During the last election campaign I pledged to create the city’s first ever Dog Owners Committee.
A first meeting was convened in January, calling upon all interested parties and we have had three more since. I am pleased to see that a committed group of dog owners are coming together and significant progress on a number of fronts is already occurring. For one thing, each meeting provides an excellent forum of ideas – many of which have never been explored before.
A new Dogs bylaw is expected to be introduced at the May 14 council meeting. It was drafted by our Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson, a dog owner. A new Facebook page called CSL Central Bark (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cslcentralbark) was recently launched and numbers are already climbing so spread the word.
Two other members of council who own dogs, Oren Sebag and Mitch Kujavsky, are members of the committee.
Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jonathan Goldman as interim chair of the committee. We hope to follow this up in due time with an interim executive.
Jonathan has been a resident of Côte Saint-Luc for over 35 years. He has always been involved directly or behind the scenes with the city, working for four years for Parks and Recreation at the Tennis Courts (Rembrandt, Wagar) in his youth, as well as a fill-in driver. He was employed in our Public Works Department as a seasonal student worker for three years as well.
After graduating from Concordia University with a Bachelors Degree in Commerce – International Business, he travelled the world for a year, moving from country to country through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia eventually returning to Montreal a year later briefly before moving to Israel and working in the high technology sector for two and half years.
As a Côte Saint-Luc entrepreneur, Jonathan manages two business ventures: a consulting firm known as ICECAP Solutions, which offers e-commerce solutions for small and medium business providing website, graphical, technical, and brand & marketing consulting; and PGG Group Inc., a conglomerate of company brands which sell merchandise on the internet with the primary brand being Gem & Harmony, a growing online jewelry retailer.
Jonathan is supported by his loving wife Sivan Rehan, and his two children Eric and Arielle who with dog Rocket comprise the Goldman Clan. Most of his extended family still live in Côte Saint-Luc, including his parents on Wentworth, where he grew up and his sister Joy Goldman and her family.
Rocket is a five year old male Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (SWISSY), a handsome and majestic breed with a very positive attitude. Rocket is well known at the Mackle Road Dog Run for his size, and demeanor. In the neighbourhood his unique look and overfriendliness makes him instantly recognizable to many in the area.
I would like to thank Jonathan for stepping up in this leadership role and welcome anyone interested in joining our committee to send an email to mcohen@cotesaintluc.org and to please join the Facebook page.
