What's New

Beaconsfield increases claim against Montréal and Québec to 6 million dollars for tax overinvoicing

September 1, 2021 – For what will be the third consecutive year in 2022, Mayor Georges Bourelle deplores the absence of a settlement negotiated in good faith, in order to correct the unfair distribution of costs for regional services rendered by the City of Montréal. Beaconsfield’s claim against the Montréal Agglomeration and the Québec Government will therefore be adjusted to 6 million dollars.

“The sharing of costs for regional services is blatantly unfair for cities with high residential density on the island of Montréal. Since 2020, Beaconsfield residents have had to pay an additional 2 million dollars per year with no added services, for absolutely nothing. Cities with more commercial and industrial buildings do not experience this injustice”, says Mayor Georges Bourelle, denouncing this situation.

This overtaxation was generated by the adoption of a ministerial ruling in 2019 with an algorithm that distorted the historic equity of the 2008 agreement for the calculation of proportionate shares which the 16 municipalities on the island of Montréal pay for regional services, such as police and fire services, public transit, drinking water and waste water management.

In fiscal year 2020, the erroneous algorithm penalized the citizens of municipalities with high residential density, such as Beaconsfield, Westmount, Mount-Royal, Hampstead, Kirkland, Montreal-West and Dollard-des-Ormeaux, at the advantage of cities with high industrial density.

As a result, Beaconsfield’s annual contribution to the proportionate shares paid to the Agglomeration was at first increased by 2 million dollars in 2020, then again by another 2 million dollars in 2021, which explains the current 4 million dollar lawsuit against the City of Montréal and the Québec Government. This lawsuit will be amended to add an additional 2 million dollars that will again be invoiced in excess to Beaconsfield in 2022.

The special tripartite committee (Association of Suburban Municipalities [ASM], Montréal and Québec) created by Andrée Laforest, Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing, had until August 31 to find sustainable solutions. However, no solution was found.

“This injustice cannot be tolerated and must be repaired. It is inconceivable to pay more taxes without receiving additional services, because of a distorted algorithm resulting in inequitable sharing of public service costs. This is why we ask the court to correct this injustice”, states Mayor Georges Bourelle.

Maquette parc BriarwoodThe redevelopment of Briarwood Park will begin shortly! A survey was sent to park users and residents living near the park to enable them to have a real influence on the ideas developed and decisions to be made to create a collective vision, while ensuring that the future of Briarwood Park meets the needs and desires of the community for years to come.

The results of the survey have made it possible to develop an accessible, inclusive and contemporary development concept that will present a first in Beaconsfield, a very first splash pad area.

We invite you to consult the 3D visual of the park (note that some colors and some items may differ).

Construction will begin very soon and will be underway during the fall and will be completed in Spring 2022. The City will inform citizens when the park will be accessible. Note that realization of this project was part of the City’s Parks and Green spaces Master Plan.

Access to a project plan.

Starting Wednesday, September 1, demolition of the existing sidewalk on Elm Street from Brown Owl Lane to Allancroft will begin. Reconstruction of the new green sidewalk is scheduled to be completed by September 24.

Between September 13 and 16

The City of Montreal will carry out work on the water main connecting the City of Pointe-Claire's plant and drinking water reservoir. A series of tests on the network valves (industrial taps) will verify all systems associated with the pipe in order to conduct a complete inspection in November 2021.

 
Although every precaution is taken to avoid disrupting the normal distribution of the network, these operations could cause tap water discoloration (yellowish, reddish, brownish) between September 13 at 8 a.m. and September 16 at 4 p.m.
 
For any questions, please contact the City of Montreal at 311 or consult montreal.ca

electionsFrom volunteer involvement to municipal politics
 
The Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation (MAMH) would like to invite all those who are already involved in their community to think about the possibility of taking the leap into municipal politics. If you want to put your talents to even greater use in your municipality, represent the interests of the population and participate in decision-making, you probably have what it takes to apply.
 

Learn more about it: jemepresente.gouv.qc.ca

The City awarded a contract last June for the rehabilitation of the water access ramp at Angell Park. This project is similar to the one completed at Saint-Louis Park.

Work will begin on August 11.

The water access ramp as well as the retaining walls are in poor condition and interventions are necessary to ensure the sustainability and security of the site. These interventions are part of a desire to revegetate the shore and renew the park’s layout with new street furniture and safer access for users.

Click here to consult the plans (PDF)

A $3 million out of court settlement was announced by the media in the case of the lawsuit filed by Formula E Operations Limited (FEO) against Mayor Valérie Plante and the municipal administration of Montreal. It should be noted that this amount is not borne solely by Montreal and a portion will be divided among all the related municipalities of the agglomeration of Montreal in proportion to their shares. As a result of this agreement, the City of Beaconsfield will pay an amount of $28,246.09 in settlement of this lawsuit filed following the cancellation of the 2018 and 2019 Formula E races by the Mayor of Montreal.

Compteur deau 400pxFrom August 2 to September 30

During this period, a representative of Compteurs Lecomte will take the annual reading of your meter. This is usually done from outside your home.
 
If an indoor inspection is required, residents will be informed with a door hanger of the procedure to follow in order to do the water meater reading directly through the company's website.

 

As of July 1, 2021, road users on the streets of the Island of Montréal must call an exclusive towing company if their vehicle breaks down or is involved in an accident and blocks traffic or is dangerous. 
 
These exclusive towing areas do not apply to vehicles that break down in private or public parking areas or on the expressway network that crosses the Island of Montréal, which is already covered by the *4141 service. 
 
The introduction of these exclusive towing areas follows the recommendations made by the Bureau de l’inspecteur général (BIG) in a report published in 2017. These new measures aim to standardize towing operations across the territory of the agglomeration of Montréal and provide road users with a quality service and regulated rates.
 
For more details, visit spvmremorquage.ca 
 

Beaconsfield prepares the ground for strong participation and approves voting by mail for electors 70 years and older

June 16, 2021 – In order to ensure maximum participation, safety and accessibility at the upcoming municipal elections, the Mayor of Beaconsfield, Georges Bourelle, announces three modifications to the voting process for the November 7 poll, including the right to vote by mail for electors 70 years and older.
 
“It is crucial and fundamental in a democracy to enable citizen participation that is as broad and easily attainable as possible, within the boundaries of a rigorous legal framework, thereby guaranteeing a fair representation of the population’s will in the election results despite the logistic challenges and the constraints of the pandemic,” explains Mayor Bourelle.
 
In this context, the members of Municipal Council adopted at their regular meeting on June 14 three measures to ensure maximum participation at the municipal elections on November 7.
 
In addition to the option to vote by mail for electors 70 years and older, the number of polling days has more than doubled from two days to five. There will be two days of advance polls instead of one, on Saturday and Sunday, October 30 and 31. Two voting days will be added; the polling station will be located at the Returning Officer’s office on Monday and Tuesday, November 1 and 2. As usual, the poll will take place on the first Sunday in November which falls on the seventh of November this year. On all five days, the polling stations will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
 
 
Electors 70 years and older wishing to exercise their right to vote by mail may now apply by calling 514 428-4400, extension 4429, or by email at elections@beaconsfield.ca. Duly registered persons will receive their ballot papers by mail between October 4 and 28. The ballot papers must be received at the office of the Returning Officer by Friday, November 5, 4:30 p.m.
 
These modifications to the electoral process are authorized by the Government of Québec under Draft Bill 85. At the last municipal elections, 14,290 qualified voters were registered in Beaconsfield.
 
The City intends to issue more election-related communications by fall to remind voters of these new electoral provisions and the procedures to be followed for participation.
 

June 15, 2021 – The Mayor of Beaconsfield, Georges Bourelle and the members of City Council officially reaffirm the importance of the city’s bilingual status for the community of Beaconsfield as a pledge for multiculturalism, inclusion, tolerance and comprehension in a generous society. 
 
By adopting a resolution to that effect at last night’s Council meeting, the mayor and the elected officials of City Council confirm this fact in the light of Draft Bill 96 proposed by the Québec government to preserve the French language.
  
“For us, this resolution conveys an important message that reflects the spirit of our community. The English and French language have both forged our society and continue to unite our community in a social environment that is inclusive, tolerant and generous, open and multicultural,” states Mayor Georges Bourelle.
 
The City’s bilingual status was already confirmed, even prior to Draft Bill 96, since the most recent census conducted by Statistics Canada showed that more than 55% of Beaconsfield’s population identified English as their native language. 
 
Draft Bill 96 allows municipalities to maintain their current bilingual status, even if less than 50% of the population are native English speakers, provided that the City Council adopts a new resolution in that sense.
 
 
 
 

Gatherings are permitted outdoors on private properties for occupants of 2 residences or a maximum of 8 people from different households. Garage sales are therefore authorized while respecting these guidelines and physical distancing measures.
 
The by-law allows two (2) garage sales per year. A permit is required and the fee is $10 per garage sale. The duration shall not exceed two consecutive days.
 

May 19, 2021 - The City of Beaconsfield launched the i3P project to identify local actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and to adapt to climate change. The consultations held over the course of this project enabled the citizens to prioritize measures to increase community resilience and improve Beaconsfield’s quality of life.
 
The work of the i3P project culminated in the adoption of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan at the Council meeting on May 17.  The Climate Action Plan, a synthesis of these two plans, not only presents the principal sources of GHG and the local vulnerabilities, but also identifies specific projects to reduce GHG and limit climate risk. 
 
The development of these two action plans was supported by a subsidy from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) as part of the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Programme. Beaconsfield also benefited from the collaboration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability as part of the Showcase Cities pilot project. A partnership with QUEST and Pollution Probe allowed to develop with other Canadian municipalities the Smart Energy Communities Benchmark.
 
At the same Council meeting, the City of Beaconsfield also declared a Climate Emergency to emphasize the urgency of taking action on Climate Change and to support the implementation of the measures identified in the two action plans. Towards that end, Beaconsfield will also benefit from the expertise of Concertation Montréal to develop guides to support residents’ climate actions that respond to local priorities. 
 
“As part of the support for ecological transition offered to the suburban cities by Concertation Montréal, we have been working since last fall with the City of Beaconsfield to develop tools aimed at environmentally responsible practices for residential heating and greening. In this context, we proudly welcome the adoption by the City of Beaconsfield of its Climate Change Adaptation and GHG Emissions Reduction plans. This is a great step forward!” declares Richard Deschamps, president of Concertation Montréal.
 
The Climate Emergency declaration calls on the citizens of Beaconsfield to join the City’s efforts by taking climate actions of their own, thereby contributing to a healthy and resilient community for present and future generations.  During Climate Action Week from May 31 to June 6, all citizens, schools and merchants of Beaconsfield are invited to share their climate efforts and inspire their community. A dedicated webpage for Beaconsfield’s Climate Action Plan provides the details of how to participate.
 
"Municipalities play a central role in climate protection because they have a direct and indirect impact on almost half of Canada's GHG emissions. Extreme weather events have had important local impacts. It is our responsibility to implement concrete climate action and to take the next steps together. The actions undertaken will serve to make our community more resilient to climate change,” says Georges Bourelle, Mayor of Beaconsfield. 
 
About Concertation Montréal
The mission of Concertation Montréal (CMTL) is to develop the region through collaboration and consultation. To do this, CMTL brings together socio-economic leaders and elected municipal officials from the Island of Montreal to initiate and support innovative and defining regional initiatives. CMTL is recognized by the Agglomeration of Montreal as its privileged interlocutor in matters of intersectoral collaboration and regional development. It is financed by the Agglomeration through the Fonds régions et ruralité of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. CMTL brings together nearly 150 organizations and elected members and more than 500 partners, and intervenes in ecological transition, education, science and technology, children, youth, governance, and diversity and parity.
 

Beaconsfield participates in a compliance audit conducted by the Commission municipale du Québec

April 22, 2021 -  Always searching for best management practices to reduce costs and improve its management performance, the City of Beaconsfield will participate in a compliance audit on the best management practices for public tendering of municipal contracts, conducted by the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ).

“The continuous improvement of management practices is in the best interest of our citizens. It allows us to optimize the provision, quality and validity of services, so that we can offer better for less to all tax payers”, explains the mayor of Beaconsfield, Georges Bourelle.

The CMQ’s compliance audit seeks to determine the quality and reliability of Beaconsfield’s monitoring procedures for its public tenders for the execution of works, professional mandates and purchase of goods and services published on Québec’s official public sector electronic tendering service SÉAO (Système électronique d’appels d’offres).

These audit procedures pertaining to the monitoring and management of the municipal administration are intended to ensure that municipal activities and operations comply with government or municipal requirements specified by applicable laws, by-laws, policies and guidelines.

“The audit of our practices in conjunction with the CMQ experts will hopefully allow us to add value to all aspects and, where possible, contribute to improve and upgrade the public tendering process for all municipalities in Québec,” concludes Mayor Bourelle.

Mayor Georges Bourelle and the members of City Council are pleased to announce an initiative aimed at generating community support for the creation of Centennial Place as part of the Reimagining SPACE revitalization project.
 
In June 2019, the project's Steering Committee issued a series of recommendations for the City’s largest waterfront park, including the integration of the Lord Reading property with Centennial Park, the redevelopment of Centennial Park to respect its natural character, and the establishment of a multipurpose cultural centre as an anchor for the community to appreciate this undervalued and unique waterfront space.
 
“This major project has created consensus with regard to cultural and recreational needs as well as to community events. It is a magnificent project that requires the mobilization of all citizens to ensure its quality and realization”, explained Mayor Bourelle.
 
The project has become necessary because the current facilities are insufficient to satisfy the needs of the population, which has been the case for some years now. According to a study conducted in 2015, the surface area of the library is 26% less than the minimum standard level for Beaconsfield’s population, compared to the national standards for public libraries.  Also, the number of seated places in the library is 21% lower than required by the minimum standards. Yet the community's most popular services are those offered by the Beaconsfield library; it is the municipal facility that receives the greatest number of visits annually.
 
A new committee for the Centennial Place Centre will focus on engaging citizens in this project. It is composed of three City representatives and five residents who have been selected to encourage the expression of a citizen's voice leading to the development of a vision of the new centre for the benefit of the community. The citizens who have accepted this mandate are Jacques Duval, Geoffrey Kelley, Gabriella Musacchio, James Orr, and Caroline Tison.
 
"On my own personal behalf and on behalf of City Council, the residents, the management and staff of the City of Beaconsfield, I would like to thank the members of this new committee for their civic engagement. Through this committee, the citizens’ voice will be represented to provide a platform for residents to participate in the project, contribute to its realization, and take ownership of this landmark community initiative," said Mayor Georges Bourelle.
 
The City is calling on the federal and provincial governments for significant financial assistance with the project in order to substantially reduce the municipal financial contribution for this project estimated at 21.5 million dollars. Public and private contributions are essential to respect the taxpayers’ capacity to pay, while enabling the realization of a quality project. Once the financial support from government authorities is confirmed, an architectural contest will be held in 2022. The call for tenders for its execution will then determine the final budget for this project.
 

City of Beaconsfield Wins Top Employer Award

February 10, 2021 – We are proud to announce that the City of Beaconsfield was named one of Montreal’s top employers for 2021 for a second year in a row.
 
Organized by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers, this annual competition recognizes the employers in Greater Montreal that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Evaluations are based on criteria such as work atmosphere, benefits, vacation and paid time off, continuing education and skills development, employee engagement and work-family reconciliation policies. Moreover, employers are compared to other similar organizations to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.
 
"It's a great honour to be recognized among Montreal’s top employers, especially in this particular year where the COVID-19 pandemic has put the economy on hold, disrupting the daily lives of organizations and undermining the mental health of the community. This recognition is a remarkable accomplishment and demonstrates a key priority for our organization – to provide health and wellness tools and programs to employees so that they feel motivated and happy at work and at home. The dedication and day-to-day commitment of our staff is the driving force behind our success. On behalf of Management and Council, I want to thank them warmly for their excellent work," said Patrice Boileau, Director General.
 
The City of Beaconsfield is located in the West Island of Montreal. The organization promotes a positive workplace culture and offers many social benefits and pleasant surroundings. Depending on the season, the number of employees varies between 150 and 200 working in the following departments: Culture and Leisure, Sustainable Development, Finance and Treasury, Public Works, Urban Planning and Municipal Patrol, Human Resources, Registry and Public Affairs, and General Management.
 

Beaconsfield is among twenty-five municipalities across Canada that successfully completed an intensive pilot focusing on local climate action.

 
February 4, 2021 – In August 2019, the City of Beaconsfield was selected to join the first Showcase Cities cohort led by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) Canada. As a member of this network, we received free support to spur climate action at a local level.
 
Over the past year, Beaconsfield has benefited from targeted technical support, training and access to tools and resources. With the help of this support, the City was able to develop three action plans of the i3P project to make our community more resilient to the impacts of climate change: GHG Reduction Plan, Community Energy Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan.
 
"We are proud of this unique initiative, which allowed us to identify local priorities for climate action, from innovative projects to reduce GHG emissions to initiatives that protect our community from extreme weather events. This was a major challenge that our administration met with great success," said Georges Bourelle, Mayor of Beaconsfield.
 
With the help of ICLEI and the FCM and the other participating municipalities, Beaconsfield achieved the GHG emissions inventory badge, as well as the Climate risk and vulnerability assessment badge, as awarded by the global program of GCoM.
 
Through participation in this pilot, Beaconsfield has been recognized as a leader on local climate action both nationally and internationally. This sets up the conditions for further success as municipalities tackle the issues of climate change.
 
The initiative combines two leading domestic climate programs, the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program and Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC), with the leading global climate program. The GCoM Canada is piloting this approach, which will build on FCM and ICLEI’s more than 25 years’ experience in delivering climate change programs in Canada. 
 
The Global Covenant of Mayors Canada is a collaboration between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors Secretariat and the International Urban Cooperation Project supported by funding from the European Union.
 
 
About the Global Covenant of Mayors Canada partners
 
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is the national voice of municipal governments, with 2,000 members representing more than 90 per cent of the Canadian population.
 
ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments committed to sustainability. The Canada offices work with local governments across the country to meet with their sustainability objectives.
 
The International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme is part of a long-term strategy by the European Union to foster sustainable urban development in cooperation with both the public and private sectors.
 
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is the largest global alliance for climate leadership, uniting a global coalition of over 10,000 cities and local governments. By 2030, GCoM cities and local governments could collectively reduce 1.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions per year. That’s the equivalent of taking 276 million cars off the road.
 
 

In order to help its citizens deal with the economic issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Georges Bourelle and members of Council announce that the deadlines for payment of municipal taxes in Beaconsfield will be extended this year: the first tax installment will be due on May 26 and the second on August 25.

Normally, tax installments are due in February and May.

Beaconsfield is now claiming 4 million dollars from the City of Montreal

 
December 16, 2020 – Mayor Georges Bourelle and the members of Municipal Council are doubling Beaconsfield’s original claim and are now demanding that the City of Montreal repay 4 million dollars for taxes paid in excess to the Agglomeration in 2020 and 2021 due to an error in the algorithm to calculate the proportionate shares for regional services.
 
“We have spent this past year trying to have the omission of the neutrality coefficient corrected, by providing evidence and making appropriate representations to the provincial government and the City of Montreal. This error has cost us an additional two million dollars for absolutely nothing in 2020. The same error will reoccur in 2021,” says Mayor Georges Bourelle, denouncing this situation.
 
Agglomeration services include regional services rendered by Montreal for the entire island, including police and fire services, drinking water and waste water management, waste treatment and public transit.
 
Mayor Bourelle points out that the cities linked with Montreal have no decisional power nor influence regarding these services and their costs which are solely controlled by Montreal.
 
At the beginning of the year, the administration had mandated lawyer Marc-André LeChasseur of Bélanger Sauvé Law Firm, a renowned expert in municipal law in Canada, to evaluate procedural options. With the claim to double in 2021, the City is now retaining the services of litigation experts Jacques Jeansonne and Jean-François Towner of Jeansonne Law Firm.
 
With approximately 4 million dollars to reclaim, and considering the risk that this over-invoicing will be repeated every year, the mayor and the members of Municipal Council believe that all necessary actions must be taken to protect the citizens’ rights against this injustice. The professional fees for recuperating these millions will be less than $100,000.
 
“We have made all the appropriate political and administrative representations over the last twelve months in order to avoid having to go to court. We will continue to do so. However, we will also act to protect and enforce respect of our rights,” concludes Mayor Bourelle.
 
 
 
 

Beaconsfield stands out for its energy efficient practices

 

The Benchmark measures where a community stands relative to Canadian best practices on ten measures that, taken together, constitute the core characteristics of a Smart Energy Community.

The City of Beaconsfield is one of nine pilot communities that participated in the development of the Benchmark and received the highest score for the overall total of 10 indicators (tied with London, Ontario). Each month QUEST is highlighting a new indicator, and the respective best practices of the participating cities. In December 2020 they are sharing the best practices for the Land Use indicator.

You want to discover Beaconsfield’s best practices for this indicator? You will find them on page 27 to 31 in Beaconsfield’s Benchmark.

Consult the Beaconsfield Benchmark (French only) : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vaRpsmoOSeuoK6hFjU7NssQHykegoNzk/view

Consult the Beaconsfield’s scorecard (English only): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxJpoQPx9x3LYVNDeE5wUVhZRDVNM3h2Y1FHUG10TlJCRG9j/view  

Discover the participating cities’ best practices on QUEST social media (English only)

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Discover the Smart Energy Communities Benchmark : https://smartenergycommunities.ca/highlights/

Given that the City of Beaconsfield is in the COVID-19 red zone and in compliance with health and safety directives, Council has rescinded resolution 2020-09-288 (By-election of December 6, 2020 for district 6 - estimated budget of $ 92,000 and salary scale) and resolution 2020-09-317 (Notice of vacancy for the Office of Municipal Councillor for district 6) at a Special Council Meeting held on October 9, 2020.

Consequently, the City will not hold a by-election to fill the office of Councillor for District 6, following the passing of Councillor Gardner. The City of Beaconsfield is thus in a similar situation as other municipalities in Quebec which have not had to fill a vacancy since Council has a quorum and has no vacancy in the office of Mayor.
 
Council is however concerned and aware that the residents of District 6 have the right and expect to be adequately represented. Therefore, Mayor Bourelle undertakes to be the direct link with the residents of District 6, supported by all Councillors, in order to maintain the usual follow-ups with these residents. Mayor Bourelle can be reached as follows:

The agenda may be consulted on the City website.

September 17, 2020 – City Council is asking for significant federal and provincial grants as well as for private donations to revitalize Centennial Park and the Lord Reading property. The project aims to establish a multipurpose centre with a library, encourage access by active transport, and relocate the parking lot to the roadside along Beaconsfield Boulevard. 
 
“The participatory consultations held in 2019 made it possible to reach a clear consensus that these exceptional sites must be revitalized and that the project should be a vehicle for sustainable development and quality of life, but that the implementation depends on funding by higher levels of government and private donors”, indicates Mayor Georges Bourelle.
 
The City administration intends to substantially reduce the municipal financial contribution by obtaining government grants for two thirds of the costs. The City’s part will be further reduced by raising funds from private donors.
 
“Public and private contributions are essential for guaranteeing the execution of this project and for respecting the taxpayers’ capacity to pay while enabling the realization of a quality project”, explains Mayor Bourelle.
 
To this end, City Council will present four specific financial aid requests to the Green Municipal Fund of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund of Heritage Canada, to the Capital Assistance Program of the Ministry of Culture and Communications, and to the ÉcoPerformance Program of Transition énergétique Québec.
 
Once the financial support of government authorities and private donors is secured for the revitalization of the park and the construction of a multipurpose centre with a library, a multidisciplinary architectural contest will be held in the spring 2021. The call for tenders for its execution will then determine the final budget for this project.
 
Centennial Park and the Lord Reading property are exceptional public waterfront sites that are very popular among residents and visitors.
 
“This project is the result of a comprehensive and collaborative community initiative. It respects the wishes of our citizens who want the City’s largest waterfront park to be revitalized, accessible, frequented, animated and appreciated by the entire community”, concludes Mayor Bourelle.

September 10, 2020 – According to a preliminary pre-project study commissioned by the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) for the construction of a sound wall along a 5km stretch on the south side of Highway 20 in Beaconsfield, costs will increase by 127% from $20.5M to $46.6M.
 
“This is a substantial increase considering that the MTQ’s pre-project study is only at the preliminary stage. Yet five years ago, the minister at that time had guaranteed that there would be no cost overrun, and the budget would be respected”, recalls Mayor Georges Bourelle.
 
In 2015, Beaconsfield had reached an advantageous agreement with the then minister that the City would contribute 25% or approximately $5M of the implementation costs. “This was already a major commitment for our City considering the relative impact of such an expense on our budget”, indicates the mayor.
 
Since the beginning of this project, Mayor Bourelle has maintained the necessity of a citizen’s consultation and approval for a financial participation of the City in view of its sanitary, geographic and financial impact. This is even more significant today: “The skyrocketing costs make the social acceptability of this project even more difficult”, says the mayor.
 
According to a survey conducted among citizens by a renowned independent firm, the community is deeply polarized on the pertinence of the wall and the cost-sharing between districts. 
 
The preliminary pre-project study shows that the wall with a height of 4 to 4.5m, erected from east to west, will allow for a noise reduction varying between 7 to 13 decibels. Current noise levels vacillate between 63 to 71 decibels over 24 hours. In its policy on traffic noise adopted in 1998, the MTQ acknowledges its share of responsibility regarding sound pollution generated by road traffic. The MTQ has committed to intervening if the anticipated reduction by mitigation measures is at least 7 decibels.
 
In order to continually ensure a transparent decision process, Mayor Bourelle and members of Municipal Council will request MTQ officials to present the project in a public meeting once the final report is completed.
 

 
211An information and referral service available 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 365 days a year, which will eventually be open 24 hours a day.
 
211 Community resources directory is also available on the web. In collaboration with community organizations, all information on social and community resources is updated annually.
 
With the help of statistics from calls and web frequency, 211 sheds a light to government officials and decision-makers on social needs and in determining missing resources that are needed.
 
211 service helps curb poverty and social exclusion, giving the people with non-urgent social needs rapid information on the social and community resources that will help them find solutions to move beyond their precarious situations.
 
211 is a free service, largely accessible especially for low-income people, seniors and newcomers.
 
 

sewer grate 2sewer grate rectThe Public Works department has noticed that certain sewer lines in your sector are blocked due to an accumulation of small branches and other small bits of debris which can only be there if they were purposefully put down the gaps in the sewer grates.  Recently, the accumulation of debris has caused many sewer back-ups.

We would ask for your cooperation in stopping this recurring issue in your sector by asking you to inform your children and anyone else who you might see putting debris in the gaps in the sewer grates of the consequences of their actions.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Muted citizen response regarding utility and financing

November 20, 2015 – Beaconsfield residents are cautious in their assessment of the utility and financing methods of a sound wall along the south side of Highway 20, despite the exceptional proposal made by the Provincial Minister of Transport Robert Poëti for its implementation.

This was revealed by a survey of 600 adult Beaconsfield residents conducted by Léger Marketing from October 16 to 23, 2015; the results were weighted according to sex, age, owner or tenant status and district of residence. Such research reflects an overall position of citizens regarding the project’s relevance and financing methods. The results can be expected to be accurate to within 4% if repeated again 19 out of 20 times.

“We have conducted this survey to become fully aware of the overall position of our residents on this project. The results confirm the caution with which we have handled this matter from the beginning”, explains Mayor Georges Bourelle.

According to the pollster’s analysis, the survey results show that “the majority of the citizens seem unconvinced of the sound wall’s necessity […], because they have doubts regarding its efficiency and appearance or disapprove of the costs related to the implementation of the project.

“This first level of consultation allows us to take stock of the stakes to be considered before deciding whether to accept the Minister’s proposal. We will now address the financing and consultation methods to ensure that the decision will be made with total transparency as part of a democratic exercise which will respect all parties concerned”, adds the Mayor.

Transport Minister Robert Poëti recently offered to bear 75% instead of 50% of the project costs. Despite this exceptional proposal, Beaconsfield’s part would still amount to five million dollars.

The survey results demonstrate that the noise problems caused by the highway affect a very slight majority of respondents in the three districts closest to Highway 20, whereas the respondents in the three other districts declare to be hardly or not affected.

The two main reasons given by those opposed to the project are the costs (53%) and the fact that they are not directly affected by the noise generated by highway traffic (46%).

This trend is even more pronounced when considering the cost issue. The most impacted districts favour a general cost-sharing solution, while those less or not impacted believe that the costs should be covered by the affected owners.

Click here to consult the survey and its results (PDF)

 

The City of Beaconsfield has implemented an automated call system called CodeRed to provide the means to reach citizens in an emergency. It is an efficient call system that can reach a large number of people in a very short time and can be deployed in a specific area, even a street if, for example, a broken water main were to force interruption of the water supply. In other cases, authorities could use it to announce an environmental accident, a gas leak or other emergency. The message could include information on procedures to be followed.

Is your phone number confidential, have you only a cell phone or have you moved in the last month?
The CodeRed database system contains numbers of landlines in our territory. In case of an emergency, citizens are called at home, on their cell, or at both numbers. If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called. The CodeRed automated call system gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own telephone or cellular numbers directly to the system's database. This can be done by visiting the City's website and clicking CodeRed.

Caller ID

When you see 866 419-5000 displayed, you will know the call is from the City. If you would like to hear the last message delivered to your phone, simply dial the number back.

This project complements other procedures already established as part of the City's emergency plan to improve efficiency during emergency situations.