The Laval News takes a look back at March and April last year

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In our first issue of 2025, The Laval News is taking a look at some of the most important newsmakers in our area last year. We continue with March and April.

March

Moderna starts making Covid vaccines in Laval

A new Covid vaccine manufacturing plant that was just completed last February in Laval’s Cité de la Biotech was expected to be up and running by the following fall, according to Moderna, the company that built the facility.

The $250-million plant, which officially opened with federal, provincial and municipal officials present, will eventually produce about 100 million doses of vaccines annually, which is enough for all of Canada.

“The arrival of a major player in life sciences and health technologies in the Laval economic ecosystem is a sign of a dynamic city in action,” said Mayor Stéphane Boyer.

Moderna’s new mRNA facility opened in in Laval in March last year.

“Completing the construction of our mRNA facility marks a groundbreaking moment for Moderna and Canada as we progress towards delivering a domestic mRNA vaccine supply chain,” said Stefan Raos, general manager of Moderna Canada.

Laval takes back $60 million skimmed during Vaillancourt’s watch

Gilles Vaillancourt’s name was invoked repeatedly during a splashy press conference that officials with the City of Laval held at the interim city hall on Saint-Martin Blvd.

The purpose: to close the book on the sad legacy the former mayor left after he resigned from office in 2012, after nearly 40 years as mayor and as a city councillor before then.

Over the past 10 years, the City of Laval filed a string of lawsuits against outside contractors, to ultimately recover $60 million in funds which had been systematically overpaid to them during Vaillancourt’s time. It was a scheme that saw a percentage kicked back to Vaillancourt’s Parti PRO des Lavallois.

Ottawa acted against car thefts, said Treasury Board’s Anita Anand

In an exclusive interview with The Laval News, federal Treasury Board President Anita Anand said the Trudeau government was raising Canada Border Services Agency funding by $28 million for more stolen vehicle investigations – including some that would be using artificial intelligence (AI).

Anand was one of five Trudeau cabinet ministers who took part in Ottawa in the Liberal government’s National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft.

“Never before have we had a conference like this to convene a conversation about how we can each do better to combat auto theft,” said Anand.

Coach leads Riverains M15-AA to victory with a formula for success

The Ligue Hockey Laurentides-Lanaudière’s 2023-2024 season was a fruitful one for Hockey Laval Riverains M15-AA coach Tony Polito. And the last few years were extraordinary under coach Tony’s leadership.

In the last three years alone, the Riverains M15-AA team of promising 15-year-old players had succeeded in clinching as many as six championships. The Laval News profiled the team and the coaching staff in our March 20 issue.

April

Parents, pros share views at ‘Autism in the Early Years’

After several months and countless hours of preparation by an organizing committee assisted by a team of dedicated volunteers, more than 100 parents and professionals with an interest in autism had the opportunity to explore a wide range of autism-related topics during the Autism in the Early Years symposium.

Co-hosted by the Laval-based Youth and Parents Agape Association with the Giant Steps School in Montreal, the symposium drew caregivers, speakers, presenters, panelists and artists who contributed information, opinions and ideas.

Laval, Montreal officials observe Greek Independence Day

As reported in The Laval News’s April 3 issue, elected officials from three levels of government gathered at the Veterans’ Cenotaph near Laval city hall on March 23 to pay respects with residents of Hellenic origin to Greek veterans and soldiers on the occasion of the 203rd anniversary of Greece’s national independence.

Among those leaving commemorative wreaths were a representative from the Consulate General for Greece in Montreal, local and Montreal-area Liberal MPs, Laval-area MNAs, and city councillors from Laval and the City of Montreal.

Raid in Laval nets major haul of meth

As reported by Laval News, officers from the intra-police force Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) executed a search warrant at a Laval residence, resulting in the discovery of an estimated 1,750,000 tablets of suspected methamphetamine.

According to a statement issued by the RCMP, the tablets were found in an unoccupied house in Laval suspected of having been used for the sole purpose of storing drugs. Significant quantities of chemicals used in the production of illicit tablets, two pill presses and sophisticated equipment for large-scale drug production also were seized.

AS Laval unveiled electrifying, redesigned soccer uniforms

Proud parents, supporters and friends of AS Laval junior soccer gathered for a 5 to 7 get-together in the showroom of BMW Laval, one of the club’s lead sponsors, on April 4 for the unveiling of their latest uniforms.

The jerseys, shorts and socks, in a range of colors with a hint of silver, prominently featured a BMW Laval logo and crest at the centre of the jerseys. There was also an AS Laval crest just below the left shoulder, as well as various sponsors’ insignias and logos elsewhere on the socks, shorts and jerseys.

Storm erupted over ‘Mustang Mach-E’ police car purchase

Mayor Stéphane Boyer was apologizing in April last year for the Laval Police Dept.’s $1.5 million purchase of a small fleet of new electric police vehicles – including one for the police chief costing $94,000 – while publicly reprimanding LPD director Pierre Brochet.

A Mustang Mach-E all-electric police cruiser similar to the 13 cars purchased by the city last year. (Screenshot photo: YouTube)

“I had a good conversation with the chief of police so that this does not happen again,” Mayor Boyer said. “This is not the image we want to project.”

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