The man who runs Formula E says it may return to Montreal.
Updates from June, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
With the CAQ invoking closure this weekend to force through Bills 9 and 21, I find I’m unable to stay away from the whole thing. Read Lysiane Gagnon pointing out that Quebec is not France and need not slavishly follow the lead of the Republic in matters of laïcité. She refers to a Le Devoir op-ed by Louis Balthasar, an emeritus professor of politics at Laval, who also draws a strong distinction between Quebec’s (till now) gradual and civilized withdrawal from institutional religion, vs. the religious wars and strife we’ve seen elsewhere.
I heard Simon Jolin-Barrette on the radio saying it was vitally important to pass Bill 21 to deal with issues in Quebec, and I wondered again, why? What issues? We are not remotely under threat from religious hegemony here yet the shadow of the Grand noirceur still hangs over us.
Martin Patriquin also has a good piece on Quebec’s double standard on women. More amusing was how much this piece made Benoît Dutrizac foam at the mouth.
Update: Also adding the detail from this CTV piece now that Bill 9 is passed; it “scraps immigration applications from 18,000 skilled workers and refunds their fees, forcing them to start over in a new process.” François Legault underlined that he’s only doing what the people want and there is no compromise possible.
The CAQ may take it further this fall, apparently mulling a law limiting how an individual’s religious conscience can allow them to choose. This is specifically based on the 2016 case of Éloïse Dupuis, a young woman who insisted she be allowed to die rather than accept blood transfusion after a difficult birth, based on Jehovah’s Witness principles. She died. Till now, courts have sometimes taken minor children away from parents temporarily to give them medical treatment that the parents rejected, but I don’t know of anywhere that competent adults can have their wishes, however stupidly founded, actively contravened.
Faiz Imam
I’d also want to shout out Nora Loreto’s article in Washington post:
A good basic breakdown for a wider audience. Its really unfortunate how she was blackballed by most of mainstream Canadian media, but its awesome that she writes for Wapo because we invariably pay more attention when it seems like Americans are talking about us.
Brett
Wait, didn’t Lysiane Gagnon retire ages ago?
Kate
Gagnon’s Wikipedia page doesn’t say so, Brett. Are you mixing her up with Michèle Ouimet, who retired last year?
Brett
No, not at all.. All right, random story time. SO a couple of years back I was playing incidental music for a private event in a lady’s backyard in the centre sud and I was told that it was a gathering of retired employees of La Presse. And one of the people I recognised was Lysiane Gagnon, so I just assumed that her age and the crew that she was with meant that she retired. I also had the chance to chat with Claude Gingras about Classical Music. Anyway! And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Jack
Benoit Dutrizac is another Quebecor spout who exemplifies everything that PKP has spawned in Quebecs Franco echo chamber. Martin Patriquin critique of Bill 21 was spot on, as was Lysiane Gagnons, the difference is that Gagnon is “veille souche”…. Patriquin is not. Here is Benoits reaction…
“Le roi du Québec bashing et un chroniqueur dans les médias anglophones pour nous vomir dessus. évidemment, nez-brun de radio-canada et valet du montreal gazette. Et on dit qu’on n’est pas tolérant…”
PKP has so many people on his payroll that amplify his own mercantile and racial angst its pitiful and sadly frightening.
The reason the National Assembly is sitting today, suspending both Charters and telling people what they can or can not wear is directly related to the fear mongering and racial animus that Quebecor creates daily.
They are dangerous.Uatu
I’m hoping that this mindset leaves with the old generation and that the newer generation realizes that constantly living in fear and loathing becomes tiresome and passé. IMHO that’s why I think bill 21 won’t last for long.
Meezly
Quebec has been progressive in many ways, but about 20 years behind in others. I usually don’t like using these terms, but this is a stellar example of white feminism.
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Kate
A young man was shot in the leg overnight in the Point, supposedly a drug deal gone wrong. No arrests.
Ian
Same general stretch as the other recent non-fatal shooting in the Point. That’s a warning shooting, when they mean to kill each other they aim higher.
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Kate
La Presse spotted a good story this week: Tetra-Pak, a multinational manufacturer of single-use drink containers, has offered to subsidize an employee at the CSDM, while claiming this person would not be there to lobby for their firm, but rather to work on recycling issues. The CSDM ain’t talking to the media, but they’ve been talking to Tetra-Pak for two months.
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Kate
Police unions have gone to Superior Court to demand the right to stay silent under questioning, “like other citizens” – handwaving the obvious fact that their role means they are not like other citizens, and are subject to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes.
Ephraim
They are officers of the court, unless it’s about something done on their own time… they are paid and we have a right to know EVERYTHING. Could you imagine you are working at a job and the come in and ask you a question asking if you have done such and such and you look at them and reply “I invoke my right to remain silent”. Now… could how many seconds before you are fired on the spot.
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Kate
Other cartoonists as well as his targeted politicians salute Garnotte, and Le Devoir ponders the future of editorial cartooning in a world where the New York Times has abandoned them as too risky.
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Kate
Robert Gosselin, who explicitly threatened to kill an entire school of Jewish girls, has been found not criminally responsible due to mental illness, and has had a lot of conditions imposed on him. Sunday, the Gazette reports that community spokespeople say they are relieved at this ruling.
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Kate
A young woman who openly breastfed her baby in municipal court was asked by the judge to leave, and she’s gone to the media. Global says delicately that Julius Grey “isn’t convinced the judge was completely in the wrong.”
John B
The reporting is very unclear on this. Both stories say a court clerk asked a bailiff and/or guard to ask her to leave, and don’t mention a judge being involved at all, so why is Julius Grey commenting on a judge’s powers?
Also from the global piece, both of these quotes: “there was never an attempt or intention to remove the woman from the courtroom.” (in the statement from the city), and the next paragraph “The statement mentions that she was even offered a cubicle” Are there cubicles in the courtroom? Are they asking her to nurse in the prisoner’s dock? And from a photo caption in the CBC piece: “she was told she would have to step outside the courthouse to breastfeed her child.” So, what was she asked to do, cover up, nurse in a box, nurse in the hallway, or nurse outside?
Kate
A clerk may well have received a quiet request from the judge, or may have already known the judge’s feelings in the matter. Ultimately it’s up to the judge to decide what decorum means in his or her own courtroom.
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Kate
The east-end bike ferry is back this summer, linking the eastern tip of Montreal to both Repentigny and Varennes. This is in addition to the ferry that links RDP-PAT to the Old Port, which is resuming again Sunday and will run till September 28.
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Kate
Quebecor promised a million bucks for the city’s 375th celebrations in 2017, but has reneged on handing over the last third of it, claiming it didn’t get enough bang for the buck.
Ephraim
The city should do the same on it’s contract with the STM.
Kate
Why?
Ephraim
Well, if Quebecor can renege on a contract, why shouldn’t the STM and the city of Montreal? Either you are a trustworthy partner, or you aren’t. If you aren’t, then the city doesn’t have to abide by it’s contract to let you distribute 24 Heures in the metro, for example.
Kate
Oh, I misread you, Ephraim. But 24H hasn’t been distributed in the metro for awhile. It’s handed to people outside the stations. It’s Metro that’s distributed inside.
24H did have the contract for awhile, but Metro was distributed inside the stations for periods before and after the 24H contract.
Ephraim
Kate… doesn’t matter what realm, be it Quebecor, Videotron, etc. Until that money is turned over, the city should remove Quebecor from all contracts, all bids, everything. If you can’t keep your word… you can’t sign a contract with the city.
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Kate
A developer who owns a key piece of the planned West Island park intends to block its creation by building 5,000 homes.
qatzelok
“How Laval was ruined” – Rentier Class Speculation books
Kate
A lot of the land out there counts as wetlands. If it’s paved over, that will increase the likelihood of flooding. But a developer with an eye on the fast buck isn’t going to give a damn about that.
Ephraim
Article doesn’t say about the zoning of the land. Does he actually have zoning permission? Is that land zoned residential? Just because you own land, doesn’t mean you can get planning permission to build what you want… it’s just a negotiations tactic.
Kevin
Looking at the map the developers have put out, much of that territory has been used as farmland but it’s not part of the permanent agricultural zone.
Developers have been buying up farmland in that area for the past 20-30 years. One of the largest remaining chunks was purchased about 8 years ago and developers then moved some of the houses on the area, literally picking them up and rolling them onto new foundations.
One guy who owned a big piece of farmland rented the area to farmers who would actually work it. He had no interest in doing so, because he ran a company that sold dental equipment.
Ephraim
So, if it’s zoned farmland, he can’t build those houses anyway.
Faiz Imam
In the previous reporting, Plante said that even if they get authorization to build (apparently they have a shot) its the citiy’s choice whether or not to build utilities to that land, and the city intends not to.
seems to be Slightly analogous to royalmount. They might build it, but it would be without water or sewage. , maybe no power(not sure where HQ fits into this)
Kate
That would shut them down, if the city simply shrugged and said, we regard this as wild land and have no intention to run water mains or sewer lines into the area.
Raymond Lutz
For a sunday dose of French « aucune transition écologique ne se fera sans contrainte. Il est temps de le dire, et de le dire clairement. Et c’est une bonne chose, que ce soit dit sur France Inter.» https://www.arretsurimages.net/chroniques/le-matinaute/un-eclair-de-franchise
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Kate
The Gazette’s René Bruemmer had the thankless task of following up on the city’s public toilets this weekend. They’re working and the city plans more of them, but the Gazette puts their price up top in the headline.
Bert 09:49 on 2019-06-16 Permalink
Jean Todt is the president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile. They are the regulating body behind Formula 1, Formula E, World Endurance, World Rally, etc. The FIA do not actually run the series or the individual races.
In the case of Formula E, the series is run by Formula E Holdings (FEH), with Alejandro Agag at its helm. The contracts are signed between local organizers and FEH. In the case of Formula 1 the organizer is Liberty Media and the local organizer is Groupe Octane.
FEH would work with the FIA and local organizers to build a calendar, which would then be approved by the FIA. FEH would also work with the teams on technical aspects and propose changes to the FIA, which then get effectively get rubber stamped by the FIA.
Faiz Imam 20:11 on 2019-06-16 Permalink
Good summary Bert.
This is the key part:
“Y aurait-il possibilité d’organiser la course sur le circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, même raccourci et reconfiguré?
“Je n’y suis pas favorable, car ça ouvrirait un précédent”, rétorque Jean Todt.
“Le but est d’encourager les citoyens à rouler électrique dans les villes, rappelle-t-il. Paris le fait, Rome le fait, les plus grandes capitales jouent le jeu, alors je ne vois pas pourquoi Montréal ne jouerait pas le même jeu.”
I think it’s quite clear that a race around old montreal is off the table. It’s much too politically toxic. and the city will spend any amount of money to make sure that doesn’t happen.
But i’m very curious about the idea of a race further out. I think the social acceptability of a race around the Big O would be reasonable. Plus if they could use that to not have to pay the huge court decision they lost, its a win win.
If not, i think the idea of having formula E be downtown to “encourage citizens to buy electric vehicles” will fade overtime. I think long term circuit villneuve will be back on the table.