La Presse’s Stéphanie Grammond examines what the REM will cost us – especially those aspects which have not yet been given a price tag.
And Michel C. Auger gets in some even harder blows, pointing out – among other things – that the pretty stuff shown in the recent drawings of the REM de l’Est aren’t even included in the bill. The city will be on the hook for all the elements needed to integrate this monstrosity into the urban fabric.
Two hundred people gathered Saturday in a memorial to Bicycle Bob which included unofficially naming the St‑Denis Street REV for him.
Bob’s REV?
Le REV de Bob.
Son rêve est devenu réalité.
Puns, eh. I like it.
The Centre des mémoires montréalaises piece this weekend profiles architect John Ostell, who designed many of our celebrated 19th‑century buildings, including having a hand in the completion of Notre‑Dame.
Radio-Canada’s latest archival piece profiles union organizer Madeleine Parent.
Madeleine Parent was truly inspiring. A real local working class hero. Her memorial along the Lachine canal is well earned. Not sure lending her name to the Hwy 30 mega bridge at the St.Lawrence seaway lends much to her legacy, m’enfin. She remains an inspiration
I just published a novel on her friend Léa Roback! It might be of interest to readers of this blog. I’ll be at Blue Metropolis in May with Merrily Weisbord, whose incredible book on communism in Montreal is getting re-released by Véhicule Press soon.
Some Russians living in Canada have been targeted by hate messages from strangers.
A writer for Urbania went to visit Russian businesses in Montreal in an attempt to engage people in conversations about the war, but admits he came up empty‑handed for the most part. People are being cautious about what they say.
Of course they are cautious. They may have friends or family back in the motherland, or business relationships. As long as they’re not posting big ‘Z’s or other pro-Putin messages (or have done so in the past), perhaps it’s best to leave them be.
I noticed a few people who were calling themselves Russian who have changed their country of origin to Ukraine, lately.
I have an internet acquaintance who was born in Ukraine but grew up speaking Russian, and tells me that a lot of eastern Ukraine really is inhabited by people who are culturally Russian and often don’t even speak much Ukrainian. So someone can be literally a Russian person whose country of origin is Ukraine, and they’re not telling a lie.
My father was born in the NW corner of the Ukraine, spoke Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. It was pretty much needed.
I’m not saying if they were Russians or Ukrainians… and of course, this is self identified. I’m just saying that I have seen a number of people who have changed from Russian to Ukrainian recently, without a need to give a reason. They may have marked down Russian simply for expediency and not wanting to have to explain to people where the Ukraine is. And the year you were born might also have something to do with it… When my father was born, it was part of Poland… it’s just about 50km out of Kovel or 200km out of Lublin. But my grandparents, born in the same place, were born when it was Russia. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_Poland
Sure. That whole part of eastern Europe has seen its borders change over and over again.
But you can see why, right now, unless you were a strong partisan of Putin, you might feel more comfortable flying the Ukrainian flag if you had any claim to it.
According to Wikipedia, Ukraine has 30% who speak Russian, but 25% are bilingual and 5% are monolingual.
“an internet acquaintance (…) tells me that a lot of eastern Ukraine really is inhabited by people who are culturally Russian and often don’t even speak much Ukrainian”
I wonder how many people don’t know this? How people can participate in this 2 weeks long “Two Minutes Hate” against Putin and Russians without knowing basic facts about the region and the cultures? Without knowing the South East Ukraine is being shelled since 2014? Culminating in 14000 victims, about a third civilians and 80% on the Russian speaking side?
And this, isn’t it familiar: “Lawmakers in 2019 passed legislation to cement Ukrainian as the country’s primary language, ordering middle schools that taught in Russian and other minority languages to make the switch and mandating Ukrainian versions of online stores. An article of the laws that entered into force in January goes further, obliging shops, restaurants and the service industry to engage customers in Ukrainian unless clients specifically ask to switch. Anyone caught violating the new legislation twice within one year could be fined 200 euros ($235), almost half of the average salary in the country. No one has been penalized so far. Officials in Kiev say the initiative aims to revitalize a national language that was subjugated first during the Russian Empire and then in Soviet times.” source
Russian language a minority? that Wikipedia map doesn’t says so.
For a positive ending, see how peaceful this place is. Note the Russian flag AND the Ukrainian flag.
@RL your posts seriously read like Russian bots’ propaganda. There may be some towns with many ethnic Russians that welcome the Russian armies, but that is not the case for many other towns. It does NOT warrant an invasion in the rest of the country. Putin’s forces are doing truly despicable things in the rest of Ukraine.
It is NOT AT ALL “peaceful” and “positive” as you describe it.
The facebook group Русский Мир Монреаля – Russian World Of Montreal, now closed to the public, is full of russian pride. There’s no more debate : Russia is strong and they’re right. The west provoked them and they have a right to defend themselves. This is a group of people that live here IN Montreal.
Their reality is very twisted and deplorable.
Locally, we know very well the problem with “seperatists” and how they’re delt with – we grant them accomodations and autonomy for special laws. Has any region ever peacefully seperated from their national borders?
The current international borders of Ukraine, decided at the fall of the Soviet Union didn’t please everyone (could it ever?). Ukraine also laid claim to Krasnodar Krai, that had a considerable ukrainian population at the time. Russia claimed it, and Ukraine got Luhansk & Donetsk. Russia aggresivly (and conviniently) got rid of all the Ukranians in Krasnodar Krai. Ukraine… well… west Ukraine piled up with Russians that didn’t technically want to leave Ukraine. Curious how west Moldova follows the same mold.
There’s a deep cultural divide between Europe, that allows countries to be nationalistic, and Russian centralizatin as realized Soviet plans where everyone answers to Moscow and speaks russian. There’s nothing Nazi about Germany mandating German language in their public schools, Spain in Spanish, Italy in Italian, it’s nationalistic. Letting Ukraine determin it’s own future is primordial. Figuring out the necessary accomodations for all it’s regions takes time.
@ RL, Throwing around the 14K deaths “since 2014” is deceitful considering how many of those deaths were IN 2014 before the ceasefire agreements.
honestly, we’re all pundits. But one thing is indesputable – Putin only has his power though lies, deceit and propoganda. The world sees it clearly, hopefully sooner than later russians will also see it. it’s unsustainable in the times we live in.
I recently read this article about the language situation in Ukraine and it reminded me a lot of English and French in Quebec. I didn’t realize how Russian the cities are in Ukraine and how much the 2014 mini revolution affected the language situation there.
Maybe it’s worth noting that Zelensky is a native Russian speaker who grew up in the Donbas. Before he got into politics, many of his comedic performances were in Russian and he travelled extensively around Russia and the former Soviet republics. As this New York Times essay notes, language and identity in any given place is often more fluid and complicated than outsiders make it seem:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/magazine/president-zelensky-russian-propaganda.html
“The language question has been a painful one in Ukrainian politics, though it looms far larger in the minds of Kremlin propagandists than it does in actual Ukrainian life. There are young Ukrainians for whom it is a matter of principle and honor to not speak Russian, the language of the former empire. And the government periodically passes contentious laws that aim to encourage further Ukrainianization. But most people continue to speak the language that makes most sense to them in their everyday lives, sometimes switching between the two depending on the context and situation. Russian propaganda claims that the language is discriminated against, and there are people in Russia who believe that you will get shouted at, or even attacked, for speaking Russian in Kyiv. Yet in the videos now emerging from Ukraine, over and over again, people are speaking Russian. Soldiers speak Russian as they fire rocket-propelled grenades at Russian tanks. Locals speak Russian as they survey annihilated Russian columns.”
Raymond says that the conflict has “culminat[ed] in 14000 victims, about a third civilians and 80% on the Russian speaking side”, which would suggest some 2500 civilian casualties on the self-proclaimed republics’ side of the line of conflict, but his link for the 80% figure (ultimately the UN) only applies to the period 2018 to 2022 during which total civilian casualties were 381. As Steph mentions, the vast majority of civilian deaths occurred in 2014 and 2015 for which years no attempt is made by the UN to identify which side’s territory these deaths occurred in, let alone which side might be responsible for those deaths. Another point to draw from the UN document is that civilian casualties in recent years have declined every year to 44 in 2021, which hardly provides a reason for Putin to invade now.
I prefer this language map on Wikipedia: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map12_b.png#mw-jump-to-license
I bet Russian ability in the west is under reported. Kind of like in Quebec, when u ask some previously oppressed old person whether they they speak Russian/English: „Nah…“
I still think the EU would be a better steward for Russian Ukrainians than Putin. Ukraine won’t join before they put some minority protections in place.
Media are running jolly pieces about the return of normalcy and the end of the pandemic. CTV says a doctor says everything is tickety‑boo – but this doctor had been called on by the Chamber of Commerce to say just that.
Cynically, I’d even be willing to bet that some of our politicians and captains of industry are relieved that the invasion of Ukraine has become the next big story, pushing Covid off the top headlines.
However, cases are on the rise in western Europe and China is facing its worst outbreak since 2020.
The Gazette has found mixed feelings about the abandonment of the vaccine passport.
Our anglo media need to be less naive about uncritically repeating what it’s told. CBC has a piece Sunday about how some things have improved in the health system since Covid, including “partnering with private clinics.” How is it an improvement, if this means public money gets funneled into for‑profit private medicine? This is a band‑aid solution, not an improvement.
I don’t think there is anything morally wrong with using private companies to provide services in public health care.
Almost all of my medical scans over the past decade were done by private companies which were paid by Medicare. Private, specialized clinics which do only one thing, and do it efficiently, under a fee structure dictated by the government.
I didn’t get pushed to the front of a line because I paid extra–the line got shorter because the government figured out how to take advantage of these companies.
There is much stupid going around. I saw a reference the other day (from the US I think) to a person who got into a taxi and the driver told him he had to remove his mask because “the pandemic is over and now it is illegal to wear a mask.”
My so-called “book club” met at our traditional venue last Friday for the first time in two years. This was the last night before restrictions were lifted. I suspect we will not meet there in the foreseeable future because a month from now cases and hospitalizations will be spiking and there’s no way we’re going to a non-masked, non-distanced indoor restaurant under those conditions.
Much of this stupidity is the result of memethink, in which people form their opinions based on how memes in social media play with their biases instead of using data and critical thinking, because it’s easier that way. You don’t have to think; let your “hive” do the thinking for you. “Omicron is milder” gets memed into “Omicron is mild.” The lifting of pandemic restrictions gets memed into “the pandemic is over.” Some businesses’ joy over the lifting of restrictions gets memed into “lifting of restrictions is universally joyful.” On and on.
Kevin, here’s a brief Le Devoir letter holding that the recourse to private clinics should be limited.
TVA delves into potholes and looks at how they’re keeping repair garage guys busy.
CBC talks to a few people about the recently released plans to redevelop the Molson site. The architect they queried seems uncertain whether the promised mix of offices, social housing and market-rate housing is viable.
I’m wary of the phrase “social and affordable housing” because “affordable” is such a weasel word. Affordable by whom? Remember, the federal government thinks $2225 a month is an affordable rent in this city.
The best they can do to make it affordable is to have apartments that don’t have gyms, private swimming pools or any sort of luxury amenity. So many new places add in those luxuries and massively increase the price.
Just some basic apartments with regular designs that can sell for something approaching normal would be a step up.
Honestly my biggest hope for this project is that it gives us some high quality public waterfront space further east of the old Port.
For a island city, Montreal has had a huge lack of publicly accessible waterfront vs places like Toronto, New York and Vancouver.
The early concepts suggest at least that part will be decent.
thomas 00:11 on 2022-03-14 Permalink
Correct me if I am wrong, but when this project was introduced wasn’t it presented as model showcase for CDPQ infra to replicate in other locations? Surely, this continual negative commentary on this project (especially REM-est) would give pause to anyone contemplating similar future projects. Of course, this could have just been more public relations spin.
mare 09:06 on 2022-03-14 Permalink
For me it’s suspicious they want to push the REM East through *before* the REM West is even in service and we can all witness its greatness.
Are they afraid we’ll find out that it will be a disaster in many ways (ridership, fare income, ROI), and that tax payers and passengers will have to foot the bill, despite it being a privately owned enterprise?
Spi 12:12 on 2022-03-14 Permalink
CDPQ is a pension fund and considering the demographic trends in QC, if they want the REM revenue to factor into their actuarial figures and pension obligations then projects need to be up and rolling before the bulk of the boomers start retiring. At this point they’re still probably 2 years from the first shovel in the ground and god knows how long before the first riders (thus revenue) starts coming in.
Kevin 16:32 on 2022-03-14 Permalink
@Spi
I’m pretty sure than more than half of baby boomers have already retired. The pandemic pushed many people into early retirement. — and the youngest boomers turn 57 this year.
Blork 10:06 on 2022-03-15 Permalink
Arguably — and I would argue this — those 57-year-olds (and even 63-year-olds, etc.) are not boomers.
https://medium.com/atta-girl/why-people-born-1955-1964-arent-baby-boomers-6afdebc5c3ba