It was 4:54 a.m. when 911 was notified of a fire in that residential area, located almost at the western end of Saint-Martin Boulevard, on the Sainte-Dorothée’s side.

Arriving at 4:57 a.m., the first of the nine units of Laval’s Fire and Safety Department required for the intervention (34 firefighters), had no trouble figuring out the magnitude of the situation.

At that time, flames were visible on the first two of the four floors of the building, in addition to reaching the rest of the structure and igniting some of the balconies.

Maneuvers in extreme cold

While the wind factor forced work to be done in a temperature of around minus 20 degrees, firefighters first completed the evacuation of the premises.

Meanwhile, help was requested from the Service de police de Laval (SPL), Hydro-Québec, the Société de transport de Laval (STL), and the City of Laval’s public works department.

The firefighters mainly concentrated their efforts on stopping the spread of the flames to the other floors and to the roof of the building, valued at $6 million, noting that the smoke detectors of the place were functional.

It was around 6:24 a.m. that firefighters brought the fire under control, but it caused damage summarily assessed at $300,000 for the building, and $100,000 for its contents.

Eight people will have to relocate following the fire. The investigation was transferred to the SPL, the firefighters having been unable to determine its origin 100 per cent.

However, the fire would have most likely started on the first floor.

Due to freezing weather conditions, a firefighter injured his ankle while executing his duties.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article $400,000 in Damage for a Suspicious Fire in Sainte-Dorothée est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

That financial assistance will be given to more than 6.5 million taxpayers.

The amount will be $600 for people whose individual income does not exceed $50,000. It will gradually decrease for those with an income slightly above $50,000.

It will be $400 for the $54,000 to $100,000 range. Again, there will be a distribution, which will be gradually reduced to $104,000.

That amount will be adjusted, according to income for 2021. Also, it must be noted that it’s non-taxable, and will be remitted by direct deposit, or cheque by the end of 2022.

Revenu Québec specifies that citizens don’t have to do anything in order to receive the money.

Those who are yet to file their 2021 tax return have until June 30, 2023 to do so, and thus take advantage of that new measure.

People who received last-resort financial assistance on Dec. 31, 2021, and benefit from the automatic payment of the TQS component of the solidarity tax credit, don’t have to file an income tax return to be eligible for the cheque. (N.P.)

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Revenu Québec Details its $400–$600 Cheques Delivery est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

The first fire took place on Nov. 7. Around 4:40 a.m., two suspects showed up in the parking lot of 965 Curé-Labelle Boulevard. They tried to set fire to the business, by throwing an object against the window, but without success.

However, they caused a fire on the flowerbeds, before fleeing on foot.

This time, the suspect is a six-foot man, who weighs 72.6 kg. He wore black pants with three white stripes down the sides, including a small red tag above the them. He was also wearing a black hoodie, a black coat with a white logo on the front left side, and black gloves.

Anyone with information concerning those suspects or those fires can communicate, confidentially, on the Laval police info line, at 450-662-INFO (4636) or 911, mentioning files LVL-221107-009 and LVL-221108-004. (N.P.)

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Arson: Three Suspects Wanted est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

The goal of that event is to get 50 donors.

Let’s recall that booking an appointment before coming to the collection is always recommended in order to respect the time factor. People can do so online, on the Héma-Québec Website, or by phone, at 1 800 343-7264.

A thousand blood donations per day are necessary to guarantee an optimal level of reserve.

Solidarity

Last July, when the blood supply was low, people from all regions of Quebec responded to Héma-Québec’s call. Thanks to this solidarity movement, the current reserve is doing well.

However, since blood is perishable, the organization relies on the generosity of thousands of people in order to keep its reserve optimal. (J.B./IJL)

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Put Blood Donation on Your Agenda This Fall est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

That situation can be seen in all regions of Quebec, except that of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, where French registered a gain of 1.1 per cent.

Compared to Montreal

After the Nord-du-Québec, Laval recorded the biggest drop of percentage points (-three per cent), ahead of  Montreal and the Outaouais, where French fell by 2.4 per cent.

At 68.9 per cent, Laval is ranked 15th in the ranking of regions, behind the Nord-du-Québec (31.1 per cent) and Montreal (58.4 per cent).

Slowing Down in Quebec

The demographic weight of people speaking French predominantly at home in Quebec has been decreasing since 2001, says the agency in charge of the population census in the country.

In 20 years, this weight has gone from 81.1 to 77.5 per cent. In the 2016 census, the proportion of Quebecers whose home language was French was 79 per cent. That said, in 2021, 85.5 per cent of Quebec’s population said they were speaking French at home at least regularly.

Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of the population whose mother tongue was French dropped below 75 per cent, going from 77.1 to 74.8 per cent. During the same period, Quebecers having French as their first official language went from 83.7 to 82.2 per cent, while 93.7 per cent of Quebec residents said, in 2021, they could hold a conversation in French, down 0.8 per cent from five years earlier.

Finally, at the last census, the number of people for whom English is the first official language spoken It passed the milestone of one million people, representing 13 per cent of Quebec’s population.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Important Decline of the French Language in Laval est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

When arriving on site, four minutes after receiving the call, the first unit present could see a significant amount of smoke coming from the brick of the back wall, and that, on three floors.

The evacuation having gone well, the firefighters then proceeded to inspect four housing in order to contain the fire.

As electricity and water were cut off from the building, 20 citizens were relocated.

Damage is limited to the original building, and are assessed at a maximum of $30,000.

Let’s note that during the intervention, the Service de police de Laval (SPL), Urgences-santé and Hydro-Québec helped the firefighters. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the fire.

Smoke Alarm

There was indeed a smoke alarm on site, but it was non-functional.

The Fire and Safety Department of Laval would like to remind Laval’s residents the importance of having a working smoke alarm.

Also, the batteries should be checked at least twice a year, at least, and preferably at time changes.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article A Housing Fire Forces the Relocation of 20 People est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.