Laval QC ☕ The morning chat
Good morning and happy Saturday!
Tonight, Laval becomes the centre of Quebec politics. Meanwhile, a Canadian is preparing to circle the Moon, the Blue Jays walked it off in the ninth inning last night, and we’ve got a few local stories worth two minutes of your attention before you start your day.
The Essentials This Morning
CAQ debate in Laval tonight Fréchette and Drainville face off for the last time before the CAQ leadership vote on April 12. Between 300 and 400 people are expected; the event will also be streamed online.
Vaillancourt sues the City of Laval The former mayor, previously convicted, is suing the City, seemingly accusing it of being the source of a Radio‑Canada report.
Laval police HQ: faulty door, $21,000 guard Mechanical issues at the entrance of the West police station have required a full‑time security guard since February. A door replacement is imminent.
Montréal & Area
Blue‑collar strike in April Montréal’s blue‑collar workers (CUPE 301) will hold a three‑day strike from April 15 to 18. Their collective agreement expired in December 2024; the main issue is wages.
Mirko D’Agata crowned best pizzaiolo in the world The Montréal chef wins the top prize at the world’s most prestigious pizzeria competition.
Nuits Montréal The City authorizes 21 establishments to stay open later under a new nighttime certification.
Eid dinner in Pierrefonds Hilm and the CYD Centre brought together dozens of community leaders and cultural groups for an intercommunity Eid dinner Thursday night — the third of its kind at the CYD Centre.
Tributes to LaGuardia pilots The bodies of Quebec pilot Antoine Forest and first officer Mackenzie Gunther, killed in a March 22 collision at LaGuardia, were repatriated on March 26. A memorial of flowers and photos has formed at Trudeau Airport.
Quebec
CLSC for all Minister Bélanger announces that every Quebecer will be affiliated with a local CLSC, with 100 new integrated access points planned over five years and a unified digital platform, “Votre Santé.”
Medication fees & insurers An amendment would allow Quebec to cap medication fees billed to private insurers. Some pharmacists walked out in protest.
CAQ leadership: Carmant backs Fréchette The former minister supports Christine Fréchette, who now has nearly 40 caucus endorsements, compared with about 15 for Drainville.
Colabor Group The Quebec food‑distribution company, carrying $159M in debt, is finalizing four transactions to sell the business in pieces.
Across Canada
Canada & NATO Ottawa confirms it has reached the 2% of GDP defence‑spending target. Carney announces an additional $3B for Atlantic military infrastructure.
NDP — results Sunday Candidates deliver their final speeches this morning in Winnipeg. The new leader will be announced Sunday through a ranked ballot.
Carney budget adopted Bill C‑15 received royal assent Thursday, confirming a $78.3B deficit for the current fiscal year.
Blue Jays win 3–2 in opener Kevin Gausman sets a franchise record with 11 strikeouts, and the Jays win in the ninth inning to open their 50th season.
Early retirement in the federal public service The government launches its workforce‑reduction program announced in fall 2025.
International
Henry Lee dies at 87 The world‑renowned forensic scientist known for his role in the O.J. Simpson trial and for building the forensic‑science program at the University of New Haven died Friday in Nevada.
Ukraine Russia launched more than 270 drones overnight, killing at least five people, including two in Odesa where a maternity ward was damaged. Zelensky visited the UAE and Qatar to discuss anti‑drone defence cooperation.
Main Story
The final Fréchette–Drainville debate takes place tonight in Laval : Quebec’s next premier will be known April 12
Tonight, Laval hosts the second and final debate in the CAQ leadership race. Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville will face off before an audience of 300 to 400 people. The event will also be streamed online and will cover health care, social services, immigration and identity, public safety, housing, and education.
Both candidates emphasized health care this week. Fréchette proposes virtual waiting rooms for non‑priority patients to avoid physical‑network delays. Drainville focuses on reimbursing certain private specialist consultations and allowing private‑sector doctors to provide services in the public system.
On immigration, both oppose Minister Roberge’s abolition of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ). Fréchette wants to relaunch it for two years to ensure an orderly transition. Drainville proposes grandfather clauses for temporary workers in priority sectors like health and education.
On housing, Fréchette wants to reimburse the welcome tax for first‑time homebuyers. Drainville goes further: he proposes that the province advance up to 20% of the cost of a new home, recovering that share upon resale.
Fréchette has nearly 40 caucus endorsements, including former minister Lionel Carmant. Drainville has about 15. Outgoing premier François Legault says he won’t interfere but confirmed he will be watching the debate. The new CAQ leader, and Quebec’s next premier, will be elected April 12 by the party’s roughly 20,600 members.
In Depth
Yanar Mohammed, Iraqi activist born in Baghdad and Toronto resident, assassinated March 2
Yanar Mohammed founded Iraq’s first women’s shelter and co‑founded a network of safe houses for women fleeing violence and exploitation, including Yazidi women who survived ISIS. She had lived in Toronto since 1995 after obtaining refugee status in Canada, where she worked as an architect.
On March 2, she was shot by two armed men on a motorcycle outside her home in Baghdad and died of her injuries in hospital. The week she died, she had been giving a lecture on the treatment of Yazidi women by ISIS.
Canada’s embassy in Baghdad issued a joint statement with several allied countries condemning her assassination and praising her work defending women’s rights. Iraqi authorities have opened an investigation.
Canadian feminist activists urge the public not to look away, citing rising authoritarianism and cuts to international aid as conditions that enable the kind of violence that killed Mohammed.
Jeremy Hansen will be the first Canadian to travel to the Moon on the next Artemis mission
NASA has unveiled the crew for the upcoming Artemis mission, which will circle the Moon without landing or entering lunar orbit, but will travel farther into space than any crew since Apollo. Jeremy Hansen, from Ontario, will be making his first spaceflight.
He will fly alongside commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch, who holds the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman (328 days). Glover is one of NASA’s few Black astronauts. The mission reflects the diversification of American astronautics since Apollo.
Hansen was selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 2009 and named to the Artemis crew in 2023. A physicist and military pilot by training, he says looking at the Moon now feels different: “I now understand, in detail, just how much harder it is than I thought.”
In Laval, the police HQ has had a faulty door since opening : the temporary fix has cost $21,000
It’s not dramatic, but it’s the kind of detail Laval taxpayers deserve to know.
The employee entrance at the West police station has had mechanical issues since shortly after the building opened. The cause: heavy use and strong winds. Several repair attempts failed, and the City concluded a full replacement is needed. Installation of a new door is expected soon.
In the meantime, a full‑time security guard has been on duty since early February as part of a broader security contract. Cost so far: $21,289. In March, two incidents involved a guard who failed to perform his duties; he has since been replaced, and the City says supervision has been strengthened with the contractor.
The City maintains that the measures in place are effective and that repeated reports of unauthorized access “do not reflect the reality on the ground.”
Spotlight
Last night in Pierrefonds, dozens of people from very different communities sat down together for a meal. There were elected officials, organizations, cultural leaders. No cameras, no heavy agenda — just people eating and talking. It was the third gathering of its kind at the CYD Centre, and in the current climate, it’s exactly the kind of quiet event that builds something lasting.
See You Monday
Have a great day, Laval. Tonight, Quebec politics comes to your doorstep. Tomorrow, we’ll know who leads the NDP. And somewhere, a son of Ontario is preparing to circle the Moon on behalf of the entire country. Not a bad week to follow the news.