Pearson first board in province to have students at table
The Lester B. Pearson School Board is the first school board in Quebec to allow students to sit at its council of commissioners' table after Pearson's board voted unanimously to accept the policy on student involvement at council. Two students designated by the board's Central Students' Committee will take seats at the monthly meetings. Pearson chairman Suanne Stein Day was 'elated' by the new policy.
Special Olympics coming to Pointe Claire
The Special Olympics launched its 2013 campaign with the official announcement that the 2013 Quebec Special Olympic Games would be held July 4-7 in Pointe Claire. Additional competition sites in St. Laurent, Dorval and Lachine will be used, but the majority of athletic competition will be held in Pointe Claire at Malcolm Knox Aquatic Centre and Terra Cotta's soccer fields, organizers said, adding fundraising efforts required to stage the games are aiming to bring in between $250,000 and $300,000.
Mayors react strongly to Bill 14
The provincial government tabled Bill 14, a language law intended to bolster the use of French in Quebec institutions. Local authorities responded strongly to parts of the proposed law, which would re-examine municipalities' bilingual status, which the government would be allowed to review if the percentage of mother-tongue anglophones drops below 50 per cent in a given municipality. PQ minister Jean-Francois Lisee quickly 'clarified' the government's position, saying they would drop the threshold to 40 per cent and would not automatically yank a town's bilingual status without serious examination.
Pointe Claire designates point as historic site
Pointe Claire city council approved a notice of motion to designate the city's historic 'point' as a heritage site, meaning the buildings there, including the St. Joachim Church, the Pointe Claire windmill, the church's presbytery and a former nunnery, would become protected heritage edifices and subject to different rules than regular buildings, including rules regulating their renovation. The city will hold public consultations on the matter Jan. 23, 2013 and expects to approve the designation finally on March 5, Mayor Bill McMurchie confirmed.
