Updates from September, 2023 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Kate 17:54 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

    Both Radio-Canada and La Presse are reporting on “l’allée du crack”, a one‑block street running from Ste‑Catherine down to Charlotte Street, mostly bordered by social housing, and plagued by noise and disturbance because it’s around the corner from the Cactus safe injection site. Residents want action.

    Recently a new building meant to offer living space to the homeless, as well as another safe injection site, was announced for the area near Atwater Market. This story about Cactus may arm the people opposing that project with a stronger argument.

     

    • Kate 16:00 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

      Some residents of St-Michel plan to hold road blocks every week till the city removes its bike paths and gives them their parking spaces back.

       

      • carswell 17:42 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

        “…stationner dans le cartier [sic] est un vrai casse-tête…”

        Maybe instead of protesting they should take some French courses?

        Don’t do Facebook so can’t check their pages but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Hervé-Benoit Tremblay and Marie-Pier Guimond were Freedom Convoy/People’s Party of Canada/anti-masker types.

        We live in an era of emboldened yahoos. And pretty soon one of them is probably going to be our PM.

      • carswell 18:08 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

        Ha! A friend reports that on Facebook “Tremblay is a climate change denier and chemtrail loony.”

      • walkerp 20:33 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

        Don’t get sucked into the narrative that Poilevre is somehow destined to win. The major media outlets have been pushing this storyline for months now based only on slight changes in polls that they sponsor. I am not saying it is a conspiracy theory for the cons but just that the media often does this in the year leading up to an election as it gets them clicks.

      • bumper carz 21:41 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

        I’m starting a petition to have all the parks in St-Michel turned into parking lots.

      • Kevin 22:48 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

        National polls in Canada and the USA are *completely meaningless* in determining election results. They are useful in pointing out trends and what the public thinks about single issues, but don’t mean much when it comes to voting intentions.

        Most people don’t even understand that we have three levels of government and if they do know, then don’t get who is responsible for what. If they did municipal elections would have much higher participation rates.

        Kate– I put in my new email address…

      • carswell 10:50 on 2023-09-22 Permalink

        Did I mention poll numbers anywhere?

        In any case, I always take them with a grain of salt and even more so after being blindsided by the Shitgibbon’s 2016 presidential victory. But as noted, they can be indicative of trends and the trends — in polls but also in life — don’t look good for the Liberals, especially the Liberals under the long-past-his-best-before-date Trudeau.

        Answer me this: Of Canada’s 23 PMs, how many have served an uninterrupted term as leader of four governments? How many in the last 100 years? You really think Trudeau’s going to buck that trend?

        My impression is that Trudeau fatigue is widespread, that his popularity is tanking. Especially worrisome for him has got to be his dwindling support among one of his key constituencies, young people.

        Last time around, Trudeau couldn’t even squeak out a majority running against an unpopular wimp like O’Toole. How’s he going to fare next time against a smarter, scrappier and far less uncharismatic opponent with the wind in his sails, the fire in his belly and the full backing of the Harper machine and its imported US rightwing strategists?

        Meanwhile, everyone is feeling the economic pinch and it looks set to get worse, with inflation heading in the wrong direction and interest rates expected to start rising again, just as a huge numbers of homeowners are about to renew their mortgages. Due to artificial shortages, the price of oil is probably going to stay high and maybe rise. Widespread electrification is coming but not by the next election, so gas prices will be an issue (with Poilievre blaming the carbon tax). These issues may be global and not the Liberals’ fault but history shows that’s not how voters think when they vote their pocketbook.

        Also, from all signs, Ontario is trending to the right. How else to you explain back-to-back Ford majorities?

        Trudeau’s pandering to Quebec nationalists has turned off many non-francophone locals, which may shrink his count in Quebec by a seat or two. Legault may not stay above the fray next time around either and he’d probably side with the Bloc or the Conservatives, both of which say they’ll give Quebec, i.e. him, more power. And at least a few Atlantic ridings look like they may be competitive for the Conservatives.

        While always a possibility when you have a minority government, a snap election seems unlikely, especially as the NDP’s war chest is low. That likely means the next election won’t be for another two years. And admittedly, two years is a long time in politics. Lots could change.

        Trudeau could step down (though he’s so full of himself, I wouldn’t count on it and find myself wondering whether his decision to run again may be one of the reasons Grégoire split). If he did resign, is there someone waiting in the wings who can unite the party, energize the base, excite voters? It’s not Chrystia Freeland.

        Immigrant communities tend to vote Liberal. But the Libs kind of dropped the ball on the election interference business. Will that affect the Chinese-Canadian vote? What about the ongoing face-off with India? Might that turn off Hindu-Canadian voters? And however grateful they are to the Libs, will Sikh-Canadians vote Liberal when Jagmeet Singh is on the ballot? We’re probably not talking many potentially affected seats but they could make a difference in a close race.

        Whatever you think about polls, it’s hard to make a case that Poilievre isn’t on a roll. Maybe he’ll peak too soon. Maybe the opposition will succeed in painting him as Harper’s mini-me or as Trump lite and that’ll be that. Maybe the economy will greatly improve, the cost of living won’t be an issue and people won’t be primed to blame high oil, gas and food prices and un- or barely affordable mortgages on the current government. Maybe the Ford government will completely discredit the Conservatives in Ontario. Maybe. Not holding my breath.

        My current thinking — definitely not a prediction — is that the election will be held in 2025 and, with or without Trudeau at the helm, the Liberals will be seen as having run out of steam, that few voters will be inspired to vote for them (though some will do so to keep Poilievre out of the PM’s office), that the Conservatives will have eastern BC, Alberta and the Prairies sewn up and may pick up a few seats in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, which will be enough to hand them the election if, as they seem primed to do, they can make inroads in Ontario. That would be enough to give them a win. If that happens, I can’t even say a majority government wouldn’t be preferable to a minority government with the Bloc as the power broker and a PM willing to give them a lot of what they want. And even if he didn’t, we’ve seen what havoc Poilievre’s mentor was able to wreak as head of a minority government.

        Apologies for the length of this and for the thread drift.

      • Kate 20:07 on 2023-09-22 Permalink

        What amazes me is that because J. Trudeau hasn’t solved all our problems, many people think Pierre Poilievre could. It isn’t logical.

      • walkerp 14:33 on 2023-09-23 Permalink

        Great analysis, carswell, thanks for that. I agree with most of it except the Poilevre being on a roll. This is the media-supported narrative I am referring to. He is basically a carbon copy of all the other milquetoast Con leaders courting the extreme right before him, all of whom failed. What has he actually done or said that differentiates him from them? Nothing. It’s just the same old anti-Trudeau politics of the personal. I mean his big move this year is removing his glasses. The media then pumps him up as if he is serious because they want a race.
        If the Liberals lose, it will be mostly their own doing for all the reasons you mention above plus the big two of inflation and the historical trend of Canadian voters throwing the Liberals out after they are in power for too long. I would certainly place no money on them winning the next election but I would also not rule it out.

      • Ian 18:23 on 2023-09-23 Permalink

        I’d also like to give props on that analysis.

        Don’t assume Singh’s got the Indian vote locked up though, they tend to vote conservative – Mississauga is a good example of that.

        I do think Liberal fatigue is a real problem, and it’s pretty unfortunate that unlike the cons the libs haven’t been grooming successors.

        Poilievre is going to be a disaster if he gets in, but if the libs don’t pull up their socks and create a succession plan he well might. I would happily bet cash money that they will lose the federal election if they run Trudeau again.

    • Kate 15:56 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

      Public sector unions are planning a big demonstration Saturday starting at Jeanne‑Mance Park at 1 pm.

       

      • Kate 09:24 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

        Local superman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has announced his retirement from pro football.

         

        • walkerp 20:34 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

          His football career kind of fizzled out, though that is often the case with offensive lineman. Still a pretty amazing sports and success story and I wish him well in his future endeavours.

        • Uatu 10:24 on 2023-09-22 Permalink

          Good. We need all the doctors we can get!

        • Kate 20:09 on 2023-09-22 Permalink

          Quebec is going to permit a few more family physicians next year. So that’s something.

          Do we think Duvernay-Tardif will simply become an ordinary doctor, or will he go into private practice?

        • Uatu 07:30 on 2023-09-23 Permalink

          Hopefully he’ll stay in the public system. I actually saw him a couple of years ago in the MUHC cafeteria having lunch. He was probably doing some rotation in a department.

      • Kate 09:09 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

        Various summaries Thursday about the demo and counter‑demo over what CBC says was over sex ed and LGBTQ rights, TVA characterizes as over trans rights, and Le Devoir says was dissension over gender identity.

        TVA inquired into the groups opposed to trans rights and sex education.

         

        • Kate 09:04 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

          Barely just opened, the REM is already collecting complaints about a shortage of parking spaces on the South Shore.

           

          • Aineko Marcx 10:10 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            As proposed in the article, driving to the Brossard station for a parking space can be a good short-term solution. For the long-term, I think they can consider building a parking garage to claim the vertical parking space.

          • Uatu 10:45 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            The solution is simple: increase bus frequency so that it’s like rush hour all the time. If you think it’s not feasible the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes featured a European town with 1/3 the population of Brossard that has bus service intervals of 10 minutes. All the time. If they can do it, why can’t we?

          • Ian 10:58 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            Becasue we spent the STM budget on more cops.

          • DeWolf 11:05 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            @Ian The STM and SPVM have nothing to do with the South Shore…

            There is nothing stopping Quebec from doling out enough money to double bus frequencies across Greater Montreal, except the CAQ just doesn’t want to do that. (And the Liberals before them didn’t either.) When it comes down to it, provincial politicians love capital investments because they get to cut ribbons, but they don’t see any political gain in making sure there’s enough operating budget.

          • Ian 11:12 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            Sorry, I was attempting to draw a parallel in mentality. You’re right though, and what I meant was that the money is there but (as you point out) the political will isn’t.

          • James 11:24 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            Panama has only 250 spaces (about 2 full trains) and Brossard has 3000 (I believe that 1/3 are paid spots). The problem for the commuter quoted in the article is that if you decide to drive and arrive to find all the spots are gone you have no nearby streets to park on. The nearest parkable street near Brossard station is a long walk. Du-Quartier and Panama all are private parking lots where parking all day and not shopping there is not allowed. I believe that the town of Brossard has recently introduced resident parking permits near the Panama station to prevent people arriving from far and parking on the residential streets.
            The same problem will occur at the Point-Claire station and I’m sure similar news articles will be written in a few years time.
            The solution is to take the bus to the station.

          • Kate 13:06 on 2023-09-21 Permalink

            I imagine part of the point of limiting parking is to encourage people to take the bus to the station, but it won’t happen without a good deal of squawking.

          • Anton 07:21 on 2023-09-22 Permalink

            One complicated problem for buses: the design of the new Panama bus terminus is a real slog for transfers (which btw was known 2016).

            But yeah, the half hour buses are the real problem that could be fixed.

        • Kate 09:03 on 2023-09-21 Permalink | Reply  

          La Presse enumerates the seven problems at the airport.

           

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