9030 L?Acadie Blvd. (across from Marché Central) SINCE 1963 Best Wishes for the New Year MKS MKZ BRING A 2010 LINCOLN INTO YOUR FAMILY. Homemade Greek Food ?For The Soul? 514-850-0000 www.restaur antellada.com MKZ POINTE CLAIR E Barbara Wyroda Call us at Chartered Real Estate Broker514-829-6603 MKT Best deal on the market! Great location! Mls MT8210502 THE MANAGEMENT & STAFF OF THE SUBURBAN WISH EVERYONE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Pawel Grosz DECEMBER 30, 2009 Q U E B E C ? S L A R G E S T E N G L I S H W E E K L Y N E W S P A P E R Generations Foundation impacted by H1N1, economic ?flus? Al-Ubaidi a force in NDG St. Léonard?s Roundtable ? Page 2 Recently recognized by the YMCA for her community work in NDG, Halal Al- Ubaidi says helping those most in need is often fulfilling and sometimes a tireless, never-ending struggle. ? Page 9 It?s by no means round, and there is certainly more than one. The Table Ronde de St. Léonard is more than just a table. ? Page 12 ?In the end it?s all about ...

2 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009 MADA seeing impact of economic times now By Joel Goldenberg The Suburban The effects of the economic meltdown are being especially felt this year at the MADA Kosher food bank, as those who never needed the services of such an institution are now seeking it out. As of an interview in November, MADA assistant director Yosef Drihem said the food bank was serving nearly 2,800 people a month, compared to 2,300 and 2,400 a month in 2008. ?We feel a gradual deterioration, actually much more in recent months than when the economic crisis started,? he says. ?It feels like it?s just starting to take stronger effect as time passes along and we are seeing more and more people ? we call them ?coming out of the woods? ? people who were never in need of help or support, or were always borderline, and are now figuring out that they cannot finish their budgets on a monthly basis. ?Besides the crisis cases of people losing jobs and losing investments, there ...

DARING TO CARE Many more seek help from Sun Youth By Joel Goldenberg The Suburban The number of families using food banks this year is especially high because of the continuing effects of the economic situation and clients who never needed help before, needing it now, says Sid Stevens, Sun Youth?s co-founder and executive vice-president. The two big issues are the ongoing recession and the flu pandemic, affecting both clientele and operations of food banks all over. ?It?s so bad among the food banks ? you have 650 in Canada and about a million and a half children who go hungry every night,? he says. ?Just food banks alone ? 800,000 people use food banks on a monthly basis, and 300,000 are children ? and at Sun Youth, one of every five that uses a food bank is a child. ?And it?s not just banks that are in trouble, so are food banks. Last year, two food banks closed, one in LaSalle and the other in Ahuntsic and some others have shortened their hours. We haven?t had that issue, because we ...

DARING TO CARE 4 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009 Rue Vézina Some of the people who live to give Dealing with non-profit organizations that help the needy in Montreal has been a regular task for me over the years as a columnist for The Suburban. I must say that it gives me a good feeling to cover their events and contribute to such good deeds as feeding and clothing the poor and hungry who live amongst us. As we prepare to say good-bye to the year 2009, let?s tip our hat to these extraordinary people. Sid Stevens and Earl De la Perralle: Can it really have been 60 years ago that childhood friends Stevens and De la Perralle got together with a few friends to form the Clark Street Sun? The organization soon became the Sun Youth Organization which is always there to lend a hand, be it distributing food baskets, handling crime prevention tasks or stepping in when any type of emergency in the city occurs. Adrian and Natalie Bercovici: For a couple of retirees, the Bercovicis do ...

4601, blvd. Des Sources Dollard-des-Ormeaux 51 4-685-5050 www.adonisproducts. com DELICATESSEN & CHEESE REGULAR OKA CHEESE $18.93 ANGLO SAXON CHEESE $12.99 kg THAWED CALMARI CALMARI RINGS FRESH FISH IF WEATHER PERMITS SALMON FILETS $15.41 kg $5.49 kg SMOKED MEAT R Regular egular or Old Fashioned $8.80 kg 8 59 8 59 LB. 2 49 2 49 LB. HEINEKEN, BECK?S or CORONA 12 x 330 ml bottles BOCCONCINI CHEESE $13.99 kg 12 99 12 99 EA. PERRIER CARBONATED NATURAL SPRING WATER 750 ml Natural, Lemon or Lime 3 99 3 99 EA. OASIS TOMATO JUICE 540 ml 99 ¢ 99 ¢ EA. CEDAR GRANULATED WHITE SUGAR 4 kg 2/ 1 00 3 99 3 99 LB. 5 89 5 89 LB. 6 35 6 35 LB. 6 99 6 99 LB. 2001 Sauvé W. (corner l?Acadie) 514-382-8606 The variety and the deals you will savour in your meals SUPER SPECIALS VALID: DECEMBER 28 29 30 31 2009 CLOSED JANUARY 1 ? OPEN AT NOON JANUARY 2 & JANUARY 3 4 5 2010 BAKERY UNIVERSAL GROCERY EA. CEDAR ARTICHOKE HEARTS 398 ml 1 CEDAR ASPARAGUS TIPS 34l ml cans 69 EA. 1 29 EA. 2 99 POST CEREAL ALPHA-BITS, HONE ...

6 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009 MONTREAL ISLAND ONLY The flu spreads easily. Get vaccinated. The influenza A(H1N1) vaccine is offered on a voluntary basis. It?s safe and it?s free. EVERYONE IS INVITED TO GET VACCINATED. Protect your loved ones. You should get vaccinated even if you are in good health. Go to a Centre de vaccination contre la grippe A(H1N1), which is open on December 30, and on January 5, 6, 7, and 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CSSS DE DORVAL-LACHINE-LASALLE ?? CLSC LaSalle ? 8550 Newman Boulevard ?? CLSC de Dorval-Lachine ? 1900 Notre-Dame Street CSSS DE L?OUEST-DE-L?ÎLE ?? École Spring Garden ? 175 Sonata Avenue CSSS CAVENDISH ?? Mail Cavendish ? 5800 Cavendish Boulevard CSSS DE BORDEAUX-CARTIERVILLE?SAINT-LA URENT ?? CLSC de Bordeaux-Cartierville ? 11822 Bois-de-Boulogne Avenue CSSS DE LA MONTAGNE ?? CLSC de Parc-Extension ? 7085 Hutchison Street ?? CLSC de Côte-des-Neiges ? 5700, Côte-des-Neiges Road CSSS DE SAINT-LÉONARD ET SAINT-MICHEL ?? CLSC de Saint-Mi ...

DARING TO CARE GENERATIONS Cont?d from page 2 it?s pretty consistently over a dollar. To me, that?s a big increase.? Food is going up in price, as well, including staple foods for families. ?The very basic things we need every day for snack and light lunch programs is the same type that families would be buying ? even middle class. And everywhere, it?s a little increased. But for the children?s nourishment ? green and red peppers, for example, it?s almost $2 apiece. It?s crazy! There was a stir fry at the cooking class of one of our schools, and I bought three green peppers for close to $5. But I was told there were actually six groups of two at each burner to cook, and she wanted one for each. It would cost $15 or $16. ?Milk went up a few percent. You think it?s not a lot, but when you buy milk and cheese like I do, and everything else, it affects every product.? Bercovici says he also worries about families that bought a home, with low interest rates. ?What happens when the rate goes ...

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DARING TO CARE Al-Ubaidi a force in NDG By Dan Delmar The Suburban Recently recognized by the YMCA for her community work in NDG, Halal Al- Ubaidi says helping those most in need is often fulfilling and sometimes a tireless, never-ending struggle. The Iraqi national has been living in Canada for 12 years and is a fixture at the NDG Community Council, where she is a coordinator. Before coming to Montreal, she spent seven years in Jordan after the first Gulf War devastated her home country. There, she helped set up a recycling program in the capital of Amman ? something relatively unheard of at the time ? and helped many Jordanians separate paper and plastic for the first time. ?It was very difficult,? Al-Ubaidi said, ?but I had lots of support from the environmental group (that employed her).? Without permanent residency status, she was forced to choose between living in Jordan and having to give up her Iraqi citizenship, or once again moving to a new country. She chose Canada, and adde ...

10 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009 EDITORIALS QUEBEC?S LARGEST ENGLISH WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1963 Daring to care, continued from cover elderly eking out lives on insufficient social security, to the newly poor middle classes who have lost a lifetime of savings in financial catastrophe, to the working poor who work longer for the same pay, to women and visible minorities so often the last hired and first fired, to the children who cannot fend for themselves, to the ill and infirm, to all those facing the groaning neglect of government bureaucracies that no longer work. This is ? sadly - the new Canadian mosaic. One-third of our urban households live below the federal poverty line of $34,000 for four down to $19,000 for one. One quarter of our working population is classified as working poor. Our seniors are our fastest growing part of our society, yet government pension plans cover less than one-third of minimum needs. Forty years ago they covered 50 percent. A pensioner, ...