Author name: Brenda O'Farrell The 1510 West

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Cycling enthusiasts will be pleased – the long-awaited BIXI expansion to Pierrefonds-Roxboro is set to launch next month, with eight new stations, mostly located along Pierrefonds Blvd., marking the popular bike-sharing service’s first go in the West Island.

Could this indicate plans to expand into other West Island cities?

A company spokesperson explained that BIXI is “in contact with municipalities in the West Island with a view to extending the service over the next few years,” in an email to The 1510 West. No further details could yet be confirmed.

Pierrefonds-Roxboro residents may have noticed city workers installing BIXI stations along Pierrefonds Blvd. starting last Wednesday. The eight stations will stretch from Roxboro Park in Roxboro westward for 12 kilometres to the Cap St. Jacques Nature Park in Pierrefonds. Cyclists will be able to take advantage of the already existing separated bike lane along Pierrefonds Blvd.

The easternmost station will be at Roxboro Park, near 11^th Ave. and 9^th St. From there, the stations can be found along Pierrefonds Blvd. at the corners of Athéna Street, Fredmir Street, the Pierrefonds-Roxboro Borough Hall, Esther-Blondin Street, Guillaume Street, and Château-Pierrefonds Avenue. The westernmost station will be found at the corner of Gouin Blvd. West and Pilon Street, on the edge of the Cap St. Jacques Nature Park.

A ninth station is expected to be installed close to the future Pierrefonds-Roxboro REM station, located in Roxboro along Gouin Blvd. West. This will be done after the REM’s West Island branch opens to the public, expected this fall.

“These eight new stations will not only make daily travel easier, but also promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle,” said borough Mayor Jim Beis, a self-claimed cycling enthusiast, in a statement issued earlier this month.

Discussions around BIXI stations coming to Pierrefonds-Roxboro had been ongoing for the past few years. BIXI had announced in April 2023 that the first stations would be set up that fall but was delayed due to finalizing the locations of stations. The stations are expected to enter into operation in early June.

BIXI has enjoyed steady growth in ridership around Montreal with more than 13 million bike trips recorded in 2024. The bike-sharing service was first launched in Montreal in 2009 and has since expanded its stations to Laval and Longueuil, as well as planned expansions to South Shore St. Lambert, Deux Montagnes and St. Eustache on the North Shore and Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Plans for Beaconsfield’s new cultural centre in Centennial Park has attracted international recognition for its innovative design.

Montreal-based architectural firm Lemay was awarded top honours for its conceptual design for the centre by the World Architecture News earlier this spring under the category Future Projects – Commercial Buildings. The plans for the unique-looking building includes a grass-covered roof that rises from ground level, providing visitors with walking paths along the rooftop.

The distinction is very encouraging for the long-awaited project, said Andrew Duffield, Beaconsfield’s director of sustainable development, who has spearheaded the project since 2019.

The design beat out several submissions focused on sustainability, including an all-electric high rise in Boston; a massive 131-hectare entertainment centre in Shenzhen, China; and a 100-per-cent renewable energy resort in the Maldives.

“The fact that not only (WAN) as an organization recognized the project, but the fact that it (was) awarded the gold level clearly demonstrates the design’s value in terms of its integration within its environment,” Duffield told The 1510 West.

The Lemay design was one of several options presented to the city last summer as part of a design contest for the new cultural centre. Now, with this international recognition, Duffield said the city clearly made the right choice.

“It’s a validation of the respect of the design for its place and value to the community,” he said.

The “very prestigious” gold achievement is also encouraging for Lemay, explained Eric Pelletier, an architect and senior partner with the firm.

WAN’s panel of international judges were looking for project designs that were high quality, innovative and sustainable, as well as integrate well within the environmental context and were predicted to have a positive social impact, Pelletier explained in an interview last week.

A presentation by Pelletier and a team of architects in July detailed the innovative design of the cultural centre, titled “A Landscape Reinvented.”

The group’s design aimed to intertwine the centre with the surrounding nature of Centennial Park, Pelletier explained at the time.

Made almost entirely of wood in the Scandinavian minimalist style, the single-storey centre features a sodded ramp-styled roof, giving the impression of a natural slope rising from the ground, thereby serving to “blur that boundary between architecture and landscape,” Pelletier said.

The building will house a library, a bistro and meeting rooms, as well as several areas to accommodate youth of all ages. The exterior plans include footpaths connecting between the centre, a new waterfront boardwalk and the yacht club.

In the fall, Beaconsfield will issue a call for tenders, with plans for construction to begin in spring of 2026. The centre is scheduled to open its doors to the public by the summer of 2028.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

It was with a heavy heart that Nicole MacDuff watched workers last Wednesday tear down the pet boarding facility she had been operating in Dorval for the last 35 years. The demolition is part of an expansion plan being carried out by Trudeau Airport.

“They always said they would never need this land, so we kept (renting),” said MacDuff in an interview. “When they told us they need all the land around the airport and they need to make some parking lots, we were in shock. I couldn’t believe it.

“It’s so sad,” she added, noting how she has been receiving many messages of support from customers since the centre, known as Manoir Kanisha, ceased operations Jan. 31.

Earlier this spring, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) announced an ambitious $4-billion redesign project of the airport that is targeted to be completed by 2035. The plan includes construction of a new terminal, pickup and drop-off areas and expanded parking lots. And given that the tracts of land surrounding the airport are federally owned and managed by the ADM, the airport did not require to consult with tenants that rented space in this area nor municipalities in the region.

In March, elected officials in Dorval and Montreal, as well as the neighbouring borough of St. Laurent, spoke out against the airport expansion, particularly the plans to build on 167 hectares of green space just northwest of the airport. This area includes Golf Dorval and the Monarch Fields, which will be developed over the next 20 years in what ADM has dubbed a “decarbonization zone.”

“The best decarbonization zone is exactly what we have today,” Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said at a press conference in March, alongside St. Laurent Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa, Montreal city councillor Alex Norris and former Quebec and federal representative Clifford Lincoln. “It’s a natural greenspace.”

They argued in favour of the green space being preserved and protected from future development.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Doret said in a subsequent interview.

The ADM did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

As for MacDuff, who built her business in 1990 on land controlled by the airport authority, she is now spending her days sending refund cheques to clients who had reserved many months in advance for their pets to stay at the facility. Conveniently located next to the airport, the centre offered boarding services to both local pets whose owners were travelling, as well as for pets coming from abroad whose owners, for one reason or another, were unable to pick them up for several hours, days or even weeks. Rather than leave a pet to linger in its cage, pet owners or airport officials would reach out to MacDuff, who would send a member of the team within minutes to pick up animals and bring them to her facility.

“We started with a field,” she said last week, describing the original property. “There was nothing. There was just a lot of grass. We cut the grass and we started to build.”

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Gone are the days when needing to borrow a snowblower or an extra pair of hands for a home maintenance project meant knocking on your neighbour’s door. Instead, Beaconsfield residents can now request this and more through a digital city-wide sharing initiative launched earlier this month.

It’s an app, launched in 2023, that was featured on Radio-Canada’s version of the popular English CBC show Dragons’ Den, Dans l’œil du dragon, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas and products to a panel of business mogals.

It “facilitates the lending and borrowing of items between neighbours, helping to reduce individual consumption,” city spokesperson Anabel Dumont said.

App creators Fauve Doucet and Anaïs Majidier made an appearance on the show in April 2024 where they successfully pitched the concept as a method to address the “severe underutilisation of our goods.”

The pitch impressed the Dragons, with Quebec entrepreneur Nicolas Duvernois agreeing that it would be ridiculous, for example, “to buy a saw to cut one piece of wood.”

Beaconsfield residents are able to register on the app to easily borrow and lend everything from tools for special projects to everyday household items. There is no charge for borrowing items and the timeframe for borrowing can vary depending on the agreement reached. But app users are required to return the items on time and in the same condition in which they received them.

For the first time on the municipal level, the app is featuring an option for residents to offer and request assistance with small tasks and services, including yard work, knowledge sharing, help outside the home and even companionship.

Dumont added that the initiative would help to “strengthen social ties” and build community resiliency.

The app was created “with the environment at heart,” adding that encouraging neighbourly sharing of items would work to reduce overconsumption of goods and resources.

Apart from Beaconsfield, the fully bilingual application has already been put to use by eight municipalities across Quebec, including the cities of Laval and Beloeil; towns of Prévost and Boisbriand in the Laurentians; the town of Crabtree in Lanaudière; and the Eastern Township’s towns of Coaticook, St. Césaire and St. Georges de Windsor. Beaconsfield is the first of these municipalities to include the services feature.

“It’s a practical way to foster mutual support and strengthen community life,” Dumont added.

The agreement between the town and Partage Club allows for 380 residents to register for free membership on the app. As of Monday, 137 people had signed up. Once the free quota has been met additional registrants will be charged a $60 annual subscription fee.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

John Abbott College will mark a significant milestone this coming weekend – a half-century of sporting history – and is inviting all former Islander athletes to celebrate.

“We want to celebrate the past and the current student athletes,” said Patrice Lemieux, the CEGEP’s sports and recreation manager, adding that the event set for Friday, May 2, will be a special edition of the college’s annual sports awards ceremony.

 It will serve to connect the school’s alumni with the “new era of student athletes at John Abbott,” Lemieux said, adding to the college’s 50-year “rich history of Islanders success.”

The event will look back at the school’s many sports triumphs since 1975. Photographs from past teams will be featured, commemorating moments of sports glory.

Among John Abbott’s many historic athletic achievements include: the women’s basketball program winning the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championship 10 times in 20 years in the 1970s and ’80s; the men’s rugby program winning 14 consecutive championships in the late ’90s and early 2000s; the women’s hockey team winning the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championship in 2022 and 2023; and the men’s football team winning the Bol d’Or in 2019 and 2021, to name a few of the school’s numerous sporting accolades.

While John Abbott has seen “a tonne of amazing accomplishments” on the ice, court and field, Lemieux pointed out that the school places equal emphasis on the achievements of student athletes in their academics.

“We’ve had a number of student athletes that were high achievers in the classroom that have gone (on) to amazing careers,” he said, adding that he looks forward to seeing many of them at the event.

The 50^th anniversary celebration is open to all current and former Islanders athletes and coaches. All attendees must register for the event, which can be done online via the school’s website or through its social media pages.

The celebration will take place Friday, May 2, starting at 7 p.m.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

The City of Beaconsfield has approved a $39.8-million loan bylaw to undertake an ambitious redevelopment of its aging recreation centre.

The bylaw, which was adopted at the April 22 council meeting, is the largest loan the city has taken in the past 15 years, Beaconsfield communications director Anabel Dumont confirmed to The 1510 West.

The project, which is part of the city’s three-year capital expenditures program, will see major repairs and upgrades carried out on the 51-year-old recreation centre, located along City Lane in the park by the same name.

This project aims to give the building “a second lease on life,” according to a statement by Mayor Georges Bourelle, who added redeveloping the centre “will be about half the cost of building from scratch and is less disruptive, as improvements can be phased in over time.”

The redevelopment of the building, which includes both an indoor pool and an ice rink, will include upgrading the infrastructure to accommodate visitors with reduced mobility, including the installation of access ramps and an elevator; updating the heating and ventilation systems; renovating and enlarging the gymnasium, arena, changing rooms and lobby area; and repairing the pool’s concrete basin. The project will also bring the building up to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec’s standard by removing asbestos, adding a sprinkler system and updating its emergency exits.

The proposal for the redeveloped centre, designed by Montreal architecture firm Cardin-Julien, offers a sleek minimalist look that offers lots of natural light. Quebec City-based engineering firm CBTEC has been given the mandate to carrying out the construction work for the project.

Figures obtained from the city indicate approximately 150,000 visitors used the facility in 2023, including 70,000 who used the municipal pool. A survey by the city also indicated that seven out of 10 residents believed the centre’s facilities needed to be upgraded.

Dumont said construction will begin in 2026 and take approximately three years to complete.

As with all loan bylaws, residents who oppose the financing plan can sign a register to block the project. According to the city, if a minimum of 1,407 residents sign the register, council would be forced to either drop the redevelopment plan or hold a referendum to allow all residents the opportunity to weigh in on the project. The register is open today, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Beaconsfield City Hall.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Since Monday, police officers have been patrolling the commercial areas of Dorval and Pointe Claire on foot, part of a pilot project by the Montreal force to increase its presence in commercial districts.

“The foot patrols are there to reassure our merchants (and) to have a police presence,” Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said in an interview last week.

Doret had announced the launch of the initiative at the April 14 city council meeting.

“We’re very excited,” he said at the meeting. “We’ve been discussing that (project) with the police for well over a year, if not, closer to two years.”

Under this program, a team of two Montreal police officers will spend a few hours several times a week patrolling the commercial districts of Dorval and Pointe Claire, occasionally branching out into other areas of the cities. The program will also see officers patrolling local parks on bikes. The patrols will alternate their beats between daytime and nighttime shifts.

For Doret, a police presence is key to preventing crime in the city’s commercial district, which consists of dozens of businesses, including grocery stores, banks, restaurants and smaller retailers.

“A police car that drives down Dorval Ave., it’s a few seconds and it’s gone,” he explained. “A police patrol that spends 3-4 hours walking up and down the street, talking to the merchants, talking to the public, that’s a whole different ball game. It’s the presence of the police inside the community that’s really the thing we were looking for. It reassures people.”

The Montreal police service has had other foot patrols operating in several boroughs and neighbourhoods for the past few months, including in Pierrefonds, Île Bizard, Ste. Geneviève, Lachine and St. Laurent, police spokesperson Mélanie Bergeron told The 1510 West.

The Montreal force will assign foot patrol teams to areas of downtown Montreal starting in May, Chief Fady Dagher announced last month. He told reporters that the officers will be there to prevent crime, but also to assist unhoused and other vulnerable people, an issue that Doret said is becoming more present in Dorval as well as in Montreal.

“We’ve seen generally on the West Island that homelessness is becoming more apparent,” Doret said, adding that the police presence will serve to work with this vulnerable community before any crime takes place and be able to respond quickly if it does.

“Yes, they will deal with crime,” Doret added. “But the important thing is that a police presence makes it harder for crime to take place.”

The foot patrol program is scheduled to last throughout the summer until September.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

With less than two weeks to go in the federal election campaign, polls indicate that the West Island’s three Liberal MPs are enjoying comfortable leads ahead of rival parties. It’s familiar territory for the Liberal Party, as voters in the ridings of Lac-Saint-Louis, Pierrefonds-Dollard and Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle have each elected Liberal MPs for the past decade and more.

In Lac-Saint-Louis

According to political projection website 338Canada, which aggregates polling data from several national polling firms, Liberal Party candidate and incumbent MP Francis Scarpaleggia has a strong lead in Lac-Saint-Louis, polling at around 63 per cent support. This is followed by the Conservative Party candidate Matthew Rusniak at 22 per cent, the New Democratic Party candidate Gregory Evdokias at 6 per cent, Bloc Québécois candidate Tommy Fournier at 4 per cent, and the Green Party’s Raymond Frizzell at 3 per cent. The People’s Party of Canada is also running candidate Mathieu Dufort in the riding.

Lac-Saint-Louis is considered a Liberal stronghold, having elected Liberal MPs continuously since 1993, with the election of Clifford Lincoln, who served three terms before retiring from politics in 2004. Lincoln was replaced by Scarpaleggia, who has won seven consecutive elections in the past 20 years.

Pierrefonds-Dollard

338Canada also projects a strong performance for the Liberal Party in Pierrefonds-Dollard. Incumbent MP Sameer Zuberi is polling at around 62 per cent support. He is followed by Conservative Party candidate Tanya Toledano at 24 per cent, NDP’s Kakou Richard Kouassi at 6 per cent, and the Bloc’s Katrina Archambault at 4 per cent. Other confirmed candidates include Gordon Nash for the People’s Party of Canada, as well as independent candidates Shahid Khan and Eyad Mobayed.

Pierrefonds-Dollard has been a strongly Liberal riding for more than 30 years (aside from a brief stint with the NDP from 2011-2015). Zuberi had won back-to-back elections in 2019 and 2021, winning 56 per cent of the vote both times.

Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle

If the election were held today, incumbent Liberal MP Anju Dhillon would be projected to receive around 57 per cent of the vote in Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle, after having won the riding in the three prior elections. Trailing her is Conservative candidate Alioune Sarr with 18 per cent, Bloc candidate Pauline Postel with 10 per cent, NDP candidate Angélique Soleil Lavoie with 7 per cent and Green candidate Amir Badr Eldeen with 3 per cent. Other candidates include Michael Patterson running under the People’s Party of Canada banner; Katy LeRougetel – known for her advocacy as a member of the Communist League – running as an independent; and André Lavigne running for the satirical Rhinoceros Party.

Like Pierrefonds-Dollard, the riding of Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle has been a Liberal fortress for decades (minus an NDP victory in the 2011 election).

Renewed party direction

“We don’t take anything for granted,” said Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Sameer Zuberi in an interview, acknowledging the party’s strong polling in the region. He pointed out that he and his team are “running a positive campaign, meeting voters at their doors and speaking with them continuously.”

Most national polls have the Liberal Party polling at between 43 and 46 per cent across the country – a stark contrast to three months earlier, where the party had been polling in the low 20s. 

“People are excited about what Mark Carney has to offer Canada,” Zuberi said of the party’s new leader, noting a clear change in attitude among voters compared with months earlier.

Zuberi explained how, prior to Carney filling the role, his constituents had been voicing a desire for concrete renewal from the party.

“I think Mark Carney is that concrete renewal,” said Zuberi.

Overall, Zuberi said his constituents’ main concerns for this election include affordability, housing and managing the ongoing trade war with the United States.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

The reality of overcrowded emergency wards coupled with chronic shortages of health-care workers means dealing with situations in hospitals on a day-to-day basis comes with added challenges.

To meet these challenges, the Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe Claire has opened a state-of-the-art learning and simulation centre.

The centre, which first was set up last November but marked its official launch last week, provides nurses and medical students  with “comprehensive training adapted to practical realities in a safe and collaborative environment,” according to an statement issued by the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.

The centre incorporates innovative mannequins, which are used to simulate emergency medical scenarios. These adult-, child- and infant-sized mannequins are able to talk, simulate breathing and change pupil size. Among these mannequins are models used for ultrasounds and minor surgical procedures. Using these mannequins, medical professionals in-training can practice complex scenarios that can be transferred to the real-life clinical setting.

“Thanks to advanced simulation technologies, opportunities for learning and continuous improvement are maximized, reinforcing clinical and interprofessional skills in a safe, collaborative environment,” a CIUSS statement explained.

As of yesterday, the emergency ward at the Lakeshore General was at 142-per-cent capacity, according to Index Santé, an independent portal that provides insights from hospitals from across the province. The Lakeshore’s emergency department was the fifth busiest in the Montreal region, according to Index Santé, behind the Jewish General, which was at 194-per-cent capacity yesterday; Verdun Hospital, which was at 165 per cent; the Montreal General Hospital, at 161 per cent; and the Royal Victoria Hospital that was at 158-per-cent capacity.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

A decision by Quebec Superior Court this month giving the City of Beaconsfield the right to call current and former provincial and municipal officials to testify in its $20-million lawsuit against the City of Montreal over what have been alleged as inflated agglomeration payments has put a whole new spotlight on the court action.

“It’s very good news for the city,” said Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle, who has on several occasions accused the City of Montreal of treating the demerged municipalities as a “cash cow.”

On April 4, Quebec Superior Court Judge Éric Dufour ruled lawyers for the City of Beaconsfield can question the current and former minister of Municipal Affairs as well as Peter Trent, the former mayor of Westmount who led the municipal demerger movement in the early 2000s, in its attempt to overturn the provincial government and City of Montreal’s claims in how demerged municipalities are forced to fund Montreal Agglomeration services.

“There’s no doubt that the governance of the agglomeration is wrong,” Bourelle said. “We are paying way too much as demerged municipalities for the services we are getting.”

“We’re very confident that we’re going to win,” Bourelle added.

Beaconsfield will call Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest and former Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau, who held the role from 2005 to 2009, to answer questions under oath. Numerous provincial deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers will also be called to face questioning under oath.

Beaconsfield’s lawsuit, which was first launched in 2020, claims the demerged municipalities are being overcharged by Montreal for the services they receive, which include public transit, water treatment, social housing and police and fire services.

In an interview last Friday, Bourelle pointed out that a multilateral agreement was made in 2008 between the Quebec government, the City of Montreal and the 15 demerged suburban municipalities on the island on the equitable sharing of costs through agglomeration payments.

In 2017, a second agreement was meant to temporarily adjust the agglomeration’s funding schematic. But in 2019 that temporary agreement was renewed, and has been renewed multiple times since, making it, essentially, a permanent and ongoing deal. This, according to the City of Beaconsfield, has meant that obligations outlined by the original agreement reached in 2008 that outlined an equitable sharing of the cost of regional services are not being met.

“As a result, the contributions of the demerged cities are unbalanced in favour of Montreal,” the City of Beaconsfield said in a statement.

Indeed, demerged municipalities in the West Island regularly see more than half of the tax dollars they collect each year forwarded to the Agglomeration’s coffers. But these municipalities only represent 13 per cent of the vote on the regional body, which means that their say often is simply ignored by City of Montreal officials who hold the majority.

A calculation done by the City of Beaconsfield estimates that Montreal, by not respecting the 2008 agreement, has overcharged the demerged cities by more than $122 million since 2020.

No timetable has been set on when the testimonies will take place. Bourelle said the city’s lawyers will accommodate all who are being called to testify, adding that he expects the first testimonies to take place “in the next few months.”

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

The decision by the Société des alcools du Québec to shut down eight outlets across the province – including its store in Baie d’Urfé – has ruffled the feathers of both shoppers and municipal officials.

The Baie d’Urfé outlet, located at the Plaza Baie d’Urfé off Highway 20 at Morgan Avenue, is the only SAQ outlet in the West Island slated for closure. There are a total of eight provincially run liquor stores in the West Island.

“It has big implications if people are going to be going to another mall that has an SAQ,” said Baie d’Urfé Mayor  Heidi Ektvedt in an interview. “Most people who are short on time are going to use that opportunity to pick up their pharmacy items, go to the grocery store and grab what they need at the SAQ.”

Ektvedt said she is concerned that this may have a domino effect on neighbouring businesses.

Baie d’Urfé Plaza is the only shopping centre in the town.

In a joint statement released last Thursday, Ektvedt and Sophia Lavergne, general manager of the West Island Chamber of Commerce, voiced their opposition to the closure of the outlet.

Lavergne called the move by the SAQ “deeply concerning for the business community,” as local retailers in the plaza rely on the SAQ “not only for its products but also for the foot traffic it generates.”

No exact date has been set for the closure, but it is stated for some time in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to the SAQ.

Ektvedt has added her voice to another joint statement last Thursday issued by seven other Quebec mayors whose municipalities are set to lose their local SAQ outlet. They include the cities of Brossard and Chicoutimi; the towns of Stanstead in the Eastern Townships; Rivière Bleue, near the Maine border; and the neighbourhoods of Ville Émard in Montreal, Hull in Gatineau and Pointe de Ste. Foy in Quebec City.

Both statements shared a link to an online petition, calling for a moratorium on the store closures until the provincial government recognizes the SAQ as a “driver of local vitality” and adopts policies to protect it from such closures.

As of yesterday, the petition has gained nearly 1,600 signatures and has been circulated online by several Baie d’Urfé residents. The petition will be open to signatures until May 26.

Ektvedt said she’s encouraging “anybody who thinks that they would like to have these services remain close to their homes” add their names to the petition, adding that “this could very well be the beginning of other (stores) closing.”

Many residents have expressed dismay over the closure. Resident Brendan Buckley said he will miss the welcoming staff and convenience of having the store nearby.

“It seemed to always be busy and well stocked,” Buckley said, adding that “having it close by was very convenient and felt like a ‘local’ business.”

The decision to close the eight outlets comes as the SAQ reported a trend of declining sales revenue over the past two years. An online statement claims that the company had $514.1 million in revenue for the third quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 4. This represented a $6.9-million decrease from the same quarter the year prior.

The SAQ’s report noted an overall “downward trend in volumes” sold, which it claimed was “largely attributable to changes in customers’ shopping habits.”

There are SAQ outlets in Beaconsfield, Pointe Claire, Kirkland, Dorval, Pierrefonds-Roxboro and two in Dollard des Ormeaux. There is also another in Île Perrot.

Following the closure, Baie d’Urfé residents looking to buy liquors or spirits will have to travel the next-closest SAQ branches in either Beaconsfield or L’Île Perrot.

Cutline:

The closure of the SAQ outlet at the Baie d’Urfé Plaza could impact the other business at the shopping centre, officials say.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

About 30 homeowners in Baie d’Urfé are being told they will have to dole out thousands of dollars to replace old, out-of-date septic systems within the next two years as the town looks to meet the latest provincial standards. But more could soon be in the same situation.

The residents live on two streets – Magnolia and Balsam – who had their septic systems inspected last year. The results of the inspections show the waste systems do not meet provincial standards and will have to be replaced before the end of 2026.

According to Quebec’s latest wastewater law passed in 2019, homeowners are required to foot the bill for their own septic system replacement, Baie d’Urfé Mayor Heidi Ektvedt told The 1510 West.

The municipality, she explained, has been communicating the importance of maintaining up-to-date septic tanks with residents since the law was enacted, adding that the urban planning department will keep its door open to residents and “provide them with any guidance and information that they need.”

Over a dozen residents from Magnolia and Balsam who have been informed of the upgrades required attended the March 11 town council. They questioned council why the town was not providing financial support.

The example of tertiary systems – known as one of the most advanced septic systems – was quoted to cost between $30,000 to $35,000 to replace.

Ektvedt took around 30 minutes to address the issue. The province’s wastewater law, she explained, places the responsibility for septic system upkeep and replacement on the homeowner, while municipalities are required to ensure that their citizens are complying with the law. The differing septic systems and soils from one property to the next would further complicate the issue if the project were carried out by the town, the mayor continued.

“We cannot get involved in telling you what contractor or professional service to use for your private property,” Ektvedt told the group.

Some residents have voiced concerns about the price and timeline for this project.

Magnolia resident Ping Wu had brought the issue before the council at the Feb. 11 meeting. He explained that he and his family were new homeowners and that paying for a new septic system was “completely out of our financial planning.”

Wu added that the high cost was “kind of turning our life into a little bit of a bouleversement,” and requested that the town extend the deadline to replace the system to four or five years.

While Ektvedt understands that expenses like this “can be very stressful,” she said, these necessary upgrades are, regrettably, an aspect of homeownership.

“The timeline that was given was very generous,” she said in an interview with The 1510 West. “Even a two-year timeframe is a very long time to do work like this.”

The council pointed out that homeowners can take advantage of a provincial government tax credit for this project of up to $5,500.

Ektvedt said inspections will be extended to septic systems on other streets, but she did not have a clear timeline.

Cutline:

About 30 homeowners on Magnolia and Balsam streets in Baie d’Urfé have been told they must have their septic systems replaced.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Elected officials from Dorval and Montreal have teamed up to call for a green space next to the airport to be protected.

Dorval Mayor Marc Doret, St. Laurent Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa, Montreal city councillor Alex Norris and former provincial and federal representative Clifford Lincoln last week made a pitch to protect Lot 20 – 140 hectares of green space located next to the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport – by excluding it from the airport’s expansion project.

“The urgency is to protect what we have,” said Doret in an interview.

Doret and the other officials argue the undeveloped land acts as the “green lungs” for a neighbourhood surrounded by the airport and nearby industrial parks.

Lot 20 includes the Golf Dorval course and Monarch Fields. Located in Dorval, just northwest of the airport, it borders the Montreal borough of St. Laurent. To the east are Lots 3 and 4 – 25 hectares of protected green space, including wetlands.

All of the lots are federally owned and managed by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), which announced an ambitious $4-billion redesign plan last year. The project includes reclaiming surrounding federally owned lands, including Lot 20, for airport use. As this land belongs to the federal government, no permission nor consultation is needed from the surrounding municipalities for the ADM to go forward with this project.

The expansion project has already forced Manoir Kanisha, a pet boarding service located just southeast of the airport, to close its doors in January after 35 years due to its property being reclaimed by ADM.

So far, ADM has dismissed calls to include Lot 20 among the protected green space to the east, offering instead to create what it describes as a “decarbonization zone” on the land within the next 20 years.

Doret, however, rejects this proposal.

“We have an incredible biodiversity here, and it’s all at risk over this concept of a development of a decarbonization zone,” Doret said. “Let’s just think about what that means: the best decarbonization zone is exactly what we have today.

“We have the best tool right here, right now,” he continued. “Leave it as it is. Let’s agree to preserve the space once and for all.”

Norris, who also acts as an associate councillor for major parks, affirmed the city of Montreal’s commitment to advocating for the protection of Lot 20.

“Yes, we do need to decarbonize transport,” Norris said, “but this cannot be done at the expense of natural wetlands and natural green space.”

According to an information package provided by the City of Dorval, Lot 20 acts as an important space for local biodiversity. The land is part of an area that is home to 216 species of birds, some of which are threatened or endangered.

The Monarch Fields are aptly named for being a stop-off for hundreds of monarch butterflies during their seasonal migration. The park also is home to thousands of milkweed plants, which is the only species of plant on which these butterflies lay their eggs.

The ADM, however, has been vocal about its opposition to designating the space as a nature park. In an op-ed published in the Montreal Gazette last Thursday, ADM President and Chief Executive Officer Yves Beauchamp stated his organization would be against any project that would increase the presence of wildlife near the airport.

“Wildlife hazard is a very real and serious threat to aviation,” he wrote, adding: “The creation of a 140-hectare nature park on our airport site would clearly go against the best practices and actions adopted by our partners and ourselves.”

But former politician Clifford Lincoln disagrees with Beauchamp. He addressed the op-ed at last Friday press conference, dismissing the ADM’s reasoning as “completely phony.”

“If today the airport can live with (wildlife), why not tomorrow?” Lincoln asked. “There is no reason at all why this wonderful ecosystem cannot live side-by-side with the airport. It has since 1941 (when the airport first opened). Nature hasn’t changed since. The birds are still there. The biodiversity is still the same.”

He warned that once nature is abandoned for development, “it is gone forever.”

 “I am for nature and against concrete,” Lincoln said.

The group would like ADM and the federal government “to sit down with us in working groups so that we can find a way that we can reach all of our objectives without compromising the protection of this very important green space,” said Norris.

“We’re convinced that we can reconcile the objectives of the airport with the necessity of the protection of the natural green spaces,” he added.

Cutline:

Map shows the 140 hectares – which includes Golf Dorval and Monarch Field – the City of Dorval wants excluded from the airport’s expansion plan.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

The City of Beaconsfield will spend more than $840,000 to restore a pillar of the pedestrian bridge that straddles Highway 20. 

The project will restore a single pillar of the bridge that has visibly deteriorated over the past few years, said Beaconsfield director-general Patrice Boileau. Motorists travelling along Highway 20 can see the decaying concrete at the base of the pillar in the median between the east and westbound lanes of the autoroute.

The project will see the pillar repaired both for esthetic reasons and for the protection of the integrity of the overpass, Boileau explained in an interview with The 1510 West. The municipality is aiming to have the project completed “before the end of this year,” he added.

For now, the project is expected to be funded by a $844,270 loan bylaw approved by Beaconsfield council last month. However, as a pedestrian bridge falls under the category of “active transport,” the city may have the chance to take advantage of provincial funding support, Boileau explained.

A Quebec government fund that aims to “support the development, improvement and maintenance of active transportation infrastructure,” according to the provincial government’s website, includes providing grants to municipalities for projects that encourage active transportation. This includes restoration projects for infrastructure designated for pedestrian use.

However, the program has not been accepting applications for grants since this past summer. “Normally, it comes back in the fall,” Boileau said, “but so far, it hasn’t come back.”

Transports Quebec spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun confirmed the ministry is not accepting applications for grants under the program at this time, but the funding initiative will be renewed. No date for the renewal, however, has been released.

Cutline:
The pedestrian overpass next to Beaconsfield High School straddles both Highway 20 and the railway tracks north of the expressway.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

One of the oldest building in Ste. Anne de Bellevue is for sale. The asking price: just under $1.3 million.

The Simon Fraser House, located at 153 Ste. Anne Street, is on the market after plans to convert the heritage building into a condo site fell through due to restrictions placed on how the property could be redeveloped, multiple sources confirmed to The 1510 West.

Base Spaces Inc., a property investment company operating in the West Island, had intended to turn the historic home into a condominium project, but found out “the hard way” that this would be impossible due to the building’s heritage status, according to Ste. Anne Mayor Paola Hawa.

The 200-year-old home’s designation as a heritage building creates “a lot of restrictions in terms of updates/renovations,” Hawa explained.

She added that while the Town of Ste. Anne does not plan to purchase the property, she hopes that a buyer “appreciates its historical value.”

Base Spaces Inc. head Chris McLean was not available for comment.

A for-sale sign on the lot beside the house, located near the locks at the west end of the village, went up earlier this month.

The three-storey building is being marketed as being a conversion project with “endless potential,” according to the listing on the Royal LePage webpage. The building is described as having potential for “business, restaurant, office or condo conversion.”

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

As the growing number of service interruptions on the South Shore have raised questions about the reliability of the REM light rail system in winter – a situation that was exaserbated last week by heavy snowfalls – officials says the opening of the West Island line is still on schedule for this fall. And this despite acknowledging that recent service problems on parts of the network already in service have forced a pullback on the schedule of tests on the West Island tracks.

“This winter, particular challenges have been compounded,” said Francis Labbé, assistant director of media relations for CDPQ Infra, the consortium overseeing the rail service.

Labbé said REM workers managing the West Island tests were called to Brossard last week as the line running from downtown Montreal to the South Shore – currently the only line in operation – has been experiencing continued technical issues.

The REM has experienced multiple delays and service disruptions this month as Montreal was hit with a record-breaking 74 centimetres of snow – 10 centimetres more than the previous record set in February 1954. Shuttle buses were deployed to compensate for the delays.

“Our teams are already hard at work to remedy them,” Labbé said, referring to the issues on the South Shore line.

The latest phase of dynamic testing along the West Island tracks between the Anse-à-l’Orme station in Ste. Anne de Bellevue and the Bois-Franc station in St. Laurent, which began Feb. 3, has been reduced in the past week. Up until the record-breaking snowfall this month, trains had been running along the West Island line from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, preparing for its service launch in October.

Labbé added that changes to better winterize the South Shore line would be valuable to the whole operation.

“Any improvements to our equipment will benefit branches not yet in service,” he explained, adding the reduction of these dynamic tests will not hamper the goal of opening the West Island line in October.

Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault told the media last week that riders expect “efficient and reliable service” from the REM, adding that the number of delays caused by winter weather these past two years is unacceptable.

Since its launch in July 2023, the South Shore REM line has been plagued by frequent service interruptions. But this past month has proven to be particularly challenging. In early February, a power outage shut down service for several hours, while switch malfunctions disrupted transit during morning rush hours. Shuttle buses are now in use regularly to ferry South Shore commuters to and from downtown.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

It has been the biggest and longest snow removal operation in recent memory, but West Island municipalities have either completed or have almost completed all street clearing since two major storms dumped a record-setting accumulation earlier this month.

“I could just lift my hat and say thanks to all our blue-collar (workers) who are working tirelessly,” said Beaconsfield director-general Patrice Boileau, adding municipal employees have worked long hours over the past two weeks to clear snow from the town’s streets, sidewalks, bike lanes and fire hydrants. “We’re very happy and proud of our teams.”

Boileau described the snow removal process as “very challenging,” given the unprecedented 75 centimetres of snow that fell in back-to-back storms from Feb. 13-16.

“It’s the equivalent of four to five regular storms,” he said. “It’s a lot of work for all the (workers) who we have in Montreal, Beaconsfield – or any other city.”

Both Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, whose snow removal services are managed by the City of Montreal, were just over 75-per-cent complete in their snow removal process as of yesterday, according to the City of Montreal.

All other West Island communities have announced that they have completed removing snow from streets, sidewalks and bike lanes, with some left to clear snow from parking lots and around fire hydrants.

When budgeting for snow removal services, West Island municipalities pay a flat fee that is included in their annual budgets. However, extra costs may be incurred if trucking services are needed to haul the snow away or if city employees are required to work overtime.

Beaconsfield will see added expenses for these services, Boileau said. The city had reserved $945,598 for snow removal this year but that figure could increase by 10 or 15 per cent due to “non-stop overtime.” This estimate, Boileau added, is assuming that there will be no more major snowstorms for the rest of the winter.

Kirkland is another municipality that expects to incur added costs to cart snow away. Its municipal snow dump on Ste. Marie Road just north of Highway 40 is closing in on its maximum capacity, Bruno Possa, Kirkland’s Public Works director, told The 1510 West. 

The mountain of snow at the snow dump is usually so large that it normally survives until well into the spring and summer months before it is completely melted away.

“We are currently reviewing our loading strategy,” Possa said. “Several potential solutions are on the table.”

Kirkland had completed its clearing of streets and sidewalks last Friday, but has been working on snow removal in parking lots this week. The city had budgeted $1.47 million for snow removal in 2025.

As Kirkland continues to look at different options this week, Possa added that the municipality’s priority “is to ensure the best possible solution for the taxpayers.”

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

West Islanders driving along Highway 40 this past week have surely noticed trains zipping along the elevated REM tracks. The light rail network is being tested, simulating real-time travel in the West Island, marking another significant step forward for the public transit project.

“This is a phase during which we subject our cars to all kinds of situations,” said Francis Labbé, assistant director of media relations for CDPQ Infra in an email.

Labbé said the consortium that manages the rail line has been testing the trains at various times of the day – in the morning, afternoon and up until midnight.

“Tests are going well so far,” he said.

The consortium started the latest round of simulations between the Anse-à-l’Orme station in Ste. Anne de Bellevue and the Bois-Franc station in St. Laurent on Feb. 3, making stops at the Kirkland, Fairview-Pointe-Claire and Des Sources stations along the way.

The tests have been taking place from 6 a.m. to midnight every day as the transit network prepares for its service launch this fall.  When in service, the REM will operate daily between 5:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.

CDPQ Infra had announced in November that it is targeting the fall of 2025 for the launch of the Deux-Montagnes and West Island branches of the REM. Labbé explained that this target has not changed.

“We’re still aiming for next fall, but we can’t be more precise at the moment, since it’s the tests that will dictate what happens next,” he explained.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

It was a “worst-case scenario” decision when Pointe Claire-based pantyhose manufacturer Sheertex made the call to temporarily lay off around 40 per cent of its employees last Wednesday. The decision was made amid ongoing threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. – a move that would severely impact the company’s revenues.

To Pointe Claire Mayor Tim Thomas, this regrettable development hammers home the need for Canadians across the country to support Canadian businesses by making the extra effort to choose Canadian products and brands while shopping to reduce the blow from U.S. tariffs.

“We’ve got to learn how to support ourselves and support Canadian and our local businesses,” Thomas said in an interview. “It’s a no-brainer.”

The decision “was not made lightly,” said Katherine Homuth, the company’s founder and CEO referring to the layoffs of about 90 of the 350 workers at her facility on the Trans-Canada Highway. Her statement posted on LinkedIn went on to explain the company will look to re-hire its impacted employees within the next six months.

About 85 per cent of Sheertex’s total revenue comes from U.S. sales. The company, Homuth explained, is currently rushing to move as much inventory as it can across the border before the end of the month.

She also explained that Sheertex’s business-to-business sales done in the U.S. are already tariffed at 16 per cent, as more than 9 per cent of the raw materials used in the company’s tights and leggings are sourced from outside Canada and the U.S. The tariffs being threatened by the Trump administration would also eliminate the de minimis exemption – a loophole which allows direct-to-consumer sales of less than $800 to cross the border duty free. Altogether, this would mean a 41-per-cent tariff on all Sheertex products sold in the U.S.

“The financial burden is now immense,” Homuth wrote.

This panic over tariffs in Canada’s business community should serve as a wakeup call, Thomas added. “We’ve been avoiding this reality for a long time now ­­– for decades.”

According to Statistics Canada, about 76 per cent of Canada’s total international exports are shipped to the U.S., valued at around $590 billion in 2024.

In Quebec alone, the U.S. accounts for around 70 per cent of exports. According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, the province shipped around $87.3 billion worth of exports to the U.S. in 2023.

“Canada has got to start to look at itself and start to (increase) interprovincial trade and support locally, but also support Canadian,” Thomas added.

Since the start of the U.S.’s tariff talks, Thomas said he has seen many Pointe Claire residents step up and choose to support Canadian products over U.S. imports. He recalls one recent instance when in a store “and somebody said (buy Canadian) out loud to everybody in the store, and everybody nodded their heads and started behaving accordingly. Everybody was buying Canadian.”

In a subsequent LinkedIn post published last Thursday evening, Homuth described how she was “incredibly moved” by the support her company had received. She called on consumers to reach out to Canadian retailers, such as Shopper’s Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Quebec) and Jean Coutu to encourage them to work with Canadian-based manufacturers. The support “gives me hope that we might find a path to reduce our U.S. market dependency and bring our team back to work,” she added.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Years of debate over how and who should restore the historic windmill in Pointe Claire seems headed to finally culminating in action after the Pointe-Claire Heritage Preservation Society and the Archdiocese of Montreal last month struck a deal.

The move, granting the local historical society a 50-year lease on the iconic stone structure on Pointe Claire’s historic point that juts into Lake St. Louis, means the group can now rev up its fundraising efforts to restore the weathered building and transform it into a cultural and educational hub.

“We were delighted,” said Linda De Witt, an executive member of the historical society, describing the group’s energy after confirming the deal. “We negotiated for several months and when the deal was finalized, it was just wonderful. We think it’s good news for us (and) good news for the city.”

“Above all, this new partnership will allow the people of Pointe Claire to be at the heart of the project,” said Stefano Marrone, head of real estate for the Archdiocese of Montreal, in a statement when the lease was announced on Feb. 27.

The new agreement will ensure the “continued legacy” of the windmill, Marrone said.

The windmill, which dates back to early 1700s, has been showing its age in recent years, most notably when a storm in 2019 broke off two of its four rotor blades. Along with replacing the blades, the historical society will oversee work on the building’s foundation and exterior walls, as well as fix damage done to the roof and replace a missing window.

The cost of renovating the structure has been estimated in the millions of dollars, but the group is unable to provide a precise estimate amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty.

One of the first steps needed, however, will be to complete an archaeological study of the structure, something De Witt said will be done in the spring.

“When the snow melts, we’ll be there,” she said, explaining that the group is ready to move forward quickly.

The ultimate goal, De Witt added, is for the windmill to serve as a cultural centre, with the historical society offering guided tours and hosting information sessions catering to attendees of all ages, as has been done with other historical landmarks in the city.

So far, the group has raised about $350,000 in donations that will go towards the restoration project. And now with a lease on the property secured, the group will move forward with what De Witt called a “serious fundraising campaign.

“We will, of course, explore all avenues,” she added, including possible financial assistance from Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications.

Complications around funding from city

In 2023, the City of Pointe Claire approved a bylaw to provide funding for the windmill restoration. It allows a maximum of $967,000 in funding. However, money would only be provided once the work has been completed.

“This procedure is widely used in Quebec,” said Caroline Thibault, the city’s director of legal affairs, in an interview with The 1510 West, adding that this ensures that taxpayer money does not go toward uncompleted projects.

Thibault added that if money for the project is needed up front, the Archdiocese, which maintains ownership of the property, could consider taking out a bank loan to fund the project until the city provides the reimbursement.

De Witt, however, considered the process for receiving the city funding after the work is completed somewhat disjointed. The Archdiocese, she explained, does not have access to millions of dollars to be used as collateral for a bank loan, nor does the historical society.

 “It’s going to be an ongoing process,” she said, adding that the group is confident that the community will be in favour of this project.

Information on donating to the project can be found on the Pointe-Claire Heritage Preservation Society’s website. “Any amount, big or small, that people want to contribute will help,” De Witt said.

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

As the race for leader of the federal Liberal party gears up, two of the three West Island MPs have declared their support for former governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney.

Lac-Saint-Louis MP Francis Scarpaleggia, however, is still mulling over who to back, as he explained that there are several strong options for the role.

“It’s an embarrassment of riches, in a way,” Scarpaleggia told The 1510 West lastweek.

“We’re very fortunate that we have so many highly qualified people who are seeking the Liberal leadership,” added Scarpaleggia, who marked 20 years as an MP last June.

He is looking to support a candidate who can connect with Quebec.

 “I think all candidates appreciate the importance of appealing to Quebecers and that Quebec is essential for any desire to form government,” he said.

Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Sameer Zuberi announced his endorsement of Carney earlier this month.

Zuberi consulted with Liberal voters in his riding and found the vast majority were looking for a candidate with fresh ideas and a strong economic background.

“The main thing Canadians and Quebecers want is a fresh start,” Zuberi said in an interview. “There’s a lot of excitement around Mark Carney and that’s a big reason why he is a very good potential leader.”

Dorval–Lachine–LaSalle MP Anju Dhillon also voiced support for Carney in a social media post last Sunday. She encouraged voters to register for the Liberal Party in order to vote for Carney in the leadership election this March, accompanied by a photo of the two.

Dhillon was not available for comment.

Candidates for the Liberal leadership have been gathering endorsements from MPs over the past weeks. Recent reports show that Carney has received more than 50 endorsements from Liberal MPs, followed by 27 for former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland. Government House leader Karina Gould has received three MP endorsements so far.

Montreal businessman and former Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Frank Baylis, the only candidate from Quebec, has not yet publicly received any endorsements from Liberal MPs.

Zuberi pointed out that the voting system in this leadership election allows voters to rank candidates. While he hasn’t yet decided in what order he will rank the candidates after Carney, he said Baylis would be another candidate who could give the party a much-needed shot in the arm.

“The good thing about the ranked ballot system is that you can (support) multiple people,” Zuberi explained. “It’s not necessarily one’s first choice who will take the day; it might be one’s second choice.”

Baylis, Zuberi added, “is very well-respected as a successful businessperson, philanthropist, and somebody who has a lot to offer.”

Other candidates include Sydney–Victoria MP Jaime Battiste and former Brampton–Springdale MP Ruby Dhalla.

Nepean MP Chandra Arya announced in a post on X on Sunday that he was “informed by the Liberal Party of Canada that I will not be permitted to enter the leadership race.” Arya did not offer a reason for his disqualification but had stirred controversy earlier this month by saying he did not speak French and dismissed the importance of the French language in Quebec.

Citizens had until this past Monday to register for party membership in order to participate in the vote to decide the next leader.

The election for party leader will be held on Sunday, March 9.

Cutline:
Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Sameer Zuberi endorsed Carney last week in a social media post.