Montreal Metblogs » mont_vila

Open letter to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission

mont_vila — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:33:06 +0000

As a response to the anti-immigrant sentiments expressed at the “reasonable accommodation” hearings, Université de Montréal doctoral student Caroline Allard has written an open letter which she invites “Québécois de souche” to sign. An excerpt from the English translation:

We are preoccupied with the fact some testimony before the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, testimony that is intolerant and harsh toward cultural minorities, could be interpreted as reflecting the opinion of a majority of so-called old-stock francophones. We think, rather, that this testimony, which caricatures the practices of other cultures, reveals a profound ignorance of the reality of people from different cultural communities. What’s more, this ignorance feeds a close-mindedness about the connections that it is possible to make among Quebecers, old and new. We want to make clear our openness to cultural communities and to dissociate ourselves clearly from some of what has been said before the commission. Just because some things were said in public does not, we insist, mean they represent the state of mind of the majority of “old-stock” Quebecers.

The letter currently has 3076 signatures and will be formally presented to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission in several weeks time. The original French text is available at contrelintolerance.blogspot.com; an English translation was published in Friday’s Montreal Gazette and can be found here. To add your signature to the letter, click here.

Make Poverty History

mont_vila — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:18:04 +0000

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

–Nelson Mandela

Today is the United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is being marked by a global day of action sponsored by a coalition of anti-poverty groups working under the name Make Poverty History. The coalition is calling on Canadians to “STAND UP and SPEAK OUT” at events being held across the country, the purpose of which is to demand trade justice, increased international aid, debt cancellation for poor countries, and an end to child poverty in Canada.

Click here for a list of events happening in and around Montreal, and here to endorse the campaign.

Sage advice

mont_vila — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:50:37 +0000

From yesterday’s Montreal Gazette:

If the city says it is coming to your street to beautify it – you know what to do. Organize your neighbours in an all-night vigil, armed with shotguns. Hire security forces, then set up a street blockade to keep the city out. It is not coming to help you – it is coming to bury you.

When pigs fly; or, A by-election update

mont_vila — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:53:51 +0000

Approximately once per century, the federal Liberal bastion of Outremont falls to another political party. In the twentieth century it was the Progressive Conservative Party, which broke a 71-year Liberal winning streak when they scooped the seat in 1988. In the twenty-first century, the victors are the New Democratic Party, which won the riding by an impressively wide margin last night. Of course, the NDP candidate was himself a Quebec Liberal not too long ago, which actually makes him something akin to an old-school Conservative, but that would be splitting hairs, wouldn’t it? In any case, enjoy the intermission while you can.

Downtown shutdown continues

mont_vila — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:16:31 +0000

At a press conference held earlier today, city officials confirmed that an area affected by cracks in the underground tunnel leading to the McGill metro station will remain closed until further notice. According to the STM, the Green line will be shut down between Berri-UQAM and Lionel-Groulx stations, although Atwater station will apparently re-open on Monday. In the interim, commuters are strongly encouraged to use the nearby Orange line; also, shuttle buses will continue to run eastbound along Sainte-Catherine, and westbound along Réné-Lévesque.

For detailed information about street closures, consult the Ville de Montréal website. For metro service updates, check the STM main page.

UPDATE: At 9:30 PM tonight, Mayor Tremblay announced that full metro service has been restored and that all but one block of de Maisonneuve will be open to vehicular traffic tomorrow. Complete report here.

Things fall apart

mont_vila — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:20:53 +0000

From today’s Montreal Gazette:

Engineers, firefighters and city officials were at a loss today to explain how a seven-metre-long fissure opened in the city’s underground.

Call me cynical, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that the city cares more about beautification projects, cleanliness campaigns, and jaywalking crackdowns than its goddamn infrastructure. Morons…

Spectrum de Montréal, 1982-2007

mont_vila — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 03:09:27 +0000

A final farewell to the Spectrum, which, despite an enthusiastic petition, will close its doors tonight to make way for an office tower and big-box electronics retailer. Years from now, a new generation of Montrealers will fondly recall evenings spent shopping for iPods and memory cards under the magical glare of fluorescent lights, in a space that will surely have contributed as much to the cultural life of their city as the Spectrum ever did. In the meantime, the Gazette has published this obituary for the concert hall, which features a bunch of old geezers waxing nostalgic about something called “live music.” Luckily, progress will march on without them.

Oh, for crying out loud; or, Petition to save the Main Hall

mont_vila — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 07:23:36 +0000

In a typical case of threat-by-bureaucracy, the proprietors of the Mile End Cultural Centre have been forced to cancel all ticketed events at the Main Hall for the rest of the summer because the “salle de réunion” permit the venue has held for the last sixteen years apparently does not allow for “spectacles.”

Yeah, that’s right.

According to their press release, the impetus for the sudden turnaround by the city is a noise complaint from one of the MECC’s neighbours, which may now jeopardise their application for a proper “salle de spectacles” permit. Because you know, if you’re looking for a nice, quiet residential street to live on, then Boulevard St-Laurent is just the place for you.

This isn’t the first time that noise issues have threatened cultural establishments in the north Plateau. Back in 2000, a proposal to turn the old Rialto Theatre into a nightclub was quashed at the last minute because of noise concerns. Meanwhile, in 2006, the borough very nearly evicted the Montreal Fringe Festival because of complaints about noise emanating from its beer tent in Parc des Amériques.

Coincidence? Probably not, as the borough has listed the reduction of street noise as one of the main priorities of its 2007 Budget participatif, which began public consultations in June and is scheduled for final approval in the fall.

Determined to buck the trend, the folks at the MECC have started a petition in support of their application, which you can sign here. For the full scoop, check out the organization’s website or, if you’re feeling networky, you can join their Facebook group. Tell ‘em I sent you.

Summer Fringing

mont_vila — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 05:46:02 +0000

It is summer in Montreal, which means long evenings spent on terrasses, an endless succession of street fairs, and the 17th annual Fringe Festival, which runs until Sunday. For less than the price of a movie ticket, you can take in one of 99 different shows at 21 venues, all of which are conveniently listed here.

Yes, but how do you decide which shows to see? Well, you can check out the reviews on the festival’s Net Buzz page, on Midnight Poutine, and on Indyish. Or, if you’re pressed for time and looking for a hot Fringe tip, you can head straight to the exquisitely written absurdist comedy The Works at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Seriously, go now.

Breaking news: Tentative deal reached in transit strike

mont_vila — Fri, 25 May 2007 23:19:51 +0000

According to local media reports, an agreement in principle has been reached between the STM and the Syndicat du transport de Montréal. Both sides must still ratify the agreement, which would end the four-day old transit strike.

In other news, a protest called yesterday to denounce the striking STM workers drew exactly three people: the organizer and two of his friends. Maybe if they had offered to provide transportation…?

UPDATE: The agreement has been ratified. According to the STM, bus and metro service is being gradually resumed and will return to full service by Saturday morning. Negotiations between the STM and the union will continue with conciliator Jean-Pierre Gosselin.