Latest News

Claude Villeneuve leaves the implementation committee of the tram project. Finding this function incompatible with his role as leader of the opposition, despite his support for the project, he preferred to retire in order to regain his speaking rights.

• Also read: Taxes will increase by 2.5% in Quebec in 2023

• Also read: City of Quebec: Mini-acquisitions to build the streetcar

• Also read: Tramway: There is no question of reducing the scope of the project, emphasizes Marchand

The leader of Quebec, after his election almost a year ago, was given a seat on the committee for the realization of the streetcar for the first time. At the time, this appointment was seen as a gesture of openness and cooperation. Mr. Villeneuve refuses to see it as a ploy by Mayor Bruno Marchand to muzzle him.

In retrospect, however, he says he found that the mystery of the gods prevented him from properly playing his role in the official opposition.

“It prevents me from doing any critical work related to the tram (…) We have found it difficult to do our job, hold the mayor to account and ask him questions when I am a member of the Committee, I have access to confidential information,” he said during a press crowd ahead of Monday’s council meeting at City Hall.

“We saw it a few days ago, the mayor confirmed that there will obviously be cost overruns in the tram file, if only because of inflation. Well, I am aware of that on the Tram Executive Committee and I cannot question him, I cannot raise a critical point, I cannot question the Mayor’s leadership and I cannot question him, any more about the obligations he has in the last campaign and follow him up on that,” he said.

No cancellation of the tram

Claude Villeneuve has confirmed that he will submit his letter of resignation during tonight’s Council meeting. His departure allows him to maintain a “healthy distance” and be a “critical ally” of the mayor for the tram project, in which he says he believes more than ever.

“This should not be interpreted as a break with the streetcar project or as a withdrawal of our support for this project, which is fundamental to Quebec’s future and which we continue to support. If I have the choice of still being a councilor in the next elections or that there will be a streetcar in Quebec in 2028, I will choose the streetcar,” he said.

The mayor has skinned on his balance sheet

However, Claude Villeneuve and his colleague Alicia Despins did not fail to skin Mayor Marchand on Monday in the tally of his performances at City Hall for almost a year.

The two believe that Bruno Marchand, who was elected by a slim majority of 739 votes, would not have come to City Hall if he had not promised “the moon” and raised inflated expectations to be both pro-Tramway and anti-Tramway enchanted by the ambiguity of his statements during the election campaign and his promises of improvement, not all of which he was able to keep.

The opposition also accuses him of breaching his commitment to cut business taxes, that he is still a long way from the goal of zero roaming, that he has not satisfied citizens with the snow clearance and that he has taken too long to create a committee on labor shortages, while Quebec initially multiplied interventions on the issue.

Sting dealer

“Well, if I understand the opposition leader correctly, everything that’s going well is because of him, everything that’s going badly is because of our broken promises…” the mayor replied at the beginning of the evening, visibly stung.

Mr Marchand vigorously defended his record, saying the city was “moving” faster than ever on the homelessness record. He added that since his arrival, the city has increased the ratio of trees planted to replace the trees cut down for the streetcar project from 2:1 to 20:1.

Finally, he accused his opponent of pursuing “traditional” politics with his bouquet of allegations. “I think that’s not how we can improve the city and go further. He made his choice, he found his niche. We will work with this approach. I think the city will lose there,” he said sadly.

The inexorable rise in inflation further limits investors’ ability to generate positive real returns and in this context the dividend is presented as a good option for investors. After the payments from BBVA and Bankinter, Santander and Inditex will be put in the starting box in the first days of November to reward the loyalty of their shareholders. Behind and before the end of the year, around a dozen listed companies have plans to distribute coupons. Overall, the listed companies will just barely pay out 4 billion euros before the end of 2022.

“You have to be selective when choosing a security because of its high dividend yield. The first thing to analyze is the visibility that its results offer, all the more so in an environment of slowing economic growth like the current one. It is also necessary to analyze the ability of these companies to regularly generate free cash and their dividend payout history,” recommends Juan José Fernández Figares, head of analysis at Link Securities.

The calendar of the investors already belongs to these payments Santander bank. The company will soon reward the loyalty of its shareholders. The financial company will buy back shares for 979 million euros and pay a dividend of 5.83 cents per share on November 2. The bank will use 40% of the profit generated in the first half of 2022 to reward shareholders with an equal share buyback and cash dividend payment, in line with its usual policy. Santander made a profit of 4,894 million euros in the first six months of the year.

In this way, the bank will distribute 20% of this result (around 979 million) in the form of a cash dividend, which will be paid from November 2, 2022. The payment that shareholders receive is 5.83 cents per share, or 20.2%. higher than last year (then the company made an initial payment of 4.85 cents per share).

Because the results of the first half of 2022 were 33% higher than those of the same period of the previous year. Also because the number of shares outstanding is currently lower than last year, as the company has amortized the buybacks made under the 2021 program totaling 1,700 million in two tranches. As stated by the company, the last market day entitled to payment of the dividend is October 28, as the securities are already listed on the following business day, the 31st of the same month, without any right to compensation. In the same vein, Santander will begin a share buyback for the same amount (979 million) it hopes to begin “once the appropriate regulatory approval is received.”

The same day as Santander, the payment of index. The Galician textile group will pay two dividends on November 2nd, a special dividend of EUR 0.30 gross and an additional dividend of EUR 0.165 gross per share. Overall, the textile company pays out EUR 0.465 gross per title, which means a total expenditure of just over EUR 950 million.

The textile company announced in July at the first general meeting of shareholders, with Marta Ortega as President, that it would pay a special dividend of €0.40 per share in 2023, to be added to the ordinary dividend for fiscal 2022. That means 33% more than the EUR 0.30 per share in the same year.

The shareholders of Fluidra You are lucky because in the first days of November you will also receive a voucher. The company will pay out €0.42 per share on November 3 based on its 2022 results. The last person to buy and collect this dividend is Monday, October 31st. It is the second payout this year from the company specializing in swimming pools, having already paid a first dividend of 0.43 euros per share in July. prosegur Y Prosegur Cash who make four payments a year will also pay out their shareholders in November, according to BME forecasts.

Other banks are in consensus forecasts to pay out a coupon before the end of the year. Sabadell Bank is one of them with an estimated gross payment of EUR 0.015 gross per share, which Bloomberg estimates would be paid out to shareholders in December.

With you, phone There are plans to give out a coupon and it will be another of the biggest payouts. According to the forecast, the payout per share is EUR 0.15 gross, which means a payout of EUR 866 million.

In case of naturally Y Enagas, payments forecast by Bloomberg consensus are estimated before year-end. In the first case, the estimated payout is 0.56 euros gross per share, after making two payments this year: one of 0.30 euros in August and another of 0.50 euros in May and in the second case Enagás.

The insurer for his part Mapfre who also usually pays a coupon in the last month of the year, pays 0.063 euros. In May, the company paid out another $0.0857 with an estimated dividend yield of 9%.

Additionally, there are a good handful of stocks awaiting confirmation of dividend payments in the latter part of the year. This is the case for stocks such as Prosegur, Ferrovial, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), Merlin, Alantra, Elecnor, Ence, Atresmedia, Faes Farma or Bankinter, which on these dates must pay out their shareholders via dividends.

Find here all our live #UKRAINE

9:55 a.m.: For several weeks, Russian troops have been using Iran-supplied kamikaze drones to remotely attack certain major cities in Ukraine. Can Tehran become Moscow’s new armed arm? Westerners fear this military aid will extend to other types of weapons, including ballistic missiles.

(VAHID REZA ALAEI / IRANIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE)

09:35 Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the occupation authorities in the Zaporizhia region, claims that Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian attempt to take over the nuclear power plant in Energodar. The Ukrainians had mobilized 30 landing craft and artillery, he told RIA Novosti, referring to a “fight that lasted several hours”. This information is not confirmed by Kyiv.

09:30: Evacuations in the Kherson region have begun, the occupation authorities say. A temporary reception center was set up on the left bank of the Dnieper.

09:28: In Russia, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announces a strike in an infrastructure. “The damage is minor and will not affect the operation of the city’s power supply,” he wrote. Strikes are regularly reported in this city near Ukraine.

09:21: The occupation authorities of the Kherson region are planning the move 50-60 thousand people to the left bank of the Dnieper and areas in Russia. This evacuation should last six days, specifies Vladimir Saldo, acting pro-Russian governor. Follow our life.

09:05: At 09:00 here is a new point in the news:

The strike movement at TotalEnergies will continue “at least until” noon today, announced the coordinator of the CGT. “We’ll see what happens next during the general meetings” of the employee of the day, specifies Eric Sellini to AFP. In Feyzin, new personnel requirements, a franceinfo journalist found out on site.

The French subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical company Merck announces its own charges of “grave deception” in the dossier of the drug Levothyrox, a drug used to treat thyroid disorders.

Russian Army General Sergei Surovikin said the situation on the ground in Ukraine was “tense” for his troops amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive, particularly in Kherson. Russia is preparing to evacuate the population of this southern city. Here’s what to remember from that day on the Warfront.

The political world has taken up the Lola affair, this 12-year-old girl who was killed in horrible conditions. While Emmanuel Macron received his parents, the government was challenged on the issue by several LR and RN MPs in yesterday’s assembly.

8:40 a.m.: Change of strategy by the Russian army. “Russia has changed its tactics on the ground in the last two weeks, given the setbacks it is facing, it is now hitting civilian targets, attacking civilians themselves, but also strategic energy infrastructures,” Anne explains this morning on franceinfo -Claire Legendre , Spokesperson for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

6:18 a.m .: According to the Estonian Defense Minister, Russia will probably need two to four years to rebuild its armed forces to pre-war levels in Ukraine. The latter predicts a long conflict and calls on the West to stand by the Ukrainians until victory.

06:16: “Tense” situation for the Russian troops. The Kremlin is preparing to evacuate the people of Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine whose troops are struggling in the face of Kiev’s counter-offensive. Russian General Sergey Surovikin told Rossiya 24 that the Russian army would “first and foremost ensure the safe evacuation of the population” from Kherson.

7:17 am: And before we get to the point, here’s a point about the news headlines:

• The day of the intersectoral strike “for wages and defense of the right to strike” mobilized 107,000 participants, including 13,000 in the capital, according to the Interior Ministry count. For its part, the CGT has almost 300,000 demonstrators, including 70,000 in Paris.

The strike movement at TotalEnergies will continue “at least until” noon today, announced the coordinator of the CGT. “We’ll see what happens next during the general meetings” of the employee of the day, specifies Eric Sellini to AFP.

The United States will pull 15 million barrels of oil in their strategic reserves to try to relieve the price of black gold. Additionally, President Joe Biden is not ruling out further use, according to a government official.

Russian Army General Sergei Surovikin said the situation on the ground in Ukraine was “tense” for his troops amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive, particularly in Kherson. Russia is preparing to evacuate the population of this southern city. Here’s what to remember from that day on the Warfront.

The political world has taken up the Lola affair, this 12-year-old girl who was killed in horrible conditions. While Emmanuel Macron received his parents, the government was challenged on the issue by several LR and RN MPs in yesterday’s assembly.

Also read Related Topics

“Yesterday’s attacks by Russia in Ukraine cut off electricity and water supplies to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. A third of the country’s facilities were destroyed last week, with the effect – accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – of causing massive power outages across Ukraine”. “There is no more room for negotiations with the Putin regime,” he added .

also read

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government recommends that citizens use electricity “consciously” between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. The more consumption is reduced, the more stable the entire energy system works. “Anyone who follows these simple rush-hour rules helps the whole country,” the Ukrainian president said in his message to the population.

Zelenskyy also announced that a meeting on the country’s energy situation is scheduled for today, assuring that the government is “working on all possible scenarios”.

China: “Supports diplomatic efforts”

China’s Foreign Ministry said it was necessary to show “calm and restraint” and support all diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. In response to a reporter’s question about the recent drone strike in Kyiv, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called the war a “crisis in Ukraine” and China’s position on it “consistent and clear.” Under the current circumstances, all interested parties should show calm and restraint, encourage and support all diplomatic efforts that contribute to a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine, in order to achieve a common defusing of the situation.

Von der Leyen: “Russian attacks on civilians are war crimes”

Russia’s “targeted” attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine are acts of “pure terror” and “war crimes” under international law. So the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the plenary session in Strasbourg. “Yesterday – he says – we saw again how Russia carried out targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure, and this marks a new chapter in an already very cruel war. The international order is very clear: these are war crimes, targeted attacks on civil infrastructures., with the clear aim of depriving men, women and children of water, electricity and heating as winter approaches. These are acts of terrorism and we must call them by their names: this is the time to stay on course. We will support Ukraine for as long as necessary and protect Europeans.”

Intelligence Gb: “Removed 4 of the 5 Russian Direct Task Force Generals”

Meanwhile, 4 of the 5 generals with direct operational command of elements related to the February 2022 Russian invasion have been removed from their posts. British intelligence underlines this in the latest report by the London Ministry of Defense on the situation in Ukraine. “The replacements for these generals have done little to improve performance on the battlefield. The lack of continuity at the command level is probably more disturbing than in a Western army because, according to Russian doctrine, the development of plans is largely left to the commander personally and not to a broader staff engaged in a collective effort”.

And the key elements of Russia’s military leadership are becoming less and less functional, according to British intelligence. “Eight months after the invasion, it is said, key elements of the Russian military leadership appear to be becoming less and less functional. At the tactical level, there is almost certainly a growing shortage of NCOs capable of organizing and directing the newly mobilized reservists.” .

The report therefore refers to eyewitnesses according to which the “killing of 11 Russian soldiers near Belgorod by a recruited comrade on October 15, 2022 occurred after an officer made insulting remarks against recruits belonging to ethnic minorities”. “It is likely, the report says, that the low level of leadership is driving morale and lack of unit cohesion in many parts of the Russian armed forces.”

During her acceptance speech for the German Book Prize, Kim de l’Horizon shaved her head in solidarity with women in Iran.

Kim de l’Horizon is the first non-binary person to receive this award, worth €25,000. Touched, de l’Horizon first thanked his family and his grandmother, who is apparently identical to the main character in his novel “Blood Book” – sang a song and shaved his hair during his performance and political acceptance speech.

“This award is not just for me. I think the jury also chose this text against hate, for love. For the fight of all people who are oppressed because of their bodies”, said de l’Horizon and dedicated the award to “brave women of Iran”. There was long-standing applause from the audience in Frankfurt.

“Born in 2666, studies sorcery”

Instead of a resume, the synopsis reads: “born 2666 in Gethen” and “studies witchcraft with Starhawk”. In fact, Kim de l’Horizon was born near Bern in 1992, studied German, film and theater in Zurich and literary writing in Biel. “Blutbuch” (Dumont), his debut, had already received the Jürgen Ponto Foundation’s Literature Prize.

In 2021, the German Book Prize was Antje Ravik Strubel gone to “Blue Woman”. The German Book Prize has gone to Austria twice so far: 2005 to Arno Geiger (“We’re fine”) and 2017 in Roberto Menasse (“The capital”).

Dob from the browsing account Time 10.18.2022, 09:19| Act: 10/18/2022, 11:52 am

William Ma says it’s “too early” to buy Hong Kong property until politicians pull talent out

It’s still too early to buy both real estate stocks and physical real estate in Hong Kong, said William Ma, chief investment officer of GROW Investment Group.

Speaking on CNBC’s Street Signs Asia, Ma said short-term investors will have to “wait and see” whether Hong Kong leader John Lee’s talent-attracting policies will lure people back to the city-state.

In addition, Ma expects property prices and stocks to fall on weak demand, adding what Hong Kong needs is “a real economic recovery.”

Ma also said Hong Kong’s financial importance will remain and Chinese companies still prefer to list on Hong Kong’s markets.

— Lee Ying Shan

Hong Kong climbers: Tech, EV, casino stocks fall in Macau; Real estate stocks shed previous gains

Shares of Hong Kong-listed tech companies and EV manufacturers continued to trade lower during Hong Kong leader John Lee’s keynote address, dragging the overall index along with Macau casino shares.

Xpeng Motors fell 8.24%, Bilibili fell 4.2% and Meituan also fell 3.64%. Tencent and Alibaba were also down more than 2.5%.

Casino shares in Macau also fell, with MGM China down 3.84% and Wynn Macau down 4.15%.

Meanwhile, real estate stocks trimmed past gains. Country Garden was last up 0.7% after trading more than 4% higher ahead of Lee’s speech.

China Overseas Land and Investment rose 2.25% after rising 5% earlier.

– Jihye Lee

Kakao co-CEO resigns after mass outage locks out 53 million users

A top Kakao Corp executive is set to resign after a data center fire sparked a mass outage over the weekend and disrupted services for the messenger’s 53 million users worldwide.

Co-CEO Namkoong Whon apologized after the outage and said he would step down.

“I feel the heavy burden of responsibility for this incident and will step down from my position as CEO and lead the emergency task force monitoring the aftermath of the incident,” Namkoong said at a news conference at the company’s office on the outskirts of Seoul on Wednesday.

Shares of Kakao were trading slightly lower at 2.43% after the news conference.

– Jihye Lee

Property shares in Hong Kong rise ahead of annual keynote speech

Shares of Hong Kong-listed property companies rose in morning trade ahead of Chief Executive John Lee’s keynote address.

China Overseas Land and Investment was up 5%, CK Asset was up 2.75% and Sino Land was up 2.5%. Country Garden was also up 4.26% ahead of Lee’s speech.

Local media in Hong Kong reports that foreign property owners could get rebates on buyer’s stamp duty.

– Abigail Ng

Apple supplier stocks fall after report of iPhone 14 Plus production cut

Shares of Apple suppliers in Asia slid after the tech company reportedly asked a manufacturer in China to halt production of an iPhone 14 Plus component as Apple reassessed demand for the product.

The Information reported that two other suppliers who assemble modules from this component have also drastically reduced production.

South Korea’s LG Innotek and SK Hynix lost around 2%, while Japan’s TDK Corporation and Murata Manufacturing each lost more than 1%.

Apple stock briefly slipped $4 per share overnight but ended the regular session up 0.94% as major indexes gained.

– Abigail Ng

CNBC Pro: Goldman Sachs outlines four economic scenarios and predicts how gold will fare in each

It’s been a choppy year for gold, with the precious metal “torn between growth and inflation risks and higher real interest rates and the strong dollar,” Goldman analysts wrote in an Oct. 11 note.

“In our view, much uncertainty remains about the future trajectory of US inflation, growth, interest rates and central bank (CB) response functions.”

Goldman ran through four different economic scenarios and predicted where the price of gold could end up in each case.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

US crude futures are up $1 a barrel on expectations that Biden will release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up about $1, or 1.33%, and Brent crude oil futures were up $0.83, or 0.92%, on expectations that the Biden administration will buy more oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases.

The plan could be announced as early as Wednesday, sources told CNBC.

The move aims to extend the current SPR delivery program, which began this spring, through December, the sources said.

–Kayla Tausche, Jihye Lee

RBNZ likely to deliver 75 basis point “jumbo lift” in November: ANZ

ANZ economists expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to report hikes of 75 basis points each at their upcoming November and February meetings.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 3.5% earlier this month, taking the policy rate to a seven-year high.

ANZ said the Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to take a more conservative path than the RBNZ, leading to a “much bigger policy difference in 2023”.

The next RBNZ monetary policy meeting is scheduled for November 23.

– Jihye Lee

Apple crashes after reporting a production cut

Apple’s shares fell, briefly turning negative after The Information reported that the tech giant was curtailing production of its new iPhone 14 Plus.

The move in Apple, the largest US stock, pushed the major averages back near their daily lows, though they’ve since recovered some of that bottom.

How much higher can the Fed push the 10-year yield?

The Fed is widely expected to hike another three-quarters of a percentage point next month, but the central bank may be reaching its limit for dictating long-term interest rates, according to The Leuthold Group’s Jim Paulsen.

“There is considerable precedent in past tightening cycles of bond market ‘flashing’ shutting down the Fed first. The Fed could soon try to raise interest rates to 4%, 4.5% or even 5%, at which point longer-dated bonds could simply stop climbing and refuse to follow the Fed’s lead,” Paulsen wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday .

The 10-year Treasury yield has traded above 4% for the past few days, hitting its highest level in more than a decade. It could be nearing a ceiling amid growing concerns of a 2023 recession, Paulsen said.

“Every time the Fed tightens monetary policy further, recession fears grow relative to inflation fears. Ultimately, as the Fed becomes more aggressive, recession becomes a bigger concern than inflation, and bond buyers outnumber bond sellers — meaning the bond market blinks,” Paulsen added.

— Jesse Pound

Western sanctions so far have not hurt Russia’s economy as much as expected, and the 23 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe have weathered the fallout from the Russian attack on Ukraine better than feared. But that will change in the coming months, warn economists at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Comparisons (WIIW). Ukraine’s economy has collapsed by a third this year as a result of the war.

As the economic recovery after the pandemic was unexpectedly strong in many countries in the region, the WIIW revised its economic forecast upwards. For 2022 as a whole, growth of 3.9% is expected for the EU member states of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, 3.1% for the Western Balkan countries and 5.1% for Turkey. While this is significantly lower everywhere than it was in 2021, it is still surprisingly good given the war in Ukraine.

possible recession

However, the outlook for the near future is not so good: inflation is in double digits across the region, in EU member states it will average 13 percent this year and is expected to stabilize to eight percent next year, from according to the forecast.

Above all, expensive food and skyrocketing energy prices pose a threat: “If gas has to be rationed in some places in winter, individual countries could go into recession,” says Branimir Jovanovic, lead author of the WWII autumn forecast. world. “The worst is yet to come for Eastern Europe.”

Russia slowdown weaker than expected

Russia’s economy shrank by just 1.5 percent in the first eight months of this year despite Western sanctions, and inflation dropped below 14 percent. For the year as a whole, the institute forecasts a 3.5% decline in Russian economic output, meaning the recession will be much milder than anticipated in the summer (down 7%).

Thanks to high energy prices, the reorientation of trade to Asia and increased military spending, the Russian economy has partially adapted to the new realities. However, the recently announced partial mobilization is a game-changer and will greatly exacerbate the crisis.

To build new neighborhoods east of the city, Laval is currently conducting work in wetlands that will have “permanent impacts on the Rivière des Prairies shoreline,” according to an environmental report submitted to the Quebec Department of the Environment. Excavation work has also been carried out a few meters away on an area that serves as a habitat for endangered species.

Work is currently underway in wetlands on the banks of the Rivière des Prairies to bury the aqueducts needed for the development of new housing projects in the east of Île Jésus. Although the surfaces will be “greened”, the works “will have a lasting impact on the coast of the Rivière des Prairies over an area of ​​95 m2”, we read in an environmental impact report submitted by the city of Laval to the Ministry of the Environment and Combating Climate Change (MELCC), last June.

Work is also underway in an area where the Coppery Red Horse is found, according to the Department for Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP). Under the federal government’s Species at Risk Act, destroying elements of the critical habitat of this “endangered” fish species, the only vertebrate endemic to Quebec, is prohibited.

Part of the site has already been cleared, trucks and machines are busy burying water pipes. Excavation work was also carried out on the other side of Lévesque Boulevard, on the site that will house a new neighborhood and where the former BASF chemical plant was located between 1969 and 1990.

Since then the site has been redesigned. It is now made up of barrens and wetlands, 3.7 hectares of which, according to Ville de Laval’s report, form “a marsh complex bordered by marshes”. There are also endangered species there, including the brown snake and milk snake, according to the latest data from the MFFP. The range of these reptiles is very limited in Quebec, and the main threat to their habitat is urban sprawl, the MFFP found.

At least two other endangered species are found in the terrestrial part of the sector, but the information is “hidden” by the ministry to protect it from poaching, for example.

Asked about this work, the office of the new mayor, Stéphane Boyer Le Devoir, says by email that “the city has obtained all the permits for this work” and indicates that “the development of this network will take place over several years”. and that no time frame is provided for the period of this development. At the time of writing, the MELCC had still not responded to Le Devoir’s questions.

“Old Ways”

In addition to the destruction of wetlands, riparian strips and habitats of threatened species, the President of the Rivières Foundation, Alain Saladzius, deplores the drainage systems planned by the municipality and their detrimental impact on other wetlands: “We do not understand why we have come up with management like this. »

The proposed water drainage system “refers to old practices,” he believes. It will have a direct impact on the sector’s water tables and the sector’s dependent natural environments. “There is more and more talk of drying out, of water lowering in the groundwater. And there we installed a system that will divert everything from the planned sector to channel rainwater into the Rivière des Prairies. This affects the groundwater level. »

“The water tables in the area will dry up and there will be significant damage to the many wetlands in the area,” he says.

Compensation of $265,000

To carry out this wetland work, the city of Laval paid the Quebec government nearly $265,000 in compensation, the report said. The general director of the Quebec Society for Nature and Parks, Alain Branchaud, has strongly criticized the decision to destroy wetlands simply by paying monetary compensation.

In the same breath he calls on the government to rectify the situation. “Instead of charging for wetland destruction, promoters should be forced to compensate themselves by reserving part of the territory for wetland creation. It would be a form of resettlement to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services, for example for water management or the preservation of different species. It should be part of standard practice,” he explains.

Instead, the promoters tend to pay some amount to the government. This practice has been permitted under the Wetlands and Water Preservation Act since 2017, which should put an end to the loss of these critical ecosystems. But the destruction continues, and barely 2.6% of the roughly $100 million paid to the state has been used to restore or create wetlands, La Presse recently revealed.

According to Branchaud, the Laval case would therefore have been a great opportunity to act differently. “Here it would have been possible to require the developer to create wetlands in the same area, instead of paying for wetland destruction, which is a form of greenwashing. It would have been possible to comply with the no-net-loss principle before proceeding with the destruction. »

The biologist also believes that the proposed work is very likely to affect the habitat of endangered species, especially birds and fish, although there is currently insufficient data to accurately map the impact on wildlife. “There also appear to be impacts on a natural shoreline of the Rivière des Prairies. However, we must preserve these shorelines, which serve as a habitat for several species, but also as a breeding ground for fish species,” emphasizes Alain Branchaud.

To see in the video