A demonstration was held Wednesday against an Airbnb in Hochelaga.
Updates from March, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Two Chinese groups in Montreal were named last year by the RCMP as effectively being illegal police stations for the government of mainland China. Now the groups and their director are launching a defamation suit against the Mounties.
DeWolf
I’m not sure about the other one, but the Chinese Family Service being labelled as a “Chinese police station” has had a devastating impact. They may lose the building they bought (the former Chinese cultural centre), they have been forced to end francisation classes, their support for elderly people and new immigrants has been curtailed. And of course no charges were ever brought against them.
China certainly maintains clandestine activities in Canada, as do many other countries, but CFS has been around for decades, it’s not a fly-by-night operation that popped out of nowhere.
Kate
I had no idea such a lot of damage had been done. Thanks for clarifying.
bob
The government attitude toward this targets a mechanism used by bad actors instead of the bad actors themselves. It’s like when police shut down a bar because some drug dealer made it his storefront. It does nothing to stop the crime, and punishes everyone else.
The problem seems to stem from a deeper problem in Canadian intelligence being extremely politicized. They guard their assets so closely that they allow activities that the use of these assets is supposed to prevent. If there wasn’t such a general culture of secrecy in government we might look into how the RCMP, the various intelligence services, Global, Affairs, and the rest of the government interact, but as it stands the whole thing is a black box, with no meaningful public oversight.
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Kate
What I find fascinating in this story about how, days before the Just for Laughs festival was cancelled, the company’s assets were seized, was because it had failed to pay someone who had been promised a job for life. In fact, they laid him off in 2019.
There’s more about this in the Radio‑Canada account, which clarifies that the promise was made by Gilbert Rozon.
Who gets guaranteed a job for life? Maybe tenure is like that for full professors, but a job for life from a comedy festival?
GC
That bit from the CBC also gave me pause when I read it earlier. I had hoped it would be clarified later in the article, but no… “equivalent to the wages he had lost since 2019 and his future expected earnings” sounds like he’s suing not just for the bit from 2019 until now, but also for the extra years to come. Did he consult some actuarials, for an estimate of how long he’d live, and do the calculations from that?
Blork
GC the article says it’s for wages owed from 2019 up until he hits retirement age (presumably 65).
GC
The CBC one? Maybe it was updated after I read it. Or maybe I missed that.
GC
Oh, it’s in the Radio-Canada one! I see. The English version was just lacking detail.
walkerp
There is a real lack of any details in the reporting on this story. I would like to better understand the economics behind this outcome. Is it just because of accumulating debts outweighing revenues during the pandemic? Mismanagement? I thought JFL was a big success last year.
Blork
Here’s me speculating again, but I don’t think it’s any secret that these big festivals and their associated publicly-funded organizations are rife with nepotism, graft, and indulgences. This “job for life” thing is a perfect example. Does anyone think that guy in the news is the only one who received such treatment?
So if you start from that as the basic “business” model then it should come as no surprise that they go bankrupt when $660,000 is yanked out of their coffers. I think one of the articles said they only had about $800k in assets before that, so this leaves them with not enough to operate the business. Hence the bankruptcy, the protection from creditors, and most likely the eventual return to success after the court basically dismisses their accounts-payable.
In the meantime, all those at the top of the organization live in big houses with well-paved driveways and have country chalets worth more than a Mile-End triplex. (In case you’re wondering where all the money went.)
Just speculating of course.
Joey
It’s more like the obligation to this guy, which had been abandoned by JFL after an ownership change, was just the first domino that started. The guy’s lawyer told him to pursue his money because of news articles saying JFL was broke. When he did, the other creditors, who have much larger dollars coming to them, read the writing on the wall and bankruptcy protection became inevitable. The idea that this one $600K obligation pushed them over the edge doesn’t add up.
Ephraim
Is this person completely unemployable? Should they not have seperated the compensation owed for those videos from the employment, in that, and I’m assuming, the man is employable in some manner.
GC
I have no doubt all sorts of shady things go on, Blork. I just don’t expect them all to play out in the courts. For example, if someone offered me a bribe and never delivered on it I wouldn’t go to the police to complain about it. I realize that’s an extreme example because I guess this contract-for-life was not illegal–just really unusual. The fact that they were ordered to pay by the courts suggests it was seen to have some merit, I suppose. I just have so many questions about it that were not answered in the CBC article
Blork
Ephraim, his employability is irrelevant. He was made a promise (job for life; or more specifically, a paycheck until retirement) and then JFL reneged on the offer after it was accepted. It’s as simple as that. They owe him, no matter how ridiculous or unusual the offer was.
GC, exactly to your point; the offer was unusual but not illegal. My point (in speculation) is that the offer was typical of the kind of largesse you see in the entertainment/festival business at large, and also here in Quebec — which is a bit irksome in Quebec given how much of it is public money.
GC
I definitely agree on the public money. If someone can negotiate a ridiculous contract in the private sector, well, good for them. I just don’t want my tax money going to one.
Mozai
“Job for life” =~ “emploi à vie”? If it was “employment for life” then it wasn’t “payment for life”: employment means putting to work and receiving compensation for that work. What were the terms of the employment contract? What work was he paid to do, how was the work verified, what were the initial payment promises, what was the termination criteria? If the JFL shuts down, then there is no place to contribute labour, so there’s no work to do.
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Kate
Upgrades have been delayed at the Lucien‑L’Allier train terminus but now they’re finally planned to start on April 1. Passengers will need to embark on the three Exo lines elsewhere, including Vendôme or Parc stations.
Mark
So according to the article, the platforms haven’t been renovated in almost 50 years. So obviously in need of some TLC.
However, isn’t the REM in the West-Island (not the airport) supposed to open by the end of 2024? Couldn’t they have waited another 8 months and sent people there instead of to Vendôme? Unless they know the REM won’t be operational by the end of the year, and really couldn’t wait any longer?
James
@Mark: Your idea could have been an option for the Vaudreuil-Hudson line however, it wouldn’t have helped the St-Jerome and Candiac line users. This is assuming REM on the l’Anse-à-l’orme branch and the Mont-Royal tunnel will open in 2024. It could be a longer wait…
https://exo.quebec/fr/actualites/realisations/gare-lucien-lallier
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Kate
The Conseil des Arts de Montréal estimates than more than 20,000 artists live in the city. Overall, the sector of art, culture and heritage employs 8% of the population, double the national average (defined here as both Quebec and Canada).
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Kate
A man was stabbed after an altercation in Outremont Tuesday evening, but what struck me in this brief account is “les policiers qui sont toujours aux trousses du suspect encore libre comme le vent dans la nature.”
walkerp
Damn, they are even getting stabby in Outremont now!
I know, Van Horne is sort of the ghetto of Outremont, but still.Ian
Van Horne is actually getting pretty upscale, kind of like Bernard east of Parc is picking up now that Saint Viateur is miserably gentrified, Van Horne west of Parc is Outremont’s version of the same phenomenon. That said there are still a lot of “affordable” apartment buildings between Bernard and Van Horne so it’s not quite as urbane as up the hill. Bernard to Van Horne & Hutchison to Outremont Avenue is still a pretty affordable area – especially compared to what Mile End has become.
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Kate
Protesters went head to head Tuesday at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue where a presentation was being held on a land sale in Israel’s West Bank. The Gazette calls it a real estate fair.
Ian
At least at the Hare Krishna fair everyone is invited.
I wonder what would happen if someone bought land at this “event” and turned the deed over to displaced Palestinians?
Ephraim
@Ian – You mean like the PA’s laws, continuing the Jordanian law forbidding for sale of land to anyone with Israeli citizenship. And under International law any sale of land is considered null and void. Definitely in connection with anything that is state property as they are only entitled to administer it. And when peace is signed, it all reverts back anyway. It’s all very complicated
SMD
A similar event was held in New Jersey and a local resident brought up some salient points related to housing discrimination and the Civil Rights Act: https://youtu.be/2FZTFYzyu6o. Does Canada have similar legislation?
qatzelok
I wonder how much of the Métis land in Western Canada had already been sold as they were in the process of being genocided. Obviously the railroads had paid for a lot of the land-rights pre-genocide.
And how much of Acadia had already been promised or sold to other people as the Acadians were being ethnic-cleansed and killed? All of it?
AMF
The protest quickly devolved into hate speech, calls for ethnic cleansing, and incitement. The one held the day before at the JCC included Nazi salutes and a boast that Jews were “fleeing like rats.” Plenty of video here, mostly from Montreal4Palestine’s own livestream.
https://x.com/Bad_bureaucrat/status/1765192302958379074?s=20
An injunction has now been filed against protests near several Jewish institutions:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/injunction-montreal-protest-real-estate-1.7135106
Ian
Some grade A whataboutism/ speculation there Qatzi. I wonder how many people the Acadians displaced when their colonial settlements were founded, or when they resettled in Louisiana hm? remind me what this has to do with the West Bank?
@ephraim Thanks for the explanation, this is the kind of thing I was thinking about. Is this basically just an IDF fundraiser? Or is it settlers? Does Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention have any bearing?
Ephraim
@Ian – Usually this is settlers, ultra right-wing stuff. That’s part of the problem at the moment. Israel has never had an elected government, they are always coalitions of some sort. (Same sort of thing in most countries that use representational voting, like Germany)
In countries with proportional representation, parties with extreme ideologies on the fringes, like communists and fascists, often find themselves ostracized by mainstream parties due to their radical views. This, coupled with increasingly divisive political rhetoric (evident in Israel and elsewhere), has unfortunately contributed to a more polarized society. This environment incentivizes politicians seeking to form governments, rather than broad coalitions, to potentially turn to these very extreme parties, even making significant concessions to keep them on board.
Take Israel’s case: a party like Kach, once considered completely unfit for partnership (eventually banned under anti-terrorism laws in 1994), has found itself included in recent Netanyahu-led coalitions. This highlights the growing divide between the political left and right, often neglecting the vast majority of individuals who hold moderate views. This, in turn, fuels the need for broader national unity governments that seek to represent the collective good of the population.
Similar tendencies are observed in Canada, where the Liberal and Conservative parties typically split the vote, leading to minority governments. Instead of forming broad national unity coalitions, these larger parties often form alliances with smaller, less representative groups. This practice further exacerbates the existing political divisions, neglecting the vast moderate centre that often craves a more unified approach to governing. Most of us aren’t ideologically Liberal or Conservative, we just want good government policies, regardless of which monkey is in charge at that very moment.
qatzelok
@ Ian: “I wonder how many people the Acadians displaced when their colonial settlements were founded” – The answer is Zero. The Acadians and the Miqmac were one people, and the Acadians used sea-reclamation to create farmland.
“or when they resettled in Louisiana hm?”
They weren’t resettled anywhere. The Acadians families were broken up and shipped off to destinations unknown. Mom to Lousiana, Dad back to France, sons drowned, daughters raped and sent to New England, etc.
“remind me what this has to do with the West Bank?”
Canada, the USA and many other successful countries in the Americas were created through brutal genocides. Now many good-natured North Americans are saying that genocide is maybe a bad thing. But this opinion, when it is ahistorical, doesn’t hold much weight.
Ian
Zero? Wow, you really drank the ethnationalist Kool-Aid, I see.
Ian
@Ephraim thanks again, I don’t pretend to understand the inner complexity of Israeli politics. I appreciate the info and perspective.
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Kate
The early arrival of spring is leaving the city looking scruffy.
I went out yesterday and cleared the trash off my block. A lot of loose household rubbish had been tossed around on a windy day last month, and it seemed nobody had thought it their problem. Well, it isn’t any more.
Elsie Lefebvre dogpiles on the tidiness story.
Here’s the La Presse story about advancing the street cleaning schedule that DeWolf mentions below.
Meezly
Scruffy is an understatement!
DeWolf
I’ve noticed people doing their part to clean things up. I also notice the SDCs have been sending out their cleaning crews early (at least on St-Laurent and St-Denis) and I even passed by one of the elephant vacuum cleaners sucking up trash.
Still weird that everyone in Montreal seems to have seasonal amnesia and forgets that normally we’d still be under snow right now. The “omg Montreal is filthy” stories usually don’t come out until the end of March.
I don’t see how the city can start street sweeping before April 1 without upsetting everyone who has to move their cars, but the municipal machinery does seem to be slowly grinding into action a month ahead of schedule.
walkerp
That windstorm last recycling day was a big contributor to the mess, because otherwise it actually hasn’t been that bad. The lack of snow reduced the amount of hidden garbage and dog poop that usually accumulates over the winter.
Kate
I was downtown yesterday and walked a bit all over, and things didn’t look as bad as the articles linked above suggest.
DeWolf, do you know whether some of the same blue collar workers do both snow removal and street cleanup? Because it should be possible to have them change gears early.
DeWolf
No idea. But somebody on Reddit said they work as a blue collar for the city and that yes, municipal employees who do snow clearance during the winter do street cleaning during the summer, but there are bureaucratic processes and collective agreements that make it difficult to quickly switch.
La Presse has a story today that notes that much of the sweet sweeping equipment is leased, not owned by the city, and the leases don’t start until April 1. But the administration is also saying they will try to start street sweeping by mid-March, which I guess means people will need to start moving their cars two weeks ahead of schedule (cue the complaints).
Something needs to change though because with the little snow and long thaws we had this winter, things were pretty consistently disgusting right through January and February. Really, the entire trash collection system needs to change. We have too many open bins on the street that have a tendency to overflow. And door-to-door waste collection is not only inefficient, it makes everything dirty, because the éboueurs are pressured to move quickly and therefore have no incentive to be careful. During the summer, there are cleanup teams that manually pick up all the garbage left behind by the éboueurs, and this doesn’t happen during the winter, which is one of the big reasons everything gets so disgusting.
Kate
They have to move their cars for snow removal, so why should it be so much more of a pain to move them for street cleaning? If anything, the street cleaning is done at predetermined hours, rather than being assigned on the fly like it is after a snowstorm.
Ian
I think more of the issue is that all the signs warning people which side of the street is getting cleaned on what day only comes back into effect April 1. It’s a pretty arbitrary date though, as we usually get at least one more good snow in April. If the snow removal app was extended to be a street cleaning app when there’s no snow it would help a lot – assuming the street sweepers are ready to go in February or March as needed.
Another thing that would help a lot is if the residential garbage collectors were municipal employees. Here they are all on contract so rush through as quick as they can to max out their boss’s profits. Of course if making collection a municipal thing were to happen, cue the lawsuits.
I refer you back to this article seriesfrom Urbania that was reposted here in 2020:
JOURNAL D’UNE VIDANGE – PARTIE I
Un mois dans les caps d’un éboueur.
https://urbania.ca/article/journal-dune-vidange-partie-iDeWolf
This is why we need to invest in a more permanent solution. In densely populated neighbourhoods, install bins at every corner where people can take their trash and recycling whenever they want, with municipal crews coming daily to empty them. Underground bins like in Amsterdam would be ideal, but we could also do what’s common in most European countries, which is to have small dumpsters with closed lids. As long as they’re emptied regularly there’s no smell, no mess.
Just for example, last May I was in Venice for work and staying in an apartment in the Lido, a more local suburban area with a density similar to the Plateau. When you take out the garbage, you separate your waste and take it to a little cluster of bins. It was no big deal – lots of old people in the area, too, and they had no problem wheeling their daily waste over in grandma carts. There was no litter around the bins, everything was perfectly clean.
Joey
I remember driving our recycling to the neighbourhood big green bid as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s. What a giant net waste that must have been, given the emissions of our Chevrolet Caprice Classic & what we now know about what actually happens to recycled material. I seem to recall there being two or three bins – maybe paper, plastic and metal?
It’s probably been 15-20 years since the city switched from green bins to blue/clear bags for recycling. IIRC the idea was to reduce garbage blowing around, since in theory the bags are sealed. In practice, at least in my area, each bag is torn open and inspected carefully by local can-collectors (who would lose out big time if implemented the kind of thing DeWolf proposes).
Apparently the pendulum is swinging back – the city will be handing out compost-sized recycling bins to residents in dense neighbourhoods. Since these bins have lids, there’s a chance that things will be cleaner. A minor improvement, but until we adopt something like what’s described above, we are committed to having household refuse sitting in our sidewalks at least two days a week.
Kate
Joey, yes, there were big green bins in the Plateau in the 1990s. I used to schlep paper and cardboard to an empty lot on Mont‑Royal. It’s long since been built up on. Almost forgot about that.
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