Control points have been added for Antoine-Labelle, Argenteuil, Pays-d’en-Haut and Laurentides following the Government of Québec’s previously announced checkpoints preventing travel to certain regions.
The new directives issued by Department of Public Health aim to control all non-essential travel in those areas as of noon yesterday. The goal is to protect these regions who although have fewer cases, remain vulnerable and more isolated. By controlling entries and departures, the public health authorities are confident that they will be able to limit and better prevent the spread of COVID-19.
These control points are visible in various routes leading to these regions. Exceptions apply to all those who are:
transporting goods in these regions to ensure continuity of the supply chain
travelling for humanitarian reasons
need to travel to get the care or services required by their state of health or to provide such care or services to someone needing them.
are priority services professionals.
This closure period will last as long as the authorities deem it is necessary for public health.
All residents are reminded to avoid all non-essential travel no matter where they are.
Volunteers from Rosemere High help distribute desperately needed material for the front line workers of the COVID-19 war
In times of crisis, unfortunately, negative and scary information tends to dominate the news.
Here at North Shore News we also want to bring you the good news which are quite numerous, inspire people, and relieve stress which is responsible for lowering our immune systems.
Rosemere High along with Crestview and Laval Senior Academy donated over 3000 pairs of gloves and 500 masks to Santé Publique in order to deal with the rising demand for materials in the front lines of the war against the virus.
The move came after administrators contracted the Director General of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School board to share some essential supplies they had in their schools.
Santé Publique were very pleased and appreciative not to mention the sense of solidarity and pride shared among the organizers and school communities, helping the front line workers. Santé Publique said that they will distribute accordingly as the needs arise and welcome more donations.
In the meantime, word was spread to all in-school/centre administrators of SWLSB. Many local initiatives are also taking place in various school communities (food banks, volunteering, etc).
Let’s hope this wonderful initiative will inspire others to do the same.
The Kyrias Tosh community in Boisbriand quarantined for COVID-19
An explosion of COVID-19 positives came to the Laurentian community of Boisbriand among the close-knit community of 4000 Hassidic Jews residing at the west end of the Rivière Cachée street.
The Laurentides Public Health Department issued an order of confinement and held a
press briefing last Monday with the City of Boisbriand and the Intermunicipal Police Board of Thérèse-De Blainville in order to better explain the measures taken.
The containment order will last 14 days and has nothing to do with religion but rather the protection of the residents and the elderly as well as the avoidance of new hotspots of contagion. That is what was announced by Quebec’s public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda.
During March break several members of the Tosh community travelled to New York to celebrate Purim with members of their sister community. As soon as the news of the positive results from the tests came back, the Hassidic community closed all their schools as well as the synagogue. The police proceeded in quarantining the entire community which is now inaccessible. There are barricades in both main entrances.
The CISSS des Laurentides announced that the leaders of the Jewish community collaborate very well with them and ensure that protective measures are followed diligently to protect their
population as well as the residents of neighboring municipalities.
The members of this community have a lot of social ties and the population is very
dense in a relatively small territory.
In order for the quarantine to be enforced, the community reached out to local police to make sure no one comes in or out, unless they’re providing an essential service.
None of the members of the Hassidic community that tested positive required hospitalization
Boisbriand city councillor and business owner Jean-François Hecq, encourages everyone to save the small businesses during COVID-19 storm.
Boisbriand City Councillor says “Buy local-eat local”
Dimitris Ilias
The interview with JF Hecq was not a usual laid-back talk that someone has when times are normal. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, amplified by the interrupted sound and picture of messenger, one among the various platforms in use for online teleconferencing. An online city council meeting had just finished, one of many happening during this crisis.
Boisbriand measures
The city of Boisbriand, in collaboration with the surrounding cities has implemented a slew of measures to protect the citizens and staff as well as make financial burdens a bit lighter for everyone. “We have postponed tax payments for 2 months and there will be no interest charges for late payments” said Hecq, adding that all the municipal buildings are now closed to the public since a lot of municipal employees are working online. All the essential services are maintained with workers’ shifts and rotations adapted to prevent the spread of the virus. The city communicates with everyone via social platforms, the big video panels across the city as well as mailings distributed.
Community mood
J.F. Hecq confirmed that despite the seriousness of the situation, the city hall team is focused and determined. On the citizens side, Mr. Hecq confirmed that the people are following instructions well. Even though the police has increased the patrols to enforce the safety rules set by the Quebec Government, there are very few reports of citizens not complying.
Regular communication of the city with everyone has helped ease anxiety.
Businesses affected
Jean-François’ love for fine Quebec beer, urged him and his friend Maxime Hébert to start a distribution company for Quebec microbrewers. Les distributeurs Brouhh in a very short time grew in renown distributing at present for over 20 fine beer producers.
Although his company, having been deemed an essential service by the Quebec government, hasn’t received the brunt of the COVID-19 storm, there are a lot of businesses in Boisbriand that are suffering.
“Things are very hard for sure. Some restaurants will close down forever. What is important right now is for people to understand that they need to buy from local businesses. Buy local, eat local!” emphasized Hecq. “Amazon and the other online giants will be there after the storm. But your neighborhood grocery, your corner restaurant, even your area franchisee that employs 100 people from the community, those are the businesses that will need everyone’s support.”
The North Shore News Volume 16-06, published March 20, 2020. This issue covers local events such as politics, sports and human-interest stories. It features editorials and other columns. Click on the image to read the paper.
North Shore News front page. Volume 16-06, March 20, 2020
Gaétan Asselin, a teacher at Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes and a member of the Fondation de la Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes board, is seen here with Deux-Montagnes mayor Denis Martin with a poster promoting the Relais 8 Heures event on May 2. Photo: Martin C. Barry
Deux-Montagnes city council’s monthly public meeting on March 12 started on an upbeat note with an announcement by Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes teacher Gaétan Asselin that the school’s annual Relais 8 Heures Deux-Montagnes is scheduled to take place on May 2, depending, of course, on the circumstances arising from the COVID-19 crisis.
Relais 8 Heures
If all goes well, this will be the sixth year for the Relais 8 Heures. As Asselin pointed out, just as you can count on maple sap to start running in the hills of the Lower Laurentians each spring, so too have North Shore residents been able to look forward during the first warm weeks to the Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes Foundation’s fundraiser. Deux-Montagnes city councillors Frédéric Berthiaume and Erik Johnson were among the hundreds of people who took part in last year’s Relais 8 Heures, in teams of six, around a 1.5 kilometre oval on the grounds of Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes.
Helping students
“While I don’t want to get into politics, Mr. Berthiaume’s team finished fourth among the 60 teams that took part,” said Asselin, who invited everyone on city council to take part in this year’s event. It will raise funds to help Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes students who have learning problems. In his monthly report to residents and council, Mayor Denis Martin said work on a major section of the REM high-speed train project will be starting in May along du Lac Boulevard where an overpass is going to be built to replace the level crossing that currently goes over the Exo train line. “This is going to cause a major disruption and we will have to manage traffic,” he said, noting that the east and west sides of du Lac Blvd. will be closed off from one another for the next two years or so.
Ongoing flood zone efforts
According to the mayor, the main Deux-Montagnes Exo train station on Deux-Montagnes Blvd. is also scheduled to be demolished – beginning probably in late May or in June, he said. Regarding the city’s continuing efforts to have the provincial environment ministry lift building restrictions in areas where a Special Intervention Zone was decreed after the spring 2019 flooding, Mayor Martin said some Deux-Montagnes homeowners are worse off today than they were before the 2019 floods as a result of the intervention zone. “We find ourselves in a situation today after the new flood maps that is worse than before the 2019 floods,” he said. “We’re trying to change that and we’ve been pulling out our hair trying.”
Flood zone frustrations
As he noted, the provincial government held consultations last year on its new flood zone policy – although the manner in which the flood maps have been applied in Deux-Montagnes and in surrounding communities has left many property owners frustrated. Since the implementation of the new zones, low-risk 20-100-year areas have been eliminated and replaced with 0-20 zones. “Around 100 of our residents who were 20-100 are now 0-20 and it’s causing them problems,” the mayor said in an interview, noting that the changes stop new construction and renovations from being carried out, while also having other impacts. “Everybody who was in 20-100 zones that became 0-20, they’re having more problems selling their house. They cannot do things, like add a pool, which they could before. All we are asking is that they (Quebec) brings it back to what it was before.”
The COVID-19 crisis
While Quebec insists the redefined flood zones are necessary in view of the likelihood of future flooding, Mayor Martin maintains the new flood map should be redrawn, taking into account the preventive measures Deux-Montagnes is implementing (mainly new anti-flood dikes along the waterfront). Regarding the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact in Deux-Montagnes, the mayor said the city is receiving instructions from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security. The preventive measures being implemented by the city include the closure of the library, the arena and the suspension of all cultural, sporting and leisure activities. As well, the Quebec government’s directive to ban events gathering more than 250 people is being respected.
Councillor Melissa Monk and Mayor Eric Westram unveil the new photo montage of Rosemère’s outstanding mayors at town hall last week. Photo: Martin C. Barry
Old political rivalries were put aside for at least one evening last week when officials at Rosemère town hall paid tribute to mayors who made an impact on Rosemère’s history, while bringing together some of the mayors who served in recent years. On hand on March 12 for the tribute held in the council chamber at town hall were members of the families of past mayors, including Mayor H.J. Hemens, Mayor Michel Côté, Mayor Marcel Di Tullio and Mayor Pierre Robitaille.
A historic occasion
As well, former mayors Monique Richer, Hélène Daneault and Madeleine Leduc attended the ceremony in person. The list of mayors also honoured during the evening included Raymond Perreault, Roméo St-Pierre, Ronald T. O’Keefe, Roland Durand and Yvan Deschênes. “This evening marks a historic moment, as it brings together in one and the same place for the very first time the mayors who have been part of the history of our beautiful town,” said current Rosemère mayor Eric Westram who hosted the gathering. “We chose to hold this event in the council chamber because it represents an emblem of all town councils that have held their meetings here,” he said. “On the occasion of this event, I would like to congratulate them for the work they have accomplished, because together they have built the Rosemère as we know it today.
Mayor Westram and Councillor René Villeneuve speak with former Rosemère mayor Monique Richer. Photo: Martin C. Barry
Framed photo montage
“I would also like to thank them for making Rosemère a great place to live for our residents, a place where community and economic life, as well as the beauty of our territory, truly distinguish us.” During the evening, Mayor Westram and Councillor Melissa Monk unveiled a framed photo montage containing the images of the mayors who made the greatest impact on Rosemère. It will be hung in a special location in the council chamber next to the council’s seats. While Rosemère’s history dates back to the late 17th century when it was part of the Mille-Îles seigneury of New France, the first permanent settlers began arriving in the early 18th century. Some of the first colonists were the Charbonneau family.
Current Rosemère mayor Eric Westram, right, speaks with his predecessor, former mayor Madeleine Leduc, during the Town of Rosemère’s tribute to its mayors on March 12 at town hall. Photo: Martin C. Barry
Brief history of Rosemère
In 1880, according to a history of Rosemère on the town’s website, J.P. Withers, a Canadian Pacific Railway officer, set up home in Rosemère. Impressed by the compelling charm of the many wild-growing roses, he decided to call the place “Rose,” to which he simply added the suffix “mere,” an old Anglo-Saxon word for swamp. He then went to Ottawa to register the name in use ever since. In the early 20th century, the region – by then known under the name Rosemère – owed its growth to the presence of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1901, Rosemère opened the doors of its first post office, and in 1936, the area’s newly built chapel was inaugurated.
Rosemère becomes a town
On January 1 1947, the residents of Rosemère won a court case and the Parish of Rosemère separated from the Parish of Sainte-Thérèse (which had been founded in 1845). In the late 50s, Mayor H.J. Hemens wanted to approach the provincial government to apply for municipal status, without having to forfeit government parish grants. A council meeting was held, which was also attended by a very large number of residents. The council obtained authorization and could go ahead to apply for municipal status. The Quebec National Assembly granted the mayor his request and, on February 6, 1958, Rosemère was officially given the status of a town.
The global economy is being hammered. The good news is consumers may see cheaper food prices but there’s a big, dark cloud on the horizon
Most analysts agree that the oil price war is only beginning. Abundant cheap oil will impact the entire agri-food market, from farm gate to plate. And the coronavirus pandemic is compounding what’s already a fragile global economy. The pandemic and the oil price war caused a massive sell-off in equity and crude oil markets this week, and to a much lesser extent the agricultural commodities. These are just the latest events keeping a lid on price rallies for agriculture. Farmers hoping to increase returns saw their plans vanish this week. Around the world, harvests are strong and commodities are going sideways or down due to weak demand. The same can be said in the livestock industry, where hog and cattle prices are dropping due to weak global demand. So most farmers are looking at an average year, at best. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting food retail and, particularly, food service. China is a good example. With consumers terrified of contracting the coronavirus, China’s restaurants have been reporting a 90 per cent drop in customers. This scenario has played out for several weeks, spoiling demand for many major agricultural commodities. Other reports suggest the food service industry in the Western world, including Canada, is slowly being affected by the spread of the virus. As a result, food delivery apps have been much busier, allowing consumers to eat ‘out’ while dining in, although no official reports have been provided. Many observers have also noticed a greater number of empty seats in food establishments. Tourism is surely being affected as well. Ultimately, most consumers will be spending less on food.
The good news for all of us is that food inflation will likely be lower than expected over the next few months. Input costs will likely drop in food manufacturing. But most importantly, with lower energy costs, distribution will be less costly. In fact, consumers may see bargains at the grocery store sooner than later. As oil price wars continue, we may see more deals from meat products to bakery goods and everything in between. However, one macroeconomic factor remains a wild card: the Canadian dollar. The loonie is getting hit hard, given its link with oil. It’s at its lowest level in years and that impacts our importers’ buying power. A weakened Canadian dollar versus the American greenback led to the cauliflower situation we experienced a few years ago. If it drops further, many items we import will cost more, from produce to canned goods to many other processed foods. Markets are clearly in turmoil. What’s not helping is the uncertainty on two levels. First, we still know little about COVID-19, which is why the Canadian federal government funded several research projects related to the virus. The United States’ oversight and policy toward the coronavirus has been weak. Wanting to contain panic and hysteria in order to not overwhelm hospitals and clinics, the U.S. government is making many nervous. Its response has included testing delays, and a shortage of supplies and health care workers. While Americans are skeptical of China’s ability to contain the virus, the rest of the world is looking at the U.S. with great skepticism. In Canada, the response has been measured, targeted and, for the most part, appropriate. One exception is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s response. Many questions relating to food safety linger and deserve clear answers. The agency should be as proactive as industry in providing information about what’s happening and what we should be doing to protect ourselves. Most of the agency’s interventions have been unnoticed. The virus knows no borders so whatever happens elsewhere will impact Canada. Food retail and service industries have been proactive in informing the sector and the public about what’s being done. Cleaning protocols across the industry have been ramped up but risks can never be entirely eliminated. Some consumers are taking precautions and preparing well, but it shouldn’t be overdone. Consumers should incrementally buy enough dry goods, frozen foods and water to remain autonomous for four to five days. The run for toilet paper has been disproportionate and, frankly, silly. Our preoccupation with microbes, coupled with our fixation to follow every single item on social media, every minute, helped create this hysteria. We should stay calm, remain civil and buy provisions a little at a time. The virus and the oil price war are affecting the economy. That’s certainly top of mind for many. The global economy isn’t designed for dirt-cheap oil, especially Canada’s. We may get there one day but it needs time. Even if many want the Canadian economy to turn to renewable energy sources, the oil industry still represents about 10 per cent of our economy. This is clearly impacting our economy and the quick shift has caught industry and governments alike off-guard. How we handle this situation over the next few weeks will be critical.
William Johnson, right, is seen in this photo, taken in the mid-2000s, at a family gathering in Ottawa.
William Johnson, the often fiery political columnist, whose uncompromising stance on Canadian unity made him a reviled figure among Quebec separatists – but also a hero to many Quebec Anglo-rights activists – passed away in his home community of Gatineau near Ottawa last Sunday, his family confirmed to The Laval News.
Johnson, 88, was a long-time political columnist for The Globe and Mail and The Montreal Gazette, as well as the author of several books – some of which attacked Quebec nationalism with great gusto.
Proud of his roots
While Johnson’s mother was a Francophone and his father an Anglophone, he always claimed to be proud of his French-Canadian roots. Paradoxically, he accused many French Quebecers of suffering from a crippling narrow-mindedness that affected their political judgment.
Following studies at Montreal’s Collège-Jean-de-Brébeuf, and after graduating with a B.A. from Montreal’s Loyola College in 1949, Johnson, as he would later admit in a published interview, submitted to pressure from his fervently religious mother and joined the Jesuit priesthood, where he ended up spending 10 years.
Abandoned the Jesuits
It was something he would end up regretting and turning against. Before completing his religious training, he left the Jesuits. He then embarked on a relatively short stint as an academic, teaching sociology at the University of Toronto, before beginning his long journalistic career.
His initial professional experiences in journalism during the early 1960s saw him freelancing feature articles for Weekend Magazine, a Saturday magazine supplement distributed as an insert in newspapers across Canada from the 1950s to the late 1970s.
In one of his most memorable pieces from that early time, Johnson wrote about taking part, along with members of his young family, in one of American black rights activist Martin Luther King’s “freedom marches” through the south of the U.S.
Worked at the Globe
His first full-time job as a journalist was in 1967 at the Toronto Globe and Mail, where he was taken on as a city reporter. By the early 1970s, he had become the Globe and Mail’s political correspondent in Ottawa. He later also worked as a correspondent in Quebec City and Washington D.C.
In the latter part of his career, Johnson became a political columnist for the Montreal Gazette, although (according to a biography posted on his web site) his position as national affairs columnist was “terminated” by Gazette editor Joan Fraser.
This came, as Johnson would sometimes recount to those who knew him, following a dispute over what he deemed to be The Gazette’s weak response to the Quebec sovereignty movement under Fraser, who would go on to be appointed to the Canadian Senate.
Alliance Quebec period
In what was perhaps William Johnson’s most high-profile undertaking, in 1998 (when he was still disturbed by the close results of Quebec’s 1995 referendum) he ran for and won the presidency of the English-language lobby group Alliance Quebec, serving a controversial and turbulent term until the year 2000.
According to an online encyclopaedia’s description of the events back then, he refused to meet with government officials, held two demonstrations against the Charter of the French Language, added clauses to the group’s constitution denouncing hypothetical declarations of independence by the Quebec government, and supported the election of members of the Equality Party to Alliance Quebec’s board of directors.
In protest, 20 members of the Alliance Quebec board and most staff members resigned, while six affiliated groups severed their ties, calling his leadership style overly confrontational.
Reaction in Laval
Martin Berman, a Chomedey resident who was on the board of Alliance Quebec while Johnson was president, credits Johnson with having greatly influenced his views on Anglophone rights in Quebec.
“I don’t like to admit it, but he actually converted me,” Berman said. “I became very, very vocal because of him. I sort of knew what was going on in Quebec. But after hearing him speak, I sort of thought to myself it’s about time somebody was doing something about this.
“He woke us up to what was happening,” Berman added. “The rights of English-speaking people in the province of Quebec were being eroded so quickly and we were just sitting around like a bunch of dummies. All of a sudden he was saying wake up.”
Another Chomedey resident, Gail Campbell, who was also active with Alliance Quebec during that period, saw things from a somewhat different perspective.
“I felt that Alliance Quebec was succeeding with a diplomatic approach,” she said. “There was a difference in styles in his approach. And did we gain from it, or did we lose from it? I think we’ll leave that to the ages to be decided.”
Published works
Among William Johnson’s published books were The Informer: Confessions of an Ex-Terrorist, which Johnson co-wrote with Carole de Vault, a police mole who infiltrated the FLQ; Anglophobie: Made in Québec (1991); A Canadian Myth, Quebec, between Canada and the Illusion of Utopia (1994); and Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada (2005).
William Johnson had also been working on a new book, in which he hoped to take aim at the credibility of wartime claims made by René Lévesque – the Quebec sovereignty movement’s most sacred idol – regarding Lévesque’s experiences at the end of World War II when he was a U.S. Army correspondent in Europe.
The North Shore News Volume 16-05, published March 06, 2020. This issue covers local events such as politics, sports and human-interest stories. It features editorials and other columns. Click on the image to read the paper.
North Shore News front page. Volume 16-05, March 06, 2020
