Soraya Martinez Ferrada, currently federal tourism minister, has announced she won’t run again in a federal election, but has her eye on leadership of Ensemble and, via that route, the mayor’s seat.
Martinez Ferrada started her political career here as a councillor for St‑Michel with Union Montreal and then Vision Montreal, both parties since defunct.
Aéroports de Montréal is contesting the city’s plan to enlarge the Technoparc nature park which is a refuge for so many bird species.
That’s a huge area, including all the golf course and more. Sadly the map doesn’t list the specific sections (ADM says they oppose four of them being rezoned to a nature preserve, but can commit to preserving two of them). Bird strikes are a real issue (likely caused that recent South Korean crash), but they are rare, but I’m not sure if a sanctuary intended to attract birds is a good idea.
The birds are allready there. The plan will officially protect the area.
I had the same question about bird strikes. Not a serious problem if the birds being protected are small, like cardinals and sparrows and whatnot. But the first photo in the story shows wild turkeys. Wild turkeys don’t fly much, and only in short bursts, so I don’t know if that’s much of a problem. Geese (and even ducks) can definitely be a hazard.
Trudeau airport apparently has falconers to keep problem birds away. In fact, they have a wildlife management dept/team that helps prevent bird strikes. I’m thinking these folks may have one of the more interesting jobs at an airport.
Meezly, those folks also might have interesting opinions on the nature park story. If I were an editor, I’d send a journalist to interview one or more of them, although it’s also possible they would be forbidden to talk to the media.
It’s interesting that they have falconers as prey birds also attract hawks. I wonder if the falcons ever get into it with other predatory birds
What’s a falcon going to do against a flock of geese?
Hidden in the (gazette version of the story) news story is their plan for a “decarbonization support centre” which, like most decarbonization projects by big polluters, is a clear sign the pollution is going to continue.
The area is currently its smallest ever in terms of land that will support bird life. Going back to the seventies and earlier there would have been way more avian wildlife in the area because it was largely undeveloped. There are zero reports of avian collisions over this period of time so why would it be more of a problem now when there is much less available land for the birds to use? Officially recognizing the area as a nature park does not suddenly make it larger than it is today. We need an independent assessment of the risks and keep in mind that roughly 80% of all airplane crashes are attributed to pilot error.
La Presse has two pieces Thursday on homelessness: how the metro has to function as a day shelter, security agents evicting dozens of people every night at closing time, and how the Palais de congrès and hospital emergencies are being used as ad hoc shelters more and more. The second piece repeats a tale we hear repeatedly – Quebec is not interested in funding services or premises for the homeless.
Had a guest recently who said he noticed a lot of homeless people in the metro. I mentioned they concentrate there during the winter so it’s more visible, but he’s not wrong. Also got off at Mont-Royal around 3 pm on Sunday and there were half a dozen metro cops who got off too, and went to tell all the homeless people hanging out on the passerelle it was time to go (presumably back to the corner at St Denis).
There’s a small group that camp out in the new Vendome entrance that leads to the MUHC. It was never this bad before. Now they plug in space heaters and radios, have sleeping bags, bikes and food containers, even underwear is strewn about. Later in the day most have left and it looks like they actually hose down the floor after, but they’re there when I arrive at 6am the next day.
I was walking through Bonaventure during afternoon rush hour a few weeks ago – as I observed a trio of cops skillfully defuse a tense situation, I was reminded of the third season of The Wire, when one of the senior police commanders effectively legalizes drug sale and consumption in a certain area (one of the drug dealers mis-names it Hamsterdam). The Metro has always been a haven for lots of folks, but it feels like we’ve crossed an important threshold in the last couple of years. Thanks, Kate, for drawing the appropriate link to the province’s official position (“We DGAF”).
Certainly some of these people have mental issues and would qualify to be housed in the 15-unit building proposed for next to the Welcome Hall Mission, but some nearby residents are worried about losing their protected parking spaces, so I guess the metro it is!
Windows were smashed Wednesday evening in three of McGill’s buildings on Sherbrooke Street. CTV says that Free Palestine was written on the Roddick Gates.
Nicholas 17:29 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
She also ran for borough mayor in VSMPE in 2013 for Marcel Côté’s Coalition Montreal (also defunct), barely holding third place in front of (until today) fellow cabinet member Mélanie Joly’s VCM party. I guess she couldn’t run federally in that neighbourhood, given the incumbent MP, so she ran in Hochelaga.
It’s also interesting that she was the Liberal Party national campaign co-chair until today, so presumably was going to run again federally, and her seat will be a close one again. And she did say she would remain an MP until her term ends, so that’s a lot of double duty, but I guess the House isn’t doing much work these days.
DeWolf 19:48 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
Apparently Vincent Marissal is also considering a run for mayor? And Luis Miranda too, of course.
It would certainly be a lively race with all of these guys in the mix.
Kate 21:39 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
They can’t all lead Ensemble!
Nicholas 22:03 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
They all could have led it uncontested if they just submitted their nomination in the fall.
SMD 07:34 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
Marissal said he’d found his own party if he was to run for mayor: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2134963/marissal-fondera-parti-mairie-montreal
Nicholas 09:27 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
There’s time for Coderre to come back now!
Kate 12:06 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
Nooooo!
SMD: Someone has to put a lot of effort into mustering support and recruiting possible candidates if they want to establish a party. Lot of talking up plans. I wonder if anyone has seen Vincent Marissal doing this…
DeWolf 13:02 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
There’s some speculation that Marissal is abandoning QS over the the Bouazzi affair, but if Marissal thinks he’s going to find a more sympathetic ear in Montreal of all places, he’s going to be disappointed.
Kate 14:14 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
I didn’t blog much about the Bouazzi affair at the time because it wasn’t primarily a city concern. This piece from Maxim Fortin on the Iris Recherche site is a good summary.
We did have one previous thread about it here.
A lot of ink (or pixels) has been spilled in outrage over Haroun Bouazzi’s claim that he sees racist attitudes in the National Assembly every day.
Manny Mato 16:34 on 2025-02-25 Permalink
The biggest priority for any new mayor to STOP turning Montreal into a VILLAGE owned by cyclists and GRANOLAS! The Tax payers need to STAND UP and actually vote next election. Yes, housing is a priority, but not to satisfy unrealistic Liberal Immigration targets. Its to lower cost of living for everyone. STOP building useless bike paths that reduce commerce and business in Montreal center. Protect small business. Advocate at the provincial and federal level for assistance for small business. Stop protecting criminals and protesters who have NO respect for private property and freedom of expression and liberties.
Kate 20:34 on 2025-02-25 Permalink
Manny, I see a lot of trolls like you on local Facebook groups. Did you know, a lot of merchants find that they do better with a bike path on the street? La Presse looked into this in December.
Also, I haven’t seen anyone called a “granola” in years. That’s so cute.