The city has plans to borrow $40 million to start work on extending the blue line. A timeline in which work starts in winter 2021 to be completed in 2026 is also mentioned.
Updates from January, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
When somebody dies outside a hospital setting, a doctor has to confirm this officially for the death certificate, but soon Urgences-Santé paramedics* will be able to do this too. The reason given is that it’s kinder on families if they don’t have to wait for hours till an MD shows up; I can’t help wondering whether this change is also being made because it’s cheaper.
*Yes, I know they’re technically EMTs but the article says paramedics and everyone knows it means ambulance workers who are not medical doctors.
Chris
Is the implication that saving money where possible is bad? Though I don’t know the particulars of the tradeoffs in this case, that money could presumably be better used buying drugs, equipment, paying staff, etc.
Kate
Chris, I don’t know enough about the relative risks of having someone not an MD declare death. I suppose in most cases it’s incontrovertibly clear, but what about edge cases? I don’t want an EMT zipping me into a body bag before my time because it might save the system ten bucks.
Chris
I imagine the number of edges cases is vanishingly small. Medical literature probably has numbers. Doctors too sometimes err about someone being dead. Search for “Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez” for example. How many of the errors that EMTs might make wouldn’t also be made by MDs I wonder.
mb
Or here in a long version. Life and death are not as black and white as we’d think.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/05/what-does-it-mean-to-diedwgs
I redo my first aid / cpr certification every 3 years. The course is usually taught by retired EMT’s or current ones making a little extra cash (they don’t get paid as much as you might think). In the last course someone asked the instructor about confirmation of death stuff and he said that there are plenty of times when the EMT’s are quite sure but the official word must come from a Dr. in the ER. He mentioned that in those rare cases where someone is declared dead at the scene it’s usually because damage is so severe that there really really can’t be any doubt whatsoever.
Kate
I don’t recall if I’ve told the story about finding a dead guy, years ago. He had clearly died from natural causes but he seemed definitely dead to me. When I later told the story to a doctor friend, he was quite stern with me about laypeople not making the decision whether someone is dead. (911 sent an ambulance anyway, so the outcome was much the same.)
Blork
Am I the only one who wants to HEAR THAT WHOLE STORY?
jeather
I can’t imagine that calling 911 and saying “I found a corpse” or “There’s someone here, I’m not sure if they’re dead or not” would have significantly different results. I think your doctor friend was being obnoxious, emergency services should (and did) know not to trust a random bystander’s “this person looks dead to me!” as proof positive.
Kate
Blork: the story. It was 1992, so no cell phones. I was out for a walk with my friend S., with whom I had recently finished making a video short with the implicit theme of death, some of which had been shot around Mount Royal and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemeteries.
It was the day after Halloween, so a Sunday that year, All Saints Day in the Catholic calendar. The following day is All Souls, when the devout pray for all their dead relatives. So when S. and I went for a walk in N-D-des-Neiges on a mellow autumn afternoon, a fair number of people were around, visiting family graves and so on.
We were off the path and walking down through some headstones when S. says to me, “That’s odd, look over there, there’s a man lying on the ground.” We went to look. An older man was lying faceplanted in the turf. There were a few gardening tools around him, and we could see a car, presumably his, parked on one of the cemetery roads nearby. He had fallen down behind a row of headstones so he wasn’t visible to passersby on the road.
There was no sign of any violence. Presumably this man had come up to tidy the family grave before winter and had quietly collapsed. He couldn’t have been there long, as cemetery security would have noticed had his car been there overnight.
An ant walked up next to the man’s ear and something about that and the total faceplant was definitive. Guy was dead. But there were a lot of frail-looking old people around and we didn’t want to scare anybody, so we ran like hell, first for the central office and chapel – all locked up – and then the gates on Côte-des-Neiges, where a caretaker family lived. They called 911.
An ambulance came and S. rode up with them. I followed on foot. It was S. who had to see the man turned over, which she found upsetting.
I can put a specific year on the story because afterwards we decided to see a movie that we hoped might turn us around a bit. It was Waterland, a Jeremy Irons movie – in which there was a scene where a dead guy is dragged out of a canal. That wasn’t the first time I’d encountered that phenomenon (you see a movie or read a story hoping to take the taste of an incident out of your head, but instead it amplifies it) but it was a memorable one.
I never found out what the dead man’s name was and I don’t remember the number or location of his family grave.
Blork
Wow, what a story. Made all the more fascinating by the timing. When I hear stories like this (and hear about ornithologists named “Bird” or geologists named “de la Roche,” etc.) it makes me wonder if this world is real or if we’re all just characters in a crazy novel, or worse; stooges in some galactic psychology study.
This reminds me of a small story from my own wee existence; nothing as serious as a random dead guy. It’s just this: when I was a kid I had never seen a rat, dead or alive, domestic or wild. Then when I was 12 I went to see “Willard,” a weird movie about a misfit who befriends an army of rats. Complications ensue. We saw the movie on a Saturday afternoon, and afterwards, back in my friend’s back yard WE FOUND A DEAD RAT!
OK, it’s nothing, but if you’ve never seen a rat before, how spooky is it to see your first one an hour after watching “Willard?” (Especially when you’re 12.)
(Yeah dead guy between Halloween and All Souls is better…)
TC
Three times, I have been present when someone I loved died. They are there, and then, just not. Very abrupt, done, truly departed from this world. The most recent, an aunt in Florida. We alerted the on duty nurse, who came into her room in the assisted living facility where she lived. She confirmed her death and helped us with the arrangements. My mother and father passed in hospital settings, if medical staff confirmed the death, I wasn’t there. There are signatures on the death certificates.
dwgs
Wasn’t there a Vonnegut novel where it turns out that the protagonist was the only ‘real’ person in the world and the rest of the planet was an experiment devised by aliens to test his reactions?
Blork
@dwgs, are you thinking of “The Sirens of Titan?” The gist of that one is that humans were created by aliens so they could evolve enough to be industrious in order to build a spare part for their space ship. Not unlike humans raising bacterial cultures in order to bake bread or make yogurt.
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Kate
Documents left by Jean Drapeau at his death, and archived by the city, will be opened this fall so historians can dig into whatever it was made that strange little man tick.
Update: Wednesday, Le Devoir looks at the temporary move of the vast city archive to that blocky shmatte building on St-Denis at Rosemont, opposite the metro station, for a three-year exile while city hall is renovated.
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Kate
It just occurred to me that our next statutory holiday in Quebec is April 19 – Good Friday. Easter bounces around the calendar and is late this year.
That’s an awfully long haul from New Year’s till mid-April without a long weekend. Isn’t it time Quebec offered us a regular stat holiday in February or early March?
carswell
“Isn’t it time Quebec offered us one in February or early March?”
Yes. Actually, I favour a major rejiggering of the statutory holidays to ensure there’s at least one per month. The stretch from Canada Day to Labour Day is also unconscionably long, especially for those of us who can’t always take a vacation in the summer.
Federal and provincial voting days should also be statutory holidays and held on Wednesday, to minimize the temptation to skip voting and take a three- or four-day weekend. Alternatively, they could be holidays but only for people who can prove they voted.
Michael Black
Some think tank or something pointed this out in the seventies, which is why a lot of provinces have a holiday in February, unique since it exists as a holiday, not to mark some event.
So February 18th is Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, not a lot of expectation, but it gets his name in view. Everything else is tied to an event, an expectation that you celebrate the Queen’s birthday or remember the fallen, even if that isn’t reality.
Quebec and Newfoundland are the real exceptions.
And at least some of the provinces have a day off in early August, though maybe not as many. Unless Canads decided there should be a holiday, it’s up to each province. And for sone reason, Quebec isn’t interested.
There is talk of a new “holiday” but that’s for remembering the victims of residential schools. It’s supposed to be educational, not a free day to do as you wish. Which means some wonder if it should be a day off. If kids go to school, they might learn something.
Michael
Joey
Swap January 2nd for Feb 15, like they do in the rest of Canada
Vazken
What I’ve never liked is that June 24th and July 1st are so close together in Quebec. I also agree with having 1 stat holiday per month. Maybe skip January but every month should have at least one.
Tim
I wouldn’t want to skip a January holiday as that would mean having to work on New Years Day if January 1 fell on a weekday. January 2 is not a stat holiday.
If I could wave a magic wand, I would make Remembrance Day a federal holiday (currently observed in all provinces except for Quebec and Ontario) and make Canada Day fall on the first Monday of July (to guarantee a long weekend).
Given that we don’t have an August holiday in Quebec, the only guaranteed long weekend of the summer is Labor Day. I feel ripped off when when St. Jean and Canada (which are always 7 days apart) fall on Tuesday – Thursday.
dhomas
@Joey: January 2nd is not a holiday in Quebec, though.
Tim F
@dhomas: many banks, government offices, large companies, and the garment industry are traditionally closed in Quebec on January 2.
dhomas
@Tim F: I understand that many companies are traditionally closed on January 2nd, but it is only a required day off for the garment industry: https://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/leaves-and-absences/statutory-holidays/index.html.
So, my point was that it is not a day that can be “traded” for a day of in February.
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Kate
A kitschy video produced by Tourisme Montréal isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – including the mayor’s.
Ginger Baker
Sweet Gypsy Moses that’s incredible.
This is why people shouldn’t just blindly encourage one another… sometimes being told ‘you suck’ is a great motivator to unsuck at things.
Mark Côté
Haha I kinda like it. Song’s going to be stuck in my head for a while.
It is a bit odd that “Montreal” isn’t actually in the song… but if it’s aimed at Quebecois then I guess it’s not necessary.
Paul
I love it
carswell
Kétaine au boutte, which probably means it will play well in the regions it’s aimed at (you know, CAQ country).
Were I a tourist thinking of visiting the cityh, however, it would likely convince me to give Montreal a pass. And were I one of the many business forced to fund TM, I’d be outraged at having contributed to creating such a mindless embarrassment..
Good to know that the wannabe Céline (mutatis mutandis) is Mathieu Samson. Now I can avoid avoid him in the future.
Corporate types trying so hard to be hip and cool and yet again failing so badly. TM did even sleazier stuff a few years ago when several of their “bloggers” made repeated attempts to post messages on local food sites like Chowhound directing readers to TM’s restaurant “review” site without acknowledging they were paid TM shills. I said it back then and I’ll say it again: À bas le Tourisme Montréal !
Joey
Why is Québec au féminin? Isn’t it *le* Québec?
carswell
Because it’s la belle province?
Hamza
TM is so terrible it makes me wonder if it actually turns people away from visiting. Their webpage still has a splash page – in 2019. The main picture appears to be of the Jacques-Cartier (cuz who doesn’t want to stand on a bridge in winter). There’s no focus, just a ton of random ‘moments’ and things to do. Nothing is personalised, like say an article that sits down with an owner of a restaurant who talks about why they love the city. It’s generic, over-complicated, impractical, impersonal, and forgettable – in other words, the total opposite of the city itself.
Those occasional 36 Hours in Montreal articles the NYtimes puts out are so much better. Anyone know what their multi-million dollar budget is?
Joey
@carswell I just assumed it was because the songwriter decided the song would be told from a male POV and therefore the object of his affection (Quebec, for some reason, in a video promoting Montreal) had to conform to heteronormative expectations and what not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ephraim
Hamza… Tourisme Montreal isn’t government at all. Not the city, not the province, not the country. It’s owned and run by the BoToMM… the same people who ran BIXI into the ground and give the city 30c on the dollar on the parking meters. Most of the tourism related businesses aren’t even members nor have a voice. Heck, they want to charge for delivery of maps and booklets for tourists unless you pay them an annual fee. They are AWFUL and collect 3.5% on every vacation rental in Montreal. The city should just stop and set theirs own up. Look up the 750K they paid in a golden parachute for the guy who left after a few months. It’s awful.
ant6n
So, who’s the video targeting? Quebecers who don’t live in Montreal and who have to be told to come? French French people? Who else?
Uatu
I guess they want it to be viral, but it’s trying too hard.
mare
@Ephraim They even collect 3.5% on every Airbnb rental.
Hamza
“Tourisme Montréal receives funding from three levels of government, but is a privately run enterprise with its own board of directors”
From their website
SMD
The city repatriated Stationnement Montréal last fall.
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Kate
The man whose pitbull killed a woman two summers ago has been arrested for road rage.
Ginger Baker
No surprises there eh?
Kate
I was mildly reprimanded on Twitter for the word “pitbull” since, I was told, we have no direct confirmation that animal was a pitbull.
Look, I know a pitbull when I see one, just like I know a pigeon or a tabby cat. If my tabby cat kills a pigeon and I say so, I don’t have to present genetic evidence. If La Presse says pitbull, I’m satisfied with that.
Blork
Not to mention his recent weapons charges. And the pitbull’s name was “Lucifer.”
In the old days, in some places, they dealt with people like that with “banishment.” I say we bring back banishment.
Mark Côté
There was a DNA test done, according to the Gazette (https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/coroners-report-dog-that-killed-christiane-vadnais-was-so-aggressive-it-was-muzzled-at-home). Such tests aren’t perfect (breeds are not species), but the results indicated that the dog was mostly American Staffordshire Terrier, which is a “pit-bull-type breed”. So I think it is fair to call it a pit bull (generally there is a space between the words) by the definition of the term as it is present in various breed-specific legislation (like Ontario’s).
I don’t understand what you mean exactly when you say you “know one when you see one” though… I guess you mean that the breed isn’t actually important, that this is just a visual classification of a dog’s characteristics (e.g. a boxer/American bull dog mix probably looks pretty pit-bullish to some people)? I guess that’s fair, but I’m not sure what the objective is there. Just that that kind of dog can do a lot of damage? I’d agree with that, but there are a bunch of dog types that are just as potentially dangerous (rottweilers, huskies, malamutes, german shepherds, etc.). Following that logic, the only type of BSL that is at least logically consistent is something like what Denmark has, where they have effectively banned any kind of muscular dog via a very extensive breed list.
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Kate
Snow removal is done by the boroughs, but ice is tackled by the city, which is having chronic problems. As anyone with even a small walk or steps knows, timing is everything with ice: if it’s going to be above zero for a couple of hours, that’s when you deal with it, not after the temperature settles down to –10° for a few days and creates a bumpy rink for you to get past every day.
Valérie Plante is right in that climate change will be giving us more ice than snow and we have to learn to deal with it. Maybe the city should put up a tasty prize for engineering students for the creation of a new technology for this purpose. Heat beams, I’m telling you.
Note the Gazette’s bitchy little Plante wants answers (again) headline. That the technology doesn’t exist for dealing with it in most usual conditions is irrelevant to them: Plante should just snap her fingers, should she?
Steve Q
Heated sidewalk would have been a good start. Not on all street, of course, but Ste-Catherine, S-Denis, St-Laurent and other streets with high pedestrian traffic. She should have at least tried it
Kate
Well… they did try having heated steps at Place Vauquelin and it didn’t work. I’m not convinced that technology is ready for the kind of workout it would get on busy pedestrian streets.
Tim F
In a fever dream a few years ago I imagined a system where hot air was pumped from the metro through tubes in the concrete of sidewalk, melting snow and ice while cooling the metro air. A kinda geothermal thing.
Say, do we have any engineering students who read this blog? You’re welcome to the idea!
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Kate
Quebec saw over 30,000 new jobs created in 2018 and most of them were in Montreal. There’s a damn good reason for anyone not to move out to the regions.
Steve Q 01:09 on 2019-01-09 Permalink
It’s unfortunate we need to wait so long for the beginning of the work.