Emmanuella Lambropoulos

Mayors, MNAs, MPs form caucus to press for Cavendish link

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

A “Cavendish caucus” of Mayors, MPs and MNAs has been created and met virtually with federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser to press for the realization of the Cavendish link between CSL and St. Laurent before the Hippodrome housing project is completed.

The caucus includes Mayors Mitchell Brownstein (CSL),  Peter Malouf (TMR), Alan DeSousa (St. Laurent) and Jeremy Levi (Hampstead). It also includes MPs Anthony Housefather, Anna Gainey and Emmanuella Lambropoulos; MNAs Elisabeth Prass, Desirée McGraw and Michelle Setlakwe and councillors Dida Berku and Sonny Moroz.

Lambropoulos said she and the other members of the Cavendish Caucus are requesting that the “Province of Quebec enforce the terms of its agreement with the City of Montreal which mandated the completion of the Cavendish project in return for ceding the Hippodrome land to Montreal.”

“We pressed upon [Fraser] that’s it’s very important that the federal government, which has billions of dollars to give for housing, as well as the provincial government, not give money for housing without demanding that the transport be there in order to service that housing — not to finance the housing without the transport,” Berku said. “Without the support of the federal and provincial governments, Montreal won’t be able to [go ahead with] these plans….We recognize the housing needs, but we need good transit to fuel and promote good development.”

A National Assembly petition sponsored by Prass asking for the realization of the Cavendish link is being launched.

The petition, specifically, will also ask the provincial government to “respect and enforce the Hippodrome agreement of 2017, which stipulated that the transfer was conditional on the realization of the Cavendish extension.”

A letter from the caucus to Fraser also says they are asking “for an environmental impact study to be done immediately so that it can be brought before the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) as soon as possible, and for the Cavendish extension to be developed in parallel to the Namur-Hippodrome housing project, as it was meant to be.”

Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said the business community is clear that the Cavendish link has to accompany the housing development. “For residents to want to move into those developments, for businesses to succeed — people need to be able to get there.”

Neil Oberman, the new Conservative Mount Royal candidate and a former CSL municipal candidate, told The Suburban he is supportive of this effort.

“Cavendish needs to be open, its a question of people having a right to circulate, to go see their families without getting stuck in traffic. It’s been long overdue, it needs to be done, it shall be done because people won’t accept being locked in their homes and blocked in their cities.”

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St. Laurent MP calls on Ottawa to recognize Greek genocide

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

St. Laurent MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos recently marked the 105th anniversary on May 19 of the 1914-1923 genocide of Pontic Greeks, perpetrated because of their ethnicity and Christian religion. She also urged Canadians to sign a petition to have Canada officially recognize the genocide.

“The Pontic genocide, which was part of the Greek genocide, was a deliberate and systematic destruction of the indigenous Greek community in the Pontus region, and was the result of the Ottoman Turkish government decree that led to the systematic annihilation and brutal extermination of over 353,000 Pontic Greek men (Hansard mistakenly says 353), women and children between 1914 and 1923,” the MP told the Commons.

Lambropoulos thanked the Pontian Association of Montreal, the Canadian Hellenic Congress, the Hellenic Congress of Quebec “and all other associations that have been working hard to ensure that we never forget.

“I would like to thank the Canadian Hellenic Congress for initiating the petition to have the Greek genocide officially recognized by the Government of Canada, and I encourage all Greek Canadians to sign it to have their voices heard. Today I rise in the House to pay tribute to the victims, survivors and families of the Pontian genocide. May they live on forever in our memory.”

During a 2022 European Parliament session, MP Lefteris Christoforou asked the European Union to recognize the genocide as well.

The EU “has rightly recognized the Armenian genocide as one of the most horrific crimes against humanity, caused by Young Turks driving the Armenians from their homelands and slaughtering 1.5 million of them in the process,” the MP said. “The Turks have also been guilty of other genocides, targeting the Greeks in the Black Sea area and Asia Minor, as well as the Assyrians. The Pontian homelands have been etched in human memory through this horrific genocide, in the course of which all traces of Christian Greek heritage were uprooted and destroyed.

“It would therefore behoove the EU to recognize the Pontian Greek genocide and accord the highest importance to the timeless principles and values at stake here, in token of its willingness to honour the thousands of victims of Turkish atrocities.” n

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St. Laurent MP marks Vanier milestone in Commons

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

St. Laurent MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos marked the 50th anniversary this year of Vanier College’s architectural technology program and department with a statement in the House of Commons.

“The program offers hands-on technical knowledge of building and construction techniques, coupled with the study and practice of aesthetics and architectural design,” she explained. “Its state-of-the-art equipment facilities, mandatory internships and field work in the industry and, of course, its skilled, knowledgeable, passionate and caring teachers, including Michael Lancione, who works tirelessly to ensure his students get the most of out of this program, are the factors that I take into account when I say that the program is a huge success.”

The MP added that Vanier “has produced countless architectural technologists who have contributed to the development of Quebec over the past 50 years. I congratulate Vanier College and the architectural technology department. We are proud of Vanier College’s hard-working teachers and students, and we look forward to seeing what the next 50 years will look like.” n

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