Doug Hurley

Ile-Bizard Mayor slams Montreal response on floods

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By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Île-Bizard Mayor Doug Hurley says the City of Montreal did not do its part in flood-damage prevention in the eye of the storm where speed is of the essence in an efficient response.

With 157 mm of rain hitting Île-Bizard in a twelve-hour period, Hurley told The Suburban that his staff were quick to hit the ground, however as a result of the Grands Parcs zoning under the responsibility of the City of Montreal, their capacity to significantly reduce some of the water build-up was limited causing additional damages to residences in proximity to those sectors. On the North side of the Island, on 1st and 2nd Avenue, 4-5 feet of water accumulated in the streets.

Hurley deployed his public security force to check on residents and assist the elderly. “People are reaching out to us for answers and we are doing our best to keep them informed, but we have no answers from the Agglo. This rain hit the entire island, this was not a shoreline issue like in the past. We needed to act quickly and we did by moving pumps from the street into the river and sending our crews out to assist residents. We knew we were taking a risk, because we moved the pumps without permission from the agglomeration, who unlike us, are on break outside of office hours. We didn’t have time to wait for answers. Human lives were at stake. What we could not do was shut off the valves in Les Grands Parcs and no one from Montreal, that has access, responded to that emergency in a timely manner, which contributed to more flooding that could have been avoided,” Hurley told The Suburban.

Hurley says the disconnect of the Agglo from municipalities and demerged cities in not a new problem and that this rainfall was one of many examples of that disconnect. “We should have emergency accesses to Les Grands Parc, or in my opinion, full range management. They decided to zone it under their responsibility but that makes no sense. We are here, we know what is needed when. Clearly, they don’t. It’s always like two opposing hockey teams going for the Stanley Cup. That does not serve our population.”

The Suburban reached out to the City of Montreal for a response but none was received by press time. n

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Île-Bizard Mayor tackles bridge problem himself

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Île-Bizard mayor Doug Hurley is concerned about the effects of the ongoing work on the Jacques-Bizard bridge with important events coming up, such as the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) World Cup slated to take place at The Royal Montreal Gold Club this September. Elected in December 2023, Hurley, who has been advocating for the bridge reparations to take place since 2013, immediately made this a priority upon his election.

Hurley has personally tended to many of the issues related to bridge traffic, big or small, and says that the organization related to the work being done is already flawed and he fears that with the upcoming PGA Tour coming to town that it will only exacerbate the issues. At one point, Hurley advocated to have cement Jersey barriers moved as they were unnecessarily reducing traffic lanes. Hurley has also stood on the four corners at the foot of the bridge to help direct traffic as there is a shortage of volunteer cadet officers to conduct the traffic flow.

“Right now we have 18,000 bridge users per day, while during the PGA tournament, we are expecting 30,000 per day for six days in September,” Hurley told The Suburban.

Hurley prepared a plan of action but finds himself forced to negotiate at every turn. “We want to ban street parking, except for residents during the PGA event. We want to reserve a single lane for shuttle buses which should be stationed near available parking lots off-island. The Montreal police wants to issue passes instead, which is a much more complicated process,” Hurley explained. “In terms of public security, Montreal wanted to use ours (Île-Bizard) public security, and I said fine but they will pay the bill. Montreal refused to compensate our small business owners stating that the event is not taking place in front of their business. If anyone came here to see, it is clear that the current traffic caused by the bridge is detrimental already and that nearly doubling that flow as a result of the event will affect them immensely and for six days.” n

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West Island Mayors celebrate PME Mtl’s 25th

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

PME Mtl held its 25th Anniversary Gala at the Elm Ridge golf club in Ile-Bizard last Wednesday evening.Hundreds of attendees were dazzled as they were greeted with a glass of champagne at the entrance just as they passed a customized ice sculpture. Drinks were served along with an international buffet. A live band entertained guests who took turns on the dance floor.

Elected officials in attendance included Doug Hurley, Mayor of Ile-Bizard; Francis Scarpaleggia, MP for Lac St-Louis; Brigitte Garceau, MNA for Robert Baldwin; Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis, Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa, Baie-D’Urfé Mayor Heidi Ektvedt, Dollard-des-Ormeaux Mayor Alex Bottausci and Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas.

PME Mtl director Natalie Robitaille told The Suburban that its key to success is to stay in touch with each city and municipality in working towards their economic development. “It is an honour for me to be following in the footsteps of previous directors and I am excited for the future challenges ahead.”

Newly elected Mayor Doug Hurley told The Suburban that the event served as an excellent opportunity for him to get to know fellow mayors and learn how PME Mtl works. “I am amazed with all the opportunities presenting themselves and I am sure that we can all do something positive for our areas.”

“The West Island has developed in unimaginable ways because of the the people behind the scenes, and that is the PME,” Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said to The Suburban.

“We are very proud to be part of the PME family and events like this really reflect and demonstrate to us how closely knitted we are as a community in the West Island,” DDO Mayor Alex Bottausci added.

“They (the PME) are a valuable asset to all of us to help all small business in every community. To have an organization that does it for us is a wonderful asset,” Pointe-Claire Mayor, Tim Thomas explained.

Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson told The Suburban that the PME demonstrated its abilities and importance to the West Island as a whole through concrete action which built the confidence that demerged cities have in them today.

“Sainte-Anne de Bellevue is very specialized as it revolves around a village atmosphere. PME Mtl has helped our local businesses to grow and brought in new businesses. Just last week, we have been in discussions with our local businesses on how to revamp and adjust to the changing economy. They (PME) has been a wealth of information,” SADB Mayor Paola Hawa explained.

Baie D’Urfé Mayor Heidi Ektvedt also spoke to PME’s ability to pivot, strategize and morph its services to suit all types of communities. “For a small community like ours with a very healthy industrial park, the PME has given us a very hands on approach, attending many meetings related to Human Resources departments in business located in our industrial park and transportation for employees. We really appreciate them.” n

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