The major operation, related to urban firearm violence in recent months, is being deployed in collaboration with the police forces of Montreal, Deux-Montagnes, Saint-Jérôme and Longueuil.

About 150 police officers are working on that case, carrying out the various interventions, some of which are taking place in Montreal, Saint-Jérôme and Deux-Montagnes.

That’s the result of an investigation, initiated in August as part of the Centaur project, in which the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are also taking part.

At the SPL, it’s the Organized Crime Division that’s involved in the operation, which has already been helpful, since narcotics and firearms would have already been confiscated.

A more complete report of the operation, which is still in progress, will be presented later.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Police Operation Related to Firearms in Laval, Montreal and the North Shore est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

Displayed under the Mostra Centropolis banner, the development will offer more than 40,000 square feet of green spaces, the layout of which will be part of a responsible development approach to reduce the presence of heat islands in the sector.

The ground floor will include a commercial space intended for local shops, in addition to the abundant supply already installed around.

The contemporary signature of that architecture is the work of the firm Forme Studio Architecture, and supported by designer Frédéric Clairoux for the design of the interior spaces.

The project will consist of two towers of 193 and 170 units, rising to twelve and fifteen floors respectively. Many indoor parking lots, storage and bicycle spaces will also be available.

Reservations for rental places there will be available next fall. (C.P./IJL)

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Launch of Mostra Centropolis est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

Samson Report

The Party’s proposals are inspired by the Samson Report, submitted in 2016 by Claire Samson, outgoing MP for Iberville. This report aimed to take stock of the policies aimed at promoting French.

It concluded, at the time, that “the decline in francization in Quebec is not attributable to immigrants’s lack of interest in French, nor to the lack of dedication of those involved in francization, but to the negligence of the Government of Quebec on this issue for some fifteen years. The drastic increase in immigration thresholds, combined with a reduction in resources devoted to francization has created deplorable effects.”

The Conservative Party is proposing a series of measures in order to improve the learning of French, and make francization a real national priority.

Protection and Sharing

The Conservative Party proposes to protect French in Quebec by implementing various measures.

First, it offers a personalized and turnkey francization course for adult immigrants, directing them towards adequate training, and reducing their current administrative obligations.

Second, it would like to set up a French Language Commissioner, who would receive complaints from the public and make recommendations.

A compulsory francization program for newcomers with insufficient command of the language would also be put in place. The program, which would last from 30 to 72 weeks, would include an initiation component to the realities of Quebec, its culture, its institutions and its values. It would also include a component focused on the professional field.

Other solutions are also offered by Éric Duhaime and his team.

“I hope immigrants we’re welcoming here will integrate our society and flourish among us,” Duhaime said in a press release. “They’re the first victims of the failures of francization in Quebec, when it should be considered a tremendous opportunity, a real passport for successful integration into Quebec society, as well as a source of pride for the one who manages to achieve mastery of our language. (A.B.)

L’article New Bill for Learning French est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

In a recent meeting, the municipal council adopted two resolutions in the hope of concretizing the project to set up a Cité du cinema on the land located in the south-west axis of avenue Marcel-Villeneuve and rue de l’Harmonie, in Saint-François.

Zoning and Promise to Purchase

After starting the rezoning change process in order to accommodate “a world-class cinema complex”, the elected officials present at the meeting approved by 11 votes to two the sale of two municipal lands to promoter and Laval resident Michel Trudel, for the sum of 32.1 million dollars.

In fact, the promise of purchase is conditional on obtaining a zoning change. Right now, 60 per cent of the 2.2 million square feet aimed by this request for modification of authorized uses are zoned residential. The remaining 40 per cent is already destined for industrial development.

Divergences

Resolutions were not unanimous at the municipal council table, and within municipal services.

If the Mouvement lavallois had the support of Action Laval, whose municipal councillor Isabelle Piché is the elected representative of Saint-François, it couldn’t count on the support of the two councillors from the second opposition group.

Recognizing this project as “fantastic from an economic point of view”, the interim leader of Parti Laval, Claude Larochelle, said he didn’t have all the necessary information to be able to vote. His request to postpone some points to a future session was defeated. In general, Larochelle wanted to make sure this was “the best site” available in Laval.

Opportunity

Mayor of Laval Stéphane Boyer mostly described it as an “opportunity” to be seized.

“A serious and credible promoter is proposing an interesting project […] that would develop a whole new industry in Laval,” Boyer said. “It would have a low environmental impact, and enormous economic consequences, while creating a lot of jobs in the eastern sector of Laval.”

The man behind this $200 million investment project is Trudel, co-founder of MELS studios, which he directed for more than three decades in Montreal. Working in the film industry for 40 years, we owe him the filming of several Hollywood mega-productions in the metropolitan area.

In terms of jobs, Boyer mentioned “200 to 500 employees”, as well as a training centre that would accommodate “up to 300 students”. In addition to boosting the local economy, that clientele would help accelerate the development of eastern Laval, including public transport’s services.

“It’s the only option in Laval” Boyer insisted when discussing the location. “If it’s not there, the project won’t be realized.”

Cinematographic Complex

The Cité du Cinéma would be built on an area equivalent to some 30 soccer fields.

In addition to the seven shooting studios housed in the cinematographic complex, there would be production offices, a warehouse for set decorations, administrative offices, a film school, as well as costume making, set production and mechanical transformation-animation workshops.

To put things into perspective, these facilities would double the total area currently available with the MELS 2 and MELS 3 studios in the Technoparc de Montréal.

The Cité du cinema that Trudel plans to build in Laval would increase filming capacity in Quebec by 40 to 50 per cent, the promoter said.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Laval Says Yes to the Establishment of a Cité du Cinéma est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

These past years, the STL has been trying to increase its number of electric buses in circulation. It won’t be easy to ensure public transport’s electric shift in Laval, but the committee working on the file has been preparing for it for a long time now.

Alexandra Gallo, project manager and engineer, says that in 2018, the STL started a pilot project with 10 hybrid buses, thus making it possible to better see the needs and changes necessary in the future for the desired full electrification.

“[Those vehicules] are currently circulating on our roads in Laval,” Gallo said. “They’re doing so since May 2021, and have been randomly dispersed across the territory in order to allow the majority of users to enjoy them. We’re talking here about a way much quieter and ecological experience for users. When we received those buses, we did a lot of tests, in part because of the new technologies they’re bringing.”

In total, the project is worth nearly 246 million, including studies, plans and other preparatory work. Of that amount, the Government of Canada will pay more than 85 million, while 18 million are from Laval. The Government of Quebec is giving more than $142 million for the project.

Space Needed

In total, 145 new parking places will be built for these electric buses.

A 20 megawatt electrical entrance will also be added in order to power the buses. That energy need will increase the area of STL’s site by 50 per cent, since 25,000 m² will be added next to the current garage. The space the new garage will occupy will replace a parking lot.

Executive Director of the STL, Guy Picard indicates that the shell of the new electrical entrance will be built in 2024.

“We will thus have our facilities, and will be able to park our vehicles,” Picard said. “However, it’s only from 2025 that we’ll be able to manage the electrical load.”

Mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, says he’s happy to see such a historic project moving forward in a convincing way.

“It will give wings to Laval,” Boyer said. “Our hopes of developing public transport and electrifying our trips are depending on the ability to have electric buses. The start of the construction of the electric garage is planned for the next few months, and that’s kind of the starting point we needed to get fully into the project. I’m happy and I think it will help provide better service to citizens.”

For his part, Sainte-Rose’s deputy Christopher Skeete recalled that even if it’s a long-term project, Prime Minister François Legault had committed to making this shift.

“We distinguish ourselves in Laval,” Skeete said at the press conference. “We’re even more aggressive. Laval is growing quickly, and the STL is very well positioned to initiate such pilot projects.”

With the completion of this project, bus maintenance costs would also be reduced by 15 to 20 per cent, according to the STL website.

L’article Historic Project for the STL est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

The revitalization of the Old Penitentiary of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and the extension of Saint-Martin Boulevard are at the centre of that agreement concluded on April 29 between the Mouvement lavallois, Équipe Stéphane Boyer and Action Laval.

“It’s a pleasure to work on realizing major projects in a spirit of collaboration,” Boyer said in a joint press release. “I’m sure that by speaking with one voice, those priority projects will progress more easily, and above all, more quickly.”

Re-elected last November under the banner of Action Laval, The municipal councillor of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paolo Galati, agrees. Galati had made the redevelopment of the Old Pen an electoral key point last fall. “By collaborating with the mayor, we are sending a strong message to the federal government to go forward with this project,” he said.

Working Committee

The Boyer administration and Action Laval agree on the importance of creating a technical working committee. Its mandate would be to establish a common vision and a work plan to ensure the preservation and enhancement of this federal establishment, abandoned since 1989. The idea was also discussed during the first tête-à-tête between Boyer and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, last April 13.

“However, it is a real heritage gem that would have the necessary potential to accommodate a mix of functions, and highlight Laval’s history,” Boyer and Galati agree. They’re also reminding that “this building has been deteriorating for several decades”. Ironically, the Vieux-Pen, built in 1873, was designated a national historic site of Canada the year after it closed in 1990.

If Boyer’s team has been dreaming for years of seeing an educational, cultural or touristic project set up there, Galati and Action Laval were instead suggesting, during the last election campaign, to group residential, commercial and industrial activities. Whatever the chosen project, the common objective is to give a second life to the establishment, while bringing new life into the sector.

Extension of Saint-Martin

The extension of Boulevard Saint-Martin also grabs the attention of this cross-party agreement.

Action Laval thus follows the Boyer administration, wishing to establish a new road link to the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and Saint-François districts, two electoral districts represented on the municipal council by this opposition group led by Achille Cifelli, also a councillor in Val-des-Arbres. Together, they will combine their efforts to ask Quebec’s government to commit to funding “the establishment of a mode of transport [in common] structuring on this major highway for Lavalloises and Lavallois”.

This new management style illustrates well the comments made by Boyer the day following his election last November, he who had clearly signified his willing to reach out to the elected chiefs of the opposition and to establish “a better climate at the city council”.

An unusual practice to say the least, coming from an administration with a large majority at the council table, and which clashes with what municipal politics in Laval had accustomed us to.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Common Front to Revitalize the Vieux-Pen est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.