrance Day, I stand with my father and our entire family and salute our 700,000 veterans and remember those who served and made the supreme sacrifice.

We will remember them.

Infrastructure cash making splash in Côte St. Luc

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!