westmount independentwestmount independent – january 19-20, 2010 – 3 ongoing requests for winter...

Cedar Ave. house controversy continues to boil

Public can make input into building permit – a first

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENTWeekly. Vol. 4 No. 1c January 19-20, 2010We are Westmount

By Martin C. Barry

Westmount parents who’ve becomeused to standing in long line-ups at thearena in the spring and fall to register theirchildren for sports and recreation pro-grams can take heart: action is being takenand virtually everyone is being guaranteeda spot, according to the Sports and Recre-ation department.

Until now, registration for the pro-grams took place in what department di-rector Mike Deegan describes as atwo-evening registration “blitz.”

“We typically have room for 98 percentof the people who sign up for our pro-

grams,” he said. “But two percent haveended up getting put on a waiting list,which creates a situation where everybodyis concerned whether they can get in ornot, so they all come on the first day.”

What started out years ago as a one-week registration period graduallychanged to four, three and finally twonights. However, no matter what, every-body ended up coming early, while farfewer people came as the period wore on.

“We’re hoping this will mitigate someof the three-hour lineups that we’ve expe-rienced in the past,” Deegan said. “Doingit over a two-week period,it will be a staggered ap-

By Laureen Sweeney

An unusual public hearing on plans forthe controversial building of a large houseat 3283 Cedar Ave. has been set to takeplace at the start of the regular councilmeeting February 1.

It is believed to be the first time a re-quest to council in the permit-grantingprocess has been open to the public.

The decision came in a last minutemove just before the January 11 councilmeeting to strike an item from the agendathat called for council to refuse a buildingpermit for the new house.

The change in plan came in responseto a request December 9 from architect

Bruce Anderson to present his design forthe house to council. It had received anunfavourable recommendation from thecity’s Planning Advisory Committee (PAC)on the grounds of elevations and impacton adjacent homes.

“Council wants to hear both sides,” ex-plained Councillor Cynthia Lulham, com-missioner of Urban Planning.

Anderson told the Independent theplans call for a house “whose elevationsare below the by-law limits.” He also saidthat the new house would be smaller thanthe one originally approved by the city in2001.

The latest design wouldreplace a Category I her-

continued on p. 20

continued on p. 20

ClaudeBoulay

Exclusive marketing offer

Selling? – Buying?We bring BUYERS and SELLERS together

Locally and Internationally

Integrity, Independence, Service, Performance and Trust

Your Independent Choicein Wealth Management

For further information on ourfinancial services, visit our website

Service to investors since 1849

Westmount Scouts donate to Haiti p. 21.

Social Notes by Veronica Redgrave p. 12

Comin’ Up p. 14

Goodbye to Sports and Rec. line-ups

Westmount ‘guarantees’residents a place

New fencingin place at

one dog runNick Krajewski with Logan, an11-month-old mixed breed, atthe (unchanged) Murray Parkdog run on January 14. Thepacked snow makes the currentfence easier for dogs to jump. Seep. 7 for innovations at theLansdowne dog run.

Photo: Martin C. Barry

Year in review: Less snow in’09 vs. ’08, see p. 7.

2 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – January 19-20, 2010

BRIAN DUTCHRespected� Recommended Results� �

WWW.BRIANDUTCH.COM514 386 2902

Affiliated Real Estate Agent RE/MAX WESTMOUNT Inc. Chartered Real Estate – Broker/Independently owned & operated

“Experience”“Brian delivered expert knowledge,experience, and understanding of whatit takes to sell a home. All this with acharm ing touch, allowing us the calmof knowing that all would go well.”

“Professionalism”“Brian handled both the sale ofour home and the purchase of ournew house with the utmostprofessionalism, grace and savvy.”

“Prepared”“Brian has all of the attributes of aperson who gets the job done well.He is professional, prepared, effective,knows his business and alwaysconducts himself in a mannerwhich is courteous and pleasantto deal with.”

“Knowledgeable”“When we first called you, we knewthat you were experienced,knowledgeable and active. We quicklycame to realize that you were also veryenergetic, had many contacts, and werealways available-via cell phone or inperson discuss matters in a very positiveway, listening to us as well as offeringgood advice.”

“Diligent”“Thank your for you diligent and highlyprofessional effort in facilitating ourability to identify the perfect home inWestmount. Our connecting with youand your deep knowledge of the pulseof the neighbourhood immediatelyconnected us with the sight homes inour price point with the features wewere seeking.”

“After salesservice”

I think what impressed me the most isyour willingness to assist us in ourmove long after the sale. Be assured thatshould we require the services of a realestate agent in the future, you will beour first call.”

So, what are you looking for?

What really counts when you’re lookingfor a great agent to sell your home?

Westmount – 646 Roslyn Ave.$919,000

Westmount – 707 Victoria Ave.$845,000

Golden Sq. Mile – 15 Chelsea Pl.$1,975,000

Westmount – 84 Belvedere Rd.$1,475,000

ANOTHER JUST SOLD! ANOTHER JUST SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – January 19-20, 2010 – 3

Ongoing requests for winter bike pathuse prompted Mayor Peter Trent to tell thecouncil meeting: “We’d like to see some-thing done, but not without prior studyand not at any cost.”

Residents asked council to keep openthe route along de Maisonneuve and toconsider a resolution by the WestmountMunicipal Association (WMA) to abolishparking on the south side of the street tothe east of Greene. This would allow thepath to link up with the Montreal portionnear Atwater.

Westmount, Trent said, would be con-sulting with Vélo-Québec concerning var-ious difficulties presented by maintainingthe city’s 1992 bike path year round.

It also would find out from the city ofMontreal how many people actually usethe downtown path in winter, which isseparated from street traffic by a concretedivider.

Trent was replying to requests fromWMA representative Patricia Dumais andLansdowne resident Dan Lambert, presi-dent of the newly-founded Westmount Cy-cling Association (see story p. 21, andletter p. 4).

Lambert cited results of a risk evalua-tion [by his group] showing de Maison-neuve to be a safer east-west cycling routethan St. Catherine or Sherbrooke streets.All three streets had been ridden andanalysed in terms of risk factors to cyclistsincluding traffic speed and density, open-ing car doors, double parking and complexintersections.

He then asked Council-lor Patrick Martin, com-

City council has adopted a change in itspolicy involving demolition requests.

From now on, council will have to ap-prove a proposed replacement programbefore the Demolition Committee hears acase for demolition.

Previously, the committee heard the ra-tionale for demolition along with a rec-ommendation from the Planning AdvisoryCommittee (PAC) concerning the replace-ment program. It was only after a demoli-tion permit was approved that the councilwas asked to approve the replacement pro-gram.

“It doesn’t represent a major change,”said Councillor Patrick Martin, who chairsthe Demolition Committee.

“We just want to make it clear that anyreplacement program will have to go to thecouncil. So let’s go up front. When theDemolition Committee meets it will knowthe program has already been approved.”

Asked later how the change might af-fect the demolition appeal process to thecouncil, city clerk Mario Gerbeau said theexisting 30-day appeal period remains un-changed.

4-season bike path debated

Costs plunge 27 percent

New date forbudget: Jan. 25

Circular reasoning?

What goes around, comes around

New demolitionpolicy adopted

The city is expecting a follow-up fromHydro Westmount on requests to reducestreet-light wastage and other measures todarken the night skies based on a reportfrom Tony Moffat, a member of theHealthy City Project.

Mayor Peter Trent made the announce-ment as Moffat asked what had happenedto the environmental report he had leftwith the council in November.

“I’ve asked the director general to comeback with their take on it,” Trent said, wav-ing the report.

Moffat, an environmentalist and inter-nationally known astrophysicist, cited sta-tistics showing that the growth of artificiallighting was six times the increase in pop-ulation.

He later told the Independent: “I’d liketo think I’m living in a dynamic city thatwill be the first to do something really in-novative that will lead others to say, ‘Lookwhat they’re doing!’” It takes people whoare “passionate about things” to achievethis, he added.

Darker nightskies a possibility

Not everything costs more, it seems.The price of container rental and servicingwill drop 27 percent this year for some 462loads of debris, organic material, recyclingand scrap metal collected at the PublicWorks yard and disposed of at varioustreatment sites.

The lower amounts were announced byCouncillor Patrick Martin when city coun-cil approved the tender bid of RCI Envi-ronnement at a total cost of $58,518.

The containers provide for materialbrought to the yard by city crews, garden-ing services and other contractors. Whenfull, the 30-cubic-metre containers aretaken to various sites for composting or re-cycling. Smaller 15-cubic-metre containersfor scrap metal are taken to a metal recy-cler.

Last year, some 150 containers of drydebris were transported and emptied aswell as 250 containers of organics (leavesand garden debris), 52 containers of recy-cling and 10 containers of scrap metal.

Westmount taxpayers will have to waitanother week to discover their new taxrate. This follows the second postpone-ment of the budget meeting this month,now slated for January 25 at 8 pm at cityhall.

The city’s operating budget and capitalexpenditures program have been delayedpending tabling of the agglomerationcouncil’s budget for island-wide services,for which Westmount collects and remitsthe taxes as part of its own budget.

In last week’s Independent (p. 5), Trentestimated that the net effect of a possible12-percent rise in Westmount’s agglo por-tion would be a 7.5 percent increase inWestmounters’ municipal tax bills (i.e. thecombined Westmount/agglo amount).

The current blocking of Summit Circlenear Oakland for construction of a pump-ing station prompted one council ques-tioner to ask if the Circle could be keptclosed.

Mayor Peter Trent could scarcely con-tain his reply: That was exactly what hehad advocated some 25 years ago as a neo-phyte councillor in order to slow trafficand reclaim parkland.

“I have to laugh,” Trent told Lansdowneresident John Fretz. “That was my idea …

to free up two acres of asphalt and stop allthose people buzzing around the Circle.”He recalled holding a public meeting butthe idea was shot down for a number ofreasons including the fear of “robbersclimbing up the back of the mountain.”

Councillor Patrick Martin claimednewer ownership of the idea – just lastyear – as a way of saving costly repairs tothe roadway.

See related story, p. 10.

continued on p. 21

Council meeting reportsFrom January 11 council meeting By Laureen Sweeney

Campbell Cohen WorsoffAvocats

Barristers and Solicitors

ESTATE LITIGATION

WILLS AND ESTATES

INSURANCE CLAIMS

Michael Worsoff215 Redfern, suite 118Westmount, QC H3Z 3L5Tel: 514 937-9445 Fax 514 [email protected]

New appointments made to PACWestmount’s Planning Advisory Com-

mittee (PAC) welcomed three new mem-bers while renewing the two-year term ofchair Carole Scheffer.

Award-winning architect Andrea Wolff,a founding partner of Architem, was

named to replace the retiring Jerry Miller.Two substitute members were also ap-

pointed. They are architect John Surridgeas well as Christopher Dunkley, of the firmFournier Gersovitz Moss. Substitutes re-place regular members on vacation or

when dossiers involving possible conflictare reviewed, explained Councillor Cyn-thia Lulham, Urban Planning commis-sioner. Paul Grenier remains on the boardas a regular member in the second year ofhis mandate. All terms are for two years.


We are Westmount.

WESTMOUNTINDEPENDENT

13,789 copies

Audited by

WeeklyPresstime: Monday at 10:30 am

Publisher and editor: David PriceDeputy editor: Kristin McNeillChief reporter: Laureen SweeneyProofreader: Stella Mindorff

Letters & Comments:

We welcome your letters, but reserve the rightto choose and edit them.Please check your letter carefully.We may be unable to make subsequentlysubmitted changes. If you do makeamendments, please “redline” them instead ofresending the whole letter. Please email anyletter and comments [email protected].

Every letter of support helps us with advertisers!

Owned and published by:

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

How Can We Help You?

Content and lettersKristin McNeill: 514.223.3578

[email protected]

Advertising & SalesArleen Candiotti: 514.223.3567

[email protected]

AccountingBeth Hudson: 514.223.6138

[email protected]

Bibeau tribute

We would like to thank the WestmountIndependent and Laureen Sweeney for thetribute to our friend Mark Bibeau in theissue of January 13, p. 3.

Mark sang with the choir of The As-cension of Our Lord in Westmount formany years, which is where we met him,and he became a good friend to all. He wasalso a personal friend, having coffee ordinner with us on many occasions over theyears, since we first met 25 years ago.

He will be greatly missed by the city ofWestmount and by all those whom hetouched personally, as a dear and lovingfriend.

Lynn and John Pecknold,

Grosvenor Ave.

Western 514 taken

for granted

There is the feeling in the western partof Montreal island that the 450-code sub-urbs don’t pay their fair share for publictransit and other services in the metropol-itan region.

It has been suggested that the presenceof swing ridings in those suburbs mightaccount for this inequity. Laval, wherethere are swing ridings, got three Metrostations, for instance – for free, practically.And it will get one more bridge. There istalk of Metro extensions to the east, again

where there are swing ridings.Also, politicians are notoriously reluc-

tant to make the electors in swing ridingsunhappy by raising their taxes.

Now, for the loyal, devoted, reliable,non swing-riding residents of the westernpart of the island, it’s obviously a differentstory. Just sheep waiting to be fleeced, infact.

J. Turgeon, Mount Stephen Ave.

Calling all dog owners

It was good to read Merylyn Wilk’s let-ter of thanks (“Dog days of winter”, Janu-ary 13, p. 4) for the new temporary fencingat the Lansdowne and Murray Park dogruns.

This fencing was put up after nearly ayear of consultations with interested dogowners and users of both runs. As the un-official spokesman of this group, I havefollowed up with presentations to councilat the past seven meetings, as well as nu-merous emails to, and personal meetingswith, the councillors themselves, andmembers of the Planning Advisory Com-mittee.

As a result of this work, council agreedto install the temporary fencing, referredto by Ms. Wilk, pending agreement onwhat the new permanent fencing – whichis to be installed this coming summer –should look like. To this end, CouncillorPatrick Martin has asked that those inter-

Letters to the Editor

ested should draw up their ideas on thisfencing for discussion at a meeting to bearranged with him.

I would therefore like to hear from Ms.Wilks, and everyone else interested inusing the Lansdowne and Murray Parkdog runs, to contact me. We can then workout a suitable time for a meeting and dis-cussion with Councillor Martin, so that thepermanent improvements required forboth runs can proceed.

I can be reached at [email protected], or514.935.3695.

Paul Creighton, Argyle Ave.

Cycling should be

Westmount’s future

In reference to Stan Grossman’s letterin the January 12 issue “This biker says noto winter path”, the writer asserts fivepoints: there are few winter cyclists, deMaisonneuve is narrow, bike path snowclearance is expensive, cars owners subsi-dize cyclists and cyclists should use pub-lic transport in the winter.

First, it has been repeatedly shown inother cities (including Montreal) that “ifyou build it, they will come.” Montreal has35 kilometres of winter bike paths andVélo-Québec now estimates winter cyclistsat 20,000. If Westmount keeps its bikepath open in winter, it will be used.

Part of the solution is in place: West-mount already clears the bike path but hasreinstated parking on the part betweenGreene and Atwater, since the path is offi-cially closed. The Westmount MunicipalAssociation (WMA) has asked the city toremove that parking for safety reasons.

Second, the car lane on de Maison-neuve is 3.3 metres wide compared with2.9 metres on both Sherbrooke St. and St.Catherine St.

Third, Westmount maintains over ahundred kilometres of car lanes and side-walks in the winter; the cost of clearing the2-km-long bike path is comparatively verysmall. Fourth, road construction andmaintenance are financed principallythrough property taxes, which cyclists pay.However, the cost of infrastructure for carsis significantly higher than for bicycles, socyclists subsidize car infrastructure, notthe other way around.

Fifth, Montreal must purchase and op-erate public transport based on peak de-mand. If all summer cyclists switch topublic transport in winter, that would in-crease the peak demand and therefore thecost. Winter cyclists help reduce the peakdemand and therefore reduce the cost ofpublic transport.

The important point the writer omitted

was pollution. Westmount suffers from ex-ceptionally high levels of air pollution duepartially to its proximity to heavy vehiculartraffic, including public transport. Pollu-tion is much worse in winter due to thehigh incidence of wood and oil burning inWestmount. Cycling helps reduce vehicu-lar air pollution, thereby locally improvingthe liveability of Westmount and globallylimiting climate change.

There are a number of important is-sues, most related to sharing space andsafety, which need to be addressed in theshort-term for cycling to become more es-tablished in Westmount. However, thesuccessful promotion of cycling requiresleaders who look beyond those short-termissues, to a long-term vision of the qualityof life Westmount can offer 10 to 20 yearsfrom now. We are confident that themayor and council will be able to moveWestmount towards a sustainable futurewherein cycling will make a contribution.

Daniel Lambert, President,

Westmount Cycling Association

The root of the problem

You may recall my dispute with the cityof Westmount over the so-called “orphantrees.” These are trees that are wholly oncity territory but for which the city dis-claims responsibility.

In a court case next month, I am ask-ing the court of Quebec to allow exemplarydamages so as to discourage the city fromcontinuing its current policy of callingtrees that are on city territory “privatetrees” for the simple reason that “we didnot plant them,” thus making it practicallyimpossible for citizens to exercise theirrights in relation to any claims for damageor injury.

The (public) hearing of this case at theCour du Québec is scheduled for 9 am onMonday, February 15 in room 13.12 at theaddress St. Antoine 10 St. E.

I would ask anyone who has ever paidfor damages caused by a tree on city terri-tory because the city denied responsibilityto contact me for more details.Nanette Neuwahl, Prince Albert Ave.

Electronic Independentsavailable

Enjoy the Indie at supper timeon Tuesdays!

Sign up by writing us:

[email protected].

The soaring increase in the 2010 agglobudget is partly due to the savage cuts topublic transport subsidies implementedby Quebec’s Claude Ryan in 1991, accord-ing to Mayor Peter Trent. In today’smoney, they represent $270 million in re-duced income. The resulting cost to prop-erty taxpayers is enormous.

Trent blames the Quebec governmentfor the serious state of Big Montreal’s tran-sit finances, a burden Westmountersshare through the agglo tax.

Operating subsidies were eliminated 19years ago when Ryan was Municipal Af-fairs minister in Robert Bourassa’s gov-ernment.

“Quebec is the only jurisdiction inNorth America that does not provide someof the operating costs for public trans-portation,” Trent maintains. “At the timeof the Ryan cuts, the subsidy was $190million a year, which, translated into cur-rent dollars, would be about $270 million.

“Montreal plans this year to subsidizetransit – the STM and the AMT suburbantrains – by about $434 million. Just imag-ine what $270 million would do for thecity’s overall budget.”

Transit costs

While the transit costs are a particularTrent interest, he is also very critical ofhuge increases in the island’s policing andfire service costs.

When he returned to the Westmountmayoralty last autumn, he was not lookingforward to having to deal with Montrealproblems. Now, having seen them closeupwhile studying the $4.3-billion 2010budget, he likes “the belly of the beast”even less!

As the Independent reported last week,the fire budget has increased 15 percentsince the agglo was formed with Montrealas the sole decision-maker.

“That is more than three times the in-flation rate,” Trent said. “No one can con-vince me that services have increased toanything like that amount.”

With the police, there is an even largerincrease of 19 percent.

For public transit, Montreal is budget-ing an increased subsidy of $113 millionfor this year compared with the 2006 au-dited payment.

He believes that the provincial govern-ment should come to help Montreal, al-though, with both the Liberals and the PQbeholden to the regions, he doesn’t un-derestimate the political problems.

Indeed, getting the sympathetic atten-tion of Quebec City for anything to do withMontreal island seems a daunting task.

Off-island suburbs

The other area Trent looks to for reliefis more contributions from the off-islandsuburbs. “They do not pay their share ofMontreal costs,” Trent maintains.

Opposition leader Louise Harel of Vi-sion Montreal has been demanding thatBig Mayor Gérald Tremblay introducecharges for off-island residents who bringtheir cars across the rivers.

The Association of Suburban Munici-palities, which Trent chairs, has yet to takea position but he tends to favour the idea.“There should not be poll stations, though.We should use some modern method thatis less disruptive,” he emphasized.

Trent was also concerned that thecharge should not be so prohibitive thatbusinesses would want to move off the is-land and thus worsen urban sprawl. He issupporting Tremblay’s introduction of adowntown parking tax, however.

With his budget studies, Trent has nowbeen able to compare the Tremblay ad-ministration with his earlier experience ofisland affairs as a member of the executivecommittee of the Montreal Urban Com-munity. That had an equivalent budget ofnearly $2 billion for shared services.

“It was bureaucratic and big, but not so

huge you couldn’t just about get yourarms around it,” he recalled.

“Montreal is much too big. I believethat the mega-city would not work, andthese escalating expenses prove it. I ex-pected that costs would run out of control,and that is what has happened.”

This week, Trent is participating indaily public committee meetings down-town. They will study different parts of thebudget, usually presented by the city’s bu-reaucrats. It is the Big Montreal custom tolet its councillors examine the budget onlyafter it has been delivered.

However, it will be surprising if any-thing changes by the weekend. Big Mon-treal is not ready to consult on such things.

Westmount’s share of the $4.3 billionagglom costs will be approximately $46.3million, about 2.36 percent of the totalcosts, based on property values. Councilhas to decide how to apportion it amongresidential and commercial property own-ers. A special budget meeting is scheduledfor Monday, January 25 at 8 pm when itsdecisions will be announced and thebudget adopted.

Citizen activist Don Wedge’s email addressis [email protected].


514 933-6781www.remax-quebec.com/westmount

514 482-3347e-mail: [email protected]

Outstanding Results

RE MAX WESTMOUNT INC.CHARTERED REAL ESTATE BROKER independently owned and operated

Offices on Greene and Monklandto better serve you.

Civic AlertDon Wedge

Savage cuts in 1991 impact today’s record taxes

À votreécoute,depuis25 ans

430 Wood Ave.First time on the market ever!! Turn of thecentury cottage facing park, above Sher -brooke. 3+ brms, leaded glass windows,small garden, parking. Unbeatable location.Won’t last.

$799,000

Montreal operating budget: $4.3 billionAgglom portion: $2.0 billion

Westmount share: $46.3 millionOf which: Police: 29.3%

Transit: 22.9%Fire: 17.1%Solid waste: 4.7%Culture: 2.4%

Property valuation:Montreal: $260.8 billionWestmount: $6.4 billionShare: 2.419%

Westmount’s share is fourth largest afterMontreal, Dorval and Pointe Claire.The cost of the first responder service:$4.6 million, of which $113,000 is West-mount’s share. Source: City of Montreal

Big Montreal’s big budget facts, 2010

WESTMOUNT: 62 AberdeenMagnifique! Classic traditional home offering finecomtemporary touches. Beautifully and extensivelyrenovated.

M. E. Paradissis514.802.0027514.342.7700 Sutton Centre Ouest

Affiliated Real Estate Agent

OPEN

HOUSE

SUN. 2-4 PM


By Erin Stropes

Many people spend their lives avoidingvisits to the hospital. Westmounter DianaMotherwell has spent hers finding ways toget in them. As a teen she was a candy-striper assisting at the Mon-treal General Hospital(MGH) and, after more thanthirty years as a medical sec-retary, she has returned to theMGH as a volunteer.

In a discussion with theIndependent about the McGillUniversity Health Centre’s(MUHC) upcoming careerfair, Motherwell acknowl-edges the benefits of a careerin medical administration(job security, benefits, and thereward of seeing patients re-cover), but stresses that thework requires patience, com-passion and an ability tomake logistical decisions and solve prob-lems under pressure.

The MUHC Career Fair takes place inthree locations (Montreal General Hospi-tal, Lachine Campus, and Montreal Chil-dren’s Hospital) Saturday January, 23January from 11 am to 4 pm. For more in-

formation or to pre-register, visithttp://muhc.ca/homepage/careerday.

As a young medical secretary just backfrom a year-long working visit to London,England in 1969, Motherwell found a po-sition with Dr. C.E. Brooks, who at that

time was just beginning hiscareer as an orthopedic sur-geon at the MGH. Theywould work together for thenext 27 years. “We grew andlearned together,” saysMotherwell of her timeworking with Brooks.

One of her first memo-ries of hospital work involvesa wrong turn into the au-topsy room, an accidentalvisit that still makes hershudder. Most of her experi-ences were fortunately lessmorbid. As the “front line”person dealing with patientsand hospital staff, she would

go from fielding a hundred phone calls ina single day, organizing banquets or con-ferences to spending an evening at a Cana-diens or Alouettes game during the yearswhen Brooks served as orthopedic sur-geon to those Montrealsports teams.

Medical secretary no small task

Diana Motherwell

continued on p. 22

Presented by Philip Cutler and Michelle Warner

In this new feature, we are interested in hearing from students who live or go toschool in Westmount. Send your answer to this week’s question, along with your name,grade and school to [email protected].

The deadline is Friday, January 22 at 5 pm. If your answer is selected, it will appearin next week’s Independent.This week’s question: What do you look forward to most in winter?

When the Bell Rings: Westmount Students Speak Up

Mayor Peter Trent 514.989.5240 [email protected]

District Commissioner of:

1 Patrick Martin Public Works & Utilities 514.989.5081 [email protected] Tim Price Finance 514.989.5082 [email protected] Victor Drury Administration 514.989.5083 [email protected] Kathleen Duncan* Sports & Recreation 514.989.5080 [email protected] Gary Ikeman Public Security 514.989.5079 [email protected] Nicole Forbes Cultural & Comm.Services 514.989.5076 [email protected] Cynthia Lulham* Urban Planning 514.989.5077 [email protected] Theodora Samiotis Environment 514.989.5078 [email protected]

* Councillors Lulham and Duncan are also open to being “stopped in the street.”

How to contact members ofWestmount’s city council


By Laureen Sweeney

If you had the impression you shov-elled less snow in December than a yearearlier, you’re right on the mark.

Only half as much fell during themonth to keep the year’s total snowfallbelow average and translate into a pro-jected $300,000 surplus for Westmount’s$3-million snow clearing budget.

“We were very, very lucky,” said PublicWorks director Marianne Zalzal in provid-ing preliminary cost estimates. “We hadonly one significant snowstorm in De-cember.”

And considering that Westmount’stotal cost of snow removal and disposal in2008 hit almost $5 million – an excep-tional year – the modest surplus is goodnews for taxpayers facing certain tax hikesin the 2010 budget being tabled January25.

Snowstorm price tag

Given a typical clean-up price tag of$250,000 per snowstorm in Westmount,December can bring unwanted surprisesto the city with early or back-to-back

storms. “It’s an uncontrollable and criticalfactor in the budget right up until the lastday,” Zalzal noted.

With only 56 cm of snow recorded inDecember 2009 compared with 97 cm inDecember 2008, the entire year’s total of173 cm was below the 30-year annual av-erage of 214.2 cm. It was also half of whatfell in 2008, she said. That was 342.2 cm.

Snow removal and salting costs arehigh-ticket items in Westmount given thehills, bus routes, arterial roads, commer-cial areas, number of schools and high de-mand for on-street parking.

In December 2009, Zalzal said, the costof salt used amounted to $165,000. “Al-though we had only the one snowstorm,we had a lot of slippery streets and used afair amount of salt.

“Our goal is to reduce the use of saltwherever possible but we have no choiceon the hills. We have electronic saltspreaders that pre-wet the salt with cal-cium to hasten its effectiveness and aremore precise in spreading the amounts re-quired.”

Lighter snow year 2009 ‘lucky’ for taxpayersWinter roads: Comparing 2009 to 2008

2009 2008Salt use in Dec. (in tonnes) 2,107 2,963Salt use for year (in tonnes) 7,018 8,305Snowfall in Dec. (in cm) 56.4 97.0Snowfall for yr. (in cm) 173.1 342.2Costs for Dec. (in $ millions) 0.4* 0.7*Total costs for yr. (in $ millions) 2.7** 4.9*external costs only **preliminary estimate

December’s costs do not include those related to internal costs such as labour, overtimeand budget allocation of city vehicles, though an approximation of these amounts hasbeen added to the year’s total projection.

By Martin C. Barry

Higher fencing that the city of West-mount has decided to install for the winterat its two dog runs will hopefully keepChaucer from making enthusiastic leapsto freedom as he once did.

Over the past year, the large and cuddlycanine turned up twice at Westmount citycouncil with his master, Paul Creighton,an Argyle Ave. resident. Creighton main-tained that the fences at the dog runs onLansdowne Ave. and in Murray Park wereso low that Chaucer and other dogs wereeasily able to leap out, especially whenthere was snow on the ground.

During the winter, snow builds up inthe run and raises the ground level, mak-ing the fence effectively less tall. At theLansdowne run, the city has installedsnow fencing atop a three-foot-high chainlink fence, raising it to nearly five feet. ThePlanning Advisory Committee counselledagainst the installation of a higher perma-nent fence, since chain link fences are notconsidered compatible with Westmountstreetscapes.

Commenting on the new dog runarrangement during council’s monthly

meeting on January 11, Creighton said itwas done “to perfection.” At the Murray-Park dog run last week, two dog ownerssaid they were pleased there will be ahigher fence, although one insisted hisdog never tries to jump anyway.

“He put his paws on the fence once, butnever tried to go over,” said Nick Krajew-ski, acknowledging he had seen other dogsdo it. “I’d heard a few stories about peo-ple’s dogs that jump over and become anuisance. It’s usually the same dogs.

Honestly, I’ve found the fence prettylow, because a lot of dogs are almost threefeet tall on four legs.”

Analyn, a professional dog walker tak-ing a client’s English setter for some exer-cise, agreed that some canines are moreprone than others to jumping a low dogrun fence. “When there was a dog outsidethe fence playing, Oakley felt like going tojoin him, but now he’s okay,” she said.

Westmount canine ownersapprove of higher dog run fence

New fencing arrangement at Lansdowne Ave. dog run, January 14.

Councillor Patrick Martin is planning ameeting with dog owners on a more per-manent fencing solution. See p. 6 on howto contact him.


Bruce Roberts’ vernissage at The Gallery at Victoria Hall, January 13Photos by Robert J. Galbraith

Front row, from left, Patrycia Walton (artist and friend from the Plateau), Allan Gedalof (brother-in-law visiting from Paris), Anna Gedalof (wife of the artist), John Hill (artist, photographer and friend).Back row, The Gallery curator, Victoria LeBlanc and artist Bruce Roberts.

Lakefield College School cordially invites you to attend an Admissions presentation and reception on the evening of Tuesday, January 26.Please join us in Westmount to learn more about experiential education at one of Canada’s

premiere independent boarding high schools.

For more information, directions, and to RSVPcontact Valerie Marlow at [email protected] or 705.652.3324 ext. 319

The LCS boarding experience offers ...unparalleled academic opportunities

an environment that builds confi dence

enduring friendships

the gift of independence

greater university and career success

www.lcs.on.ca

Ilana Shamir of St. Henri, from left, with Shahrzad Ghaffari of Westmount at the vernissage.


Hogg Hardware is open!In order to get our new Westmount

location ready, we have moved to thecorner of Vendome Ave. and Sherbrooke St.(5128 Sherbrooke St. W., near À Votre Santé)

The grand opening of our new location will be in May 2010:4855 Sherbrooke St. W. (corner Victoria, old SAQ location)

Our phone number has not changed: (514) 934-4644

No change to our Nuns’ Island location: 7 Place du Commerce – (514) 761 4441

By Isaac Olson

French may be the official language ofQuebec, but there are plenty of English-language books from around the provincethat, with a little help from a local associa-tion, shine across the country.

Now that association, which is basedout of the Atwater Library, has a new exec-utive director.

Aparna Sanyal has taken the helm atthe Association of English-language Pub-lishers of Quebec (AELAQ) – an associa-tion that promotes Quebec-produced,English-language books by acting as a liai-son with readers, government and pub-lishing organizations.

“What I find really appealing is thequality of the books produced by thesesmall presses,” said Sanyal. “Our clientshave fought a good fight for a long time forEnglish-language writing in Quebec andhave done a superb job promoting Eng-lish-language writers of extraordinary cal-ibre.”

Sanyal, who has a background in free-lance writing for publications that include

AELAQ’s Montreal Review of Books (mRb),said she appreciates what AELAQ hasdone for Quebec’s English-language writ-ers and publishers, be it advocacy, profes-sional development seminars or thepublication of the nationally-distributedmRb.

“I believe in English-language writingin Quebec, and I think that these smallpresses do an amazing job,” said Sanyal.“And the mRb contains a very rare anddying breed of book reviews within thiscountry.”

As she looks to the near future, Sanyalsaid she aims to attract advertisers to theupcoming late-April edition of the mRbwhich has an estimated 250,000 readers.In the long term, she will be looking fornew ways to promote English-languagebooks produced in Quebec.

“I think there’s immense potential forpromoting these books and making con-nections in the community and schools,”said Sanyal. “I think there’s a tremendousamount of value for the community in thebooks that are being produced by thesepublishers.”

AELAQ welcomes new executive director

From left, Judy Isherwood of Shoreline Press, Susan McIntosh of McGill-Queen’s University Press,Aparna Sanyal, new executive director of AELAQ, and Simon Dardick of Véhicule Press.Grosvenor Ave. resident still wants refund

for merger-era tax bill ‘overpayment’By Martin C. Barry

After failing in a protracted legal bid torecover $1,300 he claims to have beenovercharged by the city of Montreal for2004-2005 property taxes, John Breslawcontinues to hope that a political interven-tion can turn around the situation.

In 2006, after Westmount had emergedfrom four years of forced fusion with thecentre city, Breslaw decided to launch acase in Quebec’s small claims court. How-ever, that action, as well as a class actionhe later launched in Quebec SuperiorCourt, was rejected.

In the former case, it was ruled thatclass actions can’t be used against munic-ipalities. Although Breslaw appealed thedecision, it was upheld. He then took it tothe Supreme Court of Canada, which con-firmed last October in a split 4-5 decisionthat class actions cannot be used to over-turn municipal by-laws.

“When it came back from SupremeCourt, I said ‘What options do I have left?’I didn’t really want to take it to SuperiorCourt because it’s a lose-lose situation. For$1,300 you just don’t get your legal feesback.”

So he pursued an appeal in smallclaims court, where again the judge was

not impressed. He, too, told Breslaw hedidn’t have the power to overturn a by-law.So Breslaw is now thinking of asking thecity of Westmount whether it is interestedin joining him in another bid in SuperiorCourt, “although I doubt that they will,” hesaid.

The $1,300 represents overpaymentBreslaw maintains he was forced to makeon a tax bill from the city of Montreal formore than $6,000. According to Breslaw,Montreal had mandated an increase of15.8 percent in the first year it took over inWestmount, with an even higher rate theyear after.

“That represents the difference be-tween how much I would have beencharged when the city charged what it didand how much I would have been chargedhad the city stayed within its constitutionand only increased it by a maximum fivepercent,” he said.

In a last ditch effort, Breslaw contactedthe office of Quebec’s minister of Munici-pal Affairs. His appeal to a ministerial aidewas plain and simple. “Where do I haveaccess to justice and could you get my$1,300 back please,” he recalled saying.“The chances of my getting anything po-litically, of course, are …” He didn’t finishthe sentence.


Scouts Canada Foundation to hosta World Scout Foundation Event –Four-day gala in Ottawa this OctoberInvitations to join the World Scout Foundation (WSF) are being sent outto individuals who support Scouting and who are concerned about youth– in Canada and in the 155 countries around the world that belong tothe World Organization of the Scout Movement. The WSFprovides 25% of their budgets.

Members of the WSF are called Baden-Powell Fellows and they number over2,000 from 75 countries, including Canada.

This event is not only to welcome newCanadian Fellows, but to invite visitingFellows from around the world to seeCanadian Scouting, to meet Canadians, toexperience Canadian hospitality, to seeCanada’s capital city and to be amazed byour glorious autumn colours.

The honorary chairman of the WorldScout Foundation, Carl XVI Gustaf, King ofSweden, will attend and will personallywelcome each new Fellow and presentthem with their membership insignia.

The King and the Scoutmaster.

Westmount litigator Alex Paterson ofBorden Ladner Gervais has taken on a newcase: hospitals’ requirement to pay GST.

In a letter to the federal minister of Fi-nance, Jim Flaherty, Paterson, who was thefirst chairman and was recently a boardmember of the McGill University HealthCentre (MUHC), wrote that he supports“the proposal presently before the govern-ment of Canada that all of Canada’s publichealth care system be accorded a 100-per-cent GST rebate.”

Paterson notes that “While our healthprofessionals serve the public way beyondthe call of duty, there is often a shortage ofequipment, support staff and operatingfunds that makes their work extremely dif-ficult.”

Paterson v.GST

Roadway seen from Oakland Ave.

By Martin C. Barry

A water pump station constructionproject taking place on the mountain, ne-cessitating the temporary closing of thenorthern side of Summit Circle, is raisingthe possibility that the roadway could beshut permanently to expand SummitPark’s area.

The new pump station, which is beingpaid for by the Montreal agglomeration, isbeing put in to provide emergency waterservice to homes north of Sunnyside Ave.in case a main water pump station on Côtedes Neiges Rd. should ever fail.

The project is being completed underthe supervision of the city of Montreal.Work started in November and is sched-uled to be completed by mid-February.During that time, the roadway betweenOakland Ave. and 15 Summit Circle willbe closed to traffic.

“I look upon this temporary closing asan interesting experiment, because it’ll beat least three or four months as they takeus through the work,” said CouncillorPatrick Martin, who represents District 1.“Let’s see how people adjust to that,whether they like the idea or not. It’s an

experiment that won’t cost anything.”The stretch of Summit Circle in ques-

tion is renowned for giving motorists anespecially bumpy ride. Several years ago,it appeared on a list of Westmount streetscompiled by the city’s former PublicWorks director, Fred Caluori, which wereslated for repaving or reconstruction.

He gave it the lowest priority becausethere are no homes on that stretch andmuch of its traffic is from outside the area.“That road is in very poor condition, andfixing it, I think, I recall the estimate issomething like $2 million,” said Martin.“So do you spend $2 million or do you dosomething else with that money?”

Martin suggests that perhaps the onlypeople who have been using the street,“apart from maybe a sightseer looking atthe view down the backside of the moun-tain, would be people who live over on Sur-rey Garden who want to go to the Côte desNeiges area. So let’s see how they adjust inthe next few months in finding alternateroutes and then we’ll see.”

Martin has received no complaints todate.

Councillor floats idea of closing roadway to expand Summit Park

Roadway seen from Summit Rd., where the pump station is being built.


492 Av. Strathcona, Westmount$2,455,000

2333 Sherbrooke #111, Ville Marie$329,000

59 Ch. Des Buissons, Lac Superieur$1,250,000

426 Av. Wood, Westmount$1,425,000

2 Burton, Westmount$529,000

*2009

BUNNY BERKE #1 RE/MAX WESTMOUNT INC.*Thank you for your ongoing support!! 2010 promises to be

a very exciting year! Please let me know how I can help you.

4302 Av. Montrose, Westmount$2,750,000

912 McEachran, Outremont$1,069,000

461 Av. Mount-Pleasant, Westmount$949,000

3605 The Boulevard, Westmount$1,556,000

NEW

PRICENEW

PRICE

NEW

LISTING

NEW

LISTING NEW

LISTING NEW

LISTING

NEW

LISTING NEW

LISTING

NEW

PRICE

Sue Robert, Katherine Nikidis (head of School), Catherine Melling Turner, Westmounters Molly Fripp(Former headmistress) and Helen Klinkhoff, Stephanie Kerner and Wendy Cude.


Westmount’s ECS centennial gathers glam gals

Alumnae from around the corner andaround the globe joined 100th anniversarycelebration of Miss Edgar’s and MissCramp’s School (ECS).

A variety of events were held, includinga dinner-dance late fall at the AtwaterClub. The birthday blast-from-the-past,“Cheers to 100 Years”, displayed archivalphotos and memorabilia. The charactersof Miss Mary Cramp and Miss MaudEdgar (played by former teachers WendyCude and Sue Robert, dressed “perfectlyproperly” of course) rang the school bell toannounce dinner was served.

Dining and dancing were held on theclub’s badminton court, transformed forthe evening. Yards of fabric and well-placed lighting created a sparkling blueand silver oasis. The 300 cocktail-cladguests bid their way through an excitinglive auction, presided over by SelwynHouse headmaster Hal Hannaford.

Westmounters present included Peterand Gail Johnson (’58), Andrea (UsherJones) Beattie (’83) with hubby Paul, ECSvice chair Ward Sellers and his wife DebMacLeod, ECS board chair Peter Cookeand his wife Karen, Lissy Kates (’88), JillHarrington (’67), the Klinkhoff family,Helen and Allen, with children Ginny,Carly and Craig, Old Girls Associationpresident Tiffany Turner (’92), and formerECS board chairs Sue Khan and DianeDeruchie (’70).

Monies raised came to $300,000, whichgoes to the ECS Centennial EndowmentFund. This supports a new junior schoolscholarship/bursary to allow young girlsto begin their adventure at ECS, and thecreation of the Faculty Professional Devel-opment Fund, to provide special opportu-nities for ECS teachers to expand theirinstructional skills.

Co-chairs were Westmounters HelenKlinkhoff and Gail Johnson and AnnBirks. Committee members who made thenight more than memorable were SueKhan, Gail Johnson, Molly Fripp, Lisa Teo-lis, along with Cristina Supino, StephanieKerner, Catherine Turner, Sue Robert andWendy Cude.

Social Notes from Westmountand Beyond

Veronica Redgrave

Westmounters Molly Fripp (former ECS head)and Gail Johnson.

A trio of Westmounters. Stuart and ClaireWebster, Peter Johnson.

Janet Dussault and Westmounter Alan Klinkhoff.

Susyn Borer and Westmounter Ann Birks


Thursday, January 21

• The Westmount Municipal Associationhosts a discussion on the latest develop-ments around the Turcot complex. Profes-sor Pierre Gauthier and urban plannerJason Prince will address questions at theWestmount Library, 7 to 9 pm. Free, opento public. Info: Maureen Kiely,514.933.2474 or [email protected].• Course registration for seniors at Con-tactivity Centre: Tai chi, philosophy dis-cussion group, Stretch to Music, bridgeinstruction, line dancing, South Seas his-tory and travelogue, fall prevention. 4695de Maisonneuve, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm.Info: 514.932.2326.• Robert Burns celebrated at AtwaterLunchtime Series with Peter McAuslan,president of St. Andrew’s Society of Mon-treal and George Barclay’s “address to ahaggis”. Atwater Library (1200 AtwaterAve.) 12:30 pm. Free, donations welcome.

Sunday, January 24

VivaVoce chamber choir presents “Spot-light on Poetry”, mostly a cappella settingsof French poetry. Redpath Hall (3461 Mc-Tavish St.), 7:30 pm. Cost: $30, regular;$25, seniors; $10, students. Tickets:

514.398.4547 or online at: www.admission.com. Info: www.vivavoce-montreal.com

Monday, January 25

Council meeting: Westmount Budget, 8pm at city hall.

Tuesday, January 26

• Audition for the Harmonia Westmountwomen’s choir. Contact: choir directorFredericka Petit-Homme, 514.762.0216 ore-mail [email protected]• The Philatelic Club of Montreal presentsTom Burpee on “The Fifteen Finest Cana-dian Stamps Sold at Auction in 2009.”Westmount Library, 7 pm, free admission.Stamp collectors welcome. Info:514.735.3941.

Wednesday, January 27

• Marianopolis College’s CentennialSpeaker Series presents HEC MontrealGeneral Secretary and marketing profes-sor Jacques Nantel on “Is MarketingGoing Astray?” 4873 Westmount Ave., 7pm. Free, open to the public. Info:514.931.8792, ext. 204.• January’s topic in a series of discussionspertaining to perimenopause andmenopause: “What works for you?” hostedby Heidi Wiedemann, 6:45 to 9 pm at Ar-gyle Institute, 215 Redfern Ave. #120.Cost: $20 per session, payable at the door.Register by January 25: 514.713.4357 [email protected].

Thursday, January 28

Contactivity Centre presents ThurzaDufresne on “Elderabuse: detection andprevention” at 4695 de Maisonneuve.Lunch at 1 pm for members. Non-mem-bers welcome for after-lunch talk at 1:30pm. Reserve: 514.932.2326.

Monday, February 1

Council meeting, 8 pm at city hall.

Comin’ Up

Now you can discover the one address in town that brings harmony to a changingsenior lifestyle – without compromise. Right beside the Old Fire station whereVictoria meets The Boulevard, Westmount One promises unparalleled levels ofsecurity, comfort and quality living. EXCEPTIONAL PANORAMIC VIEWS INCLUDED.

EVOLVING NEEDS, ONE ADDRESSAbove standard services to make you feel at home including exquisite meals,housekeeping and laundry. Personal care and assistance can be progressively addedwhen and if the need arises.

Westmount One accommodatesboth independent and assisted living.

For more information call 514 487-82824800, chemin de la Côte-Saint-Luc, Montréal

www.westmountone.com

A Radically DifferentApproach to Your LifeMoney, Body, and Relationships:What would it feel like to bestress free and out of judge-ment with the way you lookand the way you live?Right Relationship For YouJan 26 - Feb 23Tele class world wideA Taste of RightRelationshipSunday Jan 24 1:30pmLe Nouvel HotelSusan Lazar Hart M.F.A.& C.F.M.W.personal coach & relationship counselorwww.susanlazarhart.com

Tel: 514 484 [email protected]

The Marianopolis Millennium Foundation,a registered charity dedicated to supporting Marianopolis College byproviding scholarships and bursaries to students, funding improvementsto facilities and enhancing educational resources, is pleased to announcethe following appointments to its board of directors:

DominiqueMonetBoard SecretaryLeader,National Labour,Employment andHuman Rights,Fasken Martineau

Helen LawDirectorPartner, Law &Wong CA; formerpresident of theMontreal ChineseHospitalFoundation

Ericvan Eyken ’02AlumniAssociationRepresentativeMcGill Universitylaw student


In the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” world of sports, it’s tough not onlyto be successful, but to remain at the top ofyour game for more than a few weeks, letalone a season.

So far, however, the Atom A West-mount Wings have not only been thecream of their league’s crop, but they haveled the way, wire to wire, more thanhalfway through the 2009-10 campaign.

“Our team has been enjoying a suc-cessful year to date because our playershave really been playing hard and have astrong desire to learn,” said Wings coachBruce Garfield.

“Our biggest strength, which has con-tributed to us maintaining a perfect recordto date, is that all three forward lines arewell-balanced and strong, and all of ourlines can contribute offensively, thus mak-ing it difficult for any team to focus on anyone line.”

Stats say it all

A quick look at the league stats sheetand the numbers say it all: The first-placeWings lead the league with 59 goals for.The next best is 50 from the third overallCôte St. Luc Canucks; the Wings lead ingoals against, as well, with just 13 in 12games – next best are the Lac St. Louis Ma-roons and the Montreal West/HampsteadKnights with 21 apiece.

How about wins, losses and ties? West-mount not only leads with 12 wins and nolosses, but has yet to be subjected to a tie.

The second-place Verdun Avalancheare six points back with four losses and a

pair of ties, and they’ve played two moregames than the Wings.

“We have been getting big goals fromnumerous players, including timely onesfrom our first-year assistant captain AdamStarr,” Garfield said.

“Defensively, we are very strong, led byour second-year veteran Drew Anderson,and adding to our team’s success has beenour goalie, Weslie Osterland, who hasbeen very strong between the pipes.”

Anderson said he’s been having a goodtime so far this season.

“We’re awesome and have a strongteam like always. We have good shooters,a good goalie and good coaches,” the de-fenceman said. “Winning and being withmy friends is great and it’s fun to wingames, but I’m also looking forward tochallenge in the regionals.”

Wings dominate

So far, the Wings’ dominance has beenapparent almost game in and game out.

Westmount opened the season with a5-4 squeaker over the Canucks, but fol-lowed that up with a 7-0 drubbing of theSt. Laurent Sonics. A 4-1 win over the St.Laurent Rockets led to a 3-1 victory overthe Maroons before the Wings blew theirseason open with a 9-2 romp over theLions and a 5-0 clobbering of the VerdunAmbassadeurs.

Over the next four games, the Wingsoutscored their competition by a total of17-2 in wins over the Knights, Diables,Jaguars and Devils, with Osterland regis-tering two shutouts along the way.

In fact, it wasn’t until their first gameof the new year, after a break of nearlythree weeks from competition, that theWings had a tough game, but even thatturned into a 3-2 win over the Avalanche.

Then just to put the icing on the cake,Westmount iced Côte St. Luc – the onlyteam that had truly been a challenge in the

first half of the year – in a 7-1 win.

Keep kids focused and happy

“The coaches on this teamwant to keep the kids focusedthroughout the regular season toget ready for the playoffs,”Garfield said.

“Our practices are very wellstructured, designed to help thekids improve their skating andskills – at the same time makingsure all the kids are having fun.”

You can always reach me [email protected].

Off-SidelNoah Sidel

Westmount Atoms unbeaten

Drew Anderson, Atom A Westmount Wings.Photo: Eric Bindman

Among the new arrivals at the West-mount Public Library singled out by staff:

Adult reading – Popular scienceComplexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie

Mitchell – Scientific questions don’t al-ways fall neatly in one discipline or an-other, and this look at the study ofcomplexity covers a range of questionsabout systems as diverse as ant coloniesand the internet. Mitchell, a computer sci-entist, shows how simple rules and struc-tures can combine and transform intocomplex systems, where the whole is mostdefinitely greater than the sum of theparts.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog byChad Orzel – Though humour and quan-tum theory aren’t often mentioned in thesame sentence, physicist Orzel managesto do just that as he leads his curious dog,Emmy, and the reader on a fantastic tourof quantum physics in everyday life. Findout how the Heisenberg Uncertainty Prin-ciple can help track down a lost bone andalso applies to chasing bunnies.

Adult French – Death pays all debtsLe mort du chemin des Arsène by Jean

Lemieux – A famous folk musician isfound dead, an apparent suicide. But whywould he commit such an act just after in-heriting a large sum of money? Set in theremote and picturesque region of Îles dela Madeleine, this detective story delvesinto the secrets of a rural community.

Presque mort by Ake Edwardson – Com-missioner Winter and his team arewrestling with their personal demons as aseries of crimes and disappearances un-fold. Winter is convinced that these eventsare all linked to a woman who vanishedmysteriously 30 years ago. This is the next-to-last installment in a series by the highly-regarded Swedish author.

Picture books for childrenFanny et les doudous by Lucie Papineau

– When Fanny’s drawings of little fairiescalled “les doudous” come to life, some ofher toys seem to disappear.

Pierre le Poof! by Andrea Beck – Al-though Pierre the poodle loves his ownerMiss Murphy, he doesn’t always appreci-

ate her puffing and fluffing him for dogshows.

Books on CDHalf Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls –

A true-story novel about Lily Casey Smith(the author’s grandmother) who, at agesix, helped her father break horses, lefthome at 15 to teach in a frontier town.Later, as a wife and mother, she runs aranch in Arizona where she survives tor-nadoes, droughts, floods, the Great De-pression, and the most heartbreakingpersonal tragedy. But despite a life of hard-scrabble drudgery, she still remains awoman of indomitable spirit.

Precious by Sapphire – In this harrow-ing tale, sixteen-year-old Precious Joneshas endured a broken home under themost horrific circumstances. Impregnatedby her rapist father, Precious prepares forthe birth of her second child as she runsaway from home and befriends a counter-culture teacher who whisks her away on asoul-searching journey.

Magazines“Shopping for sweat: The human cost

of a two-dollar t-shirt” by Ken Silvermanin Harper’s Magazine, Jan. 2010, p. 36.

“The truth about lions: What drives theworld’s fiercest, most dominant wild ani-mal? American biologist Craig Packer hasspent three decades in Africa finding out”by Abigail Tucher in Smithsonian, Jan.2010, p. 28.

“Le singe descend de l’homme: la ques-tion de nos origines bouleversée” by YvesCoppens, Marc Groenen, et al. in Philoso-phie, Jan. 2010, p. 38.

ReferenceLarousse Gastronomique: The World’s

Great Culinary Encyclopedia.

Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.

Dictionnaire illustré des termes de lamédecine.


Shop Westmount!

HAIR STYLING FOR MEN

514.484.59874970 Sherbrooke Street West

TAO RestaurantFine Asian

CuisineLunch Special from $6.95

514.369.1122374 Victoria near Sherbrooke

Sharyn Scott on ConsignmentWomen’s and Men’s

Quality, gently used clothing,shoes, handbags and jewellery

4925 Sherbrooke St. West (at Prince Albert)

(514) 484-6507

Tango MartiniChinese Antiques & Collectibles

“Clearance Sale”from 20% off ...4500 St. Catherine St. W.,Westmount514.937.6034tangomartiniantiques.com

Since1977

For high-end non-surgicalcorrective skin care, go to

www.lisaanella.com

Certified Custom Framer on Site318A Victoria Ave. • 514.369.2633

Dresses.322 Victoria Ave.(at de Maisonneuve)

514 369-4799www.astripruggerdesign.com

Everything for your eyes

STANISLAV PONOMARENKO, optometrist• Complete eye examination• Glasses & contact lenses• Large choice of frames• Screening for eye diseases• Glaucoma & cataract exams

We accept prescriptions

PREVENT CHILD ABUSEYou can help by donating any typeof BOOKS to KidzSafe Foundation

to fund educational programs for kids.

Call for pick-up 514.702.4930

50% Off Sale!

WE’VE MOVED!

5175B Sherbrooke West corner Marlowe514-482-4702

On the shelves

Electronic Independents availableEnjoy the Indie at supper time

on Tuesdays! Sign up by writing us:[email protected].


By Heather Black

Marshall McLuhan wrote that “themedium is the message”. Two current ex-hibits reflect that idea. Bruce Roberts’drawings of stallions capture their dy-namic grace, while Ian Shatilla’s realisticyet intense staged imagery challenges theviewer.

Bruce Roberts at The Gallery at VictoriaHall

This Westmounter’s stylized stallionstrot, prance and gallop across the gallerywalls. Seemingly spontaneous, the formevolves from a few well-placed lines orloose colour washes.

In “La Bohème”, a dark stallion – scar-let mane flaming – dominates the frame.Painted in ink with acrylic wash, the mixof colours accentuates the dramatic lines.Flamboyant and operatic, the image con-veys an irrepressible freedom.

In “Un Ballo in Maschera”, two horsesrest, their necks entwined. Rendered with

black heads and necks of striped blue orred, the effect is graphic yet fluid. Here,less is decidedly more.

“Cavaliers Rusticana” captures thegrace of a racing herd. The heads or torsosare painted as washes, while rapid, calli-graphic, black and rust strokes create anexuberant lyricism.

Roberts’ message is freedom and selfexpression. This exhibit – entitled “Equus”– continues until February 6 at The Galleryat Victoria Hall.

Ian Shatilla at the McClure Gallery

On the other hand, Shatilla’s realismrelays contradictions. An instructor at theVisual Arts Centre, his figures, painted inoils on canvas, provoke reaction.

“Surprise” is a self-portrait by the artist.Here a shocked figure – mouth and eyeswide open – dominates a yellow and or-ange canvas. The pose is exaggerated, as ifperformed on cue. Resembling a singlephotographic frame, there is an expecta-tion of more to come.

In contrast, “Smil-ing” is enigmatic. Ahooded man conjuresup images of AbuGhraib torture. Drawnin coloured pencil, thenaked torso is shadedwith fine, multi-coloured strokes.

In “Changing Faceof Terror”, three menstand in a garish greenpool surrounded byfestive streamers. Thefirst, clean-shaven, ap-pears shocked. Themustached second fig-ure seems happy,while the beardedthird man is euphoric.

This is art as theatre.Shatilla presents a stage onwhich to convey ideas that tan-talize the viewer. Entitled “De-feating Victory”, the exhibitcontinues until January 30 atthe Visual Arts Centre on Vic-toria Ave.

In “Equus”, Roberts’ fluiddrawing style evokes horsesand freedom. Here, the style isthe message. But the same canbe said of Shatilla’s exagger-ated figures. Painted in a real-istic style, the poses andintense colours – like stagedtheatre – demand attention.

The key is that both mergeline and form, texture andmass to create unique, distin-guishable and memorable art.

Westmount Art Scene

Bruce Roberts and Ian Shatilla: Expressive form

“Surprise” by Ian Shatilla

“La Bohème” by Bruce Roberts


By Susan Newman

Sure, there are good people in the worldlike you and I who recycle,try to set bugs free ratherthan squish them, readabout the sled-dog puppymill raid in St. Agathe andshake our heads sadly overour morning bran.

And then there are theway-better-than-us peoplewho run rescue organiza-tions like Reach for theStars. Those good folks tookon the responsibility of car-ing for 17 pups born frombattered and starved sleddogs.

You heard right. Thatwould be 17 puppies be-tween six and seven weeksold, running around their house. Ouch.That’s a lot of teething. But what’s reallypainful right now is that the rapidly grow-ing bundles of energy are gobbling up$1,000 worth of food a week, and need$2,000 worth of vaccines and de-worming.Seventeen huskies with worms under oneroof. I told you these people are saints.

So now you’re reading this thinkingthat if you adopted one of those huskypups you’d be the nicest person in theworld, plus you’d have a puppy that’sadorable enough to cause cuteness riots.Tempting thought. Hate to interrupt yourMarley and Me moment, but the truth is,these pups will rapidly grow into bigstrong dogs that require oodles of exercise(Hello? Bred to pull sleds!).

Yes, if you walk them the three to fivehours a day they require, it will be betterthan going to a gym and more fun too. Butyou can’t get tired of these guys in threemonths like that treadmill under the Ab-master stored under the hoola hoop inyour garage. These huskies are a 12- to 15-year commitment, not a pity whim.

A way more realistic “gee-you’re-swell”thing to do would be to help pay for theirweekly food or vet bills. Seventeen übercute pups will get the food their parentswere denied, nicer-than-nice rescue peoplecan continue to do nicer-than-nice things

for nicer-than-nicer critters, and you’ll feellike a total hero. All this, over your break-fast cereal.

So be a mensch, and do the right thing.Picture those 17 husky pups, then pick upthe phone right now and call Susan on be-half of the Underdog Club at 514.569.2228or visit underdogclub.org.

Feel that halo forming above your bedhead already?

17 reasons why rescue people arebetter than you and I

Underdog

Jadzia and Emony.

Update: Gallery hibernationOkay, this may be coming a little late

but here we have it: the UnderdogGallery has closed its doors and will bedown until sometime in the spring. Itmakes us sad, makes the dogs sad,makes the scented candle-makers sad –but the fact is that it’s really muchharder to get dogs adopted when it’s -3000 degrees outside. The bottom linehere is that we never, never could wehave imagined just how amazing thisproject would become.

The gallery was the first project of itskind. What Westmounters proved wasjust how much everyone wants to helpand how fantastic this community is ifyou are a dog – even an old, ugly or un-popular one.

Underdog will continue to run on-line at www.underdogclub.org; schoolprograms will be relaunching shortlyand, of course, you will find us herewith a new, pathetic case every week. Allthis said, we still feel the need to thankyou all, in a huge, sloppy-kiss sort ofway. You have helped a lot of dogs andshould feel very good going to bedtonight,

The Underdog Club. Fern Breslaw

*This offer is valid for a limited time on a selection of frames. Offer applies to the purchase of prescription lenses with scratch-resistant treatment. Cannot be combined with any other rebate or promotion.

Frame for reference only. Details in stores. Michel Laurendeau, optician.

rame for reference onlyF

tch-resistant treascra*This offer is valid for a limited time on a selection of frames.

optician. Michel Laurendeau, Details in stores..rame for reference onlyte or promotion.y other reba Cannot be combined with antment.tch-resistant trea

pplies to the purchase of prescription lenses with Offer a*This offer is valid for a limited time on a selection of frames.

optician.te or promotion.

pplies to the purchase of prescription lenses with

enirehtaCetS0261

tSyuGforenroc(WtS

)aidrocnoC-yuG

enirehtaC.etS0261

.tSyuGforenroc(.W.tS

)aidrocnoCyuG


An important part of our community.

McGuigan Pepin Inc.†Joan & Jill Prévost, Sotheby’s International Realty†

Brian Dutch, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Marie Sicotte, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.

Christina Miller, Profusion Realty Inc.Bunny Berke, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.

Joyce Faughnan, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.†Christopher Gardiner, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.

Tania Kalecheff, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.

Liza Kaufman, Sothebys International Realty QuebecMartin Rouleau, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Albert Sayegh, Profusion Realty Inc.Marie Yvonne Paint, Royal LePage HeritagePatricia Chang & Connie Dingle, Patricia M. Chang RealtyPaul Harrison, Royal LePage HeritageBrigitte Burdman, Royal LePage HeritageVivian & Brian Grant, Profusion Realty Inc.

These real estate entrepreneurs support Westmount’s only Westmount-owned community newspaper.They are real estate. We are Westmount. And we thank them.

*Full-page advertisers. †Clients who appeared in our first four issues. Active, 2009 clients only. Please tell us of any errors.

Amy Assaad, Royal LePage HeritageDanielle Assouline, Royal LePage HeritageBéatrice Baudinet, Royal LePage Heritage

Julie Bédard, Royal LePage HeritageRon Benveniste & Esti Jedeikin, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.

Carmen Berlie, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Edythe Berman, Royal LePage Heritage

Jacques Boiteau, RE/MAX du CariterMaureen & Sacha Brosseau, Sothebys International Realty Quebec

Susan Buscemi, Royal LePage HeritageLaura Campanelli, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.

Deena Caplan, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Julia Daniels, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest J. D. Inc.

Joanne De Sève, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Melanie Dubois, Horizon Montreal Ltd.Lillian Engels, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.

Peter Higgins, Profusion RealtyLidija Knezevic, Royal LePage Heritage

Charles LaHaye, Royal LePage HeritageMichael, Marilyn, Adam Lally, Royal Lepage HeritageGuy Lefebvre, Sothebys International Realty Quebec

Pam Davidson McLernon, Royal LePage HeritageTerry Evans, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.

Marlene Fischel Rubin, Royal LePage HeritageTimothy Gelfand, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.

Marie-Laure Guillard, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Patricia Hinojosa, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Lucette Hivon, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.JJ Jacobs Realty Inc.Sylvie Lafrenière, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Chelsea Lax, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Marie-Claire Le Pessec, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Barry Levine, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Joseph Marovitch, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Joseph Montanaro, Sotheby’s International RealtyKathy Osgood, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Paul Patterson, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Charles Pearo, Royal LePage HeritageAnna Peras, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Tania Gilbert Picard, Royal LePage HeritageMarilyn Rappaport, Century 21Maxence Renaud, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Salvatore Sansalone, Century 21Ellie Silver, Royal Lepage HeritageJessica Silverstein, Londono Realty GroupNancy Taub, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Lynda Taylor, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Martha Tsadilas, Royal LePage HeritageCarly Fridman Wener, Royal LePage Heritage

The 2009-2010 vintage

WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT

Jane Allan, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Claude Boulay, Profusion Realty Inc.

Danielle Boulay, Profusion Realty Inc.

Julie Bourne, Groupe Sutton-Centre-Ouest Inc.Anne-Marie Larue, RE/MAX Westmount Inc.Maria Santini, Royal LePage Heritage

The Originals†

Independent Gold Club* members

itage home that all but disappeared afterrenovations and the addition of wings, ac-cording to city Urban Planning directorJoanne Poirier.

The work was stopped by the city, andthe case was in and out of court until theentire construction was eventually demol-ished by court order in 2002. An $8-mil-lion suit is still pending against the city.

Explaining the council decision to holda public hearing on the appeal request,Mayor Peter Trent told questioner HowardHoppenheim the February 1 meetingwould enable citizens to make representa-tion on the proposed building plan. Hop-penheim’s property on The Boulevardbacks onto the Cedar property.

“We intend to get people in the area tocomment,” Trent said. “It’s the first timewe’ve done that.”

The decision of the council would thenbe final, according to city clerk Mario Ger-beau. Had council proceeded with theagenda item and refused the building pro-

gram based on the recommendation ofPAC, the homeowner and architect wouldhave had no appeal recourse to council, hesaid.

Gerbeau said it was not yet knownwhether or not a demolition permit hear-ing would take place, given the unusualcircumstances of the court-based demoli-tion and the proposed February 1 councilhearing.

The city had already received several let-ters from people asking to intervene in ademolition hearing, which had been ad-vertised earlier.

“While it does seem unusual to hold ahearing for a house already demolished, ithas been explained to me that there is alegal requirement in this regard,” saidCouncillor Patrick Martin, who chairs theDemolition Committee.


From left: Westmounter Catherine McKenzie (2nd from right) with, from left, her Irving MitchellKalichman law colleagues Mathieu Bouchard, Peter Kalichman and Sophie Perron. The firm is locatedin Westmount. McKenzie was launching her novel, Spin, at Indigo on January 14. She is the wife ofthe Independent’s publisher.

By Erin Stropes

While embryonic stem cells are makingall the headlines, research into a differenttype of stem cell has quietly been makinggreat strides.

Only a tiny percentage of parents cur-rently choose to preserve the stem cell-richblood of their newborns’ umbilical cords,but that may be changing in the future asmore parents discover the potentially life-saving benefits of preserving these cells,which are currently used to treat such se-rious illnesses as leukemia and lym-phoma.

“There are no moral or ethical concernswith cord-blood banking,” says MelissaGentile-Menard, a registered nurse andclinical educator for Cells for Life, a privatecord-blood bank founded in 1997 byToronto obstetrician Michael Virro, in apresentation to several expecting couplesat Westmount maternity-wear shop BloomMaternité.

According to Gentile-Menard, over 250collection kits have been dispensed inMontreal to date, and interest throughoutthe city has been on the upswing over the

past year as more parents become awareof the resource. The organization also vis-its Montreal hospitals to inform staff aboutthe correct procedure for cord-blood col-lection.

Cords for Life offers information ses-sions at Bloom Maternité every secondmonth. The next session will take placeMarch 18 at 7 pm.

Marla Struzer (centre) of Bloom Maternité showsoff one of the organization’s collection kits, withCells for Life’s Melissa Gentile-Menard (left) andChristine Bentley.

Bloom hosts Cells For Lifefor expecting parents

‘Spin’ lawyers

Sports and Rec. registration change

proach, seeing as there will be no rush tocome in on the first day.”

For the upcoming spring/summer pro-grams, registration will be held accordingto a set list of dates and times. But therewill still be the two-evening registrationoption, held on Wednesday and Thursdayof both weeks. Space is guaranteed for all,except for Introduction to Music.

While it is hoped that the new proce-dure will eventually lead to online regis-tration, Deegan is wary that the problems

encountered with the manual system ofregistration could end up crashing the de-partment’s computers if everybody choseto register on the first day.

In that case, registration would also bestaggered over two weeks as a precaution.However, he is optimistic that by 2011,some form of Sports and Recreation de-partment registration will be online. Theresidents’ guaranteed registration period(not including exceptions) runs fromMonday, March 22 to Thursday, April 1 in-clusive.

continued from p.1

Sports and Recreation director Mike Deegan, administrator Dave Lapointe and sports coordinator,Andrew Maislin.

Cedar meeting to hearboth sides of plan

continued from p.1

Electronic Independents availableEnjoy the Indie at supper time

on Tuesdays! Sign up by writing us:[email protected].


www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/ctd

WINTER 2010Online Registration Available

For a complete listing of courses,please visit our website.

Computers & TechnologyMicrosoft Suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint &Access, SolidWorks, Photoshop, Dreamweaver,InDesign, Illustrator for Fashion Design,Internet Marketing Strategies, …

PhotographyCamera Basics, Digital Photography,Documentary Photography, CreativeComposition, Photographing People,Portraiture Composition,Winter Photography,…

Professional &Personal DevelopmentMusical Theatre, Portfolio Preparation,CreativeWriting, Scriptwriting for Hollywood,Painting withAcrylics, Drawing &Creative Expression, …

LanguagesEnglish, French, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese,Italian

In collaboration with Emploi Québec, eligibleworking participants can receive subsidized train -ing for: HTML Web Design, Illustrator, AutoCad,AutoDesk Inventor & Simply Accounting

Evaluating bike safety

By Laureen Sweeney

Westmount has a new community ad-vocacy group. The Westmount Cycling As-sociation (WCA) was founded December16 to promote cycling and lobby forgreater city investment in bicycle use.

The fledgling group already has some10 members, according to its presidentDan Lambert, a consultant to the miningindustry who lives on Lansdowne Ave.

“Cycling is part of the long-term solu-tion” to reducing Westmount’s ecologicalfootprint as well as pollution resultingfrom vehicular traffic and the burning ofoil and wood, he explained to city councilJanuary 11.

Announcing the birth of the newgroup, Lambert stated its mission is “topromote cycling to locally improve the liv-ability of Westmount, and globally to limitclimate change by helping reduce the neg-

New advocacy group promotes cycling in Westmount

missioner of Public Works, Parks and Util-ities, if he would ride the streets on a bicy-cle to determine the risks himself.

“No. I’m not going to ride on a bike inthe winter!” Martin replied to generallaughter. He then added that the safety ofpedestrians, who far outnumber winter cy-clists, should be the priority.

de Maisonneuve resident and avid cy-

clist Stan Grossman opposed the winteruse of the street’s bike path. “I don’t wantto rain on the parade,” he said. “But whereI live, de Maisonneuve is very, very narrowand the [bike path] posts are continuallyknocked down [in the summer].”

Pointing out its recreational use, hesaid the path is used by motorized wheel-chairs as well as young children. Themany driveways also make it unsuitable tobe opened in winter.

Master ElectriciansServing Westmount

for over 60 yearsSpecialized in renovations

for older homesGenerator installations

Fast and reliable serviceTel: 514-481-01255800 St. Jacques W.

Le corporationdes maîtres électriciensdu Québec

We all need electricity!

ative effects of vehicular air pollution.”He called on the city to invest in a cy-

cling infrastructure by focusing primarilyon cycling for commuting but also for er-rands and recreation.

The WCA’s priorities, he said, includecalling on the city to prepare a cyclingmaster plan compatible with adjacent bor-oughs, create Bixi stands and maintain thebike path on de Maisonneuve while creat-ing others – all year round. The group alsowants additional bicycle parking.

The WCA is also asking the city to pro-vide cycling safety education and to in-clude experienced Westmount cyclists inlocal cycling initiatives.

The group can be contacted through itswebsite at www.acw-wca.org.

continued from p.3

Westmount’s nine Scouting unitsacross all youth sections will be donatingweekly dues to help Haiti earthquake re-lief through the Canadian Red Cross.

Area commissioner Virginia Elliott said

the effort will start immediately so thatmoney collected will be eligible for match-ing by the Canadian government deadlineof February 12.

The initiative is part of an international

Haiti Relief effort by Scouting, which hasgroups in the devastated country.

A similar campaign raised $36,000 overthe tsunami disaster in South Asia at theend of 2004.

Scouts donate dues to Haiti relief

“We understand that,” Trent said. “If itweren’t for those considerations, it wouldhave been done long ago.” It was also amatter of looking at other possible streets,he said.

Please write to us!For consideration, letters to the editor must identify them as “for publication”and have authors’ first and last names, and street names, all of which will bepublished. Please include contact information (for follow-up purposes). We donot publish letters regarding consumer complaints or inter-neighbourdisputes. Letters will be edited for length, content and style. We may be unableto make subsequently submitted changes. If you do make amendments,please “redline” them instead of resending the whole letter. Send them [email protected]

What Would You Do If YouKnew You Couldn’t Fail?Access Consciousness atLe Nouvel Hotel,1740 Boul. Rene LevesqueRight Body for You,with Dr. Dain HeerThursday, Jan. 21st 7pm-9:30pmRight Recovery for Youwith Marilyn BradfordFriday, Jan 22nd 1:30pm-3:00pmFaciliating the Earthwith Pam HoughtelingSaturday, Jan 23rd 1:30pm-3:00pmRight Relationship for Youwith Susan Lazar HartSunday, Jan 24th 1:30pm-3:00pmStress Release Techniques with Gloria RonaldsJan.22nd & Jan 23rd 7pm-10pmContact

Susan Lazar Hart514 484 3251 [email protected]

Dr. Dain Heer


Antiques

ABRACADABRA turn your hidden treas-ures into ready cash. Internationalbuyer wants to purchase your antiques,paintings, china, crystal, gold, silver-ware, jewellery, rare books, sports,movies, postcards, coins, stamps, re -cords. 514-501-9072.

Business Opportunities

WANTED INVESTORS, BUSINESSOWNERS & FINANCIAL agents. Lucra-tive Income! High degree of security &returns. 16 year history. Not stocks /mutual funds. Training provided.1.888.855.8187 or [email protected]: www.sgcwealth.com, click Part-nerships.

Companions

Misty River Introductions – winter ishere... don’t curl up on the couch alone!Quebec’s most successful matchmak-ing service. (514) 879-0573 www. mistyriverintros.com.

Financial Services

DEBT CONSOLIDATION PROGRAM.Helping Canadians repay debts, reduce

or eliminate interest, regardless of yourcredit. Steady Income? You may qualifyfor instant help. Considering Bank-ruptcy? Call 1-877-220-3328 FREE Con-sultation Government Approved, BBBMember.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS? Drowning indebt! Stop the harassment. Bankruptcymight not be the answer. Together let’sfind a solution – Free Consultation. BillHafner – Trustee in Bankruptcy. 514-983-8700.

$500$LOAN SERVICE, by phone, nocredit refused, quick and easy, payableover 6 or 12 installments. Toll Free: 1-877-776-1660. www.moneyprovider.com.

For Sale

The Quebec Community NewspapersAssociation can place your ad into 26weekly papers throughout Quebec –just $160. Book 10 weeks within a 6month period and receive the 11th weekfree! One phone call does it all! CallMarnie at QCNA 514-453-6300. Visit:www.qcna.org.

#1 high speed internet $18.95/month.Absolutely no ports are blocked. Unlim-

ited downloading. Up to 5Mps down-load and 800Kbps upload. Order today atwww.acanac.ca or call toll free 1-866-281-3538.

A FREE TELEPHONE SERVICE – Get yourfirst month free. Bad credit, don’t sweatit. No deposits, no credit checks. CallFreedom Phone Lines today toll free 1-866-884-7464.

Norwood SAWMILLS – LumberMate-Pro handles logs 34” diameter, millsboards 28” wide. Automated quick-cy-cle-sawing increases efficiency up to40%. www.NorwoodSawmills.com/400OT – FREE Information: 1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.

FUTURE STEEL BUILDINGS durable, de-pendable, pre-engineered, all-steelstructures. Custom made to suit yourneeds and requirements. Factory directaffordable prices. Call 1-800-668-5111ext. 170 for free brochure.

HOT TUB (SPA) Covers. Best Price, BestQuality. All Shapes & Colours Available.Call 1-866-652-6837. www.thecover-guy.ca.

BIDET BIFFY KIT. No more paper! Rinsekit for private parts, WoW! Check thisout at www.hygienegreen.ca. 514-497-9395.

ALL STEEL BUILDING SALE! Unprece-dented low prices. Reduced deposits.Various sizes and shapes. CanadianManufacturer Direct. For the best andlowest call Pioneer Steel Manufactur-ers, 1-800-668-5422.

Health

MAKE YOUR RESOLUTION a reality!And, your first 15lbs are free. Look great.Feel great. Lose weight. Guaranteed.Call Herbal Magic 1-800-926-4363. Lim-ited time offer.

Help Wanted

With Herbalife, I’ve lost 24 lbs and wentfrom a size 7-8 to a 4! All natural, Dr. rec-ommended, proven, powerful. Erin: 514-654-6830 or TopShapeCoach.com

Personals

DATING SERVICE. Long term / shortterm relationships, free calls! 1-877-297-9883. Exchange voice messages, voicemailboxes 1-888-534-6984. Live adult ca-

sual conversations 1 on 1, 1-866-311-9640, meet on chat lines. Local singleladies 1-877-804-5381 (18+).

*PAST *PRESENT *FUTURE * #1 Psy-chics! *1-877-478-4410* Credit Cards /deposit or phone 1-900-783-3800 $3.19min (18+). For a psychic NOW! Meet usat: www.mysticalconnections.ca.

Services

CRIMINAL RECORD? We can help! TheNational Pardon Centre™ is RCMP ac-credited. For better price and betterservice visit: www.nationalpardon.org.Call 514-842-2411 or 1-866-242-2411.

OLD PHOTOS / VIDEOS TO DVD. Photos,negatives, slides, VHS, 8mm, mini DV60,editing, etc. Free home pickup / delivery.Business website / print, design, logos,business cards, etc. www.alici-asalazar.com. Phone: 514-242-6198.

www.AquaExpert.caQuality Aquarium Servicing

(514) 220-9474

Local Classifieds

Quebec Classifieds

We bet your loved ones arebetter looking than this! Whynot let your family, friendsand neighbours know abouttheir engagement?Cost of this advertisement:

$175Contact Arleen at

514.223.3567advertising@

westmountindependent.comWe are happy to publicize

births, graduations andother milestones too!

Wedding Announcement

In home Nursingassistance availableduring the holidays

Our Home Health Aides willassist family members with

Meals, Hygiene and Respite carefor special needs patients

Call Nova [email protected]

Kiki ended up in a pound, a homelesslittle fellow with a collar and tag notingsimply his name. He was kept for twoweeks and when no one called or camelooking for him, he was scheduled to beeuthanized. Gerdie of Gerdy’s Rescue andAdoptions saw him, assessed him as agreat kittie and took him into her rescuenetwork.

So, he was saved and has been given achance to be adopted by a family whocares! I am certain that you will agree thathe is quite handsome! He will be evenmore elegant once he has gone to thegroomer, where he will be getting the bestof care. Kiki is a stunning white andcaramel domestic longhair, with yelloweyes filled with trust. He is about 4 to 5years old, has been checked by a vet, in-noculated and neutered. He is laid-back onthe outside but a loving cream puff on theinside... a perfect family companion.

If you would like to know more aboutKiki, please contact Gerdy on her cell

phone at 514.203.9180 or email her [email protected].

Your neighbour,Lyzanne

Artwork by Laura S. Cohendet

Kiki: loving and laid-back

9 LivesLyzanne

Kiki

Motherwell

A lifetime Westmounter who has beenan involved member of the Atwater Clubfor 50 years and the Mount Royal TennisClub since the early ’70s, Motherwell hasused her retirement years to pursue herlove of skiing, tennis and golf – when sheisn’t volunteering at the MGH hospitalitycorner.

continued from p.6


5 Anwoth 607 Clarke 468 Mountain 300 Lansdowne

WESTMOUNT252 Kensington Ave.

This 3 bedroom semi-detached property hasbeen completely renovated in 2008-2009 withattention to every detail including new wiring,plumbing, new wood floors, gourmet kitchen,forced air heating and air-conditioning, twofireplaces, deck and garden. Located in the

Victoria Village and close to shopping, parks,and schools. Don’t miss thisextraordinary opportunity.

$1,465,000

RECENTLY SOLD

Entrance

Gourmet Kitchen

Garden

OUTREMONTLe Sanctuaire Penthouse

Enjoy an amazing 360̊ view fromthis 2400 square foot condoplus 1680 square feet of terrace!This open concept propertyfeatures 3 bedrooms, woodfloors, fireplace, parking,and private access by elevatorto the Penthouse.

$1,395,000

WESTMOUNT594 Lansdowne Ave

Here is your chance to have a customdesigned home without the head aches.

This mid-level semi-detached homewill feature 4 bedrooms, gourmet

kitchen, finished basement, and muchmore. Designed by architec tural and

design firm, this complete renovationwill be ready for a spring delivery.

$1,595,000


JILL & JOAN PRÉVOSTAffiliated real estate agents

Please visit all our properties at

joanprevost.com

RENFREW | WESTMOUNT $1,098,000

SQUARE DES GOUVERNEURS | NDG $1,299,000Penthouse condo featuring 2,624 sq.ft. of the most spectacularliving/ entertainng space on the market! Exposed stone, archedwindows & stained glass combined with all of today’s highestquality comforts.

PINE AVE. | DOWNTOWN $995,000Unique and enchanting 3 bedroom penthouse oasis in downtownMontreal in a small and quiet building with panoramic southernviews.

ATWATER MARKET $599,000

RECENTLY PURCHASEDRECENTLY PURCHASED

Wıshing all our valued clients and friends a healthy, happy, and prosperousNew Year. We invite you to visit our website at www.joanprevost.com or call us

directly so we can demonstrate what we and Sotheby’s International Realty Québeccan do for you! We appreciate and welcome your calls in the strictest of confidence.

Jill & Joan

[email protected]

[email protected]

FEATURED PROPERTY FEATURED PROPERTY

westmount independentwestmount independent – january 19-20, 2010 – 3 ongoing requests for winter...

Documents