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The city of Montreal is creating new rules to prevent flooding damage in buildings on the island. Sixteen boroughs are adopting the regulations. They require certain owners to install a pumping system and check valves in their buildings.  The system will force the water away in the event of a flood.

The rules apply to buildings which have flooded in the past, have ongoing renovation or are under construction. Property owners who do not comply could face fines of up to $700.

The city is also upgrading its water and sewage systems to cope with the heavier rainfall expected in coming years.

The regulations come into effect on July 1st for most boroughs and on Sept. 1 in Pierrefonds-Roxboro. 

News read by Jessica MacDonald and produced by Erica Bridgeman

Stories written by Aisha Samu, Samah Fadil and Michael Lemieux

Remembering the criticism Ignatieff faced for his stays in the U.S. this past election, it will be interesting to see how the public deals with Marc Garneau’s worldliness. Garneau was the first Canadian to go in to spacehe is now running for interim liberal leader.

After a brutal election that saw Liberals sink to a historic low, Garneau hopes to help the liberal party rebuild. Although he is running for interim leader, it is unclear whether he will run for the permanent position.

While Ignatieff was unable to win his own Toronto area riding this past election, Garneau resisted the sea of orange that swept Quebec and held his seat in the familiar Westmount-Ville-Marie riding.

Garneau has said he wants to focus on rebuilding the Liberal brand until such a time as a new Liberal leader is chosen.

Almost a month after the disqualification of both slates in the Concordia Student Union elections, both teams have had their disqualifications reversed, and will have their elections expenses reimbursed. In a Special Council Meeting Wednesday night, council voted to recognize the victorious candidates of the Action slate. They ultimately decided that not all candidates are guilty by association, as many of the violations were committed by only a few members of the slate.

CSU President Heather Lucas pointed out that if the decision to uphold the disqualification of Action was kept, there would be no JMSB representatives on standing committees, which are formed in the summer. A bi-election for the empty seats could not take place until classes are in session again in the fall.

Only one member of the Judicial Board was present, Tuan Dinh. He argued that even individually, Action's offences deserved disqualification. These included campaigning during the polling period by wearing blue shirts, writing “Lights, camera, _____” on white boards as well as postering on glass surfaces. He called these offences a “blatant disregard:” for the rules in place.

Both motions were initially rejected. It was only after each was reconsidered that council changed its mind. The difference came when council decided to change the wording of the original motion to remove calling the Judicial Board's decision “manifestly unreasonable” and making it clear that they considered it “reasonable and respected”. After further discussion, council also passed a motion agreeing to reimburse the slates for their expenses. Although Dinh accused council of trying to “bypass the bylaws”, council decided to use funds originally earmarked for the election to adequately pay back the slates, provided they have proper receipts.

During the regularly scheduled council meeting that followed, Dinh used his Judicial Board presentation to question the board's own decision. He called the decision “poorly reviewed” and attempted to provide further evidence condemning Your Concordia. However, after much discussion that seemed to simply echo what was said during the Judicial Board hearing, the issue was put to rest and the meeting moved on.

There is hope for the election process: lawyer Patrice Blais presented council with the initial steps towards electoral reform later in the council meeting. Working with the advice of President-elect Lex Gill, current President Heather Lucas and former President Amine Dabchy, Blais introduced reform ideas which included having two categories of CSU members: active (can vote) and inactive (can't vote), removing senate/faculty associations, and hiring an unaffiliated lawyer to oversee the CSU and the Judicial Board. Most ideas were welcomed by councillors, but many voiced disapproval of removing associations. Blais also proposed changes to the electoral process. He is looking at three different options for how candidates can run: as a slate, individually or as a slate but be elected individually. A finalized proposal of changes will presented at a Special Council Meeting soon.