Photo: Martin C. Barry
Quebec senior citizens minister Marguerite Blais watches as Laval mayor Gilles
Vaillancourt signs an agreement with the province for senior citizens.

The City of Laval has become the first municipality in the Montreal region to sign an agreement with Quebec, conferring on Laval a special status with regards to the treatment of senior citizens. The goal of the provincial program, called Municipalité amie des aînés (MADA), is to encourage policies, services and structures that are specially adapted to an aging population. As part of the deal, Laval will be receiving a $160,000 grant from the province.
“It is important for our government to create quality of life environments for all the citizens of Quebec, whether they are the young, families or senior persons,” Marguerite Blais, Quebec Liberal Minister for Senior Citizens, said during a press conference held at Laval’s Place des Aînés announcing the agreement on June 17. She said she was pleased to be able to support the City of Laval in its wish to go further in facilitating better living conditions for seniors.
“Laval has always been a municipality that is friendly to seniors,” said Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. He pointed out that it was 15 years ago that the city inaugurated the Place des Aînés, a multifunctional centre for seniors which is today recognized as a model for others across Canada. “The MADA program solidifies the vision that has guided us since the creation of our city 45 years ago.”
According to Laval city councillor Jocelyne Guertin, an executive committee member who is responsible for seniors issues on council, senior citizens now number 60,000 in Laval and account for 15 per cent of the city’s population. “By subscribing to Municipalité amie des aînés, we are committing ourselves to what only seems natural, which is to improve our facilities and services in order to take into account the needs and abilities of seniors,” she said.
Fabre Liberal MNA Michelle Courchesne, who is the minister responsible for the region of Laval, added, “It is my sincere wish that this project starts a solidarity movement in the community and between the generations, because only together will we be able to ensure that people remain active while aging,” she said. Quebec will be spending $12 million over the next three years, encouraging municipalities all over the province to follow the example of Laval. So far 55 towns and cities have signed an agreement with Quebec.
Laval is considered to be at the forefront with its policies towards senior citizens. Since 2007, when the city entered into a five-year agreement with the province to improve services and facilities for seniors, Laval has completed more than a dozen projects involving things like meals-on-wheels, elder abuse, intergenerational activities. While Quebec contributed $460,000 towards those efforts, additional funding from Laval has brought the total contribution to more than $2 million.