Montreal City Weblog

Kate 09:04 on 2021-01-19 Permalink Reply  

• Nick D 11:06 on 2021-01-19 Permalink

  for a second I was struggling to understand this (the feds bailing out the Rue Notre-Dame? I mean, sure, I guess places like Joe Beef are famous and have clout in high places, and Mark Miller MP probably has the ear of the PM, etc. Then I realized Oh! that thing. Funny how once again all principles of laïcité go out the window when it’s the Catholic church… (and I know it’s the Notre-Dame basilica, but what do people call it in real life?)

• Kate 11:10 on 2021-01-19 Permalink

  It’s quite the neo-Gothic gem, that church, sold as a big draw in Old Montreal, and I’m sure plenty of visitors in a normal tourism year are not devout Catholics.

  I’ll add the word “Basilica” to the post to aid clarity! Thanks! (In context, I think most people would call it Notre-Dame. Or “the big church on Place d’Armes”?)

• Bill Binns 15:40 on 2021-01-19 Permalink

  Of all the businesses to help out in the pandemic, the province chooses the one who’s foreign CEO literally sits on a golden throne. I wonder if the Sultan of Brunei owns any property locally that we can maintain for him?

  I mean, what’s going to happen if Notre Dame runs out of cash? Are they going to tear it down? Move it to a more generous province? Turn it into an AirBnb party pad?

• Alison Cummins 20:52 on 2021-01-19 Permalink

  If the Catholic Church can’t afford to maintain it and the city of Montreal wants it, fine. We should buy it and put it to good civic use.

  Otherwise we need to stay out of it.