Opening Comments by Mayor Peter J. Malouf - Regular Meeting of Tuesday, April 25, 2023

« Thank you to be with us this evening, whether in person or via webcast.

Workers’ Day

I would like to start this evening by mentioning that on Friday, April 28, the Town's flag will be flown at half-mast in mourning and recognition of Workers' Day. For all who have sacrificed at the cost of their health. I would like to pay special attention and recognition to the Town's blue-collar teams for their outstanding work in providing continuity of service to our Townies.

The Town Hall will be lit in yellow, color associated with this day of mourning.

Ice Damage : Power Outage

Now, let's talk about the ice storm that caused a major power outage. We were faced with an unexpected and exceptional situation. The amount of ice was twice as high as the weather forecast.

The Town quickly reacted in order to deal with the situation. The Town Hall opened its doors to shelter residents from the cold and provide them with coffee and a place to recharge their electronic devices.

Public Works and Public Security employees responded immediately to ensure that the streets were safe (temporary stop signs, collection and trimming of hazardous branches, etc.). I would like to thank all our employees who worked very hard. They put aside their Easter vacations to deal with this fortuitous situation and to help the residents of TMR. 

We requested that our contractors immediately begin the collection of branches, the cutting down of dangerous trees and the trimming and shredding of hazardous branches.

Over the last few days, we have successfully completed an intensive clean-up of the Town. We can say that we have reacted quickly and that we provided the required resources.

It should be noted that, unlike January 1998, Montreal did not declare a state of emergency.

I would like to take this moment to publicly thank all our staff who worked tirelessly to set up Schofield Hall for the benefit of residents without power, who worked on the road to ensure the safety of our residents be it via public security or public works. These employees gave up their Easter 4-day holiday to ensure the wellbeing of residents.

I would also like to thank the many residents who sent in emails of thanks and appreciation for the accommodation in Schofield Hall and the kindness and support of the staff.

In order to be ready to secure the roadways and sidewalks, the Public Works Department began preparing for the 48 hours before the ice storm. They also proceeded to the verifications and the availability of the required equipment.

Here are some highlights and facts:

• Public Security: 2,625 calls in 5 days, or 525/day;
• Sheltering residents in Schofield Hall: Thursday, April 6 to Sunday, April 9, 9:00 to 6:00;
• Sheltering residents in the library: Monday, April 10, from 10:00 to 18:00.
• Approximately 700 residents were received during this 5-day period.
• Estimated costs for collection of branches, trimming and cutting by contractors: $170,000 (This amount is not final as more work and data is expected).

The various expenses caused by the ice storm will be submitted to the CCMU (Centre de Coordination de mesures d'urgence).

The Town is responsible for the maintenance of elderly public trees (trimming and cutting down) following a triennial program.

Hydro-Quebec (HQ) carries out trimming of trees near power lines. However, trimming is not done according to a specific and rigorous program. For this reason, we are in contact with HQ so that a maintenance and follow-up plan can be better developed. It should be noted, however, that to do this, HQ must access private property. They need your cooperation to access backyards.

It should be noted that property owners are responsible for the maintenance of trees on their private property.

Earth Day

On April 22, the Town celebrated Earth Day, as it does every year.

I am particularly pleased to announce that we donated three trees to each of the Town of Mount Royal's secondary schools.

Summer Public Market

After participating in two contests organized by the Town, 10 Townies have won gift certificates to spend at any time at the summer public market. We want to encourage you to eat in a sustainable way and to enjoy local products.

Please come and discover the summer public market once again this year.

Quartier Sportif & Communautaire

It is with great pleasure that I am announcing this evening the public submission of the consultation report for the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire. This is the first step towards the construction of a new center. The report clearly indicates that residents are supportive and eager to see a new center come to life.

Council members have had the experts’ conclusions and recommendations in their hands for 6 weeks now. We have had a chance to discuss the report in caucus. We are now working very hard to ensure that the project is done quickly, in the most efficient way and at the lowest possible cost.

We are seriously considering options that will allow us to have both predictability and better cost control as well as ensure continued services during construction.

We will be back to residents shortly with the next steps and decisions in the development of this exciting and major new infrastructure for TMR.

The report will be available on the website in the coming days. We have heard your comments and will keep you informed as we move forward.

Town of Mount Royal Figure Skating Club Performance

To give you an idea: 

• 274 skaters were present at the show, not including the two stars Nikolaj Sorensen and Laurence Fournier Beaudry who represent the CPAVMR on the world stage.
• 70 volunteers and 15 coaches volunteered to support the two presentations. Without them, the show could not have gone well.
• 923 spectators attended the two performances, including 534 on Friday night (a record).  Counting skaters, coaches and volunteers, over 800 people watched the show on Friday night.

Seniors’ Services Exposition

To conclude, the Senior Expo coordinated by Jan Lauer, held last Saturday at the Schofield Hall, was attended by approximately 450 people.

This was a remarkable event as it provided a wealth of information and services, for the benefit of seniors and their families.

Congratulations to Jan and all the TMR staff members that were that were there in support of the Expo.

With this good news, I end my opening remarks and we will now move on to the Council's agenda.

Once again, thank you for being with us tonight. »