Is your family prepared?

Emergency Preparedness Week 2008 is taking place May 4 to 10. This is a great time to learn about emergency preparedness and take practical steps to prepare. Have you lived through an emergency? EP Week is also a chance to share your story with others.
 
Read our safety tip to learn how to do your part during Emergency Preparedness Week 2008 and share this information with family and friends.
 
To learn how to prepare for a range of emergencies, visit www.GetPrepared.ca.

>> Learn more

What is the Daily Hello Bonjour Program?

A program to maintain daily contact with seniors who live alone to ensure their well being.

How does it work?

Every morning from Monday to Friday, a volunteer will call you to see that everything is fine. You can also choose to call in yourself. If you cannot be reached, a series of phone calls will be made to a pre-established list of contacts (such as the building concierge, relatives or friends) who can confirm for us your well being.

Will it cost you anything?

No, this program is absolutely free for all Côte Saint-Luc residents.

Why enrol in this program?

The purpose of this program is to ensure the safety of seniors living alone in our community. It is an extra security net to ensure your well-being.

If you have any questions or would like to register, please call 514-485-6819.

Quebec Minister of Education Michelle Courchesne visited Merton School in Côte Saint-Luc on Monday, March 31, 2008.

Steven Erdelyi, Dida Berku, Anthony Housefather, Mike Cohen, Minister Michelle Courchesne, Lawrence Bergman, Principal  Raizel Candib (Photo credit: Martin Barry)

The City of Côte Saint-Luc is looking for more recruits to expand its successful Volunteer Citizens on Patrol program.
For more information about the program, contact the vCOP team at 514-485-6800 or vcop@cotesaintluc.org.

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The Côte Saint-Luc Volunteer Citizens on Patrol (vCOP) program is an innovative approach to community safety and security.

Working in collaboration with Côte Saint-Luc Public Security, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Montreal Police Department, the vCOP members patrol the city, observing and reporting any suspicious activities or problems. vCOP members are not law enforcement personnel; instead, they act as the "eyes and ears" for our emergency services.

Visible on the streets and in parks, and at many special events throughout the year, the vCOP patrols helps deter crime and assist people in need.

Our goal is to repair potholes as soon as weather allows it. Use this form to report non-emergency problems such as pot holes, minor street repairs, malfunctioning traffic signals, and damaged street signs.

Councillors Steven Erdelyi and Mitchell Brownstein presented a brief was on February 6, 2008 at 3:15pm to the Transport and Environment Commission of the National Assembly of Quebec studying ecological waste management issues

The brief provides background information about how the City of Côte Saint-Luc implemented its organic waste collection program, and provide recommendations for the Government of Quebec. We hope that our waste diversion program can become a model for cities throughout Quebec. 

The Côte Saint-Luc City Council on December 18, 2007 adopted its 2008 local municipal budget of $30.05 million, while keeping the average residential property tax increase below the rate of inflation.

The budget provides for minimal property tax increases for the average residential taxpayer, with the average increase being below the rate of inflation. The owner of a single-family home whose property valuation increased at the average rate of 36 percent will pay 1.69 percent more in local property taxes than he or she did in 2007. Other individual tax accounts may be lower or higher, depending on the variation of their assessment in the four-year property valuation assessment roll, which increased the valuation of some properties more than others.

The council and management team implemented a strict budgetary process used in the private sector. Instead of using last year’s budget as a base and adding to it, a form of zero-based budgeting was used where every department function was reviewed comprehensively and all expenditures had to be justified.

In conformity with article 474.1 of the Cities and Towns Act, the mayor of every city and town in Quebec must report on its the financial situation and on the orientations for the upcoming 2008 budget.

This Mayor's Report was read my Mayor Anthony Housefather at a public council meeting at Côte Saint-Luc City Hall on Monday, November 12, 2007. 

>> Read a copy of the Mayor's Report 2007  

Mayor Anthony Housefather and councillors Glenn J. Nashen and Dida Berku spoke before a Quebec National Assembly commission on Thursday, November 15, 2007. The commission is studying Bill 22, which was tabled by the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Nathalie Normandeau earlier this year.

The bill includes a series of reforms to the island-wide urban agglomeration council and includes a provision to allow Côte Saint-Luc EMS to continue responding to Priority 1 (i.e., life threatening) emergency medical calls. Without such a provision, the Montreal fire department would take over responsibility of these kinds of medical calls in 2009.

>> Watch video of the presentation by Mayor Housefather

>> Read the brief submitted by Côte Saint-Luc
>> Read the brief submitted by the Association of Suburban Municipalities (ASM)

Home security for snow birds with Constable Vincent De Angelis of Neighbourhood Police Station 9 was held on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 10 to 11am at Côte Saint-Luc City Hall, 5801 Cavendish Blvd.

Constable De Angelis spoke about how to protect your home while you are away for the winter or on vacation, including this tips.

• Cancel newspaper deliveries and have mail held by the post office or picked up by someone you trust.
• Ask a neighbour to collect junk mail from the front of your home.
• Use timers on your lights and radio to give you home a lived-in look.
• Don’t announce your absence on your answering machine. Instead, say you are “not available at this time.”
• If you have a ladder in your back yard, lock it up.

If you see anything suspicious or witness a crime, call 9-1-1 and write down the details.

The RBC Royal Bank Branch on Cavendish Blvd. and Kildare Rd. celebrated recently its 30th anniversary. Pictured here are Councillor Mike Cohen, Mayor Anthony Housefather and RBC Regional Vice-President Geneviéve Brouillard.

The City of Côte Saint-Luc unveiled a plaque adding the name of Helen Suzman to the list of distinguished honorees on the city's Human Rights Walkway at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park (6975 Mackle Rd.) on Friday, October 19 at 1pm.

Inaugurated in September 2000 and located at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park, the Côte Saint-Luc Human Rights Walkway is dedicated to those men and women who, by their steadfast commitment to mankind, have held high the torch of human rights and let it light the world. Helen Suzman joins other notable honorees on the Walkway, including René Cassin, John P. Humphrey, Raoul Wallenberg, Jules Deschênes, Maxwell Cohen, and Mary Two-Axe Early.

Born in 1917, Ms. Suzman served in the parliament of South Africa for 36 years and was a vocal critic of the policy of apartheid. She was once accused by a minister of asking questions in parliament that embarrassed South Africa, to which she replied: “It is not my questions that embarrass South Africa, it is your answers.”

After apartheid ended and when free elections were held, Ms. Suzman was by the side of President Nelson Mandela when he signed the new constitution in 1996. Today, she is 90 years old and lives in South Africa.

The public can learn more about the past honourees at www.CoteSaintLuc.org/en/Walkway . For more information about Helen Suzman, visit her foundation website at www.hsf.org.za .

Pictured here are Mayor Housefather and Consul General of South Africa, Ms. N. F. Nojozi.

Côte Saint-Luc residents can now easily measure the distance of their walks thanks the four Heart in Motion walking paths inaugurated on September 30, 2007 at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park (6975 Mackle Rd.).

Four walking paths of 1km, 3km, 5km and 8km were created on existing city sidewalks as part of the Heart in Motion program of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec. The paths will be marked every half kilometer with distinct yellow and blue Heart in Motion signs so walkers can track their progress. The paths start from the southwest corner of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park.

“The City of Côte Saint-Luc is committed to providing services for the health and well-being of residents,” Mayor Anthony Housefather said. “The four new walking paths will give residents another way to stay physically fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

This program has spread around the world, with similar paths in Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden. Walking improves blood circulation and strengthens the heart.

Download a detailed map (PDF, 1 MB) of the four trails. A large map of the paths is at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park.

The walking paths were inaugurated on Sunday, September 30, 2007.

Brown Bin Organic Waste Collection Program

The City of Côte Saint-Luc is launching a pilot project to collect organic waste door-to-door from single-family homes in parts of district 4 and district 5.

The first collection was on Tuesday, September 25, 2007.

This project will make Côte Saint-Luc a leader on the island of Montreal for the treatment of residual waste and will help create a better environment for future generations.

We are counting on the participation of your family and other selected households to make this new program a success.

Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather and Councillor Mitchell Brownstein accepted a cheque of $1.375 million on September 20, 2007 from D'Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman and the federal Minister of Public Works, Michael Fortier on behalf of the governments of Quebec and Canada.

Côte Saint-Luc is receiving the funds as part of a federal-provincial program to help fund municipal infrastructure, such as aqueducts and roads.