Platform and Accomplishments
It continues to be a privilege to serve as your councillor for CSL District 4. In meeting with you, I have heard your concerns. Thank you for your continued support and the confidence you have shown in me. My goal has been to continue to make improvements both in District 4 and the City of Cote Saint-Luc as a whole.
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Parks and Infrastructure Initiatives
In District 4, since elected, I have worked to initiate major renovations to Schwartz, Fletcher and Earle Parks, the creation of the Joe Raie Nature Path / Dog Run, to ensure our children have safe and dynamic places to play. This included adding new play structures, new splash pad equipment, a skate spot and a community garden in District 4. A new walking path with 23 trees and 7 benches was installed at Prud’homme Park. Additional upgrades were done at Schwartz Park to replace the roof of the chalet and add a new bike repair station.
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A new climbing wall and shade structure was installed at Fletcher Park to give children and families another place to play and relax on hot days. This summer a new bathroom and waterfountain were added. I thank the residents that gave their feedback for these projects at district meetings or placemaking sessions.
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Cote Saint-Luc has increased the budget for small parks projects from $300,000 to $500,000 per year, and will continue to increase this every year. This enables the city to improve the offerings in local parks that are used daily by residents.
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I am continuing to focus on improvements to the city’s infrastructure. We saw major renovations to the Westminster Underpass including the replacement and extension of the railing and repairs to the retaining wall. This ensures safe passage for the pedestrians and hundreds of children that walk along the underpass each day. We have installed new pumps at all 3 underpasses in CSL to secure safe passage even during the worst of thunderstorms.
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In the next few years, there will be major renovations to the Cote Saint-Luc Road Underpass in partnership with the City of Montreal. This project will see the reconstruction of the pedestrian passageways on both sides and the retaining walls to improve safety of our residents.
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We have sleeved about 24% of the water pipes in Cote Saint-Luc and over 30% of the pipes in District 4 have either been sleeved or undergone cathodic protection. This adds up to 50 years to the life of a pipe. I also pushed for pressure-regulating chambers to insulate CSL pipes from irregular fluctuations in Montreal’s water pressure. In the last few years we have reduced the average number of watermain breaks by 61%, reducing the number of homes damaged by water.
In District 4, Cote Saint-Luc repaved the following streets: Arcadian, Kingsley, Cranbrooke, Magnolia, Luck and sections of Smart, Westluke, Sunnybrooke and Wolseley. Over the last few years, 7,200m of sidewalks were replaced in CSL, with much of this being in District 4. We did a complete renovation of the traffic lights at Cote Saint-Luc Rd. & Westminster including adding sonar devices for those that are visually impaired. This was a first in Cote Saint-Luc and one of the first in the Province of Quebec.
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Cote Saint-Luc has been working on an action plan to address lead service lines. Until 2019, the maximum allowable measurement was 10 ppb of lead. That year, the limit was lowered to 5 ppb. We tested about 1700 homes and found that the majority of the readings were between 5-10 ppb. Each year, Cote Saint-Luc is replacing the lead service lines on the city side of the pipe and encouraging residents to replace the private side at the same time. If you may have lead, we urge you to use a filter and apply for one of the grants available from the city.
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Over the next four years, my goals include to repave more roads and reline or protect more pipes in the district and in all of Cote Saint-Luc. Additionally we will replace approximately 2,300 metres of sidewalk each year.
Environmental Initiatives
I am also proud to hold the environment and sustainability portfolio. We have reduced the tonnages of waste going to landfill by 44 percent while the amount of waste diverted has nearly tripled. In 2007, the organic waste pilot project that I planned and initiated began in Cote Saint-Luc. A year later, Cote Saint-Luc was the first city on the Island and one of the first in the province to adopt a Brown Bin Organic Waste Collection for all single-family homes and duplexes. We presented the program at the National Assembly and have assisted many other cities to use our program as a turnkey model. Since first elected, I pressed to expand recycling to all apartment buildings, offer bulky waste collection, more household hazardous and e-waste drop-off opportunities, and have held zero-waste events. As more waste is diverted from landfills, not only is it better for the environment, it will also save the city money.
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I can share that Cote Saint-Luc had concerns regarding the way our organic waste was being treated and the restrictions on compostable corn starch bags that many residents use. After adopting a resolution, meeting with employees of Montreal’s environment department and discussions at the compost treatment facility in St-Laurent, there seems to be more openness in terms of accepting the compostable bags. Residents should ensure that if they are using the cornstarch bags, they are certified compostable (not biodegradable which is a lesser standard).
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Côte Saint-Luc has been forced to cut down more than 2,000 diseased trees since 2013, mostly due to the Emerald Ash Borer. I’m happy to say that Cote Saint-Luc caught up in 2022 to overcome the tree deficit and we are back in a positive situation. The goal for Cote Saint-Luc is to plant at least 300 trees per year to grow our tree canopy and beautify the city. As part of the Tree for my Neighbourhood program, we are inviting residents to purchase a tree to plant on your property.
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Côte Saint-Luc has begun switching streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs with roughly 1000 completed including many in District 4. All the cobra heads on the main streets have been replaced and now the “cubes” are being changed over to new LED fixtures.
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Cote Saint-Luc has installed Geothermal heating for the ACC, replaced the bunker oil boiler for the outdoor pool with a cheaper, more environmentally friendly natural gas heating system. I have organized meetings with Hydro-Quebec to save money for Cote Saint-Luc on our energy costs and I’m continuing to work on energy and cost-saving measures.
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I lobbied successfully for the purchase of electric vehicles and installation of charging stations. Cote Saint-Luc has been purchasing electric vehicles each year with the goal to eventually replace all the lighter public works and public security patrol vehicles, The first on-street chargers in Cote Saint-Luc were installed on Baily across from Fletcher Park. In 2026, in partnership with Hydro-Quebec, there will be 4 new level 3 high-speed chargers on Kingsley.
Moving forward, I will continue to work hard for Cote Saint-Luc to be a leader in environmental initiatives. Some of the ideas I will push for include requiring all new large developments to have grey water recycling for water runoff and future proofing-new apartment buildings and condos with EV chargers in the parking lots.
I am very happy to continue fighting to preserve Meadowbrook as a green space. Though the court case is still ongoing with the owner, we are confident that in the end, Cote Saint-Luc will be successful.
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Local District Initiatives
In the district, I have also focused on adding new stop signs and traffic calming measures and several new beautification measures such as removing graffiti, new benches, picnic tables, public recycling bins and the clean-up of vacant lots. I also lobbied for Bell to enhance many of their utility boxes in CSL to camouflage them with the environment and prevent graffiti.
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I have been working in conjunction with CSL’s Public Security and Urban Planning as well as Montreal’s Police and Fire Departments to address health and safety issues in some of the apartment buildings in the district. I will continue to be persistent to make sure improvements are put in place or push for continuous fines until the buildings are repaired or issues addressed.
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I thank those of you that have given me your feedback. In the next four years, residents will see more traffic calming measures, trees, and benches in the district. I continue to regularly patrol the district and try to pro-actively alert the various city departments to issues before residents have to bring them up.
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Bill 96
Cote Saint-Luc led the charge in terms of resolutions protesting some of the unfair sections of Bill 96, the updated Charter of the French Language adopted by the Quebec National Assembly. We organized 23 other cities to launch a court challenge against some of the key clauses in the law.
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Bill 96 requires cities and other administrative bodies to put in place disciplinary measures for employees who do not comply with the linguistic obligations of the law. City workers shouldn’t be treated like high school students in a French class. English is the first official language spoken by 14% of the Quebec population, yet only 1% of Quebec’s civil service are English-speaking, and Bill 96 will only decrease this number. This will lead to further reduced services for English-speaking Quebecers moving forward.
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We cannot accept that the Office Quebecois de la langue française (OQLF) could inspect and seize at any time without prior notice, documents or equipment belonging to any city. All this could be done based on anonymous tips and could lead to not only fines, but instability in the workplace. Even the police do not have the right to do this.
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Bill 96 also puts cities at a much higher risk of losing bilingual status. With Bill 96 in place, cities must opt in every few years in a very complicated system that makes it easier for cities to lose the status rather than keep it. This only hurts the English-speaking population in Quebec.
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Among the cities with bilingual status, there are some where 99% of people speak English as their first language. It is absurd that they would have to write all contract documents in French. This will hurt small and medium size businesses in our communities that don’t have the capacity to prepare contracts in French. If a contract is written in English, it would be considered null and void according to Bill 96.
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Finally, Bill 96 allows the Minister of the French Language to unilaterally withhold all government grants if the municipality does not comply with any provision of the Charter of the French Language. We estimate that could involve a potential loss of $25 Million per year for the cities involved in the case. This would leave a city incapable of providing many services that are necessary for the people including road and pipe repairs, environmental initiatives and purchasing library books.
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We understand the need to protect and promote the French language and Quebec’s culture, but believe it should not be done to the detriment of the English-speaking community. In a time when diversity and inclusion are values that have been taken on by public and private organizations, it’s sad that the objective of Bill 96 seems to be the opposite by having threatening clauses like searches and seizures based on anonymous complaints and the potential withdrawal of government funding for non-compliance of the law.
Master Plan
Over the last few years, the Cote Saint-Luc Council has been working on preparing the Master Plan document. This involves changes to the zoning for several areas in Cote Saint-Luc including the 3 shopping centres, Cavendish Mall, Cote Saint-Luc Shopping Centre and Decarie Square. I recognize that the future of malls throughout North America and the world are changing as the number of online purchases grow.
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The aim would be to have mixed use developments on the sites of the shopping centres, with commercial, residential and institutional elements. At the same time, we need to ensure that traffic and density are addressed as to how it impacts the local areas.
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The additional tax revenue through this developments will help Cote Saint-Luc step up our investment in the city’s infrastructure. We are also lobbying for new train stations to be added behind Cote Saint-Luc Shopping Centre and beside Decarie Square to improve the access to public transit for our residents.
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In terms of District 4, the zoning of the Westminster Corridor will be most affected by the Master Plan. This involves changes to the zoning of the buildings along Westminster to increase density.
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One element that we are looking at is the location of the EMS Headquarters at 8100 Cote Saint-Luc Road. Though my original preference was to keep the location in District 4, I understand that the building doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of Cote Saint-Luc’s Public Safety and Emergency Medical Services teams. With that in mind, the goal would be to find a suitable location for the EMS/PS while freeing up the current location with a use that includes a community element.
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Safety and Security
The safety and security of all Cote Saint-Luc residents continues to be one of the city’s top priorities. With this in mind, we have increased the budget for patrols by our public security officers. We are continuing to add more patrols and improve the partnership with the local Police Station 9, provincial and RCMP officers, and the Federation CJA’s Community Security Network.
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Patrols have been stepped up around local schools and synagogues especially during holidays and school hours. We also encourage those who are interested to join our team of vCOP (Volunteer Citizens on Patrol) and add more eyes to keep our city safe.
Anti-Smoking Initiatives
As a parent, I was extremely bothered by adults smoking in parks and playground areas and presented legislation to ban smoking in playgrounds, sports fields and at the outdoor pool. Cote Saint-Luc was one of the first cities in Canada to adopt this legislation in 2012. Finally 4 years later, the provincial government adopted similar legislation. In the last few years, Cote Saint-Luc’s communication department put up improved signage in playground areas reminding residents of the anti-smoking legislation.
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Youth Initiatives
I want to continue to ensure that Cote Saint-Luc is providing activities for children of all ages. I’m happy that we were able to have the park monitor return at Fletcher Park. The free program for children 5 to 12 years old, ran Monday to Friday, from 3 pm to 7 pm over an 8 week period during the summer.
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I was able to successful get the return of the skating rink at Schwartz Park and pushed for additional skating spots this past winter, including at Fletcher Park
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Some of the initiatives I will continue to work on include more funding for smaller community parks. The priority will be more water installations and shade structures to make the parks more enjoyable given the effect of climate change. We will be upgrading most playgrounds over the upcoming years from sand to wood chips or rubberized surfaces, though we will be looking at keeping small sand areas such as what was done at Schwartz Park. We will also be expanding the variety of activities offered by the city such as more after-school programs for children.
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Financial Initiatives
The goal of the city has been to maintain or improve the services offered while keeping the tax rate as low as possible. I am proud to hold the finance portfolio and chair the Audit Committee since 2014. For 8 of the last 12 years we have kept the average tax increase for Cote Saint-Luc residents at or below the rate of inflation. There have been a few difficult years where the rate of the central city or Agglomeration of Montreal passed on huge increases.
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Over the last few years to better prepare for these increases, the Cote Saint-Luc Audit Committee set up a subcommittee to look at the core services we offer. The subcommittee ensured that we are able to continue delivering these offerings while reducing costs or eliminating non-essential expenses.
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In 2025, we set up two additional subcommittees to further optimize city services and the cost for programs. The first subcommittee is examining the cost of snow removal and is comparing the expense for doing snow removal in-house versus outsourcing it to private contractors. The second one is looking at the price for programs and courses for Cote Saint-Luc residents vs non-residents.