Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec

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Dollard-des-Ormeaux within the Island of Montreal.

Dollard-des-Ormeaux (also spelled Dollard-Des Ormeaux; often referred to as D.D.O. or simply Dollard) is a town on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. Population (2001): 48,206

The town was named after French martyr Adam Dollard des Ormeaux.

Along with the other municipalities on the island, it became merged with the city of Montreal on January 1, 2002 as part of the Dollard-Des Ormeaux–Roxboro borough. Referendums were held on June 20, 2004 in several former municipalities within Montreal on whether to reinstate them as their own separate entities. Dollard-des-Ormeaux was re-instated as a city on January 1, 2006.

67% of the population of Dollard-des-Ormeaux uses English at home, 12% use other languages and only 21% use French at home. The town has a substantial and rapidly-growing Jewish community.

1 History
2 Public security
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Dollard-des-Ormeaux was originally a bedroom community in the early 1960s. One of its original main axes, Anselme-Lavigne Street in the Westpark district, is named for a farmer who sold his land to the Belcourt Construction company. Many of the streets in the Sunnydale district, including "Sunshine" and "Hyman", are named for members in the Zunenshine family, who owned Belcourt.

During Canada's centennial anniversary in 1967, the town decided to create a "Centennial Park", featuring a man-made lake and hills. However the project ran into problems and became a local scandal and a major drain on resources. It was finally completed in the 1970s, overdue and over-budget.

Prior to the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, Dollard-des-Ormeaux became the only municipality in the province to pass a motion declaring that it would join the province of Ontario in the event of a "yes" vote.

[edit] Public security

Founded in 1980, a preventive patrol service was initially created to enhance public safety in the city and to enforce parking violations after the merger of police departments on the island of Montreal. Since then, its role and tasks increased and evolved. Now the service is responsible for multiple by-law enforcement, crime prevention, emergency measures, and community relations.

The main goal of the service is quality of life for the residents by active partnerships with the police and other municipal services. The service has always looked for innovative means to perform its duties effectively, such as recently deploying the first fully-functional hybrid patrol vehicle in Montreal.