NDG

Sharon Nelson Targets English School Board Seat

When speaking to Sharon Nelson, it is clear that a heart for community empowerment is her driving force. Her work as second Vice President of the Jamaica Association of Montreal has been applauded by community leaders and members alike. Just recently, she was honored with the special Golden Heart award in memory of the late Egbert Gaye for her work in community building. Now she is running for the NDG ward representative for the English School Board of Montreal (ESMB) elections this November.

As she explains to the CONTACT, it wasn’t part of her original plan—but now, it’s a mission she embraces with open arms. “For me, I am happy to take up the opportunity to run for the English school board representative in the NDG Ward,” Nelson reflects. “It’s a pleasure to be able to do it, to have the opportunity to make a difference. That’s what it is—expanding our community and building on what others have done before and even exceeding some of what was done previously. It’s very rewarding to see that you can be the change you want to see in your community.”

Nelson’s path to candidacy began with a phone call from Joe Ortona, the incumbent chair of the English Montreal School Board. The EMSB is Quebec’s largest English board, serving 35,000 students.

“He was looking for someone to run in the English school board elections for the NDG ward, and I was helping him search for a candidate. Then, someone said to me, ‘Why don’t you do it?’” Nelson recalls. “I realized that It was an opportunity for me to bridge both worlds—education and community.”

Team Ortona’s campaign is centered around the slogan “Elevating Educational Heights, Defending English Rights,” and it speaks to its focus on protecting the rights of English-speaking students while fostering academic excellence. “There’s nothing really standing in front of us once we have the right tools and the right information. We can definitely build better.”

Nelson understands that the rights of English speakers in Quebec are a sensitive issue, particularly in the face of recent legislation. “In the last two years, Joe Ortona and his team have defended English rights, and we need to continue that momentum,” she says.

“The English Montreal School Board is the only board pushing back against laws like Bill 21 and Bill 96, saying, ‘No, we don’t accept this.’ We have rights protected by the Canadian Charter, and it’s our responsibility to stand by those.”

However, she is quick to clarify that her advocacy for English rights doesn’t exclude the value of bilingualism. “It’s not a one-sided approach. We certainly welcome bilingualism,” Nelson emphasizes. “In the English Montreal School Board, children are bilingual. People want to learn Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Japanese etc. Learning other languages opens one up to a whole new way of seeing things and understanding people.”

As the population of English-speaking students declines in certain areas, the need to preserve English schools becomes more urgent. “We’ve seen a shrinking number of enrollment in English schools in the NDG Ward, and it’s crucial to keep those schools open,” she explains. “This isn’t just for the English-speaking community. Francophone children could also have an opportunity to learn English and thrive in a second language. It’s not a one-sided approach—it’s about giving all children the tools to succeed. We need to focus on creating an inclusive Quebec where people of all backgrounds and languages can thrive.”

One of Team Ortona’s key goals is to strengthen the connection between schools and the wider community. Nelson affirms that parents play a huge role in the education system—as their children’s primary role models, the biggest champions. Their involvement and engagement fuel their children to do better and strive for more.

Nelson urges the public to vote in the upcoming English school board elections on November 3rd. Parents of children enrolled or previously enrolled in English schools should confirm their registration status on the electoral list. Those who have not previously been registered but wish to vote can do so by contacting Elections Quebec. The deadline to update the list is October 15th

For more information on the upcoming elections visit the website: https://www.emsb.qc.ca/emsb/about/governance/elections/voting-rights

Sharon Nelson Targets English School Board Seat Read More »

NDG residents put “Bonjour-Hi” in hot demand

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The Bonjour-Hi artwork that blanketed much of NDG last month, to the delight of many residents but the chagrin of the city and borough, is becoming a hot commodity.

As reported in The Suburban last month, west end curbs, bike and walking paths, SAQ outlets and roadways were adorned with stencilled Bonjour-Hi artwork with happy faces and dog and cat symbols, the simple bilingual expression the bane of language hawks, denounced by the National Assembly and rejected by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante appearing prominently throughout NDG.

Within days of appearing, city crews erased them. Following a second swath with added “woofs” and “meows,” city workers were busy in the wee morning hours washing away fresh artwork a few hours following their appearance.

Despite the mayor’s and province’s distaste for the word “Hi”, people are clamouring for a version on their property. NDG resident Nancy Breitman says she heard from many asking for artwork on their walkways and driveways, some want posters. She doesn’t know the artist responsible but sent a message through a third person and was told they were agreeable.

“When I first saw one on Monkland I thought it was so neat. It seemed like it just fell out of the sky, and then I saw another one, and another one, and I found it adorable,” she told The Suburban. “It’s friendly, it makes you feel good, and I don’t get a political vibe from it. Not at all. It’s just something beautiful.”

Another resident told The Suburban, “it’s the city that’s making the political statement, by erasing it so fast. Not the artist.” Breitman was also annoyed. “Then of course your mind goes to politics. How petty! This is the best neighbourhood. I’ve lived here for 25 years, we get along. I’ve never had a single dispute on language in my life. It’s just not a thing.” For that reason, she was taken aback by the city’s swift removal, as were many on local social media. “Apart from the few ‘petty and grumpy’ I found this absolutely beautiful, and part of what I believe exists in NDG and Montreal in general. Certainly in NDG this spirit is alive and well.”

She proposed it online and got an enthusiastic response. “We should flood NDG with this beautiful message that people here feel unity and love for each other. I want to be able to walk around and see these messages everywhere. It’s not a graffiti issue, this is art. Someone took the thought and employed visual elements to create a message. Art is the greatest disruptor. Let us have this little tiny pleasure space. This is real inclusion. We are part of the mosaic of Montreal, and we will not be erased.”

Bettina Karpel is one of the dozens of residents who want one on her property, “maybe with a meow” and says there’s nothing political about it. “I really think it’s a community building exercise. I’m aware some people are upset about it but it’s a happy thing and celebrating who we are as a bilingual community that really gets along despite what politicians try to do. It’s a happy message and we really need happy right now.” She said when the city painted “weird designs” on roads last year to spruce up areas and leisure spots, she thought, “how awful, but then I realized they’re trying to make it prettier. It grows on you. It’s the same thing here.”

The Suburban spoke with the artist who only confirmed that there is an initiative but offered no other details. n

NDG residents put “Bonjour-Hi” in hot demand Read More »

Man shot near NDG daycares

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

A 27-year-old man was shot near two daycares in NDG on Wednesday. Montreal police responded to reports of gunfire just before noon and found the 27-year-old victim on Montclair near Fielding.

According to police, the man was with a woman when he was approached by another man who struck him and then shot twice, with one bullet striking him in the lower body. The suspect fled on foot and the victim was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police found two shell casings on the ground near Nif-Naf and K.I.D.S daycare centres and are interviewing witnesses. No arrests were made as of press time.

Police set up a perimeter and closed Montclair between Fielding and Chester Ave, and Fielding between Walkley and Rosedale. According to media reports, the men had been involved in an altercation earlier on Wednesday. See next week’s Suburban for community reaction to rising violence

Man shot near NDG daycares Read More »

NDG’s Porchfest pleases

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The clouds took note, the sun was ready and all of NDG was primed, as crowds of west-enders walked, biked, strollered, drove and scootered to locations across NDG for Porchfest NDG 2024. More than 80 bands, duets and solo artists took to the stoops, balconies and lawns of homes across the neighborhood, while the lanes, curbs and roadways filled with folks who stopped to listen and dance to original music and covers.

Indeed, the eclectic offer of rap, blues, folk, rock, punk, jazz, alt and more, meant something for everyone and the weather cooperated. There was something magical on the first truly summery weekend listening to Linda Benoy’s folksy tunes under the wisteria, while further south local rapper Holden Stephan Roy brought his beats and infamous pickle hate to the street. If you were lucky you caught a special treat, Sarah Segal-Lazar and her fan fave If This City Were a Man. Outside Kensington Church on Sunday afternoon the Ok Chorale brought more than 40 voices together for a set of classic pop folk and rock, while up on Hingston the Sofa Kings paid wonderful tribute to the late great Gordon Lightfoot.

Every year Porchfest raises money for worthwhile local causes and this year was no different, with each venue collecting funds for Women on the Rise, a local non-profit organization that offers empowerment-based individual support, group support, and resource services to women and their families. Porchfest NDG has raised some $48,000 for local orgs since 2015. n

NDG’s Porchfest pleases Read More »

Police shoot suspected car thief in NDG

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The police shooting of a suspected car thief in NDG is being investigated by Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI).

The incident occurred in lower NDG at around 5 p.m. Wednesday, when police officers responded to reports of a car theft.

As officers approached the suspect in the vehicle, the suspect reportedly drove towards the officers in an attempt to elude arrest when police fired near the corner of Addington and Saint-Jacques.

One passenger in the vehicle was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Some media reports suggest the suspect was shot three times, which the SPVM has not confirmed. The car ended up a block west on the curb at Girouard and Saint-Jacques, and the officers involved were treated for shock.

Multiple police vehicles quickly arrived, and a large swath of the area was cordoned off, as bus traffic was diverted and investigators began to canvas the area for witnesses.

The Bureau des enquêtes indépendants investigates all police interventions resulting in a death or serious injury. n

Police shoot suspected car thief in NDG Read More »

Standing Watch: NDG school crossing guard Joanne Herbut

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

Joanne Herbut is chill, in the chill. Smart, layered, and always on the move, the 58-year-old NDG resident stands watch at Girouard and N.D.G. Avenue. The school crossing guard (brigadier scolaire) outside the district’s busiest school steps off the curb, eyes darting back and forth, head on a pivot, STOP sign raised, and marches briskly into the intersection of bike and car lanes, where hundreds of kids, parents, pets and strollers make their way through the carrefour while buses, bikes, cars and trucks idle in the cold morning air.

“This is my fifth year at the corner,” Herbut told The Suburban on a frigid Wednesday morning, amid dozens of ‘bonjours,’ ‘good mornings’ and little grins peeking through scarves outside École Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

She moves fast so people can move slow, and like many full-time guards, does four hours in three shifts per day: before school, lunchtime and after school. She began on call at Décarie and N.D.G. and after six weeks moved over to this permanent spot.

Herbut has watched kids swathed in strollers go to walking with parents, then walking alone. “They are great, but when they start walking on their own it can be challenging. Like, they don’t understand the consequences, so they take chances, but still need some reminders. And they test you,” she laughs.

For 25 years Herbut worked in special needs education and after taking some time off, decided to get back into the workforce when a friend suggested crossing guard. “I never thought about it but one day I was doing some errands and stopped to speak to a crossing guard and asked some questions.” The job suited her to a ‘T’. “I love working with the community, meeting people and being outside. I’m not the type that can sit at a desk inside all day.”

There are 525 permanent and 134 surplus guards in the city, says SPVM communications agent Caroline Labelle, and 538 active school crossings, “but as our personnel are not evenly distributed across the island, we are always recruiting to ensure maximum coverage of each area and safety for all children.”

Future crossing guards receive a one-day training course given by the SPVM, consisting of theoretical and practical components, based on the SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) guide. Candidates undergo a medical exam and security check. Starting salary is $20.52 per hour and guards work about 20 hours a week. (On-call may vary.) All gear is supplied, summers and spring break are off, and schedules vary depending on crossing.

Station 9 Commander Stéphane Desroches says the shortage of guards “affects this district, where we have 21 pedestrian school crossings and 50 schools, but there is always someone staffing a crossing,” he told The Suburban. “Always.” That may mean bringing in patrol cops, “or calling in our cadre of cadets or reservists (retired officers).”

Herbut says the important skills are “being friendly, very diligent and observant,” and channels her patience that’s served her for years. “Some days are more challenging than others, but the community is amazing.” She smiles at a family with an exuberant dog in tow. “A mini bonus of this job is all the beautiful dogs I get to meet.” Local city councillor Peter McQueen says Herbut “is a great brigadier and all the parents and students at N.D.G. school appreciate her.”

The toughest thing working outside a school with some 900 young students on a busy artery “is dealing with drivers with a sense of entitlement. I’m sorry to have to say that.” She’s never had a dangerous interaction, but she has had to be assertive, and received some rather rude comments. “Sometimes I think my patience is my salvation and I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am still surprised.” n

Standing Watch: NDG school crossing guard Joanne Herbut Read More »

Taxes and CDN/NDG’s “dirty” water

By Joel Ceausu

Like other Montrealers, Neal Mukherjee just got his municipal property tax bill. But one line on it caught the particular attention of the NDG resident: “I was billed an amount for water service tax. Considering that my water is contaminated with lead,” he asked Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, “considering my water is dirty, why is the city taxing me on dirty water?”

“The city, if I’m not mistaken, gave itself 10 years to change the lead water entries for all Montrealers,” responded Katahwa, “and in Côte des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grace, we are one of the most advanced boroughs in terms of changing these lead water entries for citizens here.” She then pointed out that “you use water for all kinds of reasons: to drink, to prepare, to take your shower, so water is an important resource for many people.”

While the city has decided to change the lead water entries, she says “the level that is in some of our pipes is not a level that is dangerous for the health of the population in where it is right now. So we have time to change them because it’s the best practice to do, and we want to have the best water possible for Montrealers, but you’re not poisoning yourself right now. Water is a resource that is increasingly scarce and important in the world, so I think we should all be very grateful to be able to have this running water in our homes.”

“Your answer that water is important, I agree,” said Mukherjee. “That is probably the most important service the city can offer its residents. So why is it not a more important priority for this administration or for this city?” In response, Katahwa pointed out that as a past mayoralty candidate Mukherjee has to look at the numbers. “We are investing a lot in our aqueduct infrastructure in the city of Montreal. We’re going to have to invest a lot in the next few years, that’s what makes us an administration that has decided not to ignore the maintenance of our infrastructure and we put a lot, a lot of money into it. When you say it’s not a priority. I admit I don’t understand what you mean.”

After council Mukherjee expressed “surprise that a former health professional has no problems with residents having a little bit of lead in their water. So much for public health!” n

Taxes and CDN/NDG’s “dirty” water Read More »

Scroll to Top