Martin C. Barry

What would a book revolving largely around the occasionally confused lives of some suburban teens during the early 1980s in a town eerily similar to Rosemère be without a reference to Subdivisions, that soaring 1982 hit by Canadian rockers Rush?

The progressive band stated just about all there was to say about teen alienation and the social stratification that has always been taken as the norm by those leading a suburban existence.

As it happens, Rosemère expatriate Mark Paterson pays homage to Rush in the acknowledgements published at the end of his most recent collection of short fiction, Dreamers and Misfits of Montclair.

The book was published by Toronto-based Exile Editions, led by Barry Callaghan, a towering figure in the Canadian fiction publishing business.

“The words and music of Rush have inspired, comforted, and kept me company since I first heard them when I was twelve,” says Paterson. “With the works of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart at hand, this dreamer/misfit was never truly so alone.”

Rosemère as Montclair

Paterson, who now lives just beyond the Rosemère town limits in neighboring Lorraine where he earns a living as a writer and translator, grew up in Rosemère. The town becomes Montclair in his fiction. (The name of the fictional municipality references Montclair St. in Rosemère, according to Paterson.)

But in case anyone missed it, Paterson makes sure everybody understands what town on Montreal’s North Shore he is actually alluding to: the art work on the book’s cover features a building that is unmistakably Rosemère town hall.

According to Paterson, the title of Dreamers and Misfits of Montclair was in fact inspired by lines from Rush’s Subdivision song: Nowhere is the dreamer/Or the misfit so alone.

Suburban nostalgia

“It talks about how the city becomes like an attraction for people from the suburbs,” he said, interpreting the song’s meaning. “But then there are people who also kind of migrate to the city and end up feeling nostalgic for the suburbs.”

That might just as well describe at least part of the path Mark Paterson has taken through life up to now. Attracted by the advantages and perks of living in Montreal nearly 35 kilometres southward, he moved to west end Montreal at age 18 while pursuing history studies at McGill University.

In the end, though, Paterson found himself being lured back to the suburbs. “What I was trying to do was write a book about the dreamers and the misfits and the suburbs, and the people who kind of try to make their lives a little bit remarkable while they’re living in the suburbs,” he said.

Rosemère as inspiration

If a few longtime Rosemèrites are wondering whether they might have ended up serving as inspiration for some of Paterson’s fiction, it wouldn’t be surprising since he did get around the town quite a bit. If anything, his parents demonstrated a great fondness for living in Rosemère.

“We lived in a lot of different houses in Rosemère to tell you the truth,” he said. “I think I lived across the street from a lot of people. I think we lived in six or seven different houses.”

Among the people he got to know when they were a lot younger was Rosemère town councillor Melissa Monk. “Melissa and I went to school together all our lives. We grew up together. We went to McCaig Elementary together and Rosemère High.”

Although Paterson insists that his book is mostly fiction, he acknowledged that at least the first chapter, about a teenager who walks the main street of Montclair while dressed in a gorilla suit, is very close to fact.

Mixing fact and fiction

“There’s a lot of autobiography in that first story with the gorilla costume,” he said. “You know, that’s something that I did do. And a lot of people when they saw the book and read that story, they said they remembered that gorilla costume.”

Still, many of the other stories betray the presence of a kind of dysfunction underlying life in the suburbs.

For example, the last piece concerns a teenage wino who has perfected an ability to con or steal bottles of his favourite alcoholic beverage from convenience stores.

It’s something that could be happening in any Canadian suburb. But in this case, the setting is the fictional Montclair, based on the non-fictional Rosemère.

Martin C. Barry

Grande-Côte Road is about to become the only street in Rosemère where motorists will be allowed to keep driving at 50 km/h for the time being – except in school zones – following speed limit changes approved last week by Rosemère town council.

40’s the new 50

According to an amendment to by-law 781 passed by the council members, the 50 km/h speed limit on Rosemère’s main arteries (Bouthillier Blvd., Montée Lesage, Grande Côte Rd., Montée Sanche and Roland Durand Blvd.) will be dropping to 40 km/h, except in school zones where it will be 30 km/h.

For now, Grande-Côte will be the exception. In addition to being one of Rosemère’s most travelled main streets, Quebec Route 344 passes along Grande-Côte Rd. As such, the town can’t change the speed limit without obtaining permission from the Quebec Ministry of Transport.

Following example

Until recently, Rosemère had only two speed limits: 30 km/h in school zones and on side streets, and 50 km/h on the main streets. The introduction of the new 40 km/h limit will bring Rosemère’s speed limits into conformity with those in surrounding municipalities.

“All the cities around us in the MRC changed their speed limits to 40 km/h a few years ago,” Mayor Eric Westram said in an interview last week with the North Shore News. “So we were asking ourselves why we’re still at 50?”

New speed warnings

For the streets where the speed limits can be changed immediately, implementation will still require the town to post signs indicating for the first 30 days that a new speed limit is being introduced.

Only after this will it officially take effect. “This would mean that basically the new speed limits will be enforced beginning in the first week of January,” Mayor Westram said.

In another change made by town council that could affect many residents of Rosemère, council amended by-law 801 in order to allow “Tempo” winter car shelters, as well as shelters covering private sidewalks, to be kept up for about a month longer at winter’s end.

‘Tempo’ shelter extension

Whereas a previous version of the by-law required property owners to take down the shelters by April 1, the amended by-law will now allow them to remain up until May 1. The earliest date each year when the shelters can be put up is Nov. 1.

“For the last four or five winters, winter has lasted a lot longer and people were not in a position to remove their shelters,” Mayor Westram explained. Although several times in recent years the town decreed one-week extensions to the normal deadline, the amended by-law formally puts into place a one-month extension to May 1.

More public consultations

During a portion of the meeting reserved for statements by town councillors, Councillor Philip Panet-Raymond said a question that has been asked constantly by many Rosemère residents since the 2017 election is: What will be happening to the Rosemère golf course?

With that in mind, the town has held several public consultations since the election to seek feedback from residents on the direction they feel Rosemère should be taking in terms of its long-term vision for urban planning.

Reconciling visions

As such, said Panet-Raymond, the town will be holding yet another consultation, with sessions taking place on Wednesday Feb. 19 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Externat Sacré Coeur, and on Saturday Feb. 22 from 9 am to noon in the same venue.

The focus will be on two fairly distinct axes: firstly Grande Côte Rd. in central Rosemère with its charming “village” atmosphere; and secondly the Place Rosemère commercial sector, Labelle Blvd. and the golf course area.

“The objective of these final public consultations is to reconcile the town’s vision with that of its citizens in order to finalize the urban development planned that will govern how we as a town address potential and pending changes,” he said.

Martin C. Barry

Although there was less anger in the voices of residents from Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and other North Shore municipalities impacted by devastating floods last spring, lingering frustration was still heard during a public consultation on new flood zones held on Dec. 5 at Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes.

One flooded-out Sainte-Marthe home owner, Jean-Guy Leprohon, spoke for many when he rattled off a long list of complaints. “The banks won’t lend us money,” he said.

Deeper sense of loss

“We who have lost everything, we’ve lost not just material belongings. We have lost our homes and we aren’t receiving any assistance to be able to rebuild.”

Others at the meeting recounted how last spring’s ordeal led some flood-beleaguered home owners to commit suicide. “I have two neighbours who took their own lives,” said Alain Dominique also of Sainte-Marthe.

In the aftermath of last spring’s flooding – which was preceded by almost-equally devastating floods along the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles and Lake of Two Mountains in 2017 – the provincial  government drastically redrew the region’s maps for flood-zones.

Special Intervention Zone

As well, the provincial government imposed a temporary Special Intervention Zone (ZIS) in flooded areas, where property development is suspended in the aftermath of the floods.

As a result, many property owners are affected by restrictions in the special zone. These are stopping renovations and construction, while also impacting the insurability of buildings and insurance rates.

“What we want from all this is that the security of people and property is better protected in the future,” said Stéphane Bouchard, director general for urban planning, territorial management and housing with the Municipal Affairs Ministry, who was chairing the meeting.

Preventive measures

“It’s not normal that every year or in a regular manner there are hundreds of people finding themselves in situations which are difficult to deal with,” he continued. “We are trying to do things in a better way by using more preventive measures.”

While François Robillard, a municipal councillor from Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac got up to the microphone, the town’s mayor, Sonia Paulus, did not attend the meeting.

(The floods made their greatest impact in Sainte-Marthe, where a dike broke all at once and two-thirds of the town was submerged at one point.)

A time of uncertainty

“I would hope that you become aware of the uncertainty that the residents of Sainte-Marthe have been living in since the beginning of this drama,” Robillard said, noting there are several layers of flood zone regulations under several different jurisdictions, including the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

Benoit Ferland, city manager for the City of Deux-Montagnes, questioned what he said was the consultation committee’s tendency to refer to citizens and municipalities as though they are separate entities.

Unresolved issues

“It’s worth noting that municipalities have received good answers,” said Ferland. “But you cannot give answers to citizens if the answers are vague. I am very happy that you refer people to the cities and we are very happy to answer. But there are still uncertainties.”

Sonia Fontaine, mayor of Pointe-Calumet which also suffered from flood damage, agreed with Ferland that the level of post-flood communication between the provincial government, the municipalities and citizens isn’t good. “The truth is that people are confused,” she said. “They don’t know who to approach, they are mixed up, worried and insecure.”

Martin C. Barry

Following renovations over the last few weeks at the Rosemère public library, on Saturday Nov. 23 elected officials were joined by a few dozen enthusiastic parents and kids as the town inaugurated a refreshed children’s section at the library.

For the occasion, and much to the delight of the children, there was a magician and a candy bar. Brighter, more spacious and more modern, the new facilities have been redesigned to create an inviting environment for young people.

Just for kids

“Children are given a special place in Rosemère,” said Mayor Eric Westram who presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony which was attended by five of the six town councillors.

As part of a provincial Child-Friendly Municipality encouraging support for children’s services, “the town wants to increase initiatives such as this one to help young people thrive,” added Westram.

Educational resource

“Their education begins at home, of course, and at school, but also at their library. With this renovation work, we wanted to be sure that children could be proud of their library and that they would be able to come here as often as possible.

“I hope that all the children here today are as proud as I am of your new youth section,” added the mayor. “I hope you will be able to take fully advantage of it and I hope you will enjoy it.”

Earlier on the same morning also at the library, the mayor and councillors paid tribute to young Rosemère athlete Melina Giorgi.

Honoring an athlete

She distinguished herself on the national scene with her teammates from the Performance Synchro synchronized swimming club, when she won the Canadian gold medal in the 13-15 combo event at the SYNC competition held in Gatineau, July 17-20 of this year.

At the close of the two events, the town took the opportunity to announce the winner of the Ride, walk, run, the library’s fun! Program. Florine Lescut won a $500 gift card awarded jointly by Sports Experts Rosemère ($250) and the Town of Rosemère ($250). The gift cards were presented by Sports Experts Rosemère store manager Sébastien Vanier.

A healthy initiative

Once again, the initiative – which aimed to raise awareness of the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles, while including this with their visit to the library – proved to be very popular.

In fact, the Ride, walk, run, the library’s fun! program will be back again in 2020 for its third year. The program is very simple: residents who visit the library are given a loyalty card, which is stamped by an employee at the circulation desk each time they ride, walk or run to the library.

Martin C. Barry

Elected officials with the Town of Rosemère have decided to take immediate action to carry out badly-needed renovations on the Tylee Marsh boardwalk.

The popular nature site along the Rivière des Mille Îles waterfront closed over the summer after it was found to be in a potentially dangerous state of disrepair.

Boardwalk needs fixing

During a special sitting of Rosemère town council on Nov. 25, the councillors voted unanimously to submit applications to the provincial government for financial assistance to “support the upgrading and improvement of outdoor trails and activity sites,” as stated in a resolution.

At the same time, council also decided to apply for funding from the government to upgrade Charbonneau Park. The applications are being made to the Quebec Ministry of Education and Higher Learning through a financial assistance program that focuses on recreational and sports infrastructure.

Grant applications made

During a public question period, Mayor Eric Westram explained how the town is proceeding to repair the Tylee Marsh boardwalk. “The government has issued some grants and there is a limitation of time to ask for them,” he said.

“As you know, the Tylee boardwalk is in bad shape,” he continued. “So we’re asking for the grant now. When we will know from the engineers whether we need to replace it totally or just repair it, then we’ll apply the grant to whatever work needs to be done.”

Town to pay some cost

According to the town administration, Rosemère stands to receive from the government as much as 60 per cent of the cost to repair the boardwalk – up to $150,000. The rest of the cost would be paid by the town itself.

There has been speculation as to why the boardwalk’s structure appears to be failing, some 13 or so years after it was first built. “To tell you the truth, we’ve got this feeling that the foundation of the boardwalk wasn’t built the right way originally,” said Westram.

Damaged by weather

He suggested that the seasonal cycle of freeze and thaw took its toll and loosened the boardwalk’s submerged and semi-submerged anchor posts. “I’m not an engineer, but it looks that way, and it looks like the whole thing will have to be replaced,” he said.

As for possible legal claims by the town of negligence committed by the contractor during the original installation, Councillor Philip Panet-Raymond said, “We’ve investigated that and it’s beyond the timelines of being able to go after anyone. There is no way of proving if it was actually their fault.”

Time limit in play

Westram continued, “We’re making a move to get the grant. Because if we don’t go for it we won’t get it. And the actual engineer’s recommendations will soon be coming in because we’ve asked a firm to tell us whether to fix it or replace it.”

The boardwalk through the Tylee Marsh was a project completed by the Town of Rosemère around 13 years ago. Located on Grande Côte Rd. behind the Memorial Community Centre, the boardwalk takes strollers out through the dense Tylee Marsh straddling the Mille Îles River.

Picturesque attraction

The boardwalk is regarded as a very unique attraction that draws not only local residents, but also people from all over the Montreal region eager to experience a riverside marsh up close. Although the boardwalk is officially closed, some people have been jumping over the barrier and going out over it anyway.

The mayor previously pointed out that the Quebec environment ministry’s mandate to protect wetlands and marshes (with rules that have become stricter in recent years) could make efforts to restore the boardwalk more complex.

Martin C. Barry

A record number of families from all over the North Shore region huddled beneath blankets with small children along the sides of Oka Road in Deux-Montagnes on Sunday Dec. 1 as the city played host for its 50^th annual Santa Claus Parade.

A big parade

“There must be 10,000-15,000 people here today for sure,” said Deux-Montagnes city councillor Michel Mendes who rode on a float in the parade with Mayor Denis Martin and the five other council members.

For some, the Deux-Montagnes Santa Claus Parade is one of two annual opportunities to return home, often over great distances, for a reunion with family and friends. (The other is Canada Day on July 1.)

It was a cold one

As such, former Deux-Montagnes resident Sandra Tremblay came all the way from Florida to be with her mother, Shirley Tremblay, so that both could take in the Santa Claus Parade from the corner of Oka Rd. and Eighth Ave.

With all the time she’s been in Florida, however, Sandra forgot one thing: Canada gets cold during the winter. While her mother was dressed in a sensible winter coat, Sandra shivered to the end in a relatively light albeit festive red top with humorous season’s greetings printed across it.

Parade’s historic roots

The origin of Deux-Montagnes’ Santa Claus Parade can be traced back to the late 1960s. In 1969, Eaton’s department in downtown Montreal ceased the presentation of its traditional Santa Clause parade, thus depriving thousands of children of a spectacle that had been enjoyed by many generations. However, volunteers from Deux-Montagnes took on the challenge of giving back the magic of Christmas to children. The first Deux-Montagnes Santa Claus Parade was held in December 1970.

(NSN) The long-awaited Rosemère Christmas Market and festivities will be held December 6-8 at the Memorial Community Centre.

The popular “Torch Walk” will open the celebrations, followed by the Christmas Market, where dozens of crafts workers will present you their locally made products.

The Torch Walk will launch the festivities on Friday Dec. 6 starting at 7 p.m. in the train station parking lot. Torches will be handed out to participants in this event between 6:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Tochlight parade

The walkers will be accompanied by the float featuring Santa Claus and the Snow Queen, who will parade along Grande-Côte Road to the Community Centre, where music, dancing and entertainment will continue until 9 p.m.

“Christmas celebrations in Rosemère are always filled with magical enchantment and contagious joy,” says Mayor Eric Westram. “We are proud to invite you to our traditional Torch Walk, which will be followed throughout the weekend by our Christmas Market. These festivities are increasingly popular, year after year. Join us for the 2019 edition.”

Pre-Christmas shopping

The town is inviting everyone to take advantage of the presence of some forty shops and crafts workers gathered in one place to support local merchants and start buying your Christmas gifts.

Among the gift ideas: decoration accessories, delicacies, crafts, jewellery, clothing, etc. The Christmas Market is organized by Etsy Laurentides. These festivities are organized in partnership with Place Rosemère, the Aile des gens d’affaires de Rosemère and Jeunesse Action Rosemère. Many thanks to these invaluable contributors.

Martin C. Barry

As December 6 marks the 30^th anniversary since the École Polytechnique shootings in Montreal in which 14 women died, the City of Deux-Montagnes has decided to create a new park to honour a former Deux-Montagnes resident who was one of the victims of the attack.

Commemorative park

Elected officials with the city, including Mayor Denis Martin and several city councillors, gathered with relatives and former friends of Maud Haviernick. She was one of the 14 young women who lost their lives. Sylvie Haviernick, Maud’s sister, was joined by a few other relatives and friends for the launch.

The new park, which will open officially next spring, is located on the edge of Lake of Two Mountains, at 101 26^th Ave. behind the municipal water filtration plant. A plaque and signage will be installed to identify it as Maud Haviernick Park.

Remembering Maud

“Although she is not coming back, I would say that for us in Deux-Montagnes Maud is someone who is our citizen for life,” Mayor Martin said during a short dedication ceremony held last Tuesday afternoon in the chosen spot.

“We are dedicating this park in this magnificent place in order to celebrate her life and to remember her and the impact she had on those who knew her.”

Maud Haviernick had already completed a degree in environmental design from the University du Québec à Montréal and was studying metallurgical engineering at the École Polytechnique while pursuing her dream of becoming an engineer.

Women were targeted

On Dec. 6 1989, she was at the École Polytechnique when a heavily armed gunman entered a mechanical engineering class in the building and separated nine women from the mixed class, instructing the men to leave.

He then shot the nine women, killing six. Following this, he made his way for 20 minutes through corridors, the cafeteria and another classroom always shooting women, before killing himself with a gunshot in the end. It was the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.

Deux-Montagnes city councillors Erik Johnson and Margaret Lavallée, both being longtime area residents, recalled knowing Maud Haviernick more than three decades ago, as well as the impact her sudden and brutal death had on themselves and the community.

Impact in Deux-Montagnes

“It was very devastating that this could happen to someone so young and from our community. You just never think this is something that could happen here,” said Lavallée, who knew the Haviernick family.

Johnson also knew the Haviernick family. “I was coached at hockey by Maud’s brother,” he said. Councillor Micheline Groulx Stabile noted that the site selected for the park is exceptionally beautiful and peaceful. “People will be able to come and sit here while remembering Maud Haviernick,” she said.