The mayor of Laval will blow out the first candle of his mandate by inaugurating the construction site of a pharmaceutical factory with Justin Trudeau this Monday, a project he says is a symbol of his leadership.
Posted at 5:00 am
Philippe Teisceira-Lessard The press
Private investment, zoning law overhaul and housing summit: Stéphane Boyer is “very satisfied” with his first 12 months at the helm of Quebec’s third-largest city. A year, however, darkened by tragedy and outbreaks of violence.
“When I ran for mayor, I wanted Laval to shine more,” Mr. Boyer said in a phone interview. “It’s about the pride of the citizens, proud to be from Laval. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s been a good year in that regard. »
Alongside the arrival of Moderna, which will manufacture millions of vaccine doses in Laval, Mr Boyer highlights the return of private investment to pre-pandemic levels, as well as a project for a huge “Cité du Cinema” in the east of Jesus Island. “Laval has had the highest GDP growth in Quebec for two straight years,” said Mr. Boyer. There’s really a nice excitement. »
Violent episodes darken the picture
However, it was the violent events that drew more ink during the spring and summer. May, June, July, August, October: Deadly shootings took place in Laval almost every month during this period – sometimes in public. To this sad tally we must add two family dramas in which three children were killed.
It’s a file “that has received a lot of attention over the past year,” he said. It concerns me. A lot was invested in autumn and winter,” he says.
Police reported this summer that firearm incidents had fallen by 52%. So it’s starting to pay off, but I don’t want to take that for granted. We are not immune to other incidents.
Stephane Boyer, Mayor of Laval
“We have to solve this problem,” he added. We don’t want that for our city. »
Could this be the ransom for Laval’s gradual transformation from bedroom community to metropolis, the dark side of the economic development coin? “No,” he decided. These are two very different phenomena. Of course, if you’re a bigger city, more things will happen, but you shouldn’t make a direct match between the two. »
An urbanism that enters modernity
For the remainder of his tenure, Mr. Boyer intends to continue “dusting off” the way Laval is developing his territory.
Last summer, his administration passed a new building code that increases the maximum building heights in the city center and protects forest areas more strictly.
It was accepted in the division, the opposition in the town hall denounced too fast a procedure.
“Laval is entering modernity in my opinion, 2022 is perhaps the year that will have marked the transition to a new way of urban development. […] Under the Vaillancourt era, the city had been frozen in its ways. All of that has been dusted off in recent years. »
The mayor himself published a book this fall in which he promotes “car-free districts”. These ideas could be applied in the context of the redevelopment of large shopping centers in the heart of Laval, Mr Boyer said. “I think we could still see big changes pretty quickly. »