The city’s environmental ideals are in a standoff with developer drive for profit at the Hippodrome.
Updates from July, 2023 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Journalist Julian Sher has written a book on Canada’s implication on the wrong side in the U.S. Civil War.
Michael De Adder’s Canada Day cartoon makes a different point about something about which Canada should be ashamed.
Our editors certainly have ideas about how to celebrate Canada Day weekend.
I’ve seen some recent items about whether people are proud to be Canadian including a surprising note from CultMTL on how more Quebecers than Albertans are proud to be Canadian.
I don’t even know what it means to be proud to be Canadian. I feel fortunate to have been born in a peaceful and prosperous place, and I don’t feel ashamed of being Canadian. But being proud of it would make as much sense as being proud of having blue eyes. It’s a fact, it’s an accident of birth. Pride is neither here nor there.
MarcG
walkerp
It’s so odd, my 10-year old asked me yesterday the same question, if I was proud to be Canadian. I gave her a similarly equivocating, wishy-washy Canadian answer. 🙂
Nestor
What I am is *happy* to be Canadian
Tee Owe
Agree with Nestor
GC
Yeah, I think I’m with Nestor, too. “Proud” almost seems to imply I did–or am currently doing–something to achieve it. Those like me who were born here just kind of had it bestowed.
Also, I think you can both think it’s a great place to live but also not exactly take pride in some of the things the government has done in the past.
Kate
Well put, GC
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Kate
Here’s a screenshot of the “Justice et faits divers” section of La Presse on Sunday morning.
Two dead in a head-on collision in Lanaudière. An 18‑year‑old dead in a swerve off the road. Serious injuries in a car accident in Ste‑Sophie. Two motorcyclists dead in Beauceville. Another motorcyclist seriously injured in Longueuil. I don’t doubt there will be further incidents before the holiday weekend ends.
The final piece there is a Supreme Court ruling. A woman in New Brunswick who saw her licence revoked for two years while awaiting sentencing for impaired driving was sentenced to lose it for a further year, but the highest court said that would be a double penalty and rolled it back. So she’s free to drive now.
Driving is so important that loss of life and physical impairment on a colossal scale is taken in our stride, and people who’ve shown themselves to be unreliable at the wheel are permitted back behind it.
What a species.
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Kate
There’s always a news item about abandoned junk after Moving Day just as there are always items about how scruffy the city looks after winter. It’s a fact of life when most people move on the same day, and it will be cleaned up – within a week.
Given rent rises, chances are most people were moving to a place smaller than they would’ve liked. They would have to abandon furniture and other items to fit into the new place.
Saturday I saw two guys shouting at each other at the back of a truck full of furniture and domestic oddments. Passing a stranger on the sidewalk nearby, we both said “Jour du déménagement!” at the same moment, laughed, and passed along. But boy, am I glad I wasn’t doing it this year.
Ephraim 22:38 on 2023-07-02 Permalink
The city could also just put it out for contract. But whoever builds it, will do it under a new company, because it has a 30 year clause… and it’s cheaper to declare bankruptcy than to live with a 30 year clause. It would be interesting to have someone develop the are cohesively. And it should be worth a pretty penny considering it’s proximity to the metro and stores. And 6500 apartments? I bet they could make them very green and have more green space and still be able to put more in that region. I wonder if they could get Habitat for Humanity involved in the project as a way to build more social housing at affordable rates.
Kevin 10:48 on 2023-07-03 Permalink
To get this area developed Montreal will have to bite the bullet and extend Cavendish (At least two lanes for cars in both directions) and build a tunnel under the tracks west of Walmart/Decarie Square.
Without some other way to get to that location it is just too costly to get concrete to Blue Bonnets.
Michael 17:49 on 2023-07-03 Permalink
City is finally learning that nobody wants to spend time to build at a loss.