The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 10

SECTION ALWAYS A BETTER DEAL .1 a GREICHE SCAFF i Hi I n. i( 'J 2125 NOTRE DAME LACHINE 634-7211 MONTREAL, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1989 335-5330 Pierrefonds plans for 25,000 more people in ro years By GRAEME HAMILTON of The Gazette The undeveloped west end of Pierrefonds, where land is reserved for agricultural use, would become home to 25,000 new residents and a high-technology industrial park under a preliminary development plan unveiled Monday. Mayor Cyril McDonald said the rate of development in Pierrefonds has outstripped expectations contained in the Montreal Urban Community master development plan. ques regional park intact and calls for an 18-hole golf course at the city's southwestern corner. It predicts the construction of high-density housing on an undeveloped section of central Pierrefonds that the province currently considers flood plain.

McDonald said a developer would require Environment Department approval to build there. An extension to Highway 440, which would pass through Pierrefonds to link the Trans-Canada Highway and the western portion of La McDonald said he expects opposition once the city presents its plan to the MUC, because of MUC concerns about urban sprawl. At a Jan. 17 news conference, MUC chairman Michel Hamelin said the Quebec government should maintain a moratorium on land zoned for agricultural use to combat "urban sprawl" around the greater Montreal area. But McDonald said green space in the city of Montreal is limited and should not be sacrificed for further development.

val, is a top priority, the plan says. The West Island portion of Highway 440 was not included in the province's multi-million dollar transportation master plan announced last summer. Pierrefonds wants a commitment that the road will be built within 10 years. The plan calls for the high-tech industrial park to be built around the highway extension. The city will hold a public consultation meeting on the proposals next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School. The province has zoned 380 hectares of Pierrefonds land for agricultural use, and the new development plan calls for development on 374 hectares of that land. Pierrefonds, which has a population of about 40,000, would have to apply to the Quebec Agricultural Land Protection Commission to have the agricultural zoning lifted. McDonald said the agricultural designation is not realistic since half the land is owned by developers and little is being farmed. The plan leaves the Cap St.

Jac Without changes to the MUC plan, the city says, all land now available for development will be used up by 1991. "We are at odds with the MUC plan because we find that we are about five years ahead of schedule," McDonald said. "Our plan reflects reality and not a forecast made several years ago." To proceed with its own plan, which forecasts growth over the next 15 years, Pierrefonds will require approval from the MUC and the province. 3 new schools top $29-million wish list fin- By JOHN SCHOFIELD of The Gazette Three new schools and expansions to several others are at the top of a $29-million shopping list approved by the Lakeshore School Board. To cope with an increasing number of students, the board's five-year capital plan calls for a new $4.4 million English elementary school in Ste.

Lazare, a English elementary school in Kirkland and a combined French elementary and secondary school in Pierrefonds, estimated to cost about $10.3 million. The proposed 14-room school in Ste. Lazare has already been approved by the Montreal Island School Council and is awaiting approval by the province. The LSB hopes to open the school in August 1990, said David LeBaron, the board's assistant director in charge of administration. The target date for the 14-room Kirkland school is August 1994, while the Pierrefonds school, which will be designed for about 700 students, is slated for opening in August 1991.

To relieve overcrowding, especially at the LSB's French schools, the 11 I fit 'zjfr'Sy -v a 1 1 "I Customers, employees unfazed by store switch i board is also asking the island council and the province to put up money for expansions to several schools. An additional eight classrooms are proposed for Ecole Primaire Bea-consfield by 1990 at an anticipated cost of $650,000. Ecole Primaire Harwood in Dorion is also in line for eight more classrooms in two phases, ending in 1993 and costing an estimated $896,000. Four extra classrooms each are also on the books for Ecole Primaire Pointe Claire, Edgewater Elementary School in Pincourt and Sunny-dale Park Elementary School in Dol-lard des Ormeaux, with a pricetag of between $450,000 and $475,000 in each case. Presented annually, the capital plan (approved by the board on Jan.

12) now goes to the Island School Council. Major projects priced at more than $100,000 must be approved by the council before going onto the province for consideration, LeBaron said. Normal routine maintenance projects such as roof repairs make up the balance of the five-year capital plan, he said. Quebec, failed to return phone messages this week. While jobs may not be on the line, another longtime employee, Gaby Kelechian, admitted the closing still strikes a melancholy chord.

"It's a little sad to see Simpson's go away, but what can you do?" But for employees who want to get ahead in the company, chances for advancement will be greater within the larger Bay chain, said a department supervisor, who requested anonymity. At the most, some employees said The Bay name will bring only small changes in procedure, such as allowing refunds at each counter instead of at a special service desk. Part-timer Martin Plourde suggested the switch may bring changes in merchandise. With its designer boutiques, Simpson appeals to a more upscale clientele, while The Bay caters to the budget-conscious customer, he said. Most customers said the change won't make much difference.

"It doesn't bother me at all," said Claudette Lemire of Kirkland. And Claudia Crisp, manager of Antel's, a women's clothing store near Simpson, said lower-priced merchandise at The Bay could work in her favor. John Schofield also need a reminder to stick up for their rights, Plante said. "We want to show francophones we can live harmoniously with ang-lophones while still enjoying services in French." Meanwhile, the West Island chapter of Alliance Quebec has reopened its office and is planning a regional meeting Feb. 12 to discuss the sign law.

Bernie Silverman, president of the chapter, said the English-rights lobby groi p's Beaconsfield office closed from Dec. 9 to Jan. 9 as a precaution surrounding the Dec. 15 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Quebec's sign law. P.oya! Orr, Alliance Quebec president, is scheduled to speak at the Feb.

12 meeting. Graeme Hamilton Simpson shoppers at Fairview Centre in Pointe Claire next Monday may be startled to find The Bay in its place but most Simpson employees, customers and neighboring merchants aren't expecting any surprises. A fixture at Fairview since the shopping centre was built 24 years ago, Simpson will be transformed into The Bay on Sunday. The move comes 10 days afier Toronto-based Hudson's Bay Co. announced the closing of all five Simpson stores in the Montreal area Jan.

28, saying they have lost $24 million in the last five years. Like the Fairview outlet, stores in Laval and Anjou will be reopened immediately under The Bay name. But the St. Bruno store is for sale and the downtown store will be closed permanently, throwing 900 people out of work. "I think it's basically going to stay the same," said sales clerk Allen Parkin, a 22-year veteran with Simpson.

"It's just a matter of putting up a new sign." Parkin and other employees said indications from management are the takeover won't mean any layoffs at Simpson in Pointe Claire. The effect on jobs could not be confirmed. Nick Gaitan, general manager of Hudson's Bay Co. for Hot wheels take bite out of winter 1 Gazette, Michael Dugas West Island to fight Bill West Island francophones plan a rally in Pierrefonds Sunday to protest Quebec's new sign law and assert their presence in the predominantly English-speaking West Island. "We want to show that we live in the West Island and we make up an important community," said Jean-Guy Plante, president of the Association des francophones de l'ouest de Tile, which is organizing the rally.

The main motive for the gathering, he said, is to oppose Bill 178, the language law adopted last month. The law maintains Bill 101's ban on languages other than French on outdoor signs but allows some bilingual signs inside certain stores. The association has not protested bilingual signs in the past, saving its energy for shopkeepers with unilin-gual English signs. 1 Baie d'Urfe resident Cory Campbell competition motorcycle. Campbell, who powerful two-wheeled machine with spe-churns through the snow on frozen Lake uses his bike for racing on dirt tracks cially studded tires for practice on ice St.

Louis aboard his Honda CR-500 during the summer, has equipped the and snow during the cold winter months. Descary says he'll discuss dog law francophones plan rally 78's bilingual sign rules By LYNN MOORE of The Gazette There is a truce in the battle be tween pit-bull owners and Lachine council following a raucous public meeting Monday night that pitted Lachine Mayor Guy Descary against about 100 dog lovers. Descary, who threatened to have the hall cleared at one point, agreed to hear from an "expert panel" of dog breeders and trainers who oppose the city's ban on certain breeds of dogs. "If we did make a mistake, we are willing to talk about it," he said. A date for the meeting has not yet been set, but the group expects to meet with a city official early next month, said Lachine resident and pit bull owner Jose Madronero who has led the oppostion forces.

In an interview, Madronero said he hasn't ruled out a court challenge. "If after all the meetings, the mayor Descary. "But it is the responsibility of the citizen owning the dog to make sure that it doesn't attack." She and others called the bylaw, which names certain breeds of dogs, discriminatory "because even a poodle can be vicious" and suggested that stiff fines be levelled against the owners of dangerous dogs. The owners of proscribed dogs have until June to get rid of their pets. Offenders face fines of between $50 and $300.

A controversial clause in the bylaw permits police to enter a home or property to ensure the bylaw is being respected. Speaker after speaker told Descary about their well-mannered dogs that would have to be destroyed if the bylaw stands. Descary, who repeatedly told the angry crowd that he owned a dog, said council is committed to "making Lachine safe for its citizens, not pit bulls." decides not to change the law, then we will have no choice but to contest it." The bylaw, which came into effect Jan. 1, bans any attack dog or any type of dog deemed vicious. It specifically outlaws pit bulls, bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers.

Its critics say that banning certain breeds of dogs is discriminatory and will not stop dog attacks. At the council meeting, Descary refused to hear from representatives of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Quebec Pit Bull Club and two dog breeders. Only Lachine residents could speak during the question period, Descary ruled. But their comments echoed the views held by the experts who are to meet with city staff. "I appreciate that the city wants to protect people from dog attacks," Lachine resident Hilary Porter told 0 But Plante said the group favors a gradual elimination of bilingual signs.

"We want to keep Bill 101, and keeping 101 means opposing 178." Camille Laurin. the former HQ minister who was the author of Bill 101, is scheduled to deliver the closing speech at the rally. Laurin has recently become a member of the association. Organizers expect 400 people at the event, which starts at 1 p.m. at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School.

13.830 Pierrefonds Blvd. Plante stressed that it will not be an "anti-English" demonstration. "We have to remind the anglophone community that we are here and we want to live with thorn." Francophones, who muse up a third of the West Island's population, 1.