WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve....

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Roslyn closes English stream, teacher Rill retires News & analysis by Don Wedge Everyone seems to have come out a winner in the new pacts between the Quebec government, Montreal and the demerged cities. The average abused suburban taxpayer will get at least slight relief from subsidizing Big Montreal and there will be only one tax bill – from Westmount – in future. For once, even Premier Jean Charest looks good with his mu- nicipal stewardship. It was a moment of municipal political history as Westmount mayor Karin Marks president of the Association of Suburban Mayors signed the multi-partner agreement with Municipal Af- fairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau and Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay at Montreal city hall on June 12. In a carefully choreographed ceremony, Marks was followed by all the other mayors of reconstituted cites. The point could not have been made more strongly that the gov- ernment recognized reconstituted cities as enti- WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT June 17-18, 2008 Vol. 2 No. 6b We are Westmount Pied-à-Terre to close. Vic Village retailers under pressure p.7 By-election: Interviews with THREE candidates, a FOURTH found p. 6 Province crafts deal with Montreal, demerged mayors One tax bill, less money to agglom continued on p. 5 150 years Proudly celebrating 150 years of client trust and service (1858-2008) Your Independent Choice in Wealth Management For further information on our financial services, visit our website Arlene Rill is retiring after 17 years at Roslyn School. This year was also the final year of Roslyn’s English stream (i.e. non-French immer- sion), in which she taught. Story on p. 17. Mayor: Local control of security key By Laureen Sweeney Westmount “absolutely” must retain local control of its Public Security Unit, Mayor Karin Marks said last week in re- acting to a police plan for some form of in- tegration of municipal and other security forces on Montreal Island. While the subject of integrating Public Security into the police force has surfaced from time to time over the years, West- mount can be best served by being able to hire and train its own personnel and direct their work according to local needs,” Marks told the Westmount Independent. “It has to remain a local service,” she said. Police to present new plan Marks said Montreal police director Yvan Delorme is to make a presentation on the subject of a “global approach” to public security to the 15 demerged suburbs before the meeting of the agglomeration council June 19. “I’ll know more about it after that.” continued on p. 15 Profile: Men Who Read p. 18 Westmount mayor Karin Marks (seated) flanked by provincial ministers Nathalie Normandeau and Raymond Bachand (left) and Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay (right). Photo: Robert J. Galbraith VIVIAN & BRIAN GRANT 592-4636 249-1500 “Working hard to exceed you expectations.” CTR BKR

Transcript of WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve....

Page 1: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

Roslyn closesEnglish stream,

teacher Rill retiresNews & analysis by Don Wedge

Everyone seems to have come out a winner in the new pactsbetween the Quebec government, Montreal and the demergedcities. The average abused suburban taxpayer will get at leastslight relief from subsidizing Big Montreal and there will be onlyone tax bill – from Westmount – in future.

For once, even Premier Jean Charest looks good with his mu-nicipal stewardship.

It was a moment of municipal political history as Westmountmayor Karin Marks president of the Association of SuburbanMayors signed the multi-partner agreement with Municipal Af-fairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau andMontreal mayor GéraldTremblay at Montreal city hall on June 12.

In a carefully choreographed ceremony, Marks was followedby all the other mayors of reconstituted cites. The point couldnot have been made more strongly that the gov-ernment recognized reconstituted cities as enti-

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENTJune 17-18, 2008 Vol. 2 No. 6bWe are Westmount

Pied-à-Terre to close. Vic Village retailers under pressure p. 7By-election: Interviews with THREE candidates, a FOURTH found p.6

Province crafts deal with Montreal, demerged mayors

One tax bill, less money to agglom

continued on p. 5

150 years Proudly celebrating 150 years of client trust and service (1858-2008)

Your Independent Choicein Wealth Management

For further information on ourfinancial services, visit our website

Arlene Rill is retiring after 17 years at RoslynSchool. This year was also the final year ofRoslyn’s English stream (i.e. non-French immer-sion), in which she taught. Story on p. 17.

Mayor: Local control of security keyBy Laureen Sweeney

Westmount “absolutely” must retainlocal control of its Public Security Unit,Mayor Karin Marks said last week in re-acting to a police plan for some form of in-tegration of municipal and other securityforces on Montreal Island.

While the subject of integrating PublicSecurity into the police force has surfacedfrom time to time over the years, West-mount can be best served by being able to

hire and train its own personnel and directtheir work according to local needs,”Marks told theWestmount Independent.

“It has to remain a local service,” shesaid.

Police to present new plan

Marks said Montreal police directorYvan Delorme is to make a presentationon the subject of a “global approach” topublic security to the 15 demerged suburbsbefore the meeting of the agglomerationcouncil June 19. “I’ll knowmore about it after that.” continued on p. 15

Profile: Men Who Read p. 18

Westmount mayor KarinMarks (seated) flankedby provincial ministersNathalie Normandeauand Raymond Bachand(left) and Montrealmayor Gérald Tremblay(right). Photo: Robert J. Galbraith

VIVIAN & BRIAN GRANT592-4636 • 249-1500“Working hard to exceed

you expectations.”

CTR BKR

Page 2: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

2 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

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$1,150,000

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Westmount - 61Thornhill Ave.A perfect package. Great house/great street!

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Westmount adj. – 3787 Grey Ave.Totally renovated and extended. Breathtaking!

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Page 3: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 3

ECS sings at the Manoir

The ECS grade 4 class went to Manoir Westmount on June 9 to sing for residents. Pictured here, fromleft: Emily Simard, Jiasi Liu, Alice Lemay, Elizabeth Rohlicek, Alexandra Wechsler and CatherineFarmer. Photo: Robert J. Galbraith

Police chief changeNatalia Shuster, the former police com-

mander at Station 12, has been appointedto the newly created anti-gang squad,Eclipse, as one of its two commanders.

The appointment of her successor,Commander Michel Wilson, started onJune 16. He comes from the SWAT team.

Going on vacation?PSU can check homes

With the approaching holiday period,Westmounters are being reminded thatthey may call the Public Security Unit tokeep an eye on their property.

The program of Special Passing Atten-tion (SPA) means that patrols will checkout the exterior of homes for trouble, alert-ing police or residents’ representatives.

Residents requesting SPA should callthe Public Security dispatcher at 514.989.5222.

Last year, residents used it on 461 sep-arate occasions.

Spectacular bright home on large lot with city views is beautifully renovated. This family home hasa new cook’s kitchen, private master bedroom with sitting area and sunroom as well as six morebedrooms, central air and humidification, new Marvin windows, integrated 2 car garage, largedeck, garden and many more features. Brand new slate roof. Beautiful new landscaping. A mustsee. Asking $3,150,000.

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PEGGY McMULLAN514 933-5800

Affiliated Real Estate AgentGroupe Sutton Centre Ouest

Westmount

Westmount: Victorian townhouse in secludedlocation, steps to Staynor Park & tennis courts.Renovate to your taste. $535,000.

Le Plateau: Gorgeous loft, 1357 sq.ft.with 11½ ft. ceilings. Central air, indoorgarage. Reduced to $368,000.

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Peeing postmanA Prince Albert resident caught her

mailman urinating in her driveway onJune 6. She complained to Canada Post,pointing out, “There was no need. He wassteps away from the Sherbrooke/PrinceAlbert post office!”

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4 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

We are Westmount.

WESTMOUNTINDEPENDENT

Three times monthly(1st, 3rd and last Wednesday of the month),next issue: June 25Presstime: The Monday before – at 10:30 amWestmount (H3Y and H3Z):10,000 copies by Canada Post1,000 copies distributed to over40 waiting-room drops

Advertising sales:Annika Melanson 514.223.3567

Published by Sherbrooke-Valois Inc.310 Victoria Ave., Suite 105Westmount, QC H3Z 2M9Fax: 514.935.9241

Editor & Publisher: David Price 514.935.4537

Editorial coordinator: Kristin McNeill514.223.3578 – [email protected]

Chief reporter: Laureen [email protected]

Layout: Studio Melrose/Ted Sancton

Letters & Comments: We welcome your letters, but reserve the right to choose and edit them.Please email any letter and comments to [email protected].

Every letter of support helps us with advertisers!

If you don’t want to get our publication, Canada Post advises that you place a sticker on your mailbox that says, “No admail.” Si vous ne voulez pas reçevoir notre publication: Malheureusement, nous ne sommes pas capable de bloquerune adresse individuelle. Il faut mettre une étiquette près de votre boite à lettres qui lit « Pas de média-poste ».

If you do want to receive our publication and you have a sticker on your mailbox (or are outside our distribution area),please send a cheque for $1.50 times the number of issues left in the year. We will mail them to you for the rest of thecurrent calendar year.

Most frequently restocked drop sites: Lobby of 310 Victoria Ave.; Sherbrooke St. exit to Metro grocery store at VictoriaAve. and Sherbrooke St.

Drop notice: Snow conditions may delay us getting around to all of our drop sites on Tuesday of publication week.Whatever the snow conditions, we still aim to reach our “most reliable” drops (Metro on Victoria, Westmount Squareand 310 Victoria lobby) on Tuesdays.

By Eve AspinallMember of the Healthy City Project

If we are going to look after our envi-ronment effectively, we must be physicallyandmentally able to do so. We have to lookafter our health by taking care of ourselvesand, when unwell, have access to good andcontinuing care.

As the need for health care increaseswith the aging of the population, healthservices are declining. Approximately twomillion Quebec residents do not have afamily doctor.

Legacy of 1990s

This dates back to the mid 1990s whenthe federal government, in order to bal-ance its budget, cut transfer payments tothe provinces, drastically reducing themoney available for health and education.Trade agreements (such as NAFTA, WTO,FTAA) continue to take precedence. Theseagreements and financial treaties are notrequired to be made public even to thosewho may be affected. These decisions aremade by appointed politicos, and the deci-sions and expenditures come at the ex-pense of services: our health, education,culture, etc.

Across Canada, smaller hospitals thatserved their communities well and effi-ciently (such as the Queen Elizabeth Hos-pital) were indiscriminately closed underwhat proved to be a false assumption of

cost savings. Moreover, governmentsbegan closing nursing schools and cuttingenrolment at medical schools by 10 per-cent. The Quebec government further ex-acerbated the shortage of medicalpersonnel by offering doctors and nurses“early retirement packages”. This resultedin a huge loss of experienced personnelthat left hospitals critically understaffed, aswell as serious loss of the invaluable wis-dom and experience of older medical andnursing professionals.

Restrictions on doctors

In recent years, Quebec has restrictednew doctors’ rights to practise in Montrealby forcing them to work in outer regions.(Many who were trained here in our uni-versities and hospitals have left and areunlikely to return.) This translates into adeprivation of Montrealers’ access to pri-mary health care without any say on ourpart. “A quarter of Quebec’s people haveno regular physician. A third of people inMontreal have no physician,” says Dr.Martin Dawes, director of Family Medi-cine at McGill University.

For continuity of health care, you needto have a family doctor who knows and un-derstands you, who can diagnose what ailsyou, prescribe medication if needed, referyou to a specialist if required, keep chronicconditions under control, and generallykeep you in optimum condition and out ofhospitals. It is not known how many peo-

Part One of Two

Our Health

The Westmount Horticultural Society marked its 10th anniversary June 10 in the story garden of theWestmount Public Library with the presentation of a bird bath. The society’s early days were recalledby co-founders Stuart Robertson and Cynthia Lulham, shown above at centre, flanked by co-presidentGabrielle Pilot (left) and librarianWendy Wayling; and co-president Brigitta Brittain and librarianMai Jay (right).

Park coverageincreased

Stepping up patrols in major West-mount parks over the summer, eightcadets have been hired for two daytimeshifts while auxiliary public safety officerswill patrol at night. “This will allow us toprovide full coverage, seven days a week,from 7 am to 10:30 pm at Westmount,King George (Murray) and Stayner parks,”said Public Security director Blondin.

So far this year till June 1, 19 ticketshave been issued to persons found violat-ing the park curfew, he said. Each cost theoffender $37. The curfew is in effect from12 midnight to 5 am. Being drunk in apark cost another person $68.

During the first week of June, nine tick-ets were issued to people for having drunkalcoholic beverages or being in possessionof them in Summit Park, King GeorgePark and Westmount Park.

Westmount Squareblackout

A power outage at Westmount SquareSaturday, June 7, raised concerns the en-tire complex might have to be evacuated inthe midst of the heat wave, Public Securityofficials said.

Firefighters and public safety officerswere called to the scene at 6:30 pm to as-sist residents, but as interior temperaturesrose to 32°C, temporary repairs to defec-tive cables in the building were made by10:25 pm. No evacuation was required.

ple have older doctors whomay be retiringsoon and will find themselves in the posi-tion of so many others with no family doc-tor to turn to. This is a frighteningposition, especially for the elderly.

Currently, family physicians, Dr. Dawesreported, are forced by the Quebec gov-ernment to work 12 hours in other healthareas, often in emergency rooms. This re-duces their availability to the patients bywell over 25 percent. He added, “There isoverwhelming evidence that the lower thenumber of family physicians, the higherthe number of avoidable admissions, the

higher number of adverse effects of dis-ease such as strokes and heart attacks, aswell as higher rates of death. Basically,your family physician, should you be solucky as to have one, reduces your chanceof having a severe disease, being hospital-ized or dying. Unfortunately, your govern-ment is now playing Loto Quebec withyour health and it is pure luck whether youhave one or not.”

This situation is critical, and measureshave to be taken to remedy the situation.

These will be discussed in Part Two…

Hort. Society presents bird bath for 10th year

Heavy storm, light damageWestmount was lightly affected by the

severe storm that hit Montreal on June 10.No trees were lost, but ones on GrenvilleAve., Rosemont Cres. and Gordon Cres.were substantially damaged. City workerspicked up branches felled by the storm inabout 30 other locations.

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be helped, and spoke out forcibly at Trem-blay’s intransigence to change.

While losing a few plumes, two of theMontreal mayor’s major wishes weregranted: recognition by the Quebec gov-ernment that Montreal is the metropolisof Quebec, not just another municipalitylike a country town, and the ability to levytaxes in addition to those on property.

Tremblay wanted parity with Toronto inthis regard and the government gave himsimilar scope. He also got control of VilleMarie and, in emergencies, any of the 18other boroughs.

Surprisingly, Premier Charest’s namewas hardly mentioned, if at all, at the cer-emony. Theman who had caused somuchdifficulty by reneging on the demergerpromise and foisting the undemocraticreferendum is also the person who trig-gered the new agreement.

Faced with troubling election resultslast year, particularly on the West Island,he included the agglom as one of the eightissues to be resolved by this summer. Bac-hand, Normandeau and some smart civilservants delivered for him.

“It does feel good,” Marks said the nextmorning when she called from a confer-ence on sustainable transport. “Not all the

problems are solved, but the stage hasbeen set for a better cooperation. Such anattitude could, in itself, lead to a better ag-glom.”

After the Normandeau ceremony,Marks had met Tremblay at an eveningcultural event. “As he spoke about his day,I was very pleased to note his generosityof spirit toward the other mayors,” shesaid. “I am very hopeful about the future.”Citizen activist Don Wedge’s email ad-

dress is [email protected].

ties, and not just as tax fodder for the cen-tre city.

To emphasize the harmony that theprovince wants to prevail over island af-fairs, the female mayors and minister allreceived two-cheek kisses from the malesignatories – who had to make do withmultiple handshakes!

As the smiles evaporate, what we areleft with is Westmount and the other in-dependent suburbs having to subsidizefewer Montreal facilities like the ClaudeRobillard Arena or Angrignon Park. Thatwill save a few million on the approxi-mately $2 billion agglom budget.

The biggest visible change is that own-ership of arterial roads will revert to localcities. They will again assume the cost ofmaintenance. “The difference is that nec-essary work will be done on them,” ex-plained Mayor Marks. “Until nowMontreal has spent the agglommoney, butnot much of it on suburban roads.”

Tremblay had held out for a fiscallyneutral solution as a prerequisite for anysupport to reforms. He got his wish: theQuebec government will give Montreal$34 million annually to make up for thelost income from the suburbs.

Quebec subsidizes Tremblay

There always has to be some losers, andQuebec’s taxpayers, generally, will have topay for that subsidy.

The agglom budget will drop by ap-proximately $250 million with some re-sponsibilities redirected to the cities. Forinstance, at present, Westmount clearssnow from its arterial streets, but sendsthe bill to Montreal for settlement on theagglom account. Under the new deal,Westmount will have to pay the wholecost.

There could be a net saving of $4.5 mil-lion, but Marks warns that it may nottransfer into tax relief.

“We have been left with enormousdebts after the forced merger and we willneed funds for rebuilding roads. Councilwants to avoid adding to debts, and againget close to pay-as-you-go,” she told me.

The ability of the suburban mayors tointervene in agglom affairs has beenincreased, although the undemocraticstructure of agglom council, with its Trem-blay-nominated Montreal members andpre-determined voting, is unchanged.

A new law governing the agglom is ex-pected to clear the provincial legislaturethis week with ADQ support.

Among other things, it will create anaudit committee with two seats for subur-ban members. There will also be an inde-pendent secretariat to provide informationto the suburbs about Montreal’s proposals.

Earlier intervention – Marks

It was an unmentioned, forbidden, sub-ject, but everyone at the ceremony –packed with Tremblay employees and sup-porters – knew that the deal would nothave been reached without the interven-tion of Raymond Bachand, the minister re-sponsible for Montreal.

He recognized that the suburbs had to

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 5

Demerged cities get back their roads Study alumna talks to future alumnae

Study alumna Reverend Patricia Kirkpatrick, ’72, addressing the 36 members of The Study’s class of2008, their families, teachers and classmates at the school’s annual service of thanksgiving, at St Matthias’Church on June 5. Study head girl Lara De Stefano (centre) looks on.

Crime WatchPickpockets on the prowl in WestmountPolice Station 12 has noticed an in-

crease in purse and wallet theft in theneighbourhood, especially on SherbrookeSt. and Greene Ave. Constable CarolineGauthier warns residents not to hangpurses on the backs of chairs or to leavehandbags in carts while grocery shopping.

Scrap metal a “hot” commodityStation 12 has had three reports of

metal floor-level grills being stolen fromthe foyers of apartment buildings. Appar-ently, the metal is then melted down andsold, or used for scrap metal.

Still to fight for• The agglom remains undemocratic andunfair to the suburbs and to some ofthose trapped in the big city. Reformsare still needed so that the name of theagglom is Montreal island, rather thanMontreal city. That would reflect the re-ality.

• The agglom council remains a rubber-stamping body. The rules excludemeaningful debates and votes. All theMontreal councillors, or at least everyborough mayor, should have a seat anda meaningful vote.

• With the Montreal executive committeecontrolling every decision, it is impor-tant that the suburbs have representa-tion on it for all the issues affecting theagglom.

• The June 12 pact acknowledges thatthere are issues to be resolved. Very dif-ficult is to define which of the down-town core’s operating costs should besubsidized. The Quebec civil servantswho brokered the agreement havemuch work to do! DW

Don Wedge... continued from p. 1

Page 6: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

The Westmount-Ville Marie federal by-election must be announced no later thanJuly 26, and the three candidates inter-viewed by the Westmount Independent(Marc Garneau, Guy Dufort and ClaudeGenest) are already working hard.

Contrary to other press reports, a fourthcandidate, McGill University political sci-ence student Charles Larivée, was acclaim-ed by the Bloc Québécois on April 3. Hewas out of the city for the week prior topresstime and was not able to commenton his efforts.

The NDP has a candidate search in pro-gress and hopes to set a date for its nomi-nation meeting in the next two weeks.Several people have expressed an interestin running.

Westmount forms about one fifth of theriding. All three interviewed candidatesshowed their interest inWestmount votersby attending the annual meeting of theWMA on May 5, but that’s not all they’vebeen up to…

Garneau hits the ground running

Former astronaut and federal LiberalMarc Garneau has been longest in theundeclared race (since October 19, 2007)and has been active at many Westmountevents, including speeches at the West-mount High Old Boys’ Association, PlaceKensington, the Rotary Club of West-mount and Selwyn House’s career day. Hecounted 89 such events in the riding, in-cluding 16 in Westmount. Among the vis-its outside Westmount were to the OldBrewery Mission and to Accueil Bonneau.

Relating his impressions to date at theIndependent’s offices on June 3 – in keep-ing with his proactive campaign style, aninterview he requested – Garneau seesWestmounters as very concerned with na-tional-level issues, including the environ-ment and the perception of Canada in theworld.

In one such area, the environment, heexplained that the federal Liberals wouldbe presenting a new “carbon tax” plan(with other aspects) over the comingmonths. Garneau also feels that West-mounters care about how the perceptionof Canada has suffered, in his view, fromepisodes like the Bernier affair and fromthe Harper government’s stance at inter-national conferences like the one in Bali.

Within Canada, Garneau also took ex-ception to what he sees as Harper’s con-frontational approach with the provinces.

He also declared his support for federalinvolvement in combating homelessnessvia an infrastructure program called theHomeless Partnering Strategy, which hepointed out is the renamed version of aLiberal program called Supporting Com-munities Partnership Initiative.

Dufort focused on whole riding,issues that “overflow”

Reached by phone at his downtown of-fice, Conservative Party candidate andlawyer Guy Dufort explained how he hasbeen active with fundraisers, reviewing theissues and activities within the riding, in-cluding two in Westmount. He has alsostarted a door-to-door riding-wide cam-paign, beginning in eastern NDG, whichhas reached western Westmount.

Dufort was reluctant to identify issuesspecific to Westmount or of special inter-est to Westmounters, stating that “West-mount is not an island.”

He did point out a number of “over-flow” issues that affect all corners of theriding, including public safety and home-lessness, affordable housing, municipalinfrastructure, education and the econ-omy.

He is proud of the Conservatives’ eco-nomic record, especially the repayment offederal debt. “If the debt is reduced by 13percent, we will need 13 percent fewer tax-payers [to support the current level of so-cial programs].”

Dufort has been surprised at how ofteneducation has been mentioned to him byriding residents, given that it is primarilya provincial jurisdiction. He agrees thatthe federal government has a role in shap-ing an “economy of knowledge” andpoints to the success of RIM/BlackBerryas a company that benefited from govern-ment R&D support.

On homelessness, he underlined theimportance of moving individuals towardsautonomy and supports federal fundsgoing directly to frontline groups that ac-tually interact with the homeless.

Genest: Westmount can be“conscience of Canada”

Broadcaster, teacher and Green Partycandidate Claude Genest visited the Inde-pendent’s offices on June 3 exuding enthu-siasm and energy. Locally, he planned toattend the June Westmount HorticulturalSociety meeting, as well asfilm Westmounters for his

6 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

Letters to the EditorA final birthday wish

Your first year was coincident with ourfirst year in Westmount, and the Inde-pendent helped us learn our way around.

Congratulations!Gill & Dan Sullivan, Rosemount Ave.

Save the Park!told no “tales”

I would like to comment on the letterto the editor by Jessica Weisel: “Save ThePark’s Mesmerizing Tales” (Westmount In-dependent, May 27).

I was present at the May 2007 openmeeting onWestmount Park’s low-er fields. After readingMs. Weisel’sletter a couple of times, I had towonder whether we had been atthe same gathering. I refer to hercomment that this meeting had“sadly been hijacked by the afore-mentioned fanatical group,” refer-ring to members of Save the Park!

This meeting was carefullyarranged by the city andmoderatedby Roderick McDonald, a McGilllaw professor. A review panel ofconsultants spoke at some lengthand 18 individual briefs were presented bycitizens including individuals fromNarniaDaycare, Westmount Park School, theWMA, two physicians speaking to safetyissues and several others, including fivepeople representing Save The Park! Ques-tions from the audience addressed a widespectrum of issues ranging from estheticsto possible parking problems. The meet-ing more or less concluded with a show ofhands from the approximately 400 peoplein the audience who overwhelmingly re-jected the synthetic turf proposal.

The suggestion by Ms. Weisel that themeeting was effectively co-opted and ma-nipulated by a small “fanatical” group ofSave the Parkers is ridiculous and, frankly,insulting to the large number of con-cerned and responsible citizens whofound the time to attend and participate.Her reference to Save the Park! as a groupthat “essentially consists of about four peo-ple who seem to have a lot of time on theirhands” is arrogant, mean-spirited, childishand as far as I know, not at all accurate. Orhas Ms. Weisel privately investigated theiremployment records?

I’m not a member of Save the Park!, but

I have had my own concerns. I spent a lotof time doing my own research and ex-pressingmy opinions. I suppose that fromMs. Weisel’s perspective that this behav-iour would qualify me as “fanatic” as well.

Finally, I might as well take the oppor-tunity to repeat my view that the prospectof a metal fence around two thirds of thelower field is rather sad. I’ve always lovedthe feeling of that big open space availableto the public.

Peter Weldon, Academy Rd.

Riding candidates follow-up

Candidates readyingfor upcoming by-election

Westmount Park’s lower fields, looking west. Artificial turf –rejected. Fenced field – in the works.

continued on p. 7

The Westmount Laurentider

Tremblant Film FestivalThe third annual edition of the Trem-

blant Film Festival will take place fromJune 18 to 22. The festival includes 29 fea-ture films from Quebec, Canada, Europeand the Americas: eight short films, eightoutdoor screenings of film classics films,six children’s films and an animationworkshop for students. Admission is $12(except for the outdoor films, which arefree). Everything takes place at MontTremblant. For more information call819.681.3000 or visit www.tremblant.ca.

Splashing around in the LaurentiansThe Mont St. Sauveur water park is

open for the season. In addition to theslides and pools, magic shows will enter-tain young and old. For more information,call 450.227.4671.

The water slides at Piedmont will beopen on June 21. For more information,call 450.227.4671. From Montreal, takethe Laurentians autoroute 15 and exit 58for both water parks.

Peaceful refuge surrounded by nature and less than7 km from Autoroute 15. Soothing pine and slateinterior. Visit MLs #1456471. You will becharmed! $339,000Johanne LeducAffiliated real estate agent - Groupe Sutton Laurentides

Off: 450.227.2611 Cell: 450.275.2754Mtl: 514.990.0370 [email protected]

St-Anne-des-Lacs

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program Regeneration at Greene and St.Catherine.

As one of 200 Canadians trained to beAl Gore’s “climate-change messengers”,he said he was “always ready to speak.”

He went on to say, “This is my fifth orsixth election with the Green Party. It hasalways been on my own dime, but nowthere is momentum, volunteers and re-sources… And in a by-election West-mounters can vote their consciencewithout worrying about strategy.”

Genest calculates that if the GreenParty’s nine to 10 percent general-electionsupport stays numerically constant in aweak-turnout by-election, the Green Partycould win the seat, which would be a his-torical first and assure Green Party leaderElizabeth May a place in the leaders’ de-bate during the next general election.

Genest turned the well-known dictum“all politics is local” on its head: “all poli-tics is global, too.” He went on to drawlinks between environmental issues and ahost of other concerns, including health,the economy and infrastructure.

He contends that what he characterizesas investing in solutions will not make theeconomy suffer, as many worry. Greenpolicies make economic sense, accordingto him, since costs like pollution should becharged back to polluters so that good de-cisions (e.g. less polluting) can be made.

Election rules

Elections Canada explained to the Inde-pendent that the election can be held 36days after announcement and there is nomaximum period between announcementand election. The most recent by-electionstook place 87 days after announcement.

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 7

Foot Care ClinicsInitial Visit: $30

Additional Visits: $25

Queen Elizabeth Health ComplexTuesdays & Wednesdays

Call: 514 866-6801

Griffith McConnell ResidenceFridays

Call: 514 482-0590

continued from previous page

Pied-à-Terre closing soonBy Annika Melanson

Local gift and home decoration shop,Pied-à-Terre, which has been in businessfor almost 15 years, will close its doors at4909 Sherbrooke St. on June 29.

“It will be strange not to be here,” saidLori McGuigan, who has managed thestore for 10 years. The store, which isowned by Accent de Ville, a large Montrealwholesale company, has decided to closeand not renew the lease. It was then thatMcGuigan thought about taking over thebusiness herself.

She approached the landlord of thebuilding, but was dismayed to discoverthat “the rent has increased by over 30 per-cent, which makes it impossible for me todo so. Retail is difficult and we are all justtrying to survive. The only ones that seemto be able to afford it are the big stores likeAmerican Apparel,” said McGuigan. “It’ssad for the neighbourhood,” she addedand “residents are really disappointed.”McGuigan has started a memory book, inwhich “people have written lovely things.”

The owner of the building, Nerra Khan-na, said that the owners of the boutique“were very good tenants” and that the shopwas “a favourite for many people.” Whenasked about the rental increase, Khannaresponded that “it’s a business” and “myrents are confidential.”

Other local merchants are also feelingthe squeeze. Nearby at 4919A Sherbrooke,LMNOP co-owner Shelly Kerman – whodoes not have rent issues – is concernedabout the local shopping scene, “When weopened 17 years ago, there were no big boxstores. If this happens, we are going tolose the charm and personalized service of

owner-operated stores.”Another local mer-

chant, who wishes toremain anonymous, in-formed the Independentthat rents have increasedby at least 30 percentsince 2002.

Westmount landmarkFolklore at 4879 Sher-brooke has been ownedand operated by Gail andGerard Fellerath since 1974. They have no-ticed a large municipal tax increase, espe-cially over the past few years. “We wouldn’thave survived if we didn’t own the build-ing,” said Gail. “Whether you own or rent,the tax increase has made a difference. It isa dangerous situation in terms of survivalof local shops.” “The city has been sup-portive of our needs,” added Gerard. Alocal commercial building owner, whowished to remain unidentified, informedthe Independent that taxes have increasedby 40 percent since 2002.

At the time of the interview with theFelleraths, Rita Stafford, the owner of CaféGourmet, which used to be on SherbrookeSt., happened to be in the store. Staffordclosed the store in 2003. “Rent became abig issue, as did high taxes, and it just was-n’t viable,” said Stafford, who has sincemoved her coffee merchant business toVerdun. “We decided to give up the retailstore,” added Stafford, who now conductsmost of her business over the internet andby telephone.

Stafford still sells coffee to her faithfulWestmount clientele, who can pick it up atFolklore. In Pied-à-Terre’s case, the closurewill be final.

Lori McGuigan.

Priory field day

Grade six student Liam Reckziegal gets soaked during water games at The Priory’s annual Field Dayand Spring Fair.

Sunday, June 22 “Families at Play” ($10per family, ages 4 to 12 – strictly enforced,reservations necessary) – 10:15 am or 2 pmat the Canadian Centre for Architecture(1920 Baille St., 514.939.7026, www.cca.qc.ca).Starting Wed. June 25 “Stories in the

Park” by the Montreal Children’s Library(free, ages 6 to 12) – different times of dayon Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays(plus special events) at Cabot Square Park(info: 1200 Atwater Ave., 514.931.2304,www.mcl-bjm.ca).June 26 to July 6 – Jazz Fest The Jazz

Fest’s enclosed Parc Musical for kids.Place des Arts noon to 10 pm daily duringJazz Fest.

“The Little School of Jazz” show is pre-sented from Thursday, June 26 to Wed-

nesday July 2 at the Grande Place du Com-plexe Desjardins (150 St. Catherine St. W)at 11 am and at 1:30 pm.

Also: Stroller rentals & diaper tables atComplexe Desjardins’ bathrooms. · Face-painting· Outdoor concerts. For moreinfo, call 514.871.1881 or go to www.mon-trealjazzfest.com.Ongoing Lachine Canal with Jet Boat

Tours (47 de la Commune West, 514.284.9607, www.jetboatingmontreal.com).Rain gear supplied, but bring change ofclothes. (Ages 6 and up, $42 to $62, de-pending on age).

“Busy Bodies” ($2 to $13.50, dependingon age) Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 am to 5pm at the Montreal Insectarium (4581Sherbrooke St. East, 514.872.1400, www.museumsnature.ca).

Parenting Picks

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8 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

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WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 9

Attendees at Westmount’s 6th SpringSoirée enjoyed great weather for the cock-

tail hour on the grass between VictoriaHall and the Westmount Public Library.

The June 5 event continued inside Victo-ria Hall with dinner and dancing to JosephSegreti’s live band, before wrapping up at“midnight plus”. 200 people attended theevent (up from 180 in previous years),which was sold out. Organizers were onceencouraged to buy whole tables, but de-mand is so strong that they are now un-able to do so.

From left: City Councillor Patrick Martin, City Councillor Nicole Forbes,Jane Martin and Jean-Pierre Goyer.

From left: Mary Gallery and Timon Deichmann. From left: Patricia Dumais and Andrew Burlone.

Spring Soirée

Soccer enters its final week

Photo and storyby Robert J. Galbraith

Westmount’s soccer season windsdown this week with the last games on Fri-day, June 20. The eight-week-long seasonhas been a success, according to sports co-ordinator Stephen Robaire.

“We’ve been lucky with the weather andonly had to cancel two games due to light-ning, which is great compared to otheryears.”

The fields held up well with only theusual wear and tear at the east field infront of Westmount Park School. Themain field was in extremely good shape.

Now is the season of summer camps,swimming and tennis lessons, all of whichhave some openings still available forthose still wishing to register for these ac-tivities. The summer camps are based inthe arena.

Team sports start up again in Septem-ber. There will be a sports banquet held inSeptember where medals will be handedout to the soccer champs in each group forthis season.

For more information on summer ac-tivities, please contact Westmount Cul-tural, Sports and Recreation Activities at514.989.5353 or log on to www.west-mount.org

Westmount intramural PeeWee soccer: “Scotland” scoring against “Venezuela”. Final score was 2-0.

Lost cat. One-year-old male mar-malade tabby cat, “Charlie”. Lost inlower/Clarke Ave. Westmount.Please call 514.935.6767.

Classified

[Tip 4]Storing your clothes by colourcan save you 7½ minutes a day.And it makes accessorizing so simple.

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$369,000** Address unavailable$399,000** 104 Abbott Ave.$429,000* 52 Columbia Ave.$454,000 4866 St. Catherine St.$469,000** 136 Irvine Ave.$474,900* 112 Abbott Ave.$535,000* 2 Prospect St.$539,000 4840 St. Catherine St.$558,000** address unavailable$573,000* 50 Bruce Ave.

$575,000 71 Columbia Ave.$585,000* 468 Grosvenor Ave.$619,000** 322 Prince Albert$639,000* 36 York St.$649,000 address unavailable$651,000* 41 Burton Ave.$665,000 306 Roslyn Ave.$669,000 57 Columbia Ave.$679,000 60-62 Columbia$699,000** 4104 Dorchester Blvd.

$699,000 59 Columbia Ave.$699,000 4614-16 St. Catherine St.$699,000** Address unavailable$700,000* Address unavailable$759,000 337 Metcalfe Ave.$789,000 439 Elm Ave.$789,000* 382-382A Metcalfe Ave.$799,000 9-11 Parkman Place$809,000 588 Lansdowne Ave.$839,000* 328-330 Grosvenor Ave.$849,000* Address unavailable$855,000* 310 Grosvenor Ave.$869,000* 379 Grosvenor Ave.$875,000 Metcalfe$885,000 486 Argyle Ave.$895,000 657 Lansdowne Ave.$895,000 612 Grosvenor Ave.$895,000 717 Upper Roslyn Ave.$899,000* 4385 de Maisonneuve

Blvd.$909,000* 460 Lansdowne Ave.$915,000* 334 Grosvenor Ave.$939,000 4293 de Maisonneuve

Blvd.$969,000** address unavailable$975,000** 464 Victoria Ave.$975,000 415 Mount Pleasant Ave.$989,000 611 Victoria Ave.$995,000** 4350 Westmount Ave.$998,000** address unavailable$1,075,000 318 Côte St. Antoine Rd.$1,089,000** address unavailable$1,095,000 4308 Montrose Ave.$1,095,000* address unavailable$1,098,000 628 Victoria Ave.$1,155,000 490 Argyle Ave.$1,159,000** address unavailable$1,175,000** 636 Murray Hill Ave.$1,175,000** 629 Belmont Ave.

$1,175,000 address unavailable$1,195,000†† 4306 Montrose Ave.

10 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

Meldrum The Mover Inc.6645 Sherbrooke St. WestTel: 514 481-1122 • Fax: 514 488-5305Email: [email protected]

The Inventory: Houses on the marketThe Inventory is content provided by the Westmount Independent, and is compiled from public sources, listing agents and parties that contact us. To find a brokeredproperty’s listing agent and additional information, please go to MLS.ca. Both listing agents and agents working with buyers have more information (including theaddress of all listed houses) available to them on a private network.

Built around 1914, this beautifullarge family residence sits on ap-prox. 15,000 sq ft of land. The lvrmhas lovely oak paneling, beamedceiling, fireplace & a sun room. Thedining rm has its own fireplace &sits off a large kitchen. On secondfl, there is the master bdrm w/en-suite and 3 other bdrms. The 3rdfloor has the possibility of 2 morebedrms. In addition, there is also amaid’s rm and a 5-6 car garage.$2,100,000 MLS#1365171

JANE ALLANAffiliated real estate agent

Cell 514 943-1529Office 514 933-5800

Lynda Taylor – 514-937-3406Affiliated real estate agent

Westmount – Cedar Avenue.Spectacular 3-storey renovated stoneresidence in most desirable, mid-levellocation. 4+ bedrooms. Elegant &spacious entertaining rooms.Gorgeous oak floors. MBR ensuite isunparalleled in luxury & design. Twolarge playrms/entertainment rooms.Sunny S/W exp. 2-car garage.Garden. Asking $1,529,000.

Continued: for the most expensivelistings in Westmount at the moment,

please turn to p. 14.

*New since May 20 Inventory.** New price since May 20 Inventory.† Private sale†† Also for rent.

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WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 11

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12 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

christina miller 514.933.6781#1 Agent RE/MAX Westmount 2007

Affiliated Real Estate Agent – RE/MAX Westmount BrokerThe most important work we will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes.

Nifty Nest

461 av Grosvenor asking $469,000Adorable and spacious, this 2 bedroom renovated lower with open plan has many desirablefeatures. High ceilings, lovely mouldings, finished basement and storage, garden, parkingand so much more. Located in the heart of Victoria Village, this fantastic condo won’t lastlong!

HandsomeHome628 av Murray HillFully detached4 bdrm home2 car garagein prime locationasking $1,400,000

Move-InMasterpiece455 av RoslynSpectacular 5+1bdrm home w/2 car garage onexcellent block!asking $2,475,000

TerrificTownhouse488 av ElmRestored &renovated 3storey 5 bdrmtownhouse inA+ location.Finest living!asking $1,495,000

SpectacularSemi488 av MountainBeautiful semi 4bdrm home w/the finest finish-ings Seeing isbelieving!asking $1,495,000or $7,750/MO

NegotiableReduced MajesticMansion3262 av CedarWonderful 3storey stonemanor on13,000 SFasking $2,995,000

DelightfulDwelling337 av Metcalfe4 bdrm 2 carincorporatedgarage, lowmaintenancetownhouseasking $759,000

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Library team victorious in walk-offBy Laureen Sweeney

A team of 30 from theWestmount Pub-lic Library has won a national walkingcompetition for library workers, clockinga total of 8,268 km in a cross-Canada chal-lenge.

The local team was so motivated to winagainst 12 other participating librariesfrom St. John’s to Vancouver, that 45 per-cent of their score was chalked up in athree-week tie-breaker with the KingstonPublic Library.

“It was a huge bonding experience,”said circulation clerk Caroline Proctor, theWestmount team’s co-captain. “I knew wehad team spirit, but I never realized wehad that much. We really have created ourown little family.”

At lunch, they walked with each othersharing experiences and learning moreabout each other.

Not really so far

Individually, they took advantage ofevery opportunity to walk, forsaking theircars and even public transportation when-ever possible, handing in their distanceson a regular basis. “It made us realize howclose the grocery store really was,” addedco-captain Wendy Wayling, children’s li-brarian.

It was Wayling, in fact, who spear-headedWestmount’s participation after at-tending a library workshop of the OntarioLibrary Association in Toronto. It was aneasy sell to the Westmount staff as a phys-ical fitness program and team building ex-perience.

Called “Canucks Run Amok”, the 2008challenge was organized by the HamiltonPublic Library, which tallied all scores

weekly based on a handicap system andposted them for all to follow at canuck-srunamok.blogspot.com.

Off to a cold start

“When we started out at the beginningof March in the bad weather, it required alot of motivation,” Proctor said.

But enthusiasm caught on quickly. Andwhen she and co-worker Gayle Whitespent a weekend in New York City, theytook their pedometers with them andchalked up another 25 km each by walkingeverywhere, she said.

When the winning libraries were an-nounced May 22, Westmount and Kings-ton placed first and second, with thirdplace going to the public library in Rich-mond, BC.

Individually, Westmount “braggingrights” went to librarian Donna Lach, whowalked a total of 800 km, followed closelyby Gayle White with 720 km.

Other top walkers included ColetteConnors (578 km), library director AnnMoffat (380 km), and Caroline Proctorwith 370 km. In the final tally, A/V clerkJanette Bruce was named “most-improv-ed”.

Regardless of individual scores, Proctorsaid, “every little bit helped.”

And, said Wayling, “I hope we do itagain next year.”

A toast of pedometers: Among the Westmount library workers who contributed to the walking win are,from left: David Pickup, Wendy Wayling, Antonella Ferraro, Odette Nadeau, Helen Jay, Mai Jay, Car-oline Proctor, Colette Connors, Benoit Morin, Janette Bruce, Laura Beauchamp, Catherine Swift andDawna Hobbs.

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 13

Bromont art fair

The annual Bromont art fair is cele-brating its 10th anniversary this year fromJuly 4 to 6. Rain or shine, more than 90painters and sculptors will show off theirdiverse work. For more information, call450.534.1344 or go to www.bromontenart-societe.com.

Tour des Arts

Tour des Arts is in its 20th year. From

July 12 to 20, the non-profit body made upof 38 artists and craftspeople from the re-gion, who have been welcoming the pub-lic in their studios each year since 1988,will be showing their work.

There will be studio tour as well as asale every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Work-shops for children ages 3 to 12 will also beavailable.

For more information, go to tourde-sarts.com.

The Westmount Townshipper

Lois HardackerKNOWLTON – 3 Victoria

450 [email protected]

Eastern Townships Living by Lois HardackerChartered Real Estate Agent

ROOM TO GROW and put down roots. Just 2 km from Knowl-ton’s downtown, the perfect country house on a 1.5 acre sitesplendid with mature trees, a winter view of the moun-tains.Cherry flooring throughout, custom kitchen, buried powerline, and more! $334,000

PLAYROOM, inside and out, for everyone. Set on 40,000square feet of grounds with a super sand box and a delightfulinground pool. 4 bedrooms, finished basement with an atelier,wood and ceramic floor finishes, garage. Brome Lake evalu-ation $296,000. Asking $310,000.

DISCOVER NATURE in this park-like setting on the edge ofKnowlton. 4 acres abounding with life, 2 lovely ponds, flower-ing shrubs, berries, birds, deer. Imagine yourself here in thissolid century home. Garage and quaint small barn. $319,000

EXPLORE YOUR POTENTIAL and continue to develop theenormous revenue potential here. A solid structure with rev-enue from apartments, a store front and an inspiring loft todesign. Another structure of storage units yields more income.1.5 acre, Knowlton. $375,000

PREVENT CHILD ABUSEYou can help by donating USED BOOKS

to KIDZSAFE FOUNDATION, to fundour educational programmes for kids.

Call for pick-up 514.702.4930

In appreciation of your patronage, I am pleased to donate a portion of my commission to your favourite charity. Diamond Award (top 3% of Quebec Royal Lepage agents)

Royal LePage Action Broker. Visit theseand other great listings at my website.

SHARYL THOMPSON 450 266-6888 www.sharyl.com

Imagine summer here! Deluxe 12 room lakefront homewith mountain vistas, triple garage. $759,000

Restaurant, bar, terrace, bistro, 10 bedrooms. A rarejewel. Equipped. $675,000

Working farm, 360 acres with house, barns, meadows,forests, streams. A rare find! $850,000

Light-filled contemporary home on double lot. Villagesetting with mountain views. $259,000

FRELIGHSBURG

SUTTON BEAUTY

TOWNSHIP TREASURESKNOWLTON

CENTURY AUBERGE

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14 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

ESTATE andMOVING SALESHouse ContentClearanceRONDA514 236-4159

HAIR STYLING FOR MEN

514.484.59874970 Sherbrooke Street West

for Supporting ourAuction & Garage Sale

You made this year’s event a great success...with your generous donations,volunteering, advertisingsupport and attendance.

You have helped Rotaryhelp others. Thank you.

The Rotary Clubof Westmount

ThankYou!

Concordia student Laura Newman willbe patrollingWestmount this summer, ed-ucating and issuing friendly reminders toresidents about being eco-conscious. In-formation leaflets will be left on blue boxesregarding proper recycling practices anddrivers will be reminded not to keep theircars idling.

Headquarters are at the Centre Greene

(1090 Greene Ave., 514.931.4505, www.centregreene.org). Tours to the St. MichelComplex, where there is a recycling plant,will be organized for the Centre GreeneDay Camp as well as for Westmount resi-dents.

For more information, contact theWestmount Environmental CoordinatorMarina Peter at 514.989.5390.

The Green Patrol on duty this summer

Two Lauras, lots of green(e): From right: Laura Newman, Westmount’s friendly “Green Patroller” withLaura Alward, Centre Greene’s summer day camp director.

$1,195,000 †4258 Dorchester Blvd.$1,198,000** 105 Sunnyside Ave.$1,199,000 667 Belmont Ave.$1,250,000* 25 Renfrew Ave.$1,275,000 754 Upper Lansdowne$1,275,000* 418 Wood Ave.$1,279,000 377-379-381 Clarke Ave.$1,279,000* 621 Victoria Ave$1,295,000 356A/B Olivier Ave.$1,298,000* 646 Lansdowne Ave.$1,299,000 address unavailable$1,299,000 782 Upper Belmont$1,300,000 528 Mount Pleasant Ave.$1,325,000* 628 Murray Hill$1,350,000 22 Arlington Ave.$1,389,000 address unavailable$1,395,000** 631 Roslyn Ave.$1,398,000 786 Upper Belmont Ave.$1,475,000 54 Aberdeen Ave.$1,495,000** 488 Elm Ave.$1,495,000**/††

488 Mountain Ave.$1,529,000** 3249 Cedar Ave.$1,550,000 561 Grosvenor Ave.$1,550,000* address unavailable$1,575,000 10 Willow Ave.$1,575,000* 344 Redfern Ave.$1,595,000 359 Redfern Ave.$1,690,000 175 Cote St. Antoine Rd.$1,695,000 320 Côte St. Antoine Rd.$1,750,000 352-354 Elm Ave.$1,750,000 467 Strathcona Ave.$1,785,000 740 Upper Lansdowne

Ave.$1,790,000†† 3284 Cedar Ave.$1,799,000 311 Kensington Ave.$1,799,000** address unavailable$1,825,000 25 Oakland Ave.$1,850,000 757 Upper Belmont$1,950,000**/††

365 Redfern Ave.$1,995,000 110 Upper Bellevue Ave.

$1,995,000 29 Bellevue Ave.$1,999,000 30 Surrey Gdns$2,095,000* 516 Argyle Ave.$2,100,000** The Boulevard$2,390,000††address unavailable$2,399,000 74 Gordon Cres.$2,400,000 address unavailable$2,400,000 3255 Cedar Ave$2,448,000 address unavailable$2,475,000 Roslyn Ave.$2,499,000 4354 Westmount Ave.$2,675,000 3745 The Boulevard$2,800,000 address unavailable$2,850,000 4455 Montrose Ave.$2,898,000** 38 Belvedere Ave.$2,995,000 736 Lexington Ave.$2,995,000 3262 Cedar Ave.$3,095,000 3 Murray Ave.$3,150,000 526 Clarke Ave.$3,150,000 3223 Trafalgar Ave.$3,155,000 4302 Montrose Ave.$3,199,000 109 Upper Bellevue Ave.$3,250,000 630 Clarke Ave.$3,475,000 address unavailable$3,750,000 77 Sunnyside Ave.$3,850,000* 30 Sunnyside Ave.$4,250,000 address unavailable$4,495,000 address unavailable$4,985,000* address unavailable

*New since May 20 Inventory.** New price since May 20 Inventory.† Private sale†† Also for rent.

Renovation andConstruction Manager

Professional Project Planning and Management.Permits, Hiring and Supervision. Thirty Years Experience

in Westmount. Impeccable References.

George Syrovatka,Civil Engineer514 935-7278•514 712-7101

ElectronicIndependents

availableEnjoy the Indie at supper

time on Tuesdays!

PDF version sent free to youremail address by 5 pm

on Tuesday.All the news. All the pictures. Allthe listings. All the advertisements.

In colour.Sign up by writing us:

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continued from p. 10

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Meanwhile, Marks said the subject hasbeen raised at a meeting of Montreal’spublic safety committee and she has dis-cussed it with the chairman ClaudeDauphin.

“I made our position absolutely clear tohim.” And while he understood that an in-tegrated approach is of importance to thepolice department, “he understands thatto us it is not acceptable.”

A different Westmount operation

For the city of Westmount, Marks said,Public Security is a unique operation. Incarrying out its main mandate to enforcemunicipal bylaws, its personnel have po-lice technology training and are city em-ployees who answer directly to the cityrather than to private security companies.Many have worked their entire careers inthe city and have clearly defined roles.

“Should there be exceptionally close co-operation between police and Public Se-curity? Absolutely. But this can be achievedby working together as a partnership ofequal partners.”

Marks pointed to the close working re-lationship that exists between Public Se-curity and the police. Westmount has

always treated the local police chief as aWestmount “department head” and en-couraged communication.

At the work level, because PSU shiftsparallel police ones, personnel have devel-oped working relationships.

Montreal inherits borough forces

Interestingly, while municipal publicsecurity forces originated in the suburbsafter the creation of the island-wide policeforces, Montreal has inherited at leastthree through the mergers of St. Laurent,Verdun and Outremont, now “boroughs”of Montreal. Marks said she did not knowwhether or not this may be a factor in thelatest integration issue.

Westmount’s PSU, founded in January1980 shortly after Hampstead’s, consistsof 55 personnel including public safety of-ficers and auxiliaries, parking inspectors,park cadets, dispatchers, office and park-ing permits staff. All are governed by acode of ethics adopted by the city in 1992.

The force has the flexibility to restruc-ture as recently required to meet evolvingneeds, said its director, Richard Blondin.A minimum of five cars now patrol dayand night, an increase in overnight cover-age.

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 15

Intensive courses(Monday to Thursday)

For a complete list of courses offered this summer,please check our website:

www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/ctd

Centre for Training & Development

Register now for intensive coursesDiscover Dawson

OPENING HOURS:

Monday – Friday

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tel:

(514) 933-0047

Fax:

(514) 937-3832

[email protected]

Direct Access

4001 de Maisonneuve Blvd. WestSuite 2G.1Montreal QC H3Z 3G4

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Foster SearchBy Rena Rubin,Foster Care & Recruitment Worker,Batshaw Youth & Family Centres

There are children, 0 to 17 years, whoneed to count on a family who will makethem feel safe and will care, listen to andsupport them. As the children have expe-rienced difficulties in their families,whether it is negligence, rejection, orabuse, they may have special needs. Theymay present with emotional or social dif-ficulties, exhibit developmental delays, orhave medical problems and behavioural is-sues.

Attention and care are important, as isnurturing, stability, stimulation and struc-ture whether it be for one or two weekendsper month, or for the short, medium orlong term. Here are some of them.

The children

Sayesha, 6, Alyssa, 8, and Tommy, 10,are siblings who would be a delightful ad-dition to an energetic family two weekendsa month. The girls are sociable and outgo-

ing, love music and dancing. Tommy isgifted at drawing and into computergames.

Nick, 11, has ADHD. He is industriousand has already earned money shovellingand salting walkways and driveways thiswinter. In grade 5, he is academically at thegrade 1 level at best. He has the emotionalability to attach and needs a foster family.

Dimitri, 11, lives in a group home, “AllI have is a roof over my head.” Having suf-fered many losses, he wants and needs tohave his own family who will work witheducators who understand his specialneeds. He will take time to trust, but he iscompassionate and kind-hearted.

If you are single or a couple, with orwithout children, working outside thehome or not, you can offer your services.Professional support and a tax-free stipendto cover the cost of caring for a child areprovided.

For further information, please call Bat-shaw Foster Homes for Children, 514.932.7161 x1169.

Mayor supports localcontrol of Public Security

continued from p. 1

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16 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

Westmount Art Scene

Chris Mangiaracina and Anne-Sophie MorelleBy Heather Black

“We had the experience but missed themeaning.”

The words of T. S. Elliot’s “The Dry Sal-vages” are recalled in the paintings ofAmerican Christopher Mangiaracina atCollins Lefebvre Stoneberger and in thepatina-rich bronzes of Belgium sculptureAnne-Sophie Morelle at Han Art. Al-though working in different mediums,each artist challenges the viewer to con-sider past experiences.

Chris Mangiaracina at Collins,Lefebvre, Stoneberger

Christopher Mangiaracina paints hisexperiences and his surroundings – aseascape where a beach umbrella rests un-opened on a deck chair, green fields wherebagpipers practise, or the African terrainof lions or elephants. Painted vigorouslyon aluminum or panel, robust swathes ofcolour create bold, almost carefree or play-ful, designs. Yet each is a carefully con-

structed image, one pose is selected overanother, a new reality compiled from end-less drawings.

In “The Dry Salvages” – the artist’s re-sponse to T. S. Elliot’s poem – an ele-phant’s heavy mass is juxtaposed againsta fragile, propped-up tree. In “Pyre”, wispsof smoke swirl around kilted musicianslike the strains of piped music. In “KeyBiscayne” storm skies, fluid seas and twoempty deck chairs create an ominous at-mosphere. Questions arise: Who were thetwo occupants and where did they go? Thescenes are personal, but strangely famil-iar, as if from a film or from past experi-ence.

The artist paints using an extendedbrush. Extraneous elements disappear toreveal only an essential form or colour.Capturing our attention, with the vitalityof generously applied paint, he creates adynamic mood. Here pigment is three di-mensional, almost sculptural, and defi-nitely memorable.

Anne-Sophie Morelle at Han Art

Sculptor Anne-Sophie Morelle capturesthe human figure in bronze – a young girlsits forward, shoulders hunched, a childsits cacoonlike in a blanket, or a child hud-dles next to an oversized cat. Initially cre-ated in clay, the patina greens, blues andbrown casts retain a fragile clay-like tex-ture that conveys a tenderness and protec-tive intimacy.

In “La guépard”, a child peers out frombehind an enormous cat – perhaps theEgyptian deity Bast, protector of children.In “Ici et ailleurs”, a young girl leans for-ward, arms braced and shouldershunched, also conveying vulnerability;while in “Grace”, a child emerges butter-fly-like from a swaddling blanket. Almostlife-size, the poses are not grand gestures,but gentle reminders of childhood fear,doubt and hope.

The sitter is pensive or playful andoblivious to the viewer. These poses aresingular – the artist’s own four childrenare models – yet capture our common ex-

perience of childhood. Through the por-trayal of a fragile spirit, a gentle modesty,and triumphant unveiling, we are trans-ported to the time of our own metamor-phosis.

Experience revisited

Painter Chris Mangiaracina recalls inrobust strokes of coloured pigment, sto-ries of adventure, while Anne-SophieMorelle revisits childhood where rich pati-nas suggest clarity in time’s wake. Butthrough their selection of precise mo-ments, each artist evokes a common nar-rative. And by observing their work, theviewer is transported – like T. S. Elliot’sseafarers of “The Dry Salvages”.

The paintings of Chris Mangiaracinaare on exhibit until June 28 at CollinsLefebvre Stoneberger, 4928 Sherbrooke.The work of Anne-Sophie Morelle contin-ues to September 28 at Han Art, 4209 St.Catherine.

It was supposed to rain on Saturday,June 14, so some Vic Villagers made sureto get out to the Westmount Street Festi-val on opening-day Friday.

It turned out not be necessary, as Sat-urday shoppers at the festival and thenearby Roslyn Ave. garage sale discovered.

The festival continued on a sunny Sun-day. Proceeds from the Roslyn Ave. salebenefited Westmounter Keith Martin’s“Moving Muscles” cross-Canada bike ride

to support research into muscular dystro-phy (www.movingmusclesride.ca) and thewomen’s shelter of the Old BreweryMis-sion.

Westmount Street Festival & Roslyn Ave. sale escape the rain

Vic Village, June 13. From left, Ellwyn Wuethrich, with DavidO’Brien and Emilie Caron of Avenue des Arts.

Roslyn Ave. sale, June 14. Mary Brierley (right) poses with two ofRoslyn Ave.’s temporary merchants – Catherine and Philippe – infront of their wares, while her son, Leo Chadwick (left), investigatescloser up.

Vic Village, June 13. Peter Brown stops for a hot dog at the RoyalBank barbeque. Proceeds will go to the Westmount YMCA’s after

school program.

Vic Village, June 13. Shoppers Yola Moride and Linda Banks check out the sale rack at Maska.

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Page 17: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 17

Monday, June 23: St. Jean Baptiste Party– 4 pm at Westmount Park.Tuesday, June 24: The Gainey Founda-

tion hosts a fundraising concert at the Me-tropolis, featuring Great Big Sea, SamRoberts. The Foundation, established inthe memory of Cathy and Laura Gainey,supports Canadian charitable organiza-tions that offer environmental educationand arts education programs for youth.Info: www.gaineyfoundation.comMonday, June 30: Camping in the Park

– 4 pm at Westmount Park.

By George Retek

All bridge players have been condi-tioned from the early days to cover an ho-nour card with another honour card (whenthey have it) nevertheless general rulesshould never eliminate the need for think-ing. Let’s look at the following deal from arecent Florida tournament (some cardshave been rearranged for illustration). Putyourself in North’s seat. You opened un-disciplined 2 Spades weak, your left handopponent bid 2NT, his partner bid 3 Clubs(Stayman) lefty bid 3 Hearts and wasraised to four Hearts. Your partner led theSpade 4 and this is what you see:

YOU� A 9 7 6 2� K6� K 5� 8 6 3 2

DUMMY� 5� J 8 5 4� A 9 6 2� A J 7 4

You win the Ace. Obviously partnercan’t have much. Even if lefty overcalled 2NT or 14 or 15 points only, how can yourside come to four tricks? If partner has aClub honour, it is finessable. If partner canplay a Diamond, you will have a Diamondtrick. Declarer doesn’t have any moreSpade losers, when you played a Spade attrick two, declarer’s Jack was covered bythe Queen and rufted in dummy. Are youready now at trick three when dummyplays the Jack of Heart? You must playpartner holding the Ace of Heart and con-tinue with a diamond. Forget about cover-

ing an honour with another honour. Letpartner win with his presumed Ace ofheart and shift to a Diamond. Otherswisedeclarer can drive out your King of heartand discard his Diamond losers ondummy’s Clubs.The remaining hands were:

DECLARER� K J 3� Q 10 9 7 2� Q J 3� K Q

PARTNER� Q 10 8 4� A 3� 10 8 7 4� 10 9 5

One needs to admire declarer’s far-sighted play of the Jack of Heart temptingyou to cover, as his only chance to makethe contract since you cannot switch prof-itably to Diamonds.

Correction: during layout, an errorcrept into the hand for The Three D’s (May6, p. 17). Here is the correct hand:

Bridge for Bright Brains:

A matter of honour

NORTH� K 8 7 4� A K 3� A 10 6 5� A Q

WEST EAST� 5 3 2 � 10 9� 7 5 � J 8 6 4� J 9 4 � K Q 2� J 10 7 6 2 � 9 8 5 4

SOUTH� A Q J 6� Q 10 9 2� 8 7 3� K 3

Rotary sale

Retired Public Security captain John Everatt (left) shopping at the Rotary sale on June 7. He is pic-tured passing his payment to Rotarian John Donovan (centre right) and with volunteers GhislaineVincelli (centre left) and Mike Blackman. Sales results were not made public this year.

Comin’ Up...

End of an era at RoslynBy Kristin McNeill

“What are they going to do withoutme?” said Arlene Rill, jokingly, as our in-terview on the front steps of Roslyn Schoolkept getting interrupted by staff membersstopping to ask her questions. Rill, who re-tires this summer after 17 years as ateacher at Roslyn, will also preside overthe last graduating class (and otherclasses) from the English (i.e. non-Frenchimmersion) stream. For photo of Rill seep. 1.

History at Roslyn

Her roots at the school run deep. Rill isa Roslyn alumnus herself, as is her daugh-ter, now graduating from high school, whowas in the now phased-out Englishstream. Rill previously worked at Hamp-stead and Bancroft, for a total of 35 yearsin teaching.

Rill said although she has never hadmuch time for herself (she brought up herdaughter on her own and taught schoolfull time), she will continue to work eitherwith kids or older people. She suspects shewill be busier than ever.

The decision to close down the Englishstream, also knows as the Core Program(distinct from Quebec’s Bilingual andFrench Immersion programs) was takenin 2005 by the English Montreal SchoolBoard (EMSB), phased in so grades 3 andup could graduate at Roslyn.

According to Rill, there were many ben-efits for both teacher and student in theEnglish stream. Not only was her graduat-ing class small (it numbered 14 versus anorm of 25 to 30), but the same studentshad her through grades 3 to 6.

“At the beginning year, there is none ofthe trivialities. We start instantly. I knowthem like the palm of my hand,” she said.In answer to what attracted her to the pro-gram, she said “It’s not usually people’s

first choice, but it was mine. I get to bewith the kids. I get to know them better –inside and out.” Teachers in the programhave their students all day long, whereasin French immersion, teachers have twoclasses, morning and afternoon.

Although the EMSB commissioner forWestmount, Ginette Sauvé-Frankel, dis-sented on the vote to close the Englishstream, she explained “what was happen-ing at Roslyn was that there was no de-mand... And we got to the point where theprogram is not viable.”

At the time of the decision, only 62 of644 students were in the program.

Core Program thrives in other schools

Sauvé-Frankel said that future studentswishing to remain in the English streamcan enroll in other schools (subject totransportation boundaries).

She also said they could benefit frombeing in a school with large enrolmentsbecause of the resources allocated to theseschools.

For her part, Rill stated one sad reasonthat the English stream is no longer of-fered is that kids who are having difficultyin French can no longer switch out of im-mersion.

“Every child has a gift and if you canrecognize that gift, and you can elicit thebest from the child, you are doing somegood, and that can be anywhere. I just feelthat in the English stream, you have moretime, it’s more relaxed. You own your timemore.

9 LivesBy Lyzanne

This 9 Lives column is different. It hasto be. This is an urgent appeal to everyoneinWestmount on behalf of all the cats anddogs that have been and will be left behindby their families in the summer movingshuffle. The reality is stark: our sheltersare already full to capacity and resourcesare severely limited.

You canmake a huge difference: Pleasehelp in any way you can by adopting, fos-tering, volunteering and donating to theSPCA, which is the main drop-off centrefor pets in need. This is the time to helpin providing the basics for homeless pets:food, shelter, immunization, treatment.Please make your donation to the SPCAand mail it to 5202 Jean-Talon St. West,Montreal, QC H4P 1X4. Its telephonenumber is 514.735.2711 and its website iswww.spcamontreal.com.

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18 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

By Laureen Sweeney

Aunique all-men’s book club inWest-mount will hold its 20th anniver-sary meeting this fall as a thriving

group that makes a point of really gettingdown to the meat of the matter.

Characterized by lively and often heavydebate, the group prides itself in its keep-ing of copious records, ratings of books,spontaneous approach to book selectionand strict adherence to its code of discus-sion.

“None of this talk about the kids andthe family that the women get into in theirbook clubs,” said Bill Smith jestingly to achorus of laughter and nodding heads atthe May meeting. “We usually get into areal heated debate and discussion on thebook.”

But make no mistake: There is a timeand a place for the socializing. That’s dur-ing a relaxed hour at the start of theevening whenmembers pick up on the lat-est gossip and other worthwhile topics.And it picks up again during a late supperas members take turns hosting themonthly meetings.

Lucky to join

“This is a very exclusive club,” saysDavid Taylor, noting that membership iskept to 10 in accordance to the number ofmeetings per year. “Yes,” added AntoineMaloney. “I consider myself lucky to havejoined six months ago.”

Among some of the former memberswhose workload conflicted with the meet-ings are entertainer and Westmount citycouncillor George Bowser and brewerPeter McAuslan.

What’s the group’s drawing card?“The beer,” someone answers, to more

guffaws. “This is like an old-fashioned tav-ern where men-talk predominates,” statedone. “That’s the fascination.”

But getting back to the reading, booksoffer an opportunity to satisfy the curiositythat all the members have in common,they explain. And the link is friendship.It’s a men’s night out with an intellectualfocus. They all love to read.

No real name

Despite the group’s long history, they’veactually managed to exist without an offi-cial name, which they consider to be of lit-tle consequence. When asked to come upwith one for an event last year at the West-mount Public Library, they used “MenWho Read”. And they still agree that name

pretty much describes who they are andwhat they’re about.

Members represent a cross-section ofprofessions from CEGEP and universityprofessors to accountants and engineers,“except for doctors – and no lawyers al-lowed!”

The rules and policies they follow oftenhave ulterior motives. The choice of thenext book goes to the host of the nextmeeting. “That way we’re sure he showsup!” Smith says.

Rating the books

The group takes its discussions so seri-ously that they rate each book, explains in-vestment advisor Christopher West, aformer Westmount resident who drivesback from Kingston for eachmeeting. “Wehave a very elegant scoring system,” hepoints out.

With “years of data in spreadsheets,”adds Smith, who recently retired fromDawson College as IT coordinator. “Werate each book onmany aspects such as itsliterary impact. Is this a book for the ages?Or a hot novel today that no one will knowabout tomorrow?”

Not surprisingly, he and Clive Brewer –the two original members and both sys-tems analysts – also produce lists of al-most 200 books that have been read anddiscussed organized by title, author andselector. The first was Red Wolf, Red Wolfby W.P. Kinsella, dating back to the meet-ing of October 26, 1988.

Since then, selections have includedsuch classics as Paradise Lost, The Odyssey,Ulysses and Wuthering Heights as well asmore recent picks such as The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini and the May bookYoung Trudeau by Max &Monique Nemni.

From class to trash

The range of material is broad: poetry,plays, classic, eclectic “and even trashy fic-tion.” Among the more memorable booksdiscussed were Nice Work (David Lodge),which captured the angst of the middleaged man in London, and The Remains ofthe Day (Kazuo Ishiguro) for sheer enjoy-ment. The group took two months to readand discussUlysses, West points out. “That

Westmount group profile: Men Who Read

was our crowning glory.” But they lost amember over it.

Nevertheless, while members havecome and gone, a core group of about ahalf a dozen have remained together for

many years. They look forward to theirnight out together, the opportunity to in-dulge in the true meaning of “argument”and the intellectual satisfaction it providesfor “Men Who Read”.

At the May meeting, from left: (front row) Chris West with “Rex”, Don Lewis and Milo Shemie;(middle row) Antoine Maloney, François Leroux, David Taylor, John Preston and Robert Bishin;(back) Bill Smith.

Men, beer and heated debate

Did you know Westmount’sContactivity

Seniors’ Centrehas outdoor Craft Sales Mondays

& Wednesdays, weather permitting?For information call514 932-2326

4695 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West(at Lansdowne)

Page 19: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008 – 19

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Page 20: WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT · 2–WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT –June17-18,2008 Westmount–418WoodAve. StunningVictorian.Fabulous location facing Barat Park. $1,275,000 Westmount–175CoteSt.Antoine

20 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – June 17-18, 2008

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