Friday marks the 35th anniversary of the massacre of women at the Polytechnique, by a man. CityNews talks to Nathalie Provost and Heidi Rathjen, who were both present that day, Provost among the wounded.
The federal government may be about to add more gun models to the list of forbidden firearms. Its gun buyback program has not collected a single gun. CP has a timeline of the cultural observances and changes since that day in 1989.
Quebec is going to appeal a 2022 ruling that outlaws police spot checks on the grounds that they foster racial profiling. Quebec hopes the Supreme Court will see things its way, rather than confirming what both the Quebec Superior Court, and the Quebec Court of Appeal have already decided.
In other fun legal news, the Supreme Court has chosen not to hear an appeal about the legality of the 1982 patriation of the Canadian constitution. Oldtime PQ stalwart Daniel Turp plans to take the matter to the United Nations Human Rights Council because after all, poor Daniel, he’s had his human rights denied for too long.
This would be much easier to prove if the police were required to input all their reasoning into a computer before stopping someone. That way, if the logic holds up and the statistics show the stops are truly random, the Crown prosecutors would have solid data to back them up. On the other hand, if the reasoning doesn’t hold up, we could hold officers accountable—perhaps even docking their salary—for wasting time based on their own biases. And send them back for retraining. So they have something to lose as well.
I am disappointed that Prof Turp is spending his valuable time chasing after these windmills. He and his students did great work a few years ago pushing the Feds when they permitted the sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, including documenting the human rights abuses that the Saudis committed with them in Yemen. He could be doing the same examination of the many parts and munitions that Canadian companies are currently selling “off the books” to the US to then be given to Israel.
Yep.
It’s that time of year when people like to say, “It’s that time of year when everyone but me forgets how to drive.”
The pilot project deemed a success, dogs are now to be allowed in the metro outside of rush hours.
On the other hand, electric bikes and scooters are not allowed.
It’s fascinating to see dog culture in different parts of the world. If you go to many parts of Europe, dogs are everywhere, they’re just a normal part of life, but they’re also very obedient. I’ve been in Hong Kong for the past several weeks and this used to be a very dog-unfriendly city, but things have changed dramatically and suddenly there’s lots of dog-friendly spaces, but in a sometimes absurd way – like dog-friendly shopping malls that are just luxurious air-conditioned dog parks on the weekend.
Montreal is a bit hostile to dogs and I think allowing them in more places would be a good thing, but it really depends on whether they’re behaved or not. North American dog culture is generally very permissive and indulgent but that doesn’t work in an urban context. Gentrified Brooklyn is like a nightmare in that sense – spoiled dogs and spoiled children.
After being bitten by a dog, I’ll NEVER be ok with being around them.
The same people who insist that a man must be the head of the household and demand obedience in all things are the same people who let their dogs run wild and say “but he’s a good boy” when the animal attacks someone.
After a dog attacks someone, should we put the animal to sleep, or the owner?
It’s like the old hotel adage: “Children and dogs are welcome – with well-behaved owners”
Don’t love dogs on the metro but it was bound to happen. I’ll just move away to another section like I usually do. At least all the wagons are connected, so it’s easier to move.
And, I thought they were supposed to be muzzled on the metro but they rarely ever are.
The permanent rule also includes a requirement for muzzles.
As a dog-owner, I am not in favour of the kind of carte blanche that a lot of dog people want – basically the right to let their pets off-leash anywhere and everywhere. However, it would be really great if there were more dog-friendly businesses – coffee shops, restaurants, etc. I can think of one Mile-End cafe that allows pets (another used to but seems to have become intolerant, I’m assuming for permit reasons), plus one pharmacy that welcomes dogs. It would be great to be able to hang out socially indoors with a chill dog (and I would be the first to split if the dog wouldn’t cooperate). I’m new to the dog owning world, but everybody tells me Montreal is about as dog-hostile as it gets in North America. Surely we can aim for middle of the pack.
I was going to get upset about the e bike ban, but after reading it they do have a point
Lili + Oli was dog friendly for a long time, then got in trouble for it, but has I believe been inching back — mostly it’s so busy I don’t go there anymore. I am perfectly happy with a mix of dog friendly and dog unfriendly cafes and terrasses, but do feel that we do not need dog friendly pharmacies or grocery stores, things which are necessities. (That said, given it’s apparently illegal to tie your dog up outside while you run in to pick something up, we could change that.)
Just jumping in to give you a rim shot for the “middle of the pack” line, Joey. Well played. 🙂
I don’t think any business that prepares food should an allowed to have dogs inside and it’s crazy to me that there are people that think it’s ok.
CE
As long as the animal stays out of the food prep area I don’t mind. We do have cat cafés, after all 😉
One of my favourite local cafés is very dog-friendly. I don’t mind that dogs are welcome on the terrasse in the summer, but it isn’t a treat for me to have my coffee next to someone’s dog indoors. I don’t know whether it’s legal, but they also welcome cats and toddlers, so it’s kind of a free‑for‑all.
I wouldn’t ask a fellow patron to move or leave with their dog, but I’d move if I had to, and I wouldn’t choose to sit down beside them.
@jeather you can get animal meds at the pharmacy, which I guess is some kind of justification (similarly, malls with pet stores allow dogs). As for the rule about tying your dog up, in our experience, neighbourhood panhandlers are always eager to keep an eye on your dog and do a great job
@CE do you think they let the dogs in the kitchen? Next time you go grab a coffee and a croissant, count how many people wash their hands before eating (spoiler, it’s zero). Pet-friendly coffeeshops are common all over North America – are all those cities full of crazy people?
I also think public policy should accomodate my pets. Specifically, my face-sized Huntsman spiders.
You don’t need to bring the dog in to get the meds, though. I don’t care about malls, I am fine with a range of non-essential places allowing or not allowing pets as they wish, but I think that pharmacies and groceries, in particular, needn’t be pet-friendly. (I’ll accept allowing pets in actual carriers, not NYC subway “carriers”.)
Most dog owners are fine, of course, but it would be nice if there were a lot more pushback by them against the ones who aren’t fine and let their dogs run around on the terrasse/in the playground full of kids/etc.
I think a lot of the recent pushback is against poorly socialized dogs.
I’m of the opinion of dogs should not be allowed in most Montreal parks. I and many of my friends have had negative encounters with loose, large, aggression dogs on Mont Royal walking trails. My friend was attacked. Off-leash dogs should be a very big fine, at the minimum several hundred dollars.
A homeowner in Ahuntsic was renovating his garage and found an old heating oil tank buried in it. On trying to do the right thing about extracting it and decontaminating the soil, Samuel Rousseau ran into a kafkaesque entanglement of city bureaucracy to do with getting a grant to support the work and have it certified done.
The city has chosen sites for the modular housing to be built quickly to house the homeless: along Louvain West, and on a piece of the Hippodrome land.
Meantime, the warming centres which were supposed to open on December 1st – the date for which those camps were demolished on the theory that people would have somewhere to go – aren’t ready to open yet. But La Presse reports that there was a fire in one of the remaining Notre‑Dame Street sites on Wednesday that needed firefighters to put it out.
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