Struck by two family tragedies this fall, the City of Laval plans to inject an additional 3 million into social prevention organizations in its territory, learned The Press.
The investment will be announced in December, as part of the unveiling and adoption of the municipal budget.
“These are human tragedies. There was distress in all that, ”said Mayor Stéphane Boyer, on the sidelines of a telephone interview.
The chosen one was referring to the death of the 11 and 13-year-old children of a man accused of murder in October in the Sainte-Dorothée district, as well as the drowning of a newborn when his mother voluntarily immersed his car in the Rivière des Mille Îles. These tragedies shook the people of Laval.
Mayor Boyer wants to “create a new envelope of $3 million to help social development organizations”. Funding would be recurrent.
“Traditionally, cities help leisure organizations and it is Quebec that helps social development organizations (everything related to the prevention of domestic violence, suicide, mental health issues, dropping out of school),” he said. he explains. “But we want to go further, we want to contribute. »
Invest upstream
In 2022, Laval’s budget amounted to 970 million.
Is it really the job of a city to fund this niche in the community sector, often already funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Services? “It’s much better to invest in these organizations upstream rather than waiting until it’s too late and it becomes investments in the police service,” replied Mayor Boyer, elected a year ago. .
Laval is also grappling with a growing problem of insecurity, with fairly frequent exchanges of fire in recent months. On November 11, a shooting broke out in a park near Montmorency College, injuring four people. The police response to the phenomenon “begins to bear fruit”, assures Laval.
According to Mayor Boyer, an investment in the community could also contribute to solving the problem of armed violence. “What we see is that a lot of young people between 16 and 25 [qui sont impliqués]. I say to myself: if we are able to give them an environment where they will be able to get involved, develop as individuals, create a feeling of belonging, this is the kind of thing that can help them not to drop out or don’t go to a street gang,” he said. “It’s hard to measure, but I believe the impact is real and it’s there. »