Martin quits as Liberal leader - Laval News

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Blvd. CENTROPOLIS • 1920 Pierre-Péladeau Ave. Laval • (450) 682-3885 Pierre-Péladeau Ave. FLY COLOSSUS 15 ® PE0613710 Better ambulance response time needed? Service timely and efficient, Urgences Santé argues NaNcy GirGiS An unusual scene greeted skaters at the Chomedey Arena at around 3:30 p.m. on January 12: a woman was lying on the ice in obvious pain, and several people around her were tending to her. One of the regular skaters at the scene, Warren Law, quickly learned that the woman had taken a fall and had seemingly injured her shoulder. Due to the woman’s level of pain, the skating rink monitor estimated that she had dislocated her shoulder and immediately called 9-1-1. Despite her painful injury and the fact that the woman was lying directly on the ice, Law estimated that it took the ambulance approximately 35 minutes to arrive. “It gets quite cold in the arena and she was lying directly on the ice,” Law explained. “I would think that ambulances should be aware of the location of arenas and respond in a short time frame.” Law and other witnesses believe that such a situation should not have happened. However, officials at Urgences Santé disagree with their version of events. Urgences Santé spokesperson André Champagne says that currently in the greater Montreal area (including Laval), the average ambulance response time is nine minutes and 11 seconds for most calls. Resorting to the computer file of the 9-1-1 call, Champagne said that it took the ambulance only 14 minutes to reach the arena from the time 9-1-1 was called. He explained that the call was placed at 3:37 p.m. and that the ambulance arrived at 3:51 p.m. Timely and efficient service, Champagne explains, in spite of the fact that the injury was not deemed to be severe or life-threatening. “This was classified as a Priority 3 call, which we need to respond to in less than 20 minutes,” Champagne said. “ Three calls were made to 9-1-1 The people who were at the Arena on January 12 are contesting Urgences Santé’s version of events, and some even claim that the ambulance got lost on its way to the arena. The Zamboni driver, Jean-Guy Bourassa, says the Arena usually calls 9-1- 1 two or three times a month, especially during hockey season. In most cases, an ambulance arrives in less than 15 minutes. In this specific case, he says, the delay easily exceeded 30 minutes. “I understand that the injury wasn’t an urgent situation, but the lady had dislocated her shoulder and we couldn’t move her off the ice,” he said. “She was very cold…the ambulance should have come faster.” Bourassa, who called Urgences Santé twice following the original 9-1-1 call, was frustrated about the paramedics’ slow pace. He even waited outside and flagged down the ambulance once he saw the vehicle approaching the arena. Unfortunately, the ambulance turned at another intersection. “I called back (9-1-1) to tell them that their truck had gotten lost, but they assured me that the ambulance I was talking about was responding to another call,” Bourassa explained. “If that was the case, it must not have been a very urgent situation…the truck was going very slowly, as if the driver was lost.” Regular skater Raymond Dagenais was clearly frustrated over the situation and estimated that it took the ambulance 40 minutes to arrive at the scene. He explained that he arrived at the arena a little after 3:30 p.m., and when he left at 4:10 p.m. the ambulance had yet to arrive. “I and a lot of other people here were getting very angry,” Dagenais said. “We tried to cover her up with our jackets, we sympathized with her because it was very cold…It’s unbelievable that it took so long for the ambulance to come.” Distance, weather, traffic all factors Champagne defends Urgences Santé’s response time and adds that although most calls are answered within the average time frame, some non-urgent calls may take longer. He explains that Urgences Santé uses the Clawson system, which allows for a rapid triage depending on the information provided by the caller. “It allows us to gage the degree of urgency and the need for rapid action in less than one minute,” Champagne explains. “Within 50 to 60 seconds, we can make a decision, decipher the problem, find the location and gage the urgency.” Calls are also prioritized. Priority One calls are answered immediately with sirens blaring. Priority Two calls must be answered in less than 10 minutes, and Priority Three require action in less than 20 minutes. However, the response time may vary depending on the location, the weather, the time of the day and the density of population in a specific area. “We also resort to dynamic deployment, meaning an ambulance is always in strategic points and in movement,” Champagne explained. “However, these strategic points are more often than not in areas with a higher density of population.” Nonetheless, the people who witnessed the accident on January 12 remain perturbed over the delay it took for the ambulance to arrive at the scene. “We all kept saying ‘what if it had been something more serious?’” Law wondered. “We pay extra for the 911 service, if this is the way things work, what are we paying for?” Champagne explains that when an emergency situation occurs, time becomes precious. He says that Urgences Santé does whatever it can to answer in a timely manner. In 2004-2005, Urgences Santé received 195 complaints, and only 16 per cent were related to the service offered. “That is a very low number, especially if you consider that we handle about 1,000 calls a day,” Champagne said. “We understand that when people get hurt, they want to wait as little as possible,” Champagne explained. “We understand what they’re going through, we don’t diminish their pain or their need, but priority takes over certain cases, especially in fracture or non-fatal injuries.”
ElEctions 2006 Folco lone Liberal in Laval Wins by a solid majority in Laval-Les-Iles NaNcy GirGiS Although the Liberals lost a handful of key ridings in the greater Montreal area on election night, Laval managed to hold on to its only Liberal riding for the fifth consecutive time. The constituents of the Liberal stronghold Laval-Les Iles riding re-elected incumbent MP Raymonde Folco for a fourth mandate as the Conservative party gained a minority government. In her victory speech, she thanked her volunteers and constituents for believing in her and promised to continue working for Laval in Ottawa. “I’m grateful for the chance to represent you in Ottawa for a fourth mandate,” she said. “You understood the real issues in Canada, Quebec and in Laval-Les Iles... Thanks for your support, the door is always open.” Although Folco won by a solid majority of 3212 votes, it is a far cry from the 5,000 vote lead in 2004 and even further away from the roaring 12,000 lead back in 2000. Despite the relatively low numbers and the scandals that crippled the Liberal party, Folco is grateful that her constituents continue to offer their support. “We have a lot of volunteers, it’s wonderful and there is nothing like it,” Folco said. “I’ve met thousands of constituents who tell me they will still vote Liberal... It’s great to see that after eight years, people still believe in you.” Multicultural team part of Folco’s ‘tightly-knit machine’ Folco’s office on Samson blvd. in Ste-Dorothee was a flurry of activity on Election Day. Volunteers were making last-minute calls to undecided voters and offering rides to their local polling stations. Political aide Jonathan Fontaine estimated that there were nearly 30 volunteers working in the office during Election Day. Many of the volunteers were members of the riding’s many ethnic groups. That fact is not surprising given that immigrants make up for more than 20 per cent of Laval-Les Iles’ population. “This is proof of Folco’s strong relations with Quebecers of all nationalities, including Quebecers de souche,” Fontaine said, pointing out Folco’s record of dealing with immigration issues. Folco credited her tightly-knit machine of volunteers as she calls them for getting out the vote. She explains how the volunteers handled their tasks in a professional manner and devised strategies such as convincing people to vote before going south for the holidays to get a large number of voters to the polls. She was particularly proud that of the multi-ethnicity of her team of volunteers, enumerating all the languages they speak- Portguese, Greek, Kurdish, Russian, Swedish, Arabic, Armenian, and of course English and French. “This was a great team of volunteers, everybody knew what they were doing,” Folco said. “These people wanted to participate in a democratic election; they are all Quebecers and Canadians with a sense of belonging.” Volunteer Claude Bourdon was in charge of the transportation desk. Bourdon’s fifty-plus years of experience as an election planner and volunteer paid off handsomely, as he believes his team drove more than 200 constituents to the polling stations throughout the campaign. Despite the scandals that crippled the Liberals throughout the 56-day campaign, Bourdon noticed that a lot of people volunteered their time nonetheless. “We transported a lot more people this year than in the last election,” Bourdon said. “I think more people volunteered, especially drivers, I was surprised.” Scandals take their toll on Liberals The office erupted in cheers as Folco’s reelection was confirmed on the TVA television network at 10:46 p.m. However, Folco’s victory was bittersweet as it became more and more obvious that the next government would be Conservative, putting an end to the Liberals’ 13 years in power. Folco admits that the Liberals’ pre-election slump in the polls had an impact on her campaign. “Whenever a party slumps in the polls, it affects you and your volunteers,” Folco explained. “We rallied, kept steady, and quickly learned that the people who are Liberal will stick by us and by me.” Liberal supporter Ann Clarke said that Folco’s dedication is what attracted voters. “She’s an amazing, amazing woman, she’s dedicated and listens to her constituents,” Clarke said. “She’s there, she puts her hearts into her work, she believes in what she does, so I had no concerns that she would lose.” Despite her victory, Folco quickly realized that she will now have to work as an opposition MP. She held some harsh words for the newlyelected Conservative government, adding that there is a ‘hell’ of a lot of work ahead now that the Tories are in power. “Canadians are not right-wing, they want to keep their social programs,” Folco exclaimed. “The government should protect childcare, protect seniors... Conservatives are on the record of being disinterested.” Folco added that she wishes to keep working on two main issues: human resources and immigrantion. She admitted that although it may be harder for her to work on issues as an opposition MP, Folco said she will keep up THANK YOU AGAIN! Dear voters of Laval-Les Îles, I thank you for supporting me and the Liberal Party of Canada, because you clearly understood the true issues of this electoral campaign. I am grateful that you have handed me your trust for a 4th mandate, to represent you in Ottawa and stand up for your values in the House of Commons. HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES CANADA RAYMONDE FOLCO M.P. for Laval les Îles 674 de la Place-Publique, Bureau 205, Laval (Québec) H7X 1G1 Tel.: (450) 689-4594 Fax: (450) 689-5092 Email: folcor1@parl.gc.ca 2006 Streamers trickle down as volunteers congratulate incumbent Liberal MP Raymonde Folco on her victory in Monday’s federal election. PHOTO: Nancy Girgis • TCN fighting, enumerating different dossiers she has worked on in the past; infrastures, NGO’s, early childcare and seniors among others. Folco was at least grateful about one thing about the newly-elected government: it will not be a majority government. “A minority government will give us more power to push things forward,” she said. “The roles are now reversed, we are in opposition, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.” The Chomedey News • www.chomedeynews.ca • January 26, 2006 • 3
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