Yvan Grandmaison was at the courthouse Wednesday afternoon and is facing charges for impaired driving causing death.

The 40-year-old Pierrefonds man was allegedly driving under the influence of drugs on Tuesday evening.

He struck and killed a woman in her seventies, and left her husband in critical condition.

Tuesday, the couple was taking a late-night walk on Ceres St. near Andreas St. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux when they were struck.

Crown Prosecutor Dennis Galiasatos asked the courts to keep Grandmaison detained.

In 2004, Grandmaison was convicted of impaired driving after refusing to take a breathalyser test.

"The accused has been convicted of an offence of a similar nature," Galiasatos explained. "This is part of why we are objecting to his release."

Grandmaison is also facing a second charge of impaired driving causing injury.

He is expected to appear before the courts for his bail hearing on Thursday morning.

The Rockland MD private clinic illegally billed patients for so-called healthcare packages costing as much as $17,000, and must now reimburse them.

That's according to Quebec's Health Insurance Board which released its report into the clinic.

The board already reimburses fees billed by the clinic, such as follow up services by a nurse, post-op care by telephone, and emergency phone service.

But the clinic says in a statement,  it wasn't illegal and patients agreed to pay the fees. It also says it may turn to the courts to address the issue.

Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc says it's just a few patients who go to such private clinics and that most of the surgeries performed every year in the public healthcare sector are done within six months.

"It means we have very good services except if a patient decides to go to a private (clinic), we have to be sure that we respect their rights," Bolduc ...

We told you yesterday about an incident involving the beating of a minor league hockey referee, allegedly by some teenaged players on a Midget-level hockey team in the Montreal area.

Now, another story about some unsavoury incidents during and following a recent minor league game, this one involving Pee-Wee hockey teams in Beaconsfield, where a coach is calling on hockey parents everywhere to mind their manners.

It started with a hockey day calling us to complain of parents taunting the 12 and 13 year old players of an opposing team following a seemingly-tense Pee-Wee hockey game at Beaconsfield arena last weekend.

There reportedly was also an exchange of vulgar gestures.  An ugly scene, says the hockey dad, who now worries about putting his own son back on the ice.

Dollard pee wee coach Brett Lasage, whose players were the ones being booed, agrees it wasn't a pretty scene, and says hockey ...

A convicted child molester who has been on the run from U.S. authorities for a decade, and was featured on the TV show
``America's Most Wanted,'' has been captured in Canada.
   

 Steven Dyer is wanted in Arizona after failing to show up for a court appearance. He was convicted in 2002 on 13 counts of child molestation and faces a minimum term of 169 years behind bars.
   

 According to the Canada Border Services Agency, Dyer assumed the identity of a Canadian citizen and was living in Vancouver.  Border-services agents say they learned he was outside the country and they nabbed him as he passed through Montreal's Trudeau airport, as he was returning from Venezuela on Tuesday night.
   

Dyer now faces extradition proceedings in Canada. Authorities said there was some discussion Wednesday about whether Dyer should be charged with illegal entry into Canada, or whether he should be ...

The Charest government has introduced a bill that will establish the use photo radar in the province.

About a dozen devices have already been set up across the province as part of a pilot project.

The bill says that signs or signals will have to warn drivers about machines in the area.

However, it says, if a sign isn't there, that can't be used as a reason to dismiss a fine or infraction.

Bill also says the devices will not be used against ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars.

The new law also says that all the proceeds will have to go to a fund to improve road safety and help victims.

A pilot project is expected to be announced that will double the number of devices in Quebec, but will not expand the program in Montreal.

Honda is recalling 2,790 Honda Odyssey vans in Canada as part of a larger recall because the rear doors can fall on people unexpectedly  and have on at least two occasions in the U.S.


The problem affects minivans from the 2008 and 2009 model years that have power lift gates.

The carmaker is recalling nearly 46,000 Odyssey minivans in the United States.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that gas can leak out of the struts that support the lift gates and the doors could close unexpectedly, increasing the risk of injury.

Honda says the problem has caused two minor injuries and that the company will replace both power liftgate struts for free.     The company says it will send letters to van owners next month with instructions about the recall.

If you picked up some ham at the store earlier this month, it is time to check the package because there is a recall. 

Tour Eiffel is recalling all packages of its Parisian Cooked Ham sold between February 10 and 21.  The product was sold both in grocery stores, including IGA and Metro, and some delis.  

The manufacturer is worried about possible contamination by bacteria or parasites.  No illnesses have been linked to consumption of the ham. 

For more information about the recall, call Charcuterie La Tour Eiffel at 1-888-530-4333.

Bombardier Aerospace is not alone in benefiting from a special arrangement with the language watchdog.  La Presse reports this morning that sixty big companies have similar deals to bypass the French-in-the-workplace provisions of the language law. 

The biggest group is in the pharmaceutical industry - seven drug companies have special arrangements, including Novartis, Pfizer and Astra-Zenica. 

Among the firms in other industries: Bell Helicopter Textron, General Dynamics, Avon Canada and Bauer Hockey.

Landlords have a new tool to weed out the good tenants from the bad.

And tenants' rights groups are none too pleased.

The Quebec Corporation of Property Owners (CORPIQ)launched its tenant investigation service and in less than a week, 400 landlords signed up for instant access to information about prospective tenants: credit records, job references, criminal histories, available via phone, iPad or computer.

Kevin Lebeau of the Quebec Landlords Association (APQ) says they've had a similar pre-rent screening service since May 2010 and fully support this new one.

"It hasn't been something that's given rise to problems just because we're very, very thorough on obtaining the consent of the tenant. If there's no consent, nothing proceeds," Lebeau tells CJAD News.

The rental board dealt with over 45-thousand cases of non-payment of rent last year.

Lebeau says such services are justified.

"The landlord has the obligation to procure peaceful ...

A 73 year old woman from Dollard des Ormeaux is dead after she and her husband were struck by a car near the intersection of Andras and Ceres in the Sunnybrooke district.

It happened at around eight o'clock Tuesday evening as the couple was walking along Ceres Street.

Her 72 year old husband is in critical condition in hospital.

The driver was arrested at the scene.

He passed a breathalyser but failed a drug test and will face charges at the Montreal courthouse today.