Montreal has extended its state of emergency till the end of September and Canada has kept its international borders closed for the same period of time. Everyone’s waiting to see how the September rentrée intersects with the pandemic.
Updates from August, 2020 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Mayor Plante has promised that police will not be sent to dismantle Hochelaga’s tent city, as she is confident its residents will move along peacefully by the end of the month – i.e., by the end of this weekend.
She may also be relying on the weather forecast: we’re seeing an exceptionally chilly end to this August.
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Kate
Patrick Lagacé writes about loving Montreal despite its flaws.
DeWolf
I moved back here from halfway around the world because I think it’s such a great place to live. “Le bruit, les chantiers, le trafic.” I mean, okay, compared to Rimouski it’s a noisy, dirty, frustrating city. But I’ll continue to enjoy what I consider to be a uniquely laid-back big city where I can enjoy quality neighbourhood life and abundant greenery in a dense, walkable environment that is always surprising and interesting.
Ian
I first started coming to Montreal back in ’86 when I was 16, and knew that I wanted to move here immediately. I moved here in 1990 for university. When I finished, I moved to Toronto because I had a huge student loan and the job scene here was bleak. I earned enough to pay it off in 5 years and moved back to Montreal as soon as I could. I was living on Queen West, the most fun part of downtown Toronto, but I missed Montreal every_single_day. I have never regretted moving back to Montreal, and I think one of the greatest things about it is that my 2 kids are real Montrealers, born and bred in the heart of the Plateau.
Despite our different backgrounds I basically agree with Lagacé 100%, it sounds like our experience of the city is very similar. Just because you love something or somewhere doesn’t mean you are blind to its faults 🙂
Kate
I’m in the opposite situation: I was born in Montreal, and over a period of years watched my cousins – all older than me – then all my friends from school, then my sister all move away. Some thought I was crazy to stay here. Sometimes I wonder myself what I could’ve done in a place where I wasn’t a member of a semi-despised minority. (I’m not trying to take on a mantle of victimhood à la Bock-Côté, but let’s be honest, for someone who enjoys writing, and writes in English, there are better cities to be ambitious in.)
walkerp
There are, Kate, but the problem is they are all so boring. 🙂
Ant6n
New York is interesting
Ian
Toronto is actually a great city to live in, kind of dull to visit though. NY is great if you can afford it, like SF. Montreal is the only one of the bunch where you work to live, not live to work. It’s much more expensive than it used to be but in cities that have super high rents you kind of have to focus on your hustle.
Bryan
I totally agree with DeWolf. I came here in 2011 after having lived in London. I love that Montreal offers many of the desirable aspects of a big city (a diverse population, great food, a vibrant arts & music scene) but it is a more affordable place to live than the larger cities of Western or Southern Europe and North America. Of course, Montreal is more expensive than many other places to live in Canada. But, trade off of living in Rimouski over Montreal is much too big for me.
DeWolf
Toronto is a fascinating city with a lot going on. But as Ian said it has a horrible work/life balance, and part of that is because it’s so expensive you need to earn a ton of money to have the kind of lifestyle most of us take for granted in Montreal. I live in overpriced Mile End, and for what I pay here, I couldn’t even get a basement apartment in a mildly interesting part of Toronto.
Meezly
Totally agree with all the things about Montreal. Also live in Mile End and now that I’m older I find it’s a great place to raise a kid with a nice network of families, conveniences close by and not needing to own a car, which is a good trade off for the privilege of living in a pricier area. I have never found Toronto dull to visit. Always look forward to the diverse food scene, esp. of the Asian variety, and the book shops. Always make a point of visiting BMV. But geographically, it is quite an eyesore. I remember being on a plane seeing TO for the first time and thinking what an ugly concrete sprawl it seemed. Flying into Montreal, I see how the city surrounds Mount Royal and the St-Joseph Oratory. I get an immediate impression of a city with a rich history. Geographically, Vancouver can’t be beat, but no one can afford to live there anymore without being house poor, or having to commute to work from a distant suburb.
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Kate
Some notes on what to avoid if driving anywhere this weekend. Metro has some longer term details on roadwork and related projects around town, including the REM.
Even though the initial layout of the REM is far from complete, the Caisse de dépôt is planning a second phase in the east end, one branch linking Pointe-aux-Trembles to downtown, the other going along highway 25. Also, a new tax on suburbanites is being floated to finance the REM.
steph
tax on the suburbs is long over due – but I don’t agree that it should be for the REM, but for public tranport in general.
Ian
Unless it applies to the demerged suburbs too, it hardly seems fair…
Dhomas
Tolls on every bridge would work, too. People like to move off-Island to avoid the higher taxes, etc, but then come work, usually by car, on the island and use Montreal roads and infrastructure essentially for free.
But tolls are political suicide for any politician that proposes them. Trudeau saw that when he removed the planned toll on the new Champlain, before getting elected.
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Kate
Trudeau Airport is laying 30% of its workers off in response to the long decline in air travel.
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Kate
Lots of school-based stories Friday morning following the rentrée: a Grade 7 class was sent home from a private school on the South Shore because of a parent with Covid and several teachers have been diagnosed in the Montreal area.
In one high school, students are in class but the teacher is on a screen because she’s pregnant and therefore at risk.
The education minister says students are not to do activities with kids from other classes, for the time being. They must stay in their bubbles. (Does he remember what school was actually like?)
CEGEPs are seeing increased enrolment although mostly in Montreal and Quebec City; regional schools aren’t seeing the same growth, and there are fewer international students signed up.
I can see there will be an ongoing drama of school stories so I’ll be condensing them into one post per day for now, with updates.
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Kate
A musician who did a free performance in the Parc du Portugal on the Main, earlier this month, was fined $449 for noise, despite it being early in the evening, and for playing during a pandemic, even though he says he got permission from one policewoman. The story is confused: either he was making too much noise or he was contravening pandemic rules, but I don’t see how he could be fined for both with one ticket.
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Kate
Quebec announced a boost of $800,000 for downtown Montreal, specifically the Quartier des spectacles, on Thursday, including creating “animation culturelle” and “réaménagements.”
(Forgive me, I can’t help picturing the “animation culturelle” as clowns with the Quebec logo on them.)
Tim F
And your mental image reminds me of the “Bonjour Toto” ads from a ways back. https://youtu.be/7UIdBUgZIkY
Kate
Oh god.
Kevin 16:38 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
I think it’s obvious now: the area with one of the highest covid death rates on the planet (we beat Sweden!) has decided there is enough room in the ICU, so everybody back to work in the office.
Kate 19:20 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
Have they said that yet about office work, Kevin? I haven’t seen it.
Dhomas 19:38 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
The reason the CAQ is so adamant that schools and daycares must remain open is so that workers can go back to the office (or home office). They need babysitters. This is the intersection between the rentrée and work.
Kevin 20:51 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
Not in so many words yet Kate, but with the new 10-day isolation order, and the other loosenings, I’m letting my cynicism gallop.
Chris 21:00 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
>They need babysitters
It’s not like the CAQ is alone in that opinion. Most of the *parents* I know share this view
Mr.Chinaski 23:06 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
Kevin, the law is 25% maximum. Most offices are WFH until 2021.
Mr.Chinaski 23:07 on 2020-08-28 Permalink
Oh and a lot more laws that make office impossible for most downtown offices : 2 people maximum per elevator. This make anything over 5 story impossible to work in.
Kevin 04:11 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
Mr. Chinaski
I’m projecting. Many companies have far fewer than 25% in the building but I won’t be surprised to hear the government lifting that cap, and getting rid of the elevator restrictions.
I also don’t expect many companies will *listen* to the government when this happens.
Tim S. 08:31 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
“They need babysitters”: So here’s a poll showing that 69% of parents (Canada-wide) want schools closed if there’s an outbreak:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/many-parents-nervous-about-return-of-school-plan-to-send-kids-anyway-survey-1.5068565.
Of course it’s better that the kids be in school, but I’ve definitely got the feeling that it’s the government pushing this line, not the parents.
Chris 10:28 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
Tim, your link in fact says 69% of *poll respondents* not 69% of *parents*. It goes on to say it was an online poll of only 1510 Canadians, with only 385 of them being “parents with school-aged children in their households”. Further, it cautions “An internet poll cannot be given a margin of error because it is not a random sample.”
Tim S. 17:36 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
Fair enough Chris. What’s the source for your statement?
Michael Black 18:05 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
Up till now, it seems like the emergency has been extended by a week, or maybe a few days. I wonder why now it’s extended by a vague amiunt sometime into September?
EmilyG 18:47 on 2020-08-29 Permalink
It almost seems these days that extending the state of emergency is just a formality.
Kate 11:12 on 2020-08-30 Permalink
EmilyG: it’s more than that, in that it gives the city legal powers to enforce pandemic measures.
Michael Black: I don’t know. Till now it’s been done in blocks of 5 days each, not sure why.
MarcG 11:49 on 2020-08-30 Permalink
I assume it’s because the rentrée is expected to cause a new wave of cases.