Martin C. Barry

Officials with the Town of Rosemère are contemplating their next move following the closing over the past summer of the Tylee Marsh boardwalk, a popular nature attraction along the Rivière des Mille Îles waterfront which has been shut for safety reasons.

According to Rosemère mayor Eric Westram, areas of the boardwalk’s wooden platform have been initially assessed as unstable, although the town’s public works department hasn’t yet determined exactly what the problem is.

Unsure of problem

“We’re not sure whether it’s the structure itself,” he said in an interview with the North Shore News. “We’re having an engineer check it. It could be that we need to replace it totally. The whole structure is in bad shape.”

According to Westram, the boardwalk is slated to remain closed at least until next summer. He explained what the town plans to do until then. “We’re waiting for the engineer’s report,” he said.

Environment ministry

“If he tells us that it’s just a few things to repair here and there, then it will go quick. But if we need to replace it all then we’ll have to go back to the environment minister, because everything we do where there are ponds and marshes we have to have their authorization.”

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.

Has been getting worse

It is a highly unique attraction that draws not only local residents, but also people from all over the Montreal region eager to experience a river marsh up close. “Was it built wrongly?” Westram asked. “We don’t know at this point. Was there something wrong with the pylons? All we know for sure is that it’s been in bad shape for years.”

Although the boardwalk is officially closed off, some people have been spotted jumping over the barrier and going out over the marsh on the structure anyway. Westram 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.

Safety warnings posted

While the mayor said he was unaware of any incidents, he noted that an initial inspection revealed that parts of the structure have come loose and are moving and that the conclusion was that part or all of the structure might not be stable.

“That’s why we put signs to tell people that it’s dangerous, but some people are still using it,” he added. All the same, Westram said the town is committed to restoring the Tylee Marsh boardwalk no matter what. “We will fix it or rebuild it – that’s for sure,” said Westram. “We’re still waiting to see what needs to be done.”

(NSN) On October 19, the traditional annual Volunteers’ Gala was held in Rosemère to pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of the many Rosemère volunteers.

More than 320 people attended the evening event, which took place at the Externat Sacré-Cœur school. This year’s theme was ‘Once upon a time.’

Storybook time

For the occasion, the guests dressed up as storybook characters, in beautiful costumes. There were many different characters and plenty of originality.

“If Rosemère is such an attractive and welcoming town with such a vibrant community life, it is thanks to the involvement and devotion of outstanding people — our volunteers,” said Mayor Eric Westram.

They were rewarded

“Whether it is in the field of sports, culture, crafts or community life, these people make the dreams of many youngsters and adults come true. They well deserve a special tribute for their commitment.”

The town has more than 500 volunteers working with approximately 45 organizations. Town officials took the opportunity to present a simulated cheque made out for the symbolic amount of $500,000. The amount represents the town’s involvement with its community organizations.

(NSN) Rosemerites came out on Oct. 18 to march for healthy lifestyle habits at Rosemère’s first annual ‘La Grande Marche’ event, supported by the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie.

Colourful clothing

More than 350 people attended the community event, which followed the same path as Rosemère en santé. Walkers wore their most colourful clothing and fluorescent glasses to brighten up the festivities.

Rosemère Mayor Eric Westram said he was delighted by the tremendous public response to this first event. “I’m thrilled to see how excited residents are to be part of La Grande Marche,” he said.

Fitness popular

“The great turnout shows how interested you are in the activities put on by the town and how important you feel it is to promote a healthy lifestyle and make Rosemère an active community.”

Over the course of the same weekend, more than 100 other towns and cities across Quebec held their own versions of La Grande Marche. The total number of participants province-wide was close to 75,000.

Martin C. Barry

More than 50 members and supporters of Rosemère Volunteer Services along with their guests gathered at Memorial Community Centre on Grande Côte Road in Rosemère around noon on Oct. 25 to celebrate a noteworthy milestone.

Marking a half-century

It was the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the RVS Gift Shop, which helps raise funds for worthy causes in Rosemère. The shop, which is located at Memorial Community Centre, was founded on Oct. 28, 1969.

The shop was originally the initiative of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V.O.N.) Mille-Îles branch, which had been established during the 1950s.

When the V.O.N. disbanded in Quebec in 1973, the women involved at the time decided to continue their efforts and form a new group which they named Rosemère Volunteer Services.

Many volunteers over time

In 1975, Rosemère Volunteer Services was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. They have had numerous volunteers over the years and many different types of services have been offered during that time.

However, today many of those services are no longer needed as they are fulfilled by government agencies. But the RVS Gift Shop remains and its mission is also the same: funds raised are donated to local charities and two scholarships are provided to high school students to help them further their education.

RVS archives donated

Befitting an occasion marking a half-century of service to the public, the RVS board decided that as a commemorative gesture they would donate the RVS archives to the Société d’histoire et de généalogie des Mille-Îles.

The archives illustrate all the hard work done by the many RVS volunteers over the last five decades. “The donation is sure to ensure their preservation for future generations,” said Rosemère Volunteer Services president Gloria Kuhr. Gilles Charron and Kathy Nolan, president and vice-president respectively of the Société d’histoire et de généalogie des Mille-Îles, accepted a file box representing the contents of the RVS archives.

History booklet planned

“As we prepared our archives for this donation, it came to our attention that we were fortunate to have on hand most of the documents dating back to 1969,” said Kuhr. “This being the case, it was suggested that a complete history of the Rosemère Volunteer Services could be documented in the form of a short booklet.”

Although the RVS’s main archives documents are available, Kuhr said they felt certain that there might be more out there in members’ personal archives, such as photos, newspaper clippings, notes, etc. For example, a scrapbook of newspaper clippings was given to RVS recently by Alice Wallace, for which Kuhr expressed thanks.

RVS history docs needed

She said that if anyone else has any documents or photos pertaining to RVS history that they would like to donate, to please let the RVS board know. “This will greatly help should we decide to go ahead with the short history booklet project,” Kuhr added.

Among the guests at the 50^th anniversary luncheon was Rosemère mayor Eric Westram, town councillor Philip Panet-Raymond, Fondation Rosemère president Andrée Guilbeault and Jessy Turcot of Turcot Olivier Optometrists who is vice-president of the foundation.

Mayor Westram speaks

“In Rosemère volunteers are the heart of the community’s life,” Mayor Westram said in an address. “The Rosemère Volunteer Services Gift Shop is truly a valuable asset for our community.

“Every year the RVS Shop donates part of the proceeds from the sale of its gift items to Entraide de Rosemère and the Fondation Rosemère organizations which are here with us today,” the mayor continued. “Entraide de Rosemère helps the needy and the Fondation de Rosemère comes to the aid of the elderly.”

Martin C. Barry

After commissioning a consultant’s report last June on the state of Rosemère’s three anti-flood dikes along the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Rosemère town council reported during the Oct. 15 council meeting that a final report will be tabled in February.

Three flood dikes

The dikes are located along Belleville St. in eastern Rosemère, around the centre of the town on Skelton St. and in the west near the Exo commuter railway line.

“The mandate was granted with the goal of evaluating the security of the dikes and to furnish us with recommendations and possibly with stabilization work to be done if necessary,” said Councillor René Villeneuve who is responsible for the dossier.

While suggesting that council has been receiving initial information from the consultant in bits and pieces, Villeneuve said they would be providing residents with more conclusive information as soon as it becomes available.

Flood protections sought

On the other hand, regarding another mandate that was granted to analyze sectors of the town not protected against spring flooding from the Rivière des Mille Îles, Villeneuve said experts will be guiding town officials as they seek ways to protect built-up and natural areas vulnerable to flooding.

“This analysis will allow the town to put into place an intervention and management scenario,” he said. “As well, protective measures will be suggested taking into account legal considerations and environmental impacts.” He said the above actions should take around four months to complete and the town should have a final report at the end of February 2020.

Permits needed from Ministry

“Once we have received the first orientation of that mandate, we will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change to obtain the authorizations necessary in order to revise the protection measures because we must ask permission from the Ministry of the Environment.”

In closing, Villeneuve said he wanted to point out that the Town of Rosemère was able to obtain a subsidy from the federal government’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund covering 80 per cent of the future work likely to be recommended for the town’s current dike network.

Report on public security

Reporting on the state of public security in Rosemère, Councillor Philip Panet-Raymond said a public security plan has been updated to take into account natural disasters which could happen in the future. The plan was modeled on an example provided by the Quebec Public Security Ministry, he added.

“This plan allows us to respect regulations for procedures to follow for security alerts and mobilization and the means to take to protect security of people and property in case of disasters, while encouraging reflection on the risks of disaster on the territory of our municipality in order to take into account concerns in the context of preparation for disasters,” he said.

High mark from Ministry

Panet-Raymond said the town’s civil security plan aims for continuing improvement, as well as the development of a civil security framework centred on the well-being of the municipality. He noted that following the plan’s update by town personnel, the Quebec Ministry of Public Security gave the new plan a 92 per cent grading.

“This should be reassuring to us all,” he said. “The town is giving to itself the mission of maintaining up to date its plan to keep abreast with new regulations regarding civil security, to work in concert with its front-line operational partners, that is the firefighters and the police, and to maintain a constant contact with the Ministry of Public Security.”

(NSN) On October 8, the Town of Rosemère and students from Externat Sacré-Cœur, in collaboration with biologists Michel Leboeuf and Réjean Dumas, the Société d’horticulture et d’écologie de Rosemère (SHER) and a number of adult volunteers, planted over 300 trees and shrubs to finalize the revitalization of a Town-owned portion of the woods surrounding Sacré-Cœur Externat.

Fighting global warming

“As climate and environmental change are fundamental issues, we are proud to promote initiatives to fight global warming, while involving our community and our youth,” said Mayor Eric Westram.

“In planting these trees today, we adults are starting to bring an air of change to our environmental habits; however, it is the young people who are taking over and are the important players in this process.

An educational activity

“In addition to being positive for the environment, this planting project is an educational activity that will give Secondary 1 and 2 students the opportunity to improve their knowledge of horticulture,” he added.

On June 8, the first part of the project was carried out: 285 trees and shrubs were planted at that time. The Town of Rosemère announced that a total of 625 trees and shrubs will be planted by next spring to revitalize the Sacré-Cœur woods. They are expected to increase in size by 50% in this way so as to improve local biodiversity.

Martin C. Barry

In spite of demands by some Deux-Montagnes residents impacted by the impending closure of Exo train service that the city should support a moratorium on further REM train development, Mayor Denis Martin says Deux-Montagnes will be asking instead for the pace of work to be accelerated.

The Réseau de transport métropolitain’s Exo commuter train service between Deux-Montagnes and Montreal is slated to be closed in two stages — from Central Station into Du Ruisseau station from 2020 to 2022, and from Bois Franc to Deux-Montagnes stations between 2022 and 2023.

Transit chaos anticipated

Although the Quebec government has announced a $192-million plan for shuttle buses that will take most of the affected riders from the Bois Franc train station to the Côte-Vertu Metro station, there is widespread concern there will be chaos beginning in the new year when the current train service ends.

“The position of the city regarding a moratorium – I spoke with the people and the organization behind this – we think that it’s not the best of ideas,” Mayor Martin said in a statement at the beginning of the Oct. 10 city council meeting. “What we would prefer is an acceleration of the work rather than a moratorium.”

‘No’ to REM moratorium

According to the mayor, he and city officials discussed various points the residents raised, which he said were “interesting all the same,” while adding that a petition demanding the moratorium was signed by at least 300 people.

He said the position of the City of Deux-Montagnes, along with the MRC de Deux-Montagnes, the MRC Thérèse-De Blainville and the City of Laval is that they should work together to convince CDPQ Infra to shorten the length of time it takes to complete the REM project. “We are working on that particular point and we are hoping that we will get results,” he said.

In an interview following the council meeting, the mayor said, “Some people are asking for a moratorium and we’re not really in agreement with that. We don’t want to give them (CDPQ Infra) a chance to delay the work.

‘Need to move ahead,’ says mayor

“The mitigations that were announced are still a work in progress: as we’re moving along we’re still at work and still applying pressure for them to improve those measures,” he continued. “I don’t think that a moratorium will help. We really need to move ahead on that project – that’s the city’s position.”

Regarding what is probably the second-most pressing current issue in Deux-Montagnes – construction of the new anti-flood dike along the waterfront – the City of Deux-Montagnes says on its web site that it has been removing the temporary dike since mid-August and has permission from Quebec to make adjustments to the original dike project.

The dike route that was first approved and presented to lakeshore residents goes from 9^th Avenue to 13^th Avenue then onto Lakebreeze St. Although the route remains unchanged, the height of the dike is being raised to 25.71 metres (the originally-proposed height was 25.42 metres).

Flood dike progress report

As well, interlocked sheet piling is being added to prevent quicksand from developing. According to the city, these panels, forming steel curtains sunk into the ground, will provide more strength and much greater resistance to leakage.

The city says that following the major spring floods along Lake of Two Mountains earlier this year – and particularly the devastating impact they had in neighbouring Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac – engineers responsible for Quebec government dikes and dams developed a series of recommendations. The adjustments to the Deux-Montagnes dike are based on these findings.

The City of Deux-Montagnes maintains that the new dike will be completed and operational by the end of 2019 as planned. However, some finishing touches for esthetic purposes will be completed later on, they add. Various forms of public access to the waterfront are being planned and will be developed beginning in the spring.

‘Dangerous’ sidewalk

During public question period, Keith Pattenden of 12^th Ave. complained to the mayor that a group of workers who altered a section of sidewalk on Du Lac Blvd. just west of 13^th Ave. more than a month ago made it dangerous in the process.

As he uses the sidewalk twice a day every day all year, Pattenden said he found the change dangerous. “I think you probably will have some lawsuits if people fall down in the winter,” he said, because the sidewalk will be difficult to clear of snow the way it is now.

Mayor Martin said that he and other city officials, including Councillor Manon Robitaille who is responsible for Pattenden’s district, would be going to take an up-close-look at the section of sidewalk and determine whether action will have to be taken.

Martin C. Barry

On Oct. 10, Rosemerite Audrey-Maude Bouffard was honoured by town officials for saving a man’s life this past summer while she and her family were on vacation in Ontario.

A ceremony, attended by more than 30 family members and guests, took place in the atrium of the Rosemère municipal library, with family and friends in attendance.

Courage in a crisis

During the summer on July 21, the 17-year-old was getting ready to leave the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park in Ontario, where she was visiting with other members of her family.

That’s when they heard cries of distress coming from the lake. Without hesitating, Audrey-Maude sprinted toward the beach where, with the help of several other people, she pulled a man ashore and proceeded to administer CPR. After about three minutes, he started to breathe again.

Showed character, mayor said

During the ceremony, Rosemère Mayor Eric Westram expressed his unreserved admiration for the young woman’s heroic conduct. “Audrey-Maude Bouffard saved a man’s life,” he told the gathering.

“She showed tremendous character and courage in a situation that may have otherwise been fatal. We are fortunate to have someone like her living in Rosemère. Her courage and perseverance are an inspiration for us all. We congratulate her on this act of bravery, which is richly deserving of our praise.”

National Assembly Medal

The ceremony included a number of touching tributes as well as the presentation of an honorary plaque to Audrey-Maude. She also received the Medal of the National Assembly from Éric Girard, MNA for Groulx, in recognition of her heroism, which was presented by one of Girard’s constituency office attachés.

In addition, Audrey-Maude took part in a time-honoured tradition, signing Rosemère’s Golden Book to immortalize this extraordinary act in the annals of the town’s history.