The municipal election will be extended over four polling days this year.
Updates from September, 2021 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Metro went and talked to a sample of Montrealers about the environment as an issue in the election and in general. Are you “écolo”?
dhomas
I sincerely dislike Luciano Recine.
Kate
Luciano “ce qui est important pour moi, c’est ce qui reste dans mes poches au bout du compte” Recine? Yes. But he’s expressing a pretty common take on environmental matters.
dhomas
I get it, being “hardcore” écolo is hard. I mean, there are things I don’t do that I know I should because they’re too expensive. But I still care and hope for things to get better.
For example, my kids’ snacks for school come wrapped in single use plastics. I _could_ buy stuff in bulk and put it in reusable packages, but it would cost me at least 5x more, not to mention the extra time. So I don’t do it, because I do need to be mindful of ce qui reste dans mes poches. That said, if the government would regulate this and ban SUP for everyone, those “industrial” producers would find a way to make my kids’ snacks in non-SUP packages for cheaper (even though it would probably still be more expensive than it is today). It would also level the playing field for those folks making snacks in sustainable packaging today (or possibly put them out of business).
So, I do look out for my own self-interests. But I also want a government that will help my self-interests intersect with good environmental policy because the two are intertwined. Having kids really made me become much more of an environmentalist than I previously had been, because I want my kids to grow up in a world that won’t be on fire.
This guy Recine just doesn’t give a fuck. And I dislike him for it.Kate
dhomas, I wrote a bit about this a couple of years ago in response to news about a “zero‑waste challenge” and the problems with that ideal in terms of time and money it takes for a person who has work, possibly a family, and other things to do with their time.
My own example is always hummus. I buy a couple of pots of it every week, so I recycle a couple of plastic pots every week. (If indeed they do get recycled, about which I have my doubts.)
It’s been suggested I should make my own hummus. But this would mean buying a food processor, buying chickpeas, tahini and lemons. It might still involve me in disposing of the can from the chickpeas, although I could be really dogged about it and soak dried ones overnight. There would also be the jar from the tahini. It would also mean cleaning the food processor and finding a place to store it in my small kitchen when it’s not in use.
And this applies to a lot of other items. The zero-waste ideal really implies that the value of our time is zero, which it is not. Also, usually unaddressed in the news stories about zero‑waste heroes are transportation and storage. If you’re buying in bulk, you’re not schlepping things on foot or on the bus, and if you’re buying 20-lb. sacks of supplies, you need somewhere to store them where they won’t degrade over time.
We all have to come to terms with what we can reasonably do in this area, I think, while knowing the vast amount of environmental damage is caused on a corporate scale. But it’s also a function of how much of our time has to be spent earning enough for food and shelter, so that we simply do not have time for things like making our own hummus.
Azrhey
One of my beefs is my meds. None of the zero waste people have an answer for “how do I get my meds otherwise if the drugstore insists on giving me 5 different plastic boxes each month? My dad clocks at 9.”
So many plastic boxes…half of them with just 4 pills inside….Kate
azrhey, have you tried asking your pharmacy to give you the meds in ordinary plastic vials instead?
Joey
@Azrhey ask the pharmacist about a blister pack
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Kate
A Quebec judge has refused a request for a fully vaccinated jury, citing “privacy concerns and jury representativeness” as reasons.
The latter is interesting. Does a jury need to include both the vaccinated and those who are not vaccinated on principle, to represent a range of attitudes from the public?
Is choosing not to get vaccinated now on a level with things like religious or political beliefs?
If I were a juror, I certainly would not want to be seated next to people of unknown vaccination status, just as I decided not to work for Elections Canada this time because they too refused to mandate vaccinations for their workers.
steph
“When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty” Norm Crosby
Kate
steph, when I was called up I was happy to serve, corny though it sounds, but I was rejected at jury selection after simply giving my name and occupation.
GC
I was also really happy to be called, but they found all the ones they needed before I was even screened.
Kate
I’ve wondered – can the lawyers Google the potential jurors? I couldn’t see any reason why I’d’ve been thrown out for merely saying I’m a graphic designer by trade, but could the lawyer have also known I do this blog, and thought it made me a dubious choice? (I don’t think it would, but I can see why someone might think so.)*
I’m probably kidding myself. They had called up several hundred anglos for this jury, since the trial was to be held in English, and they probably had no time to check all of us out.
*Both as an election poll worker and a census worker I’ve taken formal oaths not to reveal any private information, and I never have.
ant6n
While I think everybody should get vaccinated, I can also see that vaccination status is viewed as private medical information in most contexts. What if somebody requested not sit next to anybody who has AIDS. It’s not as dissimilar as you may think at first sight.
Ephraim
And yet, while it’s a matter of medical privacy, it’s also an indicator of the person’s ability to be influenced by fake information.
ant6n
Just like having AIDS would be an indicator whether you’re irresponsible enough to have non-safe sex.
Nicole
ant6n, that’s not a good analogy—you can’t catch AIDS from sitting next to a person who has it, but you can easily catch COVID that way
Ephraim
You can also get AIDS by other methods, other than unsafe sex, like IV needles, blood transfusions, organ transplants, being bitten by someone with HIV, breast milk, and in rare cases, by eating food pre-chewed by someone with HIV. You can also get even even if you practice safe sex and even if you are taking PREP. But in the case of COVID-19, not getting vaccinated is supposedly an “educated” choice. But there is an entire industry set up based on anti-vax information pumping based on misinformation.
ant6n
Remember, you can also catch COVID from a vaccinated person. The risk reduction for infections aren´t super clear, but it seems to be somewhere around 3x for delta. Thats enough to reduce r-scores and stem outbreaks, but not clear how it could weigh against giving up rights.
GC
Kate, I also doubt the lawyers have the time to Google all the potential jurors–especially the prosecution. Do they even get a list of names ahead of selection? Like I said, I didn’t make it as far as selection, but aren’t they able to dismiss some just based on gut feeling? Maybe they thought there were already enough women or people with Irish last names or whatever… I agree it’s unlikely they thought being a graphic designer would bias you, but it’s hard to be sure without the specifics of the case.
ant6n, AIDS = irresponsible sex??? Is that a bad joke, or are you still living in the 1980s?
Kate
GC, yes, that’s more or less where common sense led me as well. Any factor about me – my occupation, my appearance, the tone of my voice – could have decided the lawyer that I was unsuitable, and he didn’t have to explain why either. A good defence lawyer must have a finely honed instinct about what kind of people he can persuade most easily.
ant6n
@GC
Yes, it’s a joke. The same silly generalization as “not vaccinated = eats fake news for breakfast”
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Kate
Mayor Plante is turning to Quebec and asking for a BAPE environmental assessment of the Ray‑Mont Logistics project in Hochelaga. What’s surprising is that this hasn’t been done yet for a project on this scale.
Worth reading dhomas’s comment from a couple of months ago about the land and the project.
Update: There was a protest Saturday afternoon against the project.
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Kate
Montreal public health is scrutinizing housing as a legitimate public health issue. “If you have poor quality housing, it can affect your physical health. If you can’t afford your rent, it can affect your mental health and your ability to eat properly.”
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Kate
Denis Coderre defended himself Friday from a charge of taking his return to the mayoralty for granted.
He’s also saying he’s not running against Valérie Plante but “for” Montreal.
Who’s he kidding? He’s running against Valérie Plante. It’s a grudge match.
MarcG
As my wife said when she saw his “competante” poster: he’s saying that she isn’t, not that he is.
Kate
Bingo.
Jeff
I’d love to find out who is paying this guy to pollute Montreal politics
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Kate
There were two incidents of stabbings overnight, one right downtown injuring two young men, one seriously. The other attack happened on St‑Laurent near the Van Horne overpass – it’s not often you see Arcade Street cited in the news.
Update: One of the victims in the downtown incident has died. Homicide #21.
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