Joel Goldenberg

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Montrealers gathered last week in front of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, the site of a federal Liberal cabinet retreat, to express their disappointment with the Trudeau government’s reaction to Quebec’s language law Bill 96.The event was the latest in a series of monthly protests against Quebec legislation.

Federal Liberals, with the exception of Mount Royal’s Anthony Housefather, and MPs from all other parties, voted in favour of Bill C-13, the federal modernization of the Official Languages that by reference recognizes Quebec’s language law and gives it application over federal areas of jurisdiction. Last week’s protest was organized by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy and activist Marc Perez — the latter was not able to be on hand.

Just before the protest, Task Force president Andrew Caddell posted on social media, “our community of 1.25 million English-speakers has been completely abandoned. With the passing of Bill C-13, the newly amended Official Languages Act now incorporates the Charter of the French Language, and thus Bill 96. This is an attack on our linguistic rights and our community. We have always looked to the federal government to uphold our constitutional rights to services, education and the courts and they haven’t done a thing to stop Bill 96, leaving it up to taxpayers to take Bill 96 to court! The Trudeau government continues to ignore our concerns; clearly valuing the votes of Quebec nationalists over English-speaking Quebecers.”

On site, Caddell added that the federal Liberals are “consumed with the political consideration of losing seats to the BQ.” Asked where anglophones concerned with linguistic rights can turn federally, Caddell told The Suburban all the federal parties are seeking the Quebec nationalist vote in elections.

“But there are at least 25 ridings in Parliament where anglophones have a significant enough number that they can make the difference. We have to lobby to say these people deserve to have their votes recognized. We [anglophones] are bigger [population-wise] than five other provinces — think about that. If we were a separate group of people, we would have some real political clout. But because we’re in Quebec, and we’re dispersed all over the place, we’re recognized as being apart from the rest of the country.”

In terms of some feeling there’s no one they want to vote for, Caddell said not everything is done through the political process.”We’re using the courts and the public forums, and once we get some attention from the francophone media — I would love to go on Tout le monde en parle, and we could plead our cause.” Sharon Brien pointed out that Liberal MPs from English-population ridings were taking part in the retreat at the Queen E.”Maybe they can answer to their constituents,” she said. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

A car with an Alberta license plate that had been stolen was discovered in Montreal West and returned to its owner, Councillor Lauren Small-Pennefather revealed as part of her monthly report at the January public meeting.

“Everybody knows that a number of cars are being stolen across North America that show up in other places in the world,” she explained. “On Dec. 28, there was a car parked for three days in the town and a Public Security Officer verified with the RCMP’s Stolen Vehicle Registry that it was stolen, and it was returned to the owner. It was a 2019 Dodge Ram. The system works when it can and, luckily, that person had their vehicle returned to them, but these are very difficult times and stolen property is an issue.”

Small-Pennefather added to The Suburban that the vehicle had not been ticketed “because of the holiday overnight tolerance.

“The PSO checked the online RCMP stolen vehicle registry as the vehicle had Alberta plates. The plate came back as reported stolen and the SPVM was called. The police were able to reach the owner who came to get the vehicle and thanked the PSO.”

During the council meeting, Small-Pennefather also repeated her message from December, not to leave valuables or personal information in a vehicle, including insurance cards.

“But the thieves are becoming more sophisticated. If you have someone coming to your door, as I did today (Jan. 22), somebody checking to see if there were any gas leaks. I did ask for identification to make sure the person was who they were, even though she had a uniform and a truck. Just make sure to take the proper precautions. It’s important to remain vigilant.”

Also as part of her report, the councillor said there are individuals, “in close proximity, who are responsible for a number of break-ins going on in the town.

“The police are aware, they’re working with Public Security as well to make sure the individuals are apprehended. Please be very cautious about making sure doors are locked. Even if you think [car] doors are locked, if you have a remote, check your doors. The [thieves] check until they find a door that’s open. The same goes for your homes, make sure your front doors are locked as well. There have been two cases where someone had gone into someone else’s house because the doors had been unlocked. People leave their garage remotes inside of their cars, so if someone is able to get into your car, they can get into your garage and your home as well.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

For the second month in a row, anti-Israel questions from pro-Palestinians directed at Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi were allowed to be asked by Projet Montreal majority leader Alex Norris and Mayor Plante at the island-wide agglomeration council meeting. The barrage came from nine questioners one after the other.

The questions have been directed at Levi since he was ambushed in a crowd last December at a public event by anti-Israel activist Yves Engler about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Levi had defended Israel while also saying all loss of life is tragic. A video of the interview went viral and prompted some of the questions at the December meeting, for which Levi was not present — Councillor Jack Edery represented Hampstead then.

B’nai Brith Canada lodged a complaint with the Quebec Municipal Commission after that meeting, saying the island-wide agglomeration violated its own rules by allowing questions that were supposed to be about city-related topics and were instead about the Israel-Hamas War and the situation in Gaza. The CMQ responded that an investigation is unnecessary. They are planning to file a second complaint following the January meeting.

B’nai Brith Canada says its second complaint will fault the meeting president for allowing the succession of questioners to imply Levi supports the genocide of Palestinians. They will again cite the agglomeration rules saying that questions must relate to issues involving the island of Montreal. The organization argues that such a line of questioning would not have been allowed against members of any other community. B’nai Brith is also citing the rule that only three questions on the same subject are allowed, but that the agglomeration allowed nine questions to be asked at the January meeting.

Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle told The Suburban that, “Norris has become the sheriff at the Agglomeration Council meetings and seems to forget he is not the spokesman for the demerged municipalities such as Hampstead. His involvement in the question period was embarrassing.”

At the January meeting, a succession of kaffiyeh clad women then directed questions, some to Levi, some indirectly about the conflict.

“Are you trying to hide behind the excuse of antisemitism and the right to the defence of Israel on your social media to justify the actions of the Israeli army?” one woman asked Levi. Another woman accused Levi of ignoring the “legitimate” concerns of non-Zionist Jews, and of referring to legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitic. A third said “some members of this council have been working overtime on social media to incite hate against Palestinians all around the world, and specifically Palestinians and pro-Palestinian groups in Montreal….When we come here to speak out against this discrimination and hateful rhetoric, they choose to play the victim.”

Norris — with Mayor Plante sitting by his side — replied that the policy of the City of Montreal is zero tolerance of “hatred of any kind. We’re also not there to police the speech of our peers. If you feel one or any of our elected peers has breached their codes of ethics, there’s an independent body that can investigate.”

Levi did not respond to the questioners, but before the question period began, he made a statement saying a violation of rights and breach of privilege took place at the December agglomeration meeting when “Mayor Plante publicly invited an individual to attend the Dec. 21 meeting to question me directly about a specific Hampstead nuisance by-law. This invitation, in violation of section 30, due to its subject matter being outside the jurisdiction of agglomeration powers, resulted in an ambush of seven individuals directing questions at my representative, Councillor Jack Edery. All questions not only exceeded the scope of section 30 but should have been deemed out of order as per section 35. I cannot overstate the significance of what happened and I urge you to ensure that such occurrences do not repeat.”

Levi added that “a more serious issue arose during those questions, unbeknownst to many — 45 countries, including Canada, have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The purpose of adopting this definition is to identify and act on antisemitism, which often involves charging Jews with conspiring to harm humanity and blaming them for various issues, including the actions of the state of Israel. During the last agglomeration council meeting, an individual insinuated that I desired and was responsible for the continuation of the suffering of people affected by the conflict in Israel. Madam Chair (Lasalle Mayor Nancy Blanchet) this is antisemitic. Notably, I wasn’t even in attendance, and the same insinuation was made against my representative, who is also Jewish. This is unacceptable.” Levi pointed out that Quebec and several municipalities, and the borough of Cote-Des-Neiges-NDG have adopted the IHRA definition.

“However, Mayor Plante has refused to adopt this widely recognized definition for all of Montreal, leading to instances like the one I just described occurring without recognition. It is crucial to adopt this definition. While I have no reason to believe Mayor Plante will change her stance on this matter, I implore you, by virtue of the powers bestowed upon you, which allows you to decide all matters incidental to the proper conduct of proceedings, to implement the IHRA working definition of antisemitism for the proper conduct of these agglomeration meetings. At a time when Montreal has witnessed an unprecedented number of antisemitic hate crimes, it is imperative that those in a position to make a difference take action. By implementing my recommendation, you can send a strong message against antisemitism.”

The Hampstead Mayor said that in recent weeks, “numerous individuals, groups, organizations, and religious institutions have reached out to me in despair.

“I urge you to give this matter the utmost consideration and return to this council with a favourable response.”

Norris replied that there is freedom of expression in Canada and citizens have a right to ask questions. Plante nodded vigorously as he spoke.

Levi replied, “If I understand correctly, Councillor Norris, what we’re saying is, we recognize that there are rules, but we’re not going to follow the rules.” Norris did not respond. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The City of Côte St. Luc is “all ears” to suggestions on how to push levels of government to move forward on extending Cavendish Blvd. to Jean Talon, Royalmount and eventually St. Laurent, Mayor Mitchell Brownstein told The Suburban. City council regulars Sharon Freedman and Norman Sabin have urged council to apply extra pressure, in light of last month’s news that the Plante administration had still not put forward a tender for an environmental impact study; that it is prioritizing the connection from CSL to Jean Talon, with no set date for the connection to Royalmount and then St. Laurent; and is looking at a bike path from the east end to Jean Talon.

The Suburban asked Brownstein about the possibility of a massive petition for the link from residents of CSL, Town of Mount Royal, St. Laurent and NDG, the areas most impacted by a Cavendish link. Brownstein replied that a petition from residents outside of the affected areas could have an impact on Mayor Valérie Plante. “It would be nice if City of Montreal residents could push for that, because it benefits NDG. I’m all ears, whatever we can do to push the file forward and have Madame Plante respect the agreement to do the environmental study, the next stage for the link.”

Freedman, who addressed the CSL meeting, wrote a letter to Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault urging the province to address the issue of the link, which Freedman wrote is “nothing other than a routine infrastructure project” and added that when Montreal could not complete the Olympic Stadium in time for the 1976 Olympics, the Quebec Transport ministry stepped in.”I implore you to take the measures necessary to get this extension built, to remove all decisional powers from the municipalities involved and conduct consultations directly with the people most affected by this project — the people, not the politicians.”

During the meeting, in light of Beaconsfield suing Montreal for $15 million for a breach of agreement regarding expense sharing for island-wide services, Freedman suggested that council pass a motion asking Guibeault to take over the project, for the city to withhold the money it gives to Montreal, or to sue.”We are going nowhere,” Freedman told Brownstein. “Guibeault has taken over several projects and actually completed them. What are you prepared to do that’s a bit more aggressive? I would love nothing more than a lawsuit against Plante.”

The Mayor said he was meeting with his counterparts from St. Laurent, Town of Mount Royal and Hampstead on this and other issues, and people in various levels of government. Brownstein said the council would take passing a resolution “under advisement. I can assure you we’re pushing, we’re having a lot of strategy meetings and meeting people at higher levels than Mayor Plante,” Brownstein said.

The Mayor also told Freedman it is the obligation of the province to enforce an agreement, as with Cavendish, “where monies have been received by the City of Montreal, and they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing with that. Keep on moving after the province, as well as Madame Plante. We can’t just expect [Plante] to keep her word, can we?”

Sabin, who brings up traffic issues at various council meetings, said he was skeptical the City of Montreal wants the link and suggested CSL conduct a survey to determine support for the extension, to help the city make a decision whether to take any legal action.

“I think having a statement from the population is very important….Projét Montréal does their own thing. They don’t really care what CSL has to say.”

Brownstein said he liked the suggestion and he, and some members of council, pointed out that the support for the project from the public was indicated during the process for a new CSL master plan, from submissions from CSLers to the BAPE as part of the environmental study process, and from speaking to residents over several years. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

A new version of the language of signs law coming into effect June 1, 2025 will demand that French will have to occupy two-thirds of a commercial sign, and English or another language can occupy the remaining third, the Quebec government announced.

The law also says an English brand name is allowed, but a French descriptor has to be added if one does not exist already on signage, such as Mode to a clothing store or Électronique to a store like Best Buy.

Language Minister Jean-François Roberge says most companies will not have to make changes, as the law currently says French has to be clearly predominant on signs and numerous companies with English brand names have French descriptors. The purpose is to tighten the language law’s rules.

The Minister added that it is “important that 100 per cent of businesses respect that Quebec is the only state in North America where French is the only official language.”

The government has said the cost for businesses to make the changes will be between $7 million and $15 million.

Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) Quebec vice-president Francois Vincent said that this is not the best time for store owners to spend more money, with low confidence in the business community.

Vincent added that there is also a backlog for businesses that want to update their trademarks.

“We are worried that some businesses will have to do a follow up with that and not have the decision.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Transit website (transitapp.com), which advocates for less use of cars, has ranked the Town of Mount Royal and Hampstead as the best Greater Montreal area locales in terms of clearing snow from bus stops in their respective areas.

Mayor Jeremy Levi of Hampstead posted an image of the article with the results on his Facebook page.

The website’s blog says that “as bus riders, we don’t need to unearth our automobiles with ice picks and backhoes every time the snow falls. But when a stop is snowed under, it turns a perfectly normal waiting area into a boot-freezing, foot-soggening, day-ruining expedition, especially for those who can’t climb a mountain of snow just to get to their bus.”

The site asked bus riders to rank how different cities and towns cleaned the area around bus stops following the Dec. 4 storm that resulted in 36 centimetres of snow. In a five-day period, transit users rated 6,500 bus stops in the great Montreal area, including Laval and the South Shore, and one in four STM stops in Montreal proper.

“Of Montreal’s 19 city boroughs and 15 suburban municipalities, it was two of the wealthiest suburban towns — Mount Royal and Hampstead — that took home the top prizes, followed closely by the Montreal borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. Over the course of the week, the average rating across the entire island was 3.41 out of 5. That means riders said their stops were usually on the ‘more side of ‘more or less clear.’ The only place to fall on the ‘less’ side of the equation: last-place was Montreal East, a heavily industrial area in the island’s east end.” Also near the bottom of the rankings was Ville-Marie, which includes downtown. Off-island, suburban bus stops in Laval and on the South Shore also underperformed. Though it’s not all doom and gloom in the ‘burbs: exo bus stops in farther-flung exurbs did almost as well as the average in Montreal itself.”

For the west end and West Island, the survey also ranked Dorval 9th for snow removal at bus stops, Dollard des Ormeaux 10th, Ste. Anne de Bellevue 11th, CDN-NDG 12th, Côte St. Luc 14th, Pierrefonds-Roxboro 15th, Île Bizard-Ste, Geneviève 16th, Beaconsfield 18th, Kirkland 20th, Baie d’Urfé 22nd, Outremont 24th, Westmount 25th, Pointe Claire 27th, Verdun 28th, Lachine 30th, LaSalle 33rd, St. Laurent 34th and Montreal West 35th. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Task Force on Linguistic Policy is seeking an injunction and judicial review from Quebec’s Superior Court against the province’s language law, Bill 96.

The injunction was filed last Wednesday by lawyer Michael Bergman, and says the language law could have an impact on all Quebecers.

“The issues raised in Bill 96 are all serious and justiciable as they constitute encroachment on constitutional and human rights with respect to rights to life, liberty, and security; equality; healthcare services; government services; education; employment; as well as freedoms of expression and mobility, and freedom from undue state interference,” the injunction says.

Task Force leader Andrew Caddell said in a news release that “our injunction contains evidence from 30 people who have been the victims of outright discrimination, and we know they are the tip of the iceberg. For this reason, we have to stop the application of the law before things become worse.”

Examples of discrimination cited in the injunction include a woman with a learning disability who says the Quebec Human Right Commission will not communicate with her in English; a person being asked for proof of entitlement to the English version of a traffic ticket; a RAMQ representative allegedly hanging up on a 64-year-old man who asked for service in English; a triage nurse at the Glen Hospital allegedly refusing to speak to a patient in English — the patient went to another hospital the next day and was found to have sepsis and ended up in the ICU; and catering staff being told they would be expelled if they spoke English.

Caddell adds that “the injunction outlines the serious implications of what it calls the Legault government’s zealotry in implementing the letter and spirit of the law,” and that “in doing so, the Government of Quebec has created and promoted a social climate where the use of the English language is restricted and disdained and is considered to be a threat to the survival of the French language and identity in Quebec.”

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The monthly protests against Quebec legislation, usually only against the language law Bill 96, took place again downtown recently outside Premier François Legault’s Montreal office and was expanded as a demonstration against legislation affecting all Quebecers.

Organizer Marc Perez refers to the most recent demonstration as the “rally of rallies,” which also protested against Bill 15, which will centralize health care in the province; Quebec’s economy underperforming, the tuition hikes for out-of-province university students from $9,000 to $12,000, Bill 21 banning religious garb and symbols for people in positions of authority and teachers under provincial jurisdiction and Bill 40, which abolishes school boards.

Perez told reporters that he is especially disappointed in the CAQ, as he had voted for them when they first won in 2018.

“The political choices we had have betrayed us for the last 50 to 75 years,” he added. “Legault said he was going to help build the economy and be the Premier of all Quebecers. I gave him his shot…. Legault’s popularity is going down because he is going way too far. There was a social contract between the francophones and anglophones about the economy, not overstepping on each other, having this cordial atmosphere, which we’ve had since 1995. There was a status quo that was perfect until Legault came. Now people are really seeing who he is — the truth is coming out.”

Perez said the monthly protests have expanded beyond Bill 96 because “there are way too many problems in this province.

“I invited everyone, because we’re just going in the wrong direction.”

Perez also announced the creation of a new website, parlonsdu.quebec/en/ to “start a conversation about what matters most to Quebecers” on such subjects as health care, urban planning, education, the economy, the environment and other topics for a future roundtable discussion.

“We’re going to write policies and figure this out together, because the biggest problem we’re having right now is that nobody — Valérie Plante, Legault — is listening. They’re just doing what they want and destroying everything we’ve built! They want to protect Quebec but all they’re doing is destroying it.”

Dr Arthur Fischer, who ran for the Canadian Party of Quebec in the West Island Jacques-Cartier riding, was on hand as well. Dr. Fischer said he participated in the protest as a retired physician and a recent patient in hospital regarding a kidney stone discovered in 2022.

“Ten months later, I finally had my definitive surgery. I almost lost a kidney. I’m not complaining about the medical treatment, just the long delay I went though to get treated. I believe that since I’m a doctor and a recent patient, I have a better understanding of the things that are going on.”

Dr. Fischer said he strongly objects to Bill 15.

“The fact it’s 1,500 pages, that it was in committee for a year and they only managed to go through half of the legislation and they found lots of errors. The examination of the bill was blocked by the government and just ramrodded through the system. It’s now law. I object to hospital boards being abolished, to the lack of innovation. I do not like the establishment of the central committee rather than having local professionals dealing with local problems. A huge bureaucracy will be created by Bill 15.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Bara Abuhamed, 26, was arrested by Laval police recently for unlawful assembly and assaulting a peace officer following a Dec. 26 Boxing Day pro-Hamas demonstration within the private property of Carrefour Laval. Abuhamed, who was arrested in the mall’s parking lot, was also allegedly involved in a physical attack against Jewish students at Concordia University in early November.

Abuhamed was disrupting Boxing Day shopping, and was seen chanting into a megaphone. Another pro-Hamas demonstration took place the same day, also on private property, in the downtown Montreal underground city where the Zara clothing store was targeted.

Days earlier, pro-Hamas demonstrators intimidated shoppers, including children seeing Santa Claus, at the Eaton Centre in Toronto. One of those demonstrators was seen on video threatening to put “six feet under.”

Abuhamed is known as a leader of the Montreal 4 Palestine group, which has organized several local demonstrations. He was released with conditions, including not stepping foot in Laval, and a prosecutor is to decide whether to lay charges.

Montreal 4 Palestine’s Instagram account claimed Abuhamed did not resist arrest and was “pinned down by the police, thrown against a truck, hit in the ribs and kicked twice in the thigh.”

During the altercation at Concordia, he was heard to say to pro-Israel students, “you have blood on your hands. You want to take part in a terrorist state.”

The Journal de Montréal discovered that an X (previously Twitter) poster named Bara Abuhamed wrote “Death to Israel…. kill them all.” As well, on Oct. 7, in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas massacre of 1,400 people, someone posted on the Montreal 4 Palestine account, “#Celebration” and “the journey has begun.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Shield of Athena marked 32 years of helping victims of conjugal violence by raising $150,000 for its planned Second Step Shelter. The Lilac Event, held at the Palace Convention Centre, celebrated the work of the organization and its staff.

“As the need for the Shield’s services continue to grow, funds raised will ensure the completion of Laval’s only Second Step shelter and support the expansion of Athena’s House, the Shield’s emergency shelter,” organizers said.

The Second Step Shelter is scheduled to open in 2024 and “will have 17 apartments which will be able to house women and children for up to two years. During their time at the Second Step shelter, the women will receive the specialized support they need to emerge stronger and self-sufficient.”

Melpa Kamateros, Executive Director of the Shield of Athena, pointed out that “our Second Step shelter will be able to house between 34 and 54 people at any given time.

“On behalf of our entire organization – and the people that their contributions will help to lift up, I cannot thank our community and our sponsors enough for their support.”

Chris Ann Nakis, President of the Shield of Athena, said that “our Lilac Event was an incredible success, and this evening is only the beginning of a concerted campaign to increase the support for women and children in crisis.

“Currently, we provide services in 17 languages to 1,100 women and children annually. Every penny raised is critical to continuing and expanding our work.”

Carole Leblanc, President of Mercedes-Benz Laval and Godmother of the Second Step Resource, said that the ultimate goal is to “eradicate violence against women and children.

“Unfortunately, until that dream becomes a reality, the women working at the Shield and all the resources they provide are so very precious to our community.”

In addition to individual donors, premium sponsors of the Lilac Event were: The Azrieli Foundation (Platinum), Schwartz’s (Gold), Global Montreal (Media), ICI Television (Media), Mercedes-Benz Laval (Silver), Banque Scotia (Silver), Pantazis and Associates (Silver) and The Papadimitriou Family (Silver).

Also on hand for the Lilac Event were Chomedey MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, Mille-Îles MNA Virgine Dufour, Laval-des-Rapides MNA Celine Haytayan, Côte des Neiges-NDG city councillor Despina Sourias on behalf of Mayor Valérie Plante, Laval councillor Sandra El-Helou on behalf of Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer, Greece’s Consul General Katerina Varvarigou, and Armenia’s Honourary Consul General Levon Afeyan. The emcee was Bell Media broadcaster Debbi Marsellos.

More recently, St. Laurent MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos brought up the issue of gender-based violence, saying on Nov. 27 that “today is day three of the 16 days of activism. This issue continues to plague us. In 2022, 184 women were brutally killed in Canada, mainly by men. In other words, one woman or girl is killed every 48 hours.

“Thousands of women and children use the services of women’s shelters, but every night, roughly 300 women and children are turned away because the shelters are already full. That is a real problem. As a society and as a country, we need to do better. I would like to say how much I appreciate the work that the women’s shelters do to help women who are victims of domestic violence. I would like to thank a couple of organizations in particular that are making a huge difference in the community of St. Laurent: the Centre Amal pour femmes, and the Shield of Athena. To all the employees of these centres and all those who work every day to save women’s lives, I thank them very much.”

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The entrance to the École Maimonide School parking lot on Bourdon Street near Tait in St.Laurent was vandalized with pro-Hamas graffiti, and a sign was defaced. The SPVM’s hate crimes unit is investigating. The graffiti calls Israel “terrorist,” and the sign was covered in black paint.No suspects have as yet been arrested.

David Malka, who posted a picture of the vandalism on Facebook, tagged Maimonide, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Federation CJA and the SPVM, and wrote, “Montreal wake up!!! What are you waiting for exactly?? This can’t be taken as a joke. Enough is enough. I know you’re trying to get armed security at doors but why don’t you start with regular unarmed security. Maybe that’s a start.”

This incident follows shootings at two Jewish schools in Côte des Neiges-NDG — police can still be seen at all hours in front of Yeshiva Gedola School on Deacon, which was fired upon twice; the firebombing of Congregation Beth Tikvah and Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters in Dollard Des Ormeaux; and many other hate crimes committed against the Montreal Jewish community. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Hampstead council unanimously, by individual voice vote, passed bylaws imposing penalties for removing any signage approved by the town on public property, and for certain actions related to any demonstrations in the town.

The final signage bylaw was passed at a special council meeting Nov. 20, which is also when it came into effect. This and the Nov. 14 council meeting had much police attendance — The Suburban was the only attendee other than council and staff at the Nov. 20 meeting.

“While the signage bylaw is in relation to pro-Hamas individuals in many cities removing posters of hostages held by the terrorist group, the bylaw itself does not specifically refer to those posters,” the Mayor said at the Nov. 14 council meeting, where he also referred to Hamas as a “genocidal maniac terrorist group.” The town itself has put up posters on Fleet and Queen Mary Roads, and Levi urged others to put up posters of hostages.

The signage bylaw’s wording is “any act of breaking, altering, removing or displacing, without prior authorization from the town, a sign, notice, board or placard installed on public property constitutes a nuisance and is prohibited.” The fine is $1,000 for a first offence and $2,000 for a second offence.

“There will not be any warnings, there will not be any exceptions,” Levi said. “This law will be fully applied” and enforced by Public Security and the SPVM.

The Mayor said that if it was up to the town, the fine would be even higher.

“But $1,000 is the maximum we’re allowed to do. Also, it’s not part of the law, but you have unanimous commitment from everyone here that every single dollar that’s collected from this will go straight to Israel. For anybody who is thinking about doing anything stupid in our town, you think you’re helping your cause? You’re actually helping Israel. The next day, two posters will go up for every one that is taken down.”

Levi also condemned the fact that Montreal city workers and independent contractors are taking down the hostage posters.

“It’s a complete disgrace. And to Mayor Valérie Plante, I think it’s disgusting that you’re actually endorsing the taking down of these posters. Really, you should be ashamed of yourself for doing that.”

The second draft bylaw passed at the Nov. 14 meeting and passed in its final version Nov. 20 says that assemblies, parades or other gatherings may not be held if they “disturb the peace, public order or public safety,” “promote, glorify or threaten violence, hatred based on racial, ethnic, religious or other prohibited motives of discrimination, war crimes and terrorist acts.” A peace officer is also authorized to declare the event illegal according to the provisions of the bylaw.

Also prohibited is the molesting or jostling of citizens or obstructing their movement, and carrying or having, “without a reasonable excuse, a blunt instrument that is not used for the purposes for which it is intended,” such as a baseball bat, hockey stick or any other sticks or bats.

The fine for contravening the bylaw is $1,000 for a person, and $2,000 for a legal person (such as an organization), and a second conviction results in a $2,000 fine for a natural person and $4,000 for a legal person. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The City of Côte St. Luc is seeking the dismissal of the near 20-year-old case against them by the owner of the Meadowbrook Golf Course, Meadowbrook Groupe Pacific.

Meadowbrook Groupe Pacifique and the site’s previous owner have wanted to develop the golf course, which is located in Côte St. Luc and the City of Montreal borough of Lachine, for housing for decades. Legal actions have been taken by Meadowbrook contesting Montreal’s refusal to enable the course to be developed.

Legal action was also taken in 2002, against CSL’s rezoning in 2000 of its part of the land from residential to recreational.

Councillor Dida Berku introduced a resolution at council calling on the firm of Belanger Sauvé to file a motion to dismiss the case, and to pay an invoice amount to $19,994.73 to the firm.

“We were originally sued for approximately $30 million and the lawsuit is still going on 20 years later,” she explained. “Our new attorney on the file has discovered some technical irregularity, which he considers to be significant. So, we agreed to go forward with the motion to dismiss. We’ll see how that works out. In the meantime, our case is suspended until the City of Montreal defends the” Development Plan for the entire agglomeration, 2015 (Schema) concerning the designation of its property” on the Lachine side.

Asked at the end of the meeting to specify the technicalities prompting the motion to dismiss, Berku told The Suburban “our attorney uncovered that they declare one owner to be the owner of the Lachine side, and another owner to be the owner of the Côte St. Luc side.

“Actually, there’s an issue with legally who is the real owner. One owner on the CSL side is the party that acquired the litigious rights when they bought the property from Marathon Realty. The two owners are related companies. It’s very technical.”

In 2022, as reported by The Suburban, Quebec Superior Court Judge Babak Barin rejected two June 2021 bids by Montreal and Côte St. Luc to dismiss then-new legal action against them by Meadowbrook Groupe Pacific.

Montreal and CSL were requesting “the dismissal of Meadowbrook’s two originating applications.” In 2021, Groupe Pacifique’s original cases against Montreal and CSL were amended to claim that “it is the victim of a disguised and illegal expropriation of its land by Montreal as well as by CSL, due to regulatory changes of urban planning applicable thereto, and that, alternatively, the Scheme and the concordance by-laws instituted by Montreal are ultra vires or unenforceable against it.”

Montreal claimed that “Meadowbrook’s action is abusive, manifestly ill-founded in law and does not raise any question of law that has not already been dealt with by the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal.

CSL claimed that “based on the Municipalité de Saint-Colomban vs. Boutique de golf Gilles Gareau inc. case, ‘Meadowbrook’s action is doomed to failure given the state of the law, the application of which ‘cannot be the subject of any reservation or hesitation, the almost century-old [use] of the golf course for recreational purposes that are not altered or modified by the regulations of [CSL].”

But the judge dismissed the claims of the two cities in 2022, with legal costs, writing, an order to conclude the cases against Montreal and CSL are abusive, “they must be manifestly ill-founded, frivolous, dilatory and the abuse must be summarily established.”

The judge wrote that Meadowbrook’s experts “seem to indicate, rightly or wrongly, that the activities and uses permitted by the By-laws do not allow Meadowbrook the reasonable enjoyment of its property.

“In the circumstances and at this stage, therefore, terminating Meadowbrook’s claims prematurely would potentially nullify its rights. Without commenting on the chances of success of these, Meadowbrook must benefit from the opportunity to demonstrate how the effect of the regulations constitutes a disguised expropriation by the reduction of permitted uses, which it is trying to do with his expertise. It is therefore premature at this stage to deprive Meadowbrook of its recourse against Montreal, as well as against CSL.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Montreal West will maintain its ban on tempos — temporary shelters for cars during the winter — Councillor Colleen Feeney said in response to an emailed question from a resident at the Nov. 27 town council meeting.

The resident referenced a recent Suburban article about Côte St. Luc now allowing tempos throughout the city this winter. The allowance of tempos where they were previously not allowed is a pilot project, Feeney noted as part of her response.

The Strathearn North resident asked why Montreal North cannot do what CSL is doing, “especially for those who do not have a garage or are elderly.” The questioner added that it could help the town reach its goal of being senior-friendly.

Feeney, who has the Municipalité amie des ainés (MADA) age-friendly town portfolio, pointed out that the town has answered the question many times.

“It’s not the intention of this council to change our policy on tempos at this time,” she said. “In addition to the fact that they’re not aesthetically pleasing and and that they can be up for up to six months of the year, some studies have found that they pose security issues, whether it’s the sight line for drivers backing into the street or even going forward, whether it is the potential collapse if the snow is not cleared [from the tempo] — it does have to be cleared after a heavy snowfall. Then there are other security issues — they can block the view of a front door, somebody can hide in them.”

The councillor added that the town does feel for seniors, and that there are options other than tempos, such as “hiring a snow removal service, or a neighbour.

“But let’s face it, the cost of investing in a tempo and then paying for the installation and de-installation every year, you might want to compare the cost.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The federal crown corporation Canada Lands Company is seeking ideas in the next several months for the former National Film Board site at 3155 Cote de Liesse in St. Laurent, and its top goal is to tackle the housing crisis. The venerable 84-year-old film company’s headquarters is now in downtown Montreal. Any construction on a new project could begin in 2025.

CLC’s website includes details on a potential project for the St. Laurent site. “A master plan is currently being created and will define the development and urban design criteria for this nearly 4.9 hectares (12.1 acres) site,” a company statement says. “More precisely, it is part of a collaborative design process broken down into several activities and involving various stakeholders, including: Residents and workers from surrounding neighbourhoods, community groups, organizations and those with expertise in local issues, and municipal representatives.”

The company is inviting “stakeholders and the community not only to express their aspirations for the future site, but also to play an active part in shaping its development and inform the master plan. “The future of the NFB’s historic site is in keeping with its cinematic DNA, which has the capacity to tell the story of the past while reinventing itself as a space that contributes to the community in which it is located. This goal will be achieved by providing a variety of uses, creating a welcoming public space, and implementing a sustainable development strategy.”

CLC says the goals of a project are to “tackle the housing crisis, with the addition of affordable and market housing; repurpose most existing buildings to encourage economic development and artistic uses; be exemplary in the sustainable development of the property; and create a living environment that is open to the community and its needs.”

Throughout January and February, there will be an Online Activity – Site Visioning activity for the general public. Details on how to participate are forthcoming.

Other phases include an engagement workshop in April to look at three scenarios, at separate events for targeted stakeholders and the general public, and an online alternative for the general public; and in June, a participation activity at separate events for the general public and targeted stakeholders, and finally, a virtual presentation activity.

For more information on the project and to register for various activities, go to engage.clc-sic.ca/cote-de-liesse.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher took part Thursday in a virtual public meeting organized by B’nai Brith Canada’s Quebec regional office and another meeting with Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to reassure the Jewish community about the SPVM’s ongoing efforts to protect Jewish institutions.

That has included a 24/7 police presence across from where I live, at Yeshiva Gedola School on Deacon Road in CDN-NDG. That school was fired upon twice last month.

Dagher told the B’nai Brith meeting, moderated by Quebec regional director Hank Topas, that patrols and visibility have increased and almost $2 million has been invested so far to protect such institutions as synagogues and schools since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and subsequent antisemitic incidents in Montreal, including 116 hate incidents.

Dagher said 7,600 officers are patrolling 24/7 and the effort is ongoing, and hate crimes have lessened as a result. He also announced all officers will be trained to handle complaints of potential hate crimes.

In his meeting with Federation CJA CEO and president Yair Szlak and CIJA’s Quebec vice-president Eta Yudin, Dagher also said that security has been constant around Jewish community institutions, and that he sees anxiety and stress in the community.

Szlak acknowledged the police visibility, but pointed to recent antisemitic incidents, such as the Molotov cocktails thrown at Beth Tikvah Synagogue and Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters in Dollard des Ormeaux, and the Jewish Community Council, and the shots fired at Yeshiva Gedola and United Talmud Torah, and asked about the status of the investigations and potential arrests.

“Some of the [hate crime] incidents that happened in the past six weeks, we have made some arrests, and the people who have been the victims of these events know [that],” the police chief said. He repeated the same, in French, to Yudin.

Dagher also said, “I really want to make sure my community, the Jewish community, that their behaviour does not change.

“The mezuzah, [other Jewish items], don’t touch them. Keep them and be proud of it. The kippah that you’re wearing, don’t cover it. Continue what you were doing before [the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel]. We should not let the fear get to us.”

Dagher also told Yudin and Szlak he does not know of any direct threat to the Jewish community.

“Please, go to Hanukkah [events]. Celebrate!”

Szlak and Yudin expressed appreciation for Dagher’s efforts.

“You’ve continued to listen to our concerns and I think it’s important for our community to hear that,” Szlak told Dagher. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The previous Hampstead administration under Mayor William Steinberg rushed the initial process for the town’s redone tennis court, Mayor Jeremy Levi told a resident at the Dec. 4 council meeting.

Earlier this year, when asked why the cost of the court increased from $1.3 million to $3 million, Levi, who did not refer to his predecessor by name, said he did not know what took place with the process before he became Mayor. At the December meeting, he had more information.

“It’s important you have context to this,” the Mayor said. “The way that tennis turned out with the new construction, nobody’s happy about it, full stop. There was an initial contract that was issued, and that was issued under a previous mandate, it wasn’t when I was Mayor. The Mayor at the time rushed through a contract. The procedures to create the bid document were not done properly. There were a lot of missing parts that needed to be formulated, and by missing some information, there was a company that was selected that really should never have submitted a bid to begin with, because they were not qualified.”

Levi added that after the election took place in which he became Mayor, “they demolished the existing tennis court and there was nothing to do. The company didn’t show up to work, to carry out the construction of the tennis courts, it was a very big problem.

“We tried many different ways to force them to finish, we had three choices. One was to do nothing, leave it as is and the entire town would be without the tennis courts. Two, we could take legal action, pursuing the warranties and it could drag on in court and cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to enforce the contract, and years would go by until we had tennis courts. Or three, we could go back to the drawing board and renegotiate with the existing company to buy the product we already secured and hire somebody else to do it. None of those options were great, but those were the cards we were dealt. That’s what we inherited from a previous mandate.”

Levi added that if it was known what the cost of the redone court would eventually be, “I guarantee you there wouldn’t have been anyone on this side of the table [council] that would have been in favour of demolishing the court to begin with.

“But because there was a rush on the initial contract to get the contract out and redo the courts, certain things were missed. And although the courts cost a significant amount more than what we anticipated, we have been able to significantly increase the fees and I think we collected about $150,000 of revenue just from the tennis courts. So based on that, in a 10-year period, we’re going to recover maybe 80 percent of the costs of this expenditure.”

Councillor Harvey Shaffer, a lawyer by profession, agreed that if the legal case route was pursued, “the likelihood would have been that we would not have had any tennis for our residents for several years.”

When the resident later pointed out that the current council is mostly made up of the same people as the previous council, he was told they did not have the same information then that they have now.

Steinberg replied to The Suburban that “first, we were not rushed and five of the six members of the current council voted for the contract on the advice of consultants and management.

“The vote was unanimous. The problem was that the company hired did not fulfill the terms of the contract. The new council did not sue the company hired and instead paid them off for cancelling the contract. I can’t imagine why they did that. Then they paid far too much for the new company and in total, with the payoff, the cost more than doubled from what my council wanted to pay.”

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Some 80 law firms have sent an urgent letter to Canadian law school deans, calling for a meeting in light of a surge of antisemitic harassment and incidents at universities. At a recent House of Representatives hearing in the United States, some university heads could not bring themselves to say that calls for genocide against Jews violate university policy.

The letter from lawyers across Canada says, “among the core values at each of our law firms is that every person is entitled to be treated with respect and be free of any discrimination or conduct that targets their identity or that may be offensive, hostile, intimidating or inconsistent with their personal dignity and rights.

“Over the last several weeks, we have been alarmed by the surging reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assaults on university campuses. These include protesters calling for the death of Jews. Such antisemitic acts would never be tolerated at any of our law firms, nor should they be tolerated at our Canadian universities. We also believe that universities should not accept student societies and outside groups engaging in acts of harassment and threats of violence, as has been occurring and tolerated on many campuses.”

The letter points out that some of the student groups associated with many universities have shown support for the terrorist group Hamas, which carried out the attack on Israel Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people, and left thousands injured and with more than 200 people taken hostage.

“Students look to you for guidance and protection in a manner that affirms key core Canadian values being: respect, equality, safety and peace, all of which we as Canadians hold dear. We understand that as educators of higher learning, you must encourage discourse on various issues. This comes with the responsibility of managing a balance of the free exchange of ideas with the respect, safety and security of its students. As the leaders of these institutions this responsibility falls squarely on your shoulders.”

The lawyers added that at each of their firms, “we prohibit any form of discrimination, hostility or harassment, whether verbal, visual or physical.

“Let us be clear: there is no room for antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces or our communities. As employers who recruit from each of your law schools, we look to you to ensure your students are prepared to join workplace communities such as ours that have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment. We continue to carefully monitor the situation and trust that you will take the same unequivocal stance on your campuses. We also invite you to meet in order to arrange a respectful dialogue so that we can understand how you are addressing with urgency this serious situation.”

The signatories are: Allen McDonald Swartz LLP, Anglehart et al., Azancot & Associates Inc., Bereskin & Parr LLP, Boro Frigon Gordon Jones, Breder Law, Brownlee LLP, Chaitons LLP, Choueke Hollander LLP, Consumer Law Group Inc., Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Schwartzentruber LLP, Cozen O’Connor, De Grandpré Chait LLP, De Louya Markakis Avocats, Derhy Lawyers and Notaries, Diamond & Diamond LLP, DLA Piper, Duncan Craig LLP, Dunton Rainville L.L.P., Eidelmann Law Inc., Epstein Cole LLP, Fishman Flanz Meland Paquin LLP, Fogelman Law PC, Francis Mehr LLP, FWCanada, Gluckstein Lawyers, Goldman, Spring, Kichler & Sanders LLP, Goodman, Solomon & Gold, Green and Spiegel LLP, Greenspoon Lawyers, Guardian Law Group, Halpern Law Group, Hatch Law, Hladun & Company, Hoffer Adler LLP, Igor Ellyn ADR, JML Law Corporation, Kahn Zack Ehrlich Lithwick LLP, Kaufman Lawyers LLP, KRB Lawyers, Kugler Kandestin LLP, Labarge Weinstein, Law Office of Cynthia Lauer, Law Office of Harriet Altman, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb, Leo Adler Law, Leora Shemesh Criminal Law, Levine Frishman S.E.N.C., Levy Tsotsis, Lex Group Inc., MacDonald & Partners LLP, Manis Law, MBM Intellectual Property LLP, McCague Borlack LLP, McLennan Ross LLP, Neuberger & Partners LLP, Parlee McLaws LLP, Pinto Law, Pitblado LLP, Rachlin & Wolfson LLP, Ravinsky Ryan Lemoine, Robins Appleby LLP, Robinson Sheppard Shapiro LLP, Rosen Sunshine LLP, Rosenstein Law, Scharfstein LLP, Schneider Legal, Segev LLP, Shadley Knerr s.e.n.c.r.l., SOS Legal, Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, Spiegel Sohmer Inc., Stein & Stein Inc., Steinbergs LLP, Taylor & Blair LLP, Teplitsky LLP, Tilda M. Roll, Professional Corp; Torkin Manes LLP, Tutino Joseph Grégoire, Victor Vallance Blais LLP, Wagner Sidlofsky LLP and WLG Law. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The CHU Ste. Justine and Montreal Children’s Hospital came together in a call for public cooperation, urging parents not to bring their children to crowded hospital emergency rooms unless the medical situation is urgent and immediate care is needed.

Officials from both children’s hospitals say both of their ERS are “under heavy pressure from the high volume of cases of respiratory viruses.” Dr. Laurie Plotnick, Medical Director of the MCH’s ER, said that “patients are seen in order of priority following a nurse’s assessment. Therefore, any patient who presents with a cold, flu or gastroenteritis and whose symptoms are mild should plan to wait several hours before seeing a doctor in the ER.”

The Montreal Children’s Hospital and CHU Sainte-Justine also emphasized that, on the other hand, “no child in need of medical care will be turned away from the ER. Emergency services should be reserved for people whose condition requires immediate care, and for children who are not seriously ill or injured, other solutions can be considered, such as the 811 line, or walk-in clinics,” said Dr. Antonio D’Angelo, Medical Chief of the CHU Sainte-Justine Emergency Department.

The hospital officials pointed out that between Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, “patients with a minor health problem (categories P4-P5) accounted for an average of 57.73 per cent of visits to the MCH ER. For the same period, the average occupancy rate of the MCH ER was 157.47 per cent. The average occupancy rate in the CHU Sainte-Justine emergency department was 172.13 per cent between Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. Patients with minor health problems (categories P4-P5) accounted for an average of 37.26 per cent of visits to the CHU Sainte-Justine emergency department between Nov. 5 and 28.”

The doctors emphasized that care at home is often the best solution.

“Mild flu symptoms, gastroenteritis and fever, which generally last three to five days, can be treated at home,” said Dr. D’Angelo. “When in doubt, you can consult your community pharmacist for prompt advice from a health professional. If symptoms persist, a consultation with a physician remains the preferred option.”

Dr. Plotnick said that “preventive measures, such as vaccination and good hygiene practices like regular hand-washing, are effective ways to reduce the number of unplanned emergency room visits and the long waits that follow during the busiest time of the year.”

Other options include:

• “In case of symptoms, first call Info-Santé at 8-1-1. Nurses are available at all times to assess your child’s condition, advise you and let you know when and whom to consult.”

• “You can also contact your family doctor, the Primary Care Access Point (GAP), your local Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) or a walk-in clinic. Pharmacists are also excellent advisors.”

• “The MCH and CHU Sainte-Justine websites also offer a wealth of advice and information for families.”

A parent should bring a child to the ER in cases of:

• Fever in a baby under three months of age or fever with torticollis.

• “Unusual sleepiness or confusion.”

• “Difficulty breathing.”

• “Vomiting or diarrhea with an inability to retain fluids and/or signs of dehydration.”

• “Injuries such as head trauma with loss of consciousness, confusion or repeated vomiting.

• “A cut that may require stitches.”

• “An injury where a broken bone is suspected (example: swelling or inability to use the limb).”

• “Eye injury.”

• “Burns resulting in blistering.”

• “Ingestion of a poison, drug or unknown substance.”

• “Skin rash resembling small bruises.” 

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

It’s usually a cliché to say “you could hear a pin drop” to describe a silent, rapt audience listening to a compelling story, but that accurately describes the atmosphere at Federation CJA when former Torontonian Shye Klein Weinstein, now in Israel, described the harrowing story of his near brush with death from Hamas terrorists.

The impact was felt even more as Weinstein told the story in an understated but intense way.

Weinstein, who also showed photos and video of Oct. 7 before and during the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, told of how he attended the Super Nova music festival, in Israel, with a cousin and mutual friends, and how he made new friends at the festival.

“Some of the feelings you might have at one of these events — anxiety, nervousness, adrenaline, love, compassion, excitement — those are all feelings I felt at my first music festival on Oct. 7.”

Weinstein then, in exacting detail, told of how the attendees first saw hundreds of Hamas rockets being repelled by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, then hearing the sound of machine gun fire, how they slowly and excruciatingly left the festival grounds, and had to drive through fields where they saw abandoned cars — some with dead bodies in them.

Weinstein and his companions then had another harrowing drive towards Tel Aviv, where they passed numerous cars on the road — he chronicled the trip with video and warned those in the audience who could not tolerate such scenes to look away from what were dead bodies strewn all over the road. The occupants of the car containing Weinstein and his friends could be heard yelling and swearing in shock.

At one point, they passed Hamas terrorists who had their guns raised, but miraculously, they were not shot. They made it to Tel Aviv, and most of the people they met at the festival hid for hours before being rescued by the IDF and other military personnel. Sadly, two people they met were killed, along with 258 others.

Weinstein’s understatedness was in evidence during the question period, when The Suburban asked, as someone who was present during the attack, what did he think of the global media coverage of Oct. 7 and its aftermath, and the constant pro-Hamas demonstrations taking place.

“That’s not something I’m sure I can answer well enough to satisfy what you want to hear,” he said. “I am just a photographer. My apologies.”

Stephen Rabinovitch, of Federation CJA, who introduced Weinstein, asked where the former Toronto resident gets the strength to recount his story on several occasions.

“I am exempt from IDF service, so fighting is not an option,” Weinstein said. “This is my way of fighting and this is my way of helping.”

Weinstein told another attendee that he went back to the festival grounds to view the aftermath of the massacre.

“It was an alien world. The trees were all covered in blood, tents soaked in blood; people’s IDs, phones, wallets, glasses, art, their bags, their jackets, their belongings, bullet holes in the ground and in the streets. An ambulance burnt out, wrapped around a tree; I even visited Kibbutz Be’eri…whatever you’ve seen, it’s worse.”

Weinstein also told a student that he is returning to Israel following his speaking engagements. Applause followed.

“I would not have left Israel if it was not for the faces of Oct. 7 reaching out to me — everybody I loved and risked my life for there. My mom and brother still live here in Canada. I refused a rescue flight. I will be going back to Tel Aviv to be with my friends and family after my speaking tour.”

CSL resident Stanley Grunfeld asked if Weinstein had any military training or a sixth sense that prompted his fast reaction to leave the festival with his friends.

“I’m the kind of friend who, when you’re at a party with me, I’m done early and I’m making sure everyone has water,” Weinstein said. “I’m also an older brother, so I feel like that has something to do with it. I was in a new environment, a festival, and a new situation with hundreds of rockets. A lot of things were just feeling that something was wrong, the same feeling I felt when I thought I heard the gunfire, that feeling of sickness inside of me. Whether it’s luck or intuition, or a mixture of both…. I don’t know why we survived, I don’t know why those two men on the side of the road decided not to shoot us….We left at the right time to be just in the eye of the storm, safe from everything in front and behind us. I personally think it is just dumb luck, but that’s just me.”

Beryl Wajsman, The Suburban’s editor-in-chief, said Weinstein was no longer just a photographer, but a photojournalist. Wajsman asked about the Israeli security presence during the Oct. 7 attack.

Weinstein said that “during the festival, there was security, armed security and those who were there to make sure people didn’t take too much of anything. By the time we were in the parking lot, there was no security present within that region, they had all gone to the back of the festival and they were helping people. I’m sure much of the gunfire we heard was from security forces at the festival. I’m sure an equal amount was not.” 

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Côte St. Luc residents pleaded with the city council to use its bylaws to counter scammers who go door to door offering services and fleecing residents of their money.

Resident Nathalie Guitta, speaking at the Nov. 13 council meeting, cited Bylaw 2470, Article 7.1 regarding solicitation, “selling products and services on the public domain, door to door.”

“In September, I called you personally, a roofing company destroyed numerous homeowners’ roofs,” Guitta told Mayor Mitchell Brownstein. “How could we enforce this bylaw? How can we protect the citizens of CSL so that this doesn’t happen again in the spring? They will come back. There are six homeowners that are probably going to start a lawsuit against them. This is long from over. A lien was placed on a house on Davies six days after they got their bill, and four days after that they got a 60-day notice that Revenue Quebec is auctioning off their house.”

Mayor Mitchell Brownstein responded that the city needs to communicate as best it can “that there are scammers out there of all types, and you can be scammed in so many ways, including the way these people did, and it is illegal. We need to provide more information to educate people. It’s really tough to catch a scammer if a resident lets them in.”

Guitta said the scammers can be seen on her Ring camera.

“I didn’t call them, they came to the door. They seem very legitimate, the give you a reasonable quote, they make a hole in your roof and, boom, $83,000. They say you have structural and mould problems and they did that to six other CSL homeowners.”

Brownstein said that could result in a criminal or civil suit between the residents and the company.

“Just don’t answer your door, or if it’s the phone, hang up,” he added.

Councillor Steven Erdelyi said that with Artificial Intelligence, scammers will become an even bigger problem.

“It happened at my day job — someone pretended to be me and got someone to purchase gift cards,” he pointed out. “Try to be careful.”

Guitta responded that “these guys are professionals. They’re bikers, they’re dangerous and they’re going to come back!”

Brownstein said that “what can be done is call the police, call Public Security.”

“The city should be doing more to protect its citizens,” Guitta said.

“When we know about it, we’ll stop them,” Brownstein said.

Another resident, Ayala Antel, told Brownstein a company representative came to her door and claimed he was from Hydro-Québec.

“I asked for paperwork and they had none. It got heated and he dropped the F-bomb on me. That’s when I called CSL security, nobody answered, I called you up because they were not disappearing.”

Regarding the advice not to answer the door, “you have to understand, these people are very professionally savvy in playing with your mind and somehow getting their way onto your property.

“You said ‘call the police.’ I called Station 9, they came. The company couldn’t produce the proof in the end, but they did a number on the police and according to your bylaw, they’re supposed to give a fine of between $100 and $1,000. None of that was done! [They] just let them go! This is not enforcing the bylaw! CSL public security can also enforce the law. Are they?! We need to do a better job of raising awareness of Article 2470.”

Brownstein said the city “needs to look into ways to enforce” the law.

“I got the message. Let’s follow up off line to see what can be done.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The monthly protests against language law Bill 96 held by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy came to the west end Sunday, with a procession of cars that travelled from Walmart on Jean Talon in Côte des Neiges to Trenholme Park in NDG, attracting hundreds of participants. Other motorists honked in support as the caravan proceeded through the streets, and at Trenholme Park. Previous caravans took place in the West Island, downtown and other locales.

Andrew Caddell, head of the Task Force, told The Suburban at Walmart that “we’re going to be heard, we’re not going away, and we’re going to continue these rallies to raise awareness of all the egregious elements of Bill 96.” At Trenholme Park, Caddell, joined by many other speakers. also discussed the CAQ government’s plan to almost double Quebec university tuition fees for students outside of the province, another of a series of policies after Bills 96, 40 abolishing school boards and 21 banning religious dress for those in authority under provincial jurisdiction and teachers.

“This is another attack on our institutions of the English-speaking community!” he said. “The cavalier rejection of Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry of the compromise position of McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s was a sign of a total lack of compassion, leadership and a lack of respect for our community!” Caddell said the tuition increase is the first step of a 50-point plan to “stop the so-called decline of French on the backs of the anglophone community, as if we were some kind of fifth column that is trying to undermine French rather than the largest bilingual and trilingual community in all of Canada!

“This is unacceptable! This is not time for intolerance on any side! We are better than that!” Caddell said Premier François Legault has said he wants Quebec to be the equal of Ontario.

“But by obsessing over language and attacking our institutions, he is undermining our economy and building an international reputation for bigotry and parochialism. Despite all these negatives, the CAQ doesn’t seem to care!… We are calling on the entire English-speaking community to come together and show we are a united front! We need your voice to join in an overwhelming chorus to say ‘enough is enough!’”

“Enough, enough!” the crowd chanted.

Marc Perez of the Task Force told The Suburban “we have to stop the CAQ’s appetite for intolerance.

“These [policies] all have one goal, to weaken the English community that has contributed enormously to this province. That’s why we have a lot more people, with all the rallies we have been doing, we’ve been raising awareness, people have been donating and calling us with their stories about Bill 96.”

Alex Montagano, a former CDN-NDG candidate, said the political system must be changed.

“We need to find ways to take back control of our city and our province.”

For more information about the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, go to www.thetaskforce.ca. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

A fire took place recently on Westminster North in Montreal West, Councillor Lauren Small Pennefather told the late October town council meeting.The property is near the Westminster rail bridge and is under investigation for a previous fire.

“The SPVM requested the assistance of our Public Security officers to help control traffic at Northview and Westminster, as Westminster was closed between Radcliffe and Westover,” she explained. “There is actually a criminal investigation underway by the SPVM, as the building was vacant due to an original fire that occurred two months previously. Luckily, nobody was hurt in either fire.”

The councillor, in her monthly report, also pointed out that car thefts continue to be “rampant.”

“It’s not only in Montreal West, it’s across North America,” she pointed out. “If you see some of the news specials on television, or on social media, this is a very significant issue and there have been vehicles in Canada that have been tracked to Africa, so this is not in isolation for the Town of Montreal West. There are certain measures you can take. There are certain devices that you can add to your vehicle that can assist if thieves try to break in. I suggest taking this up with your car dealership or your insurance company to get more information on how to protect your vehicle. We had the SPVM here in May to talk about this and some other security issues.”

Small Pennefather also informed the meeting that there were some car theft attempts on Oct. 22.

“Toyota Highlanders were targeted and another Highlander was stolen from the Westminster parking lot. One was targeted on Brock North as well.”

Police in other locales have issued alerts about thefts of Toyota Highlanders, saying the perpetrators use “relay and reprogramming technology” and that the targeting of these vehicles has been a growing trend this year.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Jewish students and a teacher filed a $15 million class action suit against Concordia University, for not doing enough for more than 20 years to counter antisemitism.

They are asking for $10 million in general damages, and $5 million in punitive damages. A judge will have to approve moving the case forward to a hearing.

The claimants have asked the media not to reveal their identity for fear of reprisal, especially in the current atmosphere of the Israel-Hamas war that has prompted numerous antisemitic incidents in Montreal, including Jewish students being attacked by pro-Hamas individuals, Jewish schools being fired upon and Molotov cocktails thrown at Beth Tikvah Synagogue and Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters in Dollard des Ormeaux.

The class action claims stretch back to 2002, the year a planned appearance by now-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked a riot, assaults and damage to the Hall building downtown. At that time, this reporter was told by an anti-Israel individual to “go back where you came from.” The speech never took place, only press conferences before and after the riot.

The suit, obtained by Le Journal de Montréal, cites other incidents at the university, including the attacks by the pro-Hamas students on Nov. 8.

The suit claims negligence on the part of Concordia, alleging it did not investigate the cases, discipline wrongdoers, train university staff to handle them, and offer a safe space to study.

The claimants also say the incidents over the years have prompted them to have nightmares, a fear of certain public places and of practising their religion. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The SPVM’s hate crimes unit is investigating a Nov. 21 incident in which a 21-year-old woman was seen damaging and trying to remove a City of Côte St. Luc-approved poster of hostages being held by the terrorist group Hamas since Oct. 7.

SPVM spokesperson Veronique Dubuc told The Suburban that the suspect was not arrested, but an SPVM officer did approach the individual and established her identity. Dubuc added that no names are revealed to the media until an individual appears in court.

Mike Bensimon posted a picture of the alleged offender on the CSL Ideas Facebook page, in which the woman appears to be mocking those taking her picture. She also appears to have a boxcutter in her hand.Bensimon posted that the incident “happened in CSL today. [Mayor] Mitchell Brownstein, are you going to do something about this? The city needs to get on this. It’s unacceptable!!! The Hampstead Mayor [announced] last week that he would fine people like those $1000.”

The city responded that it is “aware of an incident on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in which a person removed part of a sign installed on municipal property that featured dozens of photos of hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. “The Montreal Police Department (SPVM) is investigating the incident and—through the quick reactions of witnesses who communicated with the SPVM—knows the identity of the person who committed the act. The SPVM will determine what charges to file.” At least one of these posters is at the corner of Cavendish Blvd. and Kildare Road.

During the Nov. 13 council meeting, Brownstein told residents there were no plans to follow Hampstead’s lead in fining those who remove posters $1,000, as putting up posters on public property without a permit is illegal in the first place. But in the case of the Nov. 21 incident, Councillor Dida Berku posted on the CSL Ideas page, “this sign is different. This is a city sign.

“The city has recourse and police can and did intervene. On the other hand, posters on public poles are by their very nature not allowed in cities in general, not in CSL or Hampstead. (Except during elections) They are tolerated. Imposing fines for removal of hostage posters as opposed to garage sale posters is by its very nature very complex.”

Hampstead’s bylaw specifies that the fine applies to posters, not specifically hostage posters, approved by the town.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Mayor Mitchell Brownstein assured residents that the City of Côte St. Luc will not take down posters of those kidnapped and held by the terrorist group Hamas since their attack on Israel Oct. 7.

The city has its own posters up at Cavendish Blvd. and Kildare Road.

Dr. Renée Karp, a longtime resident, said she had heard rumours, and asked Brownstein to clarify CSL’s policy.

The Mayor replied that CSL does not take down those posters of hostages that are put up on the city territory.

“So there’s no problem with the posters being up?” the resident asked.

Brownstein said that “our Public Works department, nobody in the city, is taking down posters.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Karp said.

A resident named Laurence said some were under the impression the city was not allowing them. The City of Montreal, on the other hand, has been taking down those posters, for which they were condemned by many, including Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi.

“I was wondering if it was possible to take the lead, or follow Hampstead’s lead, and fine those who take them down,” the resident asked.

Hampstead, at its Nov. 20 council meeting, passed a bylaw instituting a minimum $1,000 fine for those removing posters on public property authorized by the town.

Brownstein commended the move by Hampstead as a “very nice sentiment in terms of the message that it sends, and I congratulate Hampstead on that.

“But legally, we all do have bylaws that say that anything you put up is illegal, so any poster, any garage sale, anything that is put up without a permit, it’s illegal,” he explained, before the exact wording of Hampstead’s bylaw was known the following day, Nov. 14. “So if you say you’re going to give a fine for taking down a poster that’s illegal in the first place, it’s not going to hold up in court. It’s a nice sentiment, but it has no legal effect.”

Asked about this, the Hampstead Mayor said the town’s modification to its nuisance bylaw “was verified by outside legal counsel.” He also confirmed that the issue of the fine for removing posters is handled by the provision of the bylaw that says the rule applies to posters approved by the town, and thus not illegal to put up.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The City of Côte St. Luc is tolerating tempos, temporary car shelters erected during the winter, throughout the city with some exceptions, it was revealed on social media.

CSL and many other municipalities have resisted, or still don’t allow, tempos because they are not aesthetically pleasing.

Resident Orel Zipper asked on Facebook, “how do we get some action to unban tempos from those select streets [where it is] arbitrarily not allowed to put them up? Ridiculously unsafe, especially for older residents or those with mobility issues. More so for those with an inclined driveway. I have brought it up before, but if there’s anything one can do would be great to know.”

The city’s Facebook administrator responded that “for the 2023-2024 winter season, the city will tolerate tempos in areas where they are not zoned. Here’s what this means in practice:

“If you live in an area where tempos are allowed, it is business as usual,” the message adds. “If you paid the one-time fee, you can erect the tempo again this year. If you live in an area where tempos are allowed, and have never applied for a permit, you need to do so. Then you pay the one-time fee. Then you can erect your tempo.”

In areas where tempos have not been allowed up to now, “you can erect a tempo this season. No permit is required and no fee is required this season. You must follow all the installation rules and the tempo must be removed by April 15, 2024.”

As well, “tempos are never allowed at townhouses, apartment buildings, or condo buildings.”

The city posting added that CSL is “considering standardizing the tempo rules across the city as part of the Master Plan and Zoning Bylaw Revision.”

Councillor Dida Berku explained to The Suburban that “when we did the tempo bylaw, we did it by zone, and in certain zones, 12 residents signed a register, and we decided not to proceed with referendums zone by zone.

“Over the past few years, we’ve realized that the tempos have not proliferated like mushrooms, they’re very few and far between, and in those zones where we don’t have tempos, there are residents in very precarious situations, they have steep driveways or have medical conditions, so we tried to find a way to introduce it in the zones, where they’re not allowed, for a year, on a pilot project basis. At the end of the year, we’ll evaluate it.”

We also asked about the fact those who can put up tempos where they have not been allowed do not, right now, have to pay the one-time fee, while those who have yet to put up tempos where they are allowed do have to pay.

“It’s only a one-time payment anyway, so eventually if it does become a permanent situation, they will have to pay,” Berku explained. “In the end, everyone [who wants a tempo] will have to pay. For this year only, they don’t have to pay because it’s a pilot project, and we can’t introduce a fee for something that’s not in our fee schedule.”

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

St. Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa called on the business community to create a large solar park in the borough, an electricity generating system connected to a utility grid.

DeSousa spoke Nov. 2 at the annual meeting of the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Saint-Laurent-Mont-Royal. He also told La Presse such a park could be installed quickly, as opposed to dams and wind turbines.

DeSousa pointed out in his speech that 70 percent of St. Laurent’s territory is “dedicated to professional, retail, manufacturing and industrial activities, thus presenting a unique landscape in the Greater Montreal Region.”

He added that in 2019, “this led to the roofs on St. Laurent businesses and parking lots being identified as the two main culprits responsible for the major urban heat island phenomenon experienced in Saint-Laurent.”

DeSousa said the borough has worked to alleviate the heat island situation “by adopting a number of programs, bylaws and other initiatives relating to parking lots and roofs. These have generated numerous accolades in addition to creating a snowball effect in other communities.”

The Mayor also pointed out that an assessment conducted in 2018 “estimated the net surface area of some 1,400 industrial and commercial roofs is capable of accommodating solar panels in St. Laurent at 4.5 million square metres, or the equivalent of 850 football fields.”

Also in 2018, “a study was conducted to evaluate the overall potential of industrial roofs in St. Laurent to produce 521 gigawatts-hours of energy, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 24,000 households.

“The study concluded that St. Laurent has tremendous solar photovoltaic and thermal potential, and it is an ideal location for the installation of solar setups on roofs, given that the buildings are the same elevation and there are few trees in the areas in question. The same study also revealed that the installation of solar equipment would enable certain buildings to achieve partial energy independence. What’s more, the City of Montreal receives 25 percent more sunshine than Paris, boasting an annual average of 2,051 hours versus 1,662 hours for the European city.”

In light of all this and the existence of the Fermes Lufa greenhouse and IGA Duchemin greenhouses, DeSousa urged the business community to “consider the potential benefits of creating a collaborative project centred on solar energy,” pointing out that “several businesses have already begun experimentation in this respect.

“The pursuit of this solar park project could represent an excellent endeavour for the emergence of an urban solar segment in Quebec, while emphasizing that solar is just one of the solutions that can be developed on-site when it comes to renewable energy – and one that could also include the recovery of waste heat, cooling and geothermic.”

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Crime in the borough of St. Laurent in the first nine months of 2023 increased 22.3 percent from the same period in 2022, from 2,320 to 2,838 incidents, says SPVM Station 7’s June to September 2023 report.

Throughout this year and last, The Suburban and others have been reporting on numerous incidents in St. Laurent, such as murders, arson of businesses and cars, shootings and stabbings.

According to the SPVM statistics, murders decreased from two in 2022 to zero in 2023. However, at the beginning of October 2023, just after the tabulation period, a 23-year-old man died after being stabbed several times in the upper body at his home at Alexis Nihon Blvd. near Côte de Liesse Road.

Attempted murders increased from three to four incidents. Assaults jumped from 377 to 423, a 12.2 percent increase. Instances of discharging a firearm decreased from 10 to four. Sexual aggression decreased from 63 to 54. Robberies jumped from 61 to 76, a 24.6 percent increase. Other violations of the law against people jumped from 156 to 195, a 25 percent increase.

Acts of arson jumped from 14 to 35, a 150 percent increase — some of these are said to be extortion attempts against Arab business owners. Break-ins increased from 174 to 187 incidents. Car thefts increased from 482 to 647, a 34.2 percent increase. Simple theft increased from 571 to 640, a 12.1 percent increase. Fraud jumped from 253 to 346, a 36.8 percent increase and mischief increased from 127 to 201 incidents, a 58.3 percent hike.

Incidents this year included:

• The seizure of contraband tobacco from some establishments.

• Stolen cars, some of which were recovered in searches and for which people were arrested.

• On Sept. 9, the arrest of two individuals for breaking into a vehicle and a break and enter into a commercial enterprise.

During the Nov. 7 council meeting, a resident asked St. Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa what the borough is doing about the many instances of criminality in recent months, such as shootings in residential areas.

DeSousa replied that he was not aware of any recent shootings in residential areas. However, there have been shots fired in industrial areas in October and May.

The Mayor added that crimes are being investigated and in numerous cases solved by Station 7 and its commander Pierre Luc-Gauthier, who said early this year that St. Laurent is still a safe and secure community notwithstanding the many incidents that took place in 2022.

“What we do is try to make sure through police patrols, information given to our residents, our own urban patrols, that there is a visibility given so that people living in the area feel safe and have a sense of security,” the Mayor explained.

The Commander said DeSousa provided a good summary. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Yeshiva Gedola School on Deacon Road in Côte des Neiges-NDG was fired upon for the second time in four days.

A nearby resident told The Suburban that he was awakened by four shots at around 4:45 a.m. Sunday Nov. 12. Police were called at 5 a.m. by several residents, and a vehicle was seen fleeing the scene. We saw officers questioning nearby residents.

The first shooting at the school was on Thursday. A second shooting that day took place at United Talmud Torah. This followed violence against Jewish students at Concordia and firebombings at Beth Tikvah and Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters in Dollard des Ormeaux.

There have been police and hired security presence around the school, in recent days, including during a recent event.

In the morning, the entire area around Deacon was surrounded by police tape, from the corner of Lajoie to Van Horne, and from Lajoie and De Vimy to Van Horne. Access from a palliative care centre from Deacon to DeVimy was also blocked. The tape was removed early in the afternoon.

SPVM spokesperson Caroline Chevrefils said that nobody was in the building when the shots were fired, near the intersection of Deacon and Van Horne. Police located a projectile in the front of the building, and other shell casings were found.

Former CDN-NDG councillor Lionel Perez, speaking for the school, said the shooting was a “terrorist act.

“Their objective is terrorize, to stop our prime mission, which is to educate kids, and they will fail! This second incident demonstrates the gravity of the situation and escalation, and we’re counting on the police to redouble their efforts to ensure the safety and security of our school, of our children and our community. We ask our elected officials to continue condemning. We appreciate their support, but they have to ensure the SPVM has all the means necessary for them to do their job and condemn any and all hate speech in society.”

This reporter, who lives on the street, noted that police and a security vehicle had been on the street almost constantly in recent days. We asked if either had been on the street at the time of the incident. Perez responded that he would not get into details.

“All I can say is that that there have been specific security measures that have been put in place after the first attack, and we will let the police continue their investigation.”

Mayor Valérie Plante appeared on the scene later in the morning, as did Eta Yudin, VP for Quebec of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Federation CJA CEO and president Yair Szlak, Côte des Neiges-NDG Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa; Henry Topas, Quebec regional director of B’nai Brith Canada; and Snowdon councillor Sonny Moroz, amongst others.

“Violence has no place in our democracy!” Plante said to a phalanx of reporters. “We’re talking about an establishment where kids are attending! This is not the Montreal we want! We can disagree, we can think out loud, we can protest. It’s a complex conflict that is happening [between Israel and Hamas], absolutely, but we can have those conversations with respect, and not using fear and not having this kind of violent act towards the Jewish community! That is wrong! My message to those who think this is a way to spread a message, it is not! I get messages from all kinds of people from different religions in Montreal, and nobody accepts this, nobody wants it, nobody will say it’s okay!”

Plante said for those committing such acts, “the SPVM is working really hard, and we will find them!”

Yudin, of CIJA, said “We have been saying for weeks that the antisemitism and incitement to hatred being heard at rallies in the streets of Montreal will lead to action if unchecked. This is no longer discussion about free speech. Those responsible must be held accountable. The SPVM needs more resources. We thank all those who have spoken out today and condemned these incidents, including our Premier, Prime Minister and Mayor and many other leaders across the political spectrum.”

Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted Sunday morning, “terrorists again fired bullets at a Montreal Jewish school overnight. The government must take concrete action immediately to protect Canada’s Jewish community from the heinous acts of antisemitic violence and intimidation.”

For all of Nov. 12, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had not posted a reaction, but he did retweet a post from MP Karina Gould, saying “I am horrified to learn of another incident of gunshots fired at the same Jewish school in Montreal early this morning. Thank goodness no one was harmed, but this threatening antisemitic violence cannot go on.”

Premier François Legault tweeted, “every effort will be made to find and punish the culprits. The Quebec nation is peaceful. Let’s not import the hatred and violence that we see elsewhere in the world.”

Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather tweeted, “this kind of antisemitic act cannot be allowed to become the new normal. Jews have every right to live safely in this country. And it is hard to believe that this level of violence is not directly traceable to the incitement to hate happening at demonstrations. Police need to act.”

B’nai Brith Canada posted, “we are aware of yet another shooting at a Montreal Yeshiva, the same one that was targeted by gunfire last week. Police in Montreal are investigating. We are deeply disturbed and are on the scene to assist.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Ye Olde Orchard Pub, which is in NDG and other Montreal locations, is changing its name to Maison Publique Orchard, a year after the establishment received a letter from the Office Québécois de la Langue Française due to a language complaint.

The change is similar to those made by other establishments to comply with the language law, adding a French-language descriptor to an English business name. Examples include Winners Mode and Best Buy Electronique.

The Quebec government has said more strict sign laws are coming June 1, 2025, as part of Bill 96, but have not released details. As reported by The Suburban this past May, those new rules are expected to at least demand that the French descriptors be more prominent.

Owner Joe Pilotte told The Suburban this past spring that he would have already added the descriptor if that was all that was needed, but that he also wanted to maintain the pub’s longtime identity. However, he said the law’s specifics were unclear.

“They gave us a heads-up the rules will change, and even then my sign might not work if it’s got English words,” he said in May. “You see it isn’t clear. So we’re a little bit in limbo.”

Now, Pilotte, who said his dealings with the OQLF have been amicable, is still not sure his new sign will be in compliance with what is coming in a year and a half.

“We don’t want to spend thousands of dollars or get fined, or upset anyone, because remember at the end of the day it’s the government we’re dealing with,” Pilotte said in May. “We’re just trying to make it work and I’m sure we’ll find something that will make them happy.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Town of Hampstead held its annual Freedom of the City ceremony, which began 15 years ago, and this year was granted to the Canadian Grenadier Guards.

The ceremony was mainly held at the Adessky Community Centre, and featured Mayor Jeremy Levi, all the members of the town council and members of the CGG, and a large audience. D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass was also in attendance. The planned parade through the town’s streets was cancelled due to rain.

In a statement prior to the event, the town pointed out that “this tradition, rooted in British and Canadian history, symbolizes the strong bond between the regiment and the community.”

Mayor Levi told the gathering that the ceremony represents an “extraordinary moment in our town’s history.

“We are gathered here not only to confer the Freedom of the City honour but to pay tribute to an exceptional group of individuals whose valour and commitment to justice have left an indelible mark on our world,” he said. “This honour is not just a symbolic gesture; it is a recognition of the sacrifices made by this remarkable regiment, sacrifices that paved the path of freedom for future Canadians….Today, as we gather in this beautiful town of Hampstead, we celebrate their valour, their legacy, and the role they played in shaping the destiny of our great nation.”

Levi also highlighted the CGG’s exceptional role in liberating the Netherlands town of De Grotestratt Le Borne during World War II, saying it “symbolized the triumph of good over evil, the liberation of the oppressed, and the restoration of human dignity…. The liberation reminds us that the Canadian Grenadier Guards were not just soldiers but bearers of hope and symbols of a better future.”

Levi also pointed out that the CGG has “also been pivotal in preserving the memory of their comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of freedom,” including Sergeant Samuel (Moe) Hurwitz.

“Moe Hurwitz was not just a soldier but a symbol of the diversity and inclusivity that define Canada. Born in Montreal in 1919, he was the eighth child of 13 born to Bella and Chaim Hurwitz. He was a proud Canadian whose family had immigrated to this great nation from Russia, seeking a better life and the promise of freedom. It was the same promise that motivated Moe to join the Canadian Grenadier Guards….He made his mark at a time when prejudice and discrimination were still prevalent in many parts of the world. Yet, he, along with many others, served our country with unwavering dedication, transcending differences to protect the values that bind us together. The dedication of a room in the armory to Moe is a poignant and meaningful gesture, representing more than just a physical space. It symbolizes the enduring bond between the Canadian Grenadier Guards and their comrade-in-arms, Moe, and serves as a lasting reminder of his contributions and the values he upheld.”

Levi also spoke about the current war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, saying that in the face of adversity, “Israel has demonstrated remarkable resilience and resolve. Just as the Canadian Grenadier Guards have defended the freedom and principles of Canada, the people of Israel have stood up to protect their homeland, the values of democracy, and the right to live in peace. It is a testament to their commitment to preserving freedom in a region marked by complexity and conflict.”

“Thank you, Canadian Grenadier Guards, for your service and for embodying the values that both Canada and Israel hold dear. This moment serves as a reminder of the shared commitment to these values, and it is our hope that it contributes to the collective efforts to achieve peace, security, and freedom in the region and around the world.”

Commanding Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Nunez thanked the town for bestowing the honour on the CGG, and added that “the Freedom of the City is a very old tradition, one that we, the CGG, intend to exercise yearly depending on our status as a regiment.

“2024 and 2025 will see many of the Grenadiers standing in the back of the room perhaps deployed overseas, representing Canada and its various commitments around the world.”

Nunez also presented the Mayor and council with a “unique Grenadier coin” inscribed with the words “Twice the soldier.

“The men and women of this regiment have the ability to excel both in the scarlet tunic as they did today and in a combat uniform as they will do tomorrow.” n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Some 5,000 Montrealers poured into the downtown area Sunday, near the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization’s headquarters, to support Israel and to demand the release of 239 people being held hostage in Gaza by the terrorist group Hamas.

The kidnappings took place amidst the Oct. 7 attack during which the terrorists brutally killed more than 1,400 people, and injured thousands more — men and women, children, babies and soldiers. The largest single day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

Sunday’s event was organized by Federation CJA in partnership with dozens of organizations. Participants held pictures of hostages and the hashtags #BringThemHome and #BringThemBack and chanted “Am Yisrael Chai!” Many people wept.

Numerous speakers were on hand, including Israeli Consul General Paul Hirschson.

“1943 — we’ve been there before!” the Consul-General said. “We’re not going there again! They chose the wrong generation of our people to do this to! They will regret what they chose to do! Your support is critical. We’ll need you today and the long weeks ahead. The more you’re out in public, standing your ground, the more secure you will be!”

Human rights lawyer, and former federal Justice Minister and Mount Royal MP Irwin Cotler, who was also the Canadian government’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, electrified the thousands.

“Oct. 7 was the worst day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, with horrors too terrible to be believed, but not too terrible to have happened! The hostages remain a looking glass into Hamas’s mass atrocities, remembrance and reminder of their war crimes, crimes against humanity, and standing incitement to genocide! Let there be no mistake about it! The immediate and unconditional return of the hostages, which includes children, toddlers, the elderly, disabled and Holocaust survivors amongst them, is a humanitarian imperative of the first order!

Cotler added that “all state parties are obliged — it’s not a matter of choice — to secure the immediate release of the hostages as a fundamental international responsibility! Bring them home! Bring them home!”

Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Côte St. Luc’s Beth Israel Beth Aaron Synagogue pointed out that the event was taking place near a UN building.

“You all heard the Secretary General of the UN, he said there’s a context to what happened on Oct. 7! He’s right! There is a context! The context is that from the moment they began to organize themselves, Hamas has preached one thing — the murder of every Jewish man, woman and child in the world! When children in Gaza take a math class, the lesson is, ‘if you have seven Jews and you kill four of them, how many do you have left!’ That’s the context! They preach hate!”

Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather told the large crowd that he has been communicating in recent weeks with the family members of hostages.

“They don’t know if their family member is alive or dead. They don’t know what condition they’re in, if they’re being tortured. These people are civilians! They were never trained to go into Gaza, in enemy territory. These people are scared every day for the fate of their loved ones. I try to give them reassurance, but I have no control over that reassurance. It’s something so disturbing, so profoundly scary, and if it’s scary for us, just imagine what it’s like for the families and the loved ones of these hostages, including two Canadians believed to be hostages. Bring them home!”

Former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre asked where the current Mayor, Valérie Plante, was.

“Today, like the great former rabbi of Jerusalem said, ‘I don’t speak because I have the power to speak, I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent!’ Coderre said. “I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to the people of Israel! There is no room for compromise. Israel has a right to exist and defend themselves, period, end of story!”

Other speakers included D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass, Gail Adelson-Marcovitz of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu on behalf of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Patrick Essiminy of Federation CJA. n

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Suburban was barred Friday afternoon from any proximity to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was at the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA. We were told Trudeau was at the Y to meet with Jewish students from local universities, who were there to tell him about their experiences on campus amidst the tensions arising from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which began after the terrorist group Hamas slaughtered 1,400 people in Israel, wounded thousands more and kidnapped more than 200 people.

Before Trudeau arrived, we saw MPs Anthony Housefather and Rachel Bendayan, former federal Minister and Sephardic community leader Jacques Saada and Côte St. Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, Snowdon councillor Sonny Moroz, Eta Yudin of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), amongst others. The media was not informed of the Y event— we heard about it through community information.

The Suburban was given to understand on Friday that while we could not attend Trudeau’s meeting with students, we could possibly speak to him afterwards as he circulated in a Y hall. Several members of the public had heard of Trudeau’s visit, and were waiting to see him as well. Trudeau arrived at 1:30 p.m., and was greeted by representatives from Federation CJA and CIJA. We took a picture of Trudeau being greeted by Federation CJA CEO Yair Szlak.

Szlak then seemed to indicate he wanted to pass on a community message to Trudeau. As I moved in a little closer to hear what was being said for a possible quote, Trudeau’s lead media advance person Terry Guillon asked what I was doing and said I could not move from where I was standing.

“I’m from the media,” I said. Gullian, agitated, said the media was not invited to be on hand, I was not supposed to be there and that I could not even publish the picture I took. “Not even for a picture and caption?” I asked. “Not even after the fact?” No, was the answer.

“You can either stand here,” Guillon said, referring to the area near the Y’s entrance, “or go outside.” “I was told Trudeau would possibly be able to speak to me,” I said. Guillon said that would not be the case, and demanded to know who invited us to be at the Y. I said we had just heard about the visit.

I then put him on the phone with Suburban editor-in-chief Beryl Wajsman to whom he confirmed that media was barred from the event. Guillon then had to rush off, dropping my phone in the process, for which he apologized, all the while insisting we could not publish anything from the event.

We just did.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The SPVM is yet again investigating an incident involving a shot fired in the southeastern section of the borough of St. Laurent, this time in the area of the Andalos bakery at Lebeau Boulevard and Benjamin-Hudon Street.

Police were called 1:20 a.m. Friday after one gunshot was heard fired at the building. A bullet hole was found on the building. No one was injured.

The SPVM set up a perimeter in the area for investigators and the police canine squad. There were no arrests as of Friday morning.

Other incidents have taken place in the area of Lebeau and Benjamin Hudon. They include:

• A car fire this past August in the parking lot of a building at Wright near Benjamin-Hudon.

• An arson attack in early June, at a business at Lebeau near Gince in St. Laurent, where four vehicles were considered to be a total loss. An incendiary object was found at that scene.

• Six cars were destroyed by fire around 11:25 p.m. April 26 on Lebeau.

• In January, a shooting at a bar took place at Côte Vertu and Lebeau. No one was injured but shell casings were found.

• In November 2022, three cars were burned in a lot at Lebeau and Gince Streets.

• The Bab Sharqi restaurant, located at Deslauriers and Benjamin-Hudon, was the target of several arson and shooting attacks. n joel@thesuburban.com

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

When Olivia Newton-John passed away in 2022 after a long battle with cancer, memories inevitably turned to her starring role as Sandy in the massively successful 1978 movie Grease, the musical tribute to the 1950s that was based on the early 1970s Broadway show.

The show was significant not only for the performances by Newton-John, John Travolta, Stockard Channing and the rest of the movie cast, but also because Newton-John’s own sunny image changed as well, as in the movie, she transformed from a demure student to a fireball in tight clothing. On record, her next LP after several cheery pop confections was named Totally Hot, later followed by the raunchy Physical.

My own experience with Grease was one of my more pleasant memories. I saw it on the big screen in Laval in 1978, and found myself dancing outside the theatre afterwards.

Grease has a special significance in Côte St. Luc as well, as the musical was one of the earliest productions of the CSL Dramatic Society in 2012.

Now, 11 years later, the Dramatic Society’s Senior Summerworks is revisiting Grease from a satirical angle, just as it did on a senior citizens angle with Annie (GrAnnie), Mamma Mia (Gramma Mia), Chicago (Florida) and The Wizard of Oz (The Wizard of Oy).

This time, the Grease parody is called Ointment, a one-act presentation recommended for those eight years old and over, and is written by Senior Summerworks creator Ari Sterlin with musical arrangements by Nick Burgess, co-directed by Sam Stein and Anisa Cameron and produced by Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, and councillors Andee Shuster and Mitch Kujavsky. There will be 20 performers ranging in age from 20 to 89, including John Kovac, Sharon Malone, Hannah Scheffren, Dan Sterlin, Nancy Breitman, Steve Korolnek, Brenda Epstein, former councillor Sam Goldbloom, Gloria Szikman, Michael Deitcher, Janet Garmaise, Harry Rajchgot, Ellen Rabin, Cheryl Everett, Maria Inés Zylber, Dawson Barman-Tao, Aaliyah Donets, Beverly Silverman, Phyllis Schnarch, and Mayor Brownstein.

​The plot is that the “snowbirds have returned to the City of Côte St. Luc after a long winter in Florida and they are ready to rule the town once more.

“The group has fallen victim to a miracle ointment pyramid scheme and mayhem ensues.”

Cameron pointed out that “every year since 2015, we have produced a parody musical that the seniors perform in. The subject is always something that is relevant to the senior population.

“These shows are always so much fun to watch and Ointment will not disappoint!”

Shuster announced the coming performances at the Oct. 16 CSL council meeting.

“This one-act musical parody will have audiences swaying in their seats to the tunes you all know and love, but with a clever twist,” she said.

There will be five performances of Ointment, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m., Nov. 10 at 2 p.m., Nov. 11 at 2 and 8 p.m. and Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. the Harold Greenspon Auditorium at the Bernard Lang Civic Centre on Cavendish Blvd. in CSL. For more information and to buy tickets, go to www.csldramaticsociety.com.

​

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

A fire took place recently on Westminster North in Montreal West, Councillor Lauren Small Pennefather told the late October town council meeting.The property is near the Westminster rail bridge and is under investigation for a previous fire.

“The SPVM requested the assistance of our Public Security officers to help control traffic at Northview and Westminster, as Westminster was closed between Radcliffe and Westover,” she explained. “There is actually a criminal investigation underway by the SPVM, as the building was vacant due to an original fire that occurred two months previously. Luckily, nobody was hurt in either fire.”

The councillor, in her monthly report, also pointed out that car thefts continue to be “rampant.”

“It’s not only in Montreal West, it’s across North America,” she pointed out. “If you see some of the news specials on television, or on social media, this is a very significant issue and there have been vehicles in Canada that have been tracked to Africa, so this is not in isolation for the Town of Montreal West. There are certain measures you can take. There are certain devices that you can add to your vehicle that can assist if thieves try to break in. I suggest taking this up with your car dealership or your insurance company to get more information on how to protect your vehicle. We had the SPVM here in May to talk about this and some other security issues.”

Small Pennefather also informed the meeting that there were some car theft attempts on Oct. 22.

“Toyota Highlanders were targeted and another Highlander was stolen from the Westminster parking lot. One was targeted on Brock North as well.”

Police in other locales have issued alerts about thefts of Toyota Highlanders, saying the perpetrators use “relay and reprogramming technology” and that the targeting of these vehicles has been a growing trend this year.

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

The Town of Hampstead will soon be adopting a bylaw penalizing the removal of posters on its territory of the more than 224 Israeli and other hostages being held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

“Hampstead will adopt a by-law that will impose a $1,000 fine to any person that removes the Israeli hostage posters from public property,” Mayor Jeremy Levi posted on Facebook. “Furthermore, 100 percent of the sums collected from this infraction will be donated to Israel.” The posting received many plaudits from other posters.

Posters featuring the pictures, names, ages and nationalities of those being held by Hamas following their Oct. 7 attack on Israel have been posted in numerous cities. The Suburban has seen some posters in the Snowdon area.

And there also have been numerous incidents of pro-Palestinian people, especially near universities, aggressively ripping down posters. One student, identified by the StopAntisemitism on X as Aya Baraket, when confronted by someone filming them, responded “f–k you and f–k Israel!” Her accomplice was identified as her sister Dana Baraket.

Others, with obnoxious expressions, have said nothing and continued to take the posters down. Still others yelled “why are you filming me?” One adult was famously confronted by several men in New York City. One student inside a university who removed a poster claimed to be just looking at it, and then tore it up and walked away. n