Having a two solitudes moment Tuesday as all the francophone media bust out in celebration and adulation of Janette Bertrand reaching 100, while in the anglo media, not a peep.
Updates from March, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Mark Carney made a notable mistake on Tuesday in Nova Scotia, confusing two Montreal tragedies – the Polytechnique massacre (1989) and the Concordia shootings (1992).
He later apologized.
PatrickC
This kind of blunder will not endear him to the Quebec voter. Carney’s work with tax havens also makes him vulnerable to anti-elitist sentiment. I’m not sure he realizes he can’t just campaign on competence alone, or how much damage “gotcha” moments can do.
Kate
He’s not a politician yet, but he will be, by the end of April.
jeather
He’s prime minister, he’s a politician. He’s not an MP.
Kate
Technically yes, he’s a politician, but he’s new at the job. I meant more that he’s undergoing a lightning revision of how he presents himself. Carney wouldn’t have had the jobs he’s had if he wasn’t a quick study.
MarcG
I’m sure I’m not the only one hoping his French pronounciation improves ASAP.
jeather
Well no one will notice during the French debate in Montreal since it overlaps with the last Habs game of the season, so he has a bit longer to practice.
Ian
TBH if Carney showed up at the game it would do better in the polls than any results on the debate.
Joey
He may have no electoral campaign experience, but he’s not exactly ‘not a politician’ – he was a very senior bureaucrat, the governor of two (!) central banks, etc. He’s clearly got some knack for politics because he swept what should’ve been a somewhat competitive leadership race, immediately undid the two most contentious policies his party had unveiled (the cap gains tax hike and the consumer carbon tax, at least one of which he probably personally still supported) and brought a DOA party to a comfortable lead; due to vote efficiency, a small LPC lead in the national polls could easily translate into a big majority government.
I think that these kinds of slip-ups or an inability to fully pander won’t matter as much given the existential threat nature of this election. To the extent that the Liberals lose some ground in Quebec, it’s almost certainly going to be in favour of the Bloc and, critically, not the Conservatives.
Also, isn’t there a separate French debate already planned for that week – one that doesn’t require the campaigns to kick up $75K? Mountains, molehills.
Ian
I’m more concerned that our federal options are a center right neoliberal or a further right populist. Even Tom Mulcair is saying it’s a two-horse race; we’re screwed regardless of how well Carney or PP can talk shit in French.
MarcG
Yeah it’s not hard to imagine Carney making very adult economic excuses for further eroding our social services. Based on the latest polls the NDP is about to take a bath and possibly lose official party status.
H. John
MarcG wrote: “it’s not hard to imagine Carney making very adult economic excuses for further eroding our social services.”
Sorry MarcG, but I find it really, really hard to imagine that.
I’m reading his 2021 book right now “Value(s) – Building a Better World for All”
Two short quotes from the Preface:
“…most fundamentally, equating price with value leads to a flattening of our values. Too often, decisions are made by summing up prices with no sense of priority or consideration of their distribution. And that which isn’t priced – like nature, community and diversity – is ignored. This encourages trade-offs of growth today and crisis tomorrow, of health and economics, of planet and profit.”
and
“…markets don’t have values, people do. And we must close the gap between what we value and what the market prices. After all, we are living in a time that confuses market value with human values – in a world where we know the price of Amazon the company but not the value of the Amazon rainforest, a world where technology threatens to replace our jobs rather than improve them.”
Ian
Campaign left and govern right is the Liberal way. If Carney bucks that trend I will be pleasnatly, but VERY surprised. Talk is cheap.
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Kate
Finance minister Eric Girard has presented Quebec’s budget, bringing further cuts to health and education, but help for industry and businesses particularly affected by the Trump tariffs.
I haven’t seen any analysis of the budget’s implications for Montreal yet, but will look out for it.
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Kate
A building façade at Université de Montréal was vandalized with red paint early Tuesday, and a woman was arrested. The act is being described as a pro‑Palestinian gesture although this is only a statement from police. Quipsters on reddit surmised she might have mistaken it for a Tesla dealership.
Ephraim
Yeah, not a good look. And thankfully it wasn’t red hands. I am tired of people thinking that their right to free speech means they have a right to vandalize private or public property and that the rest of the world has to bear the costs of it. I hope, at a minimum, she is presented with a bill for cleaning it off.
Ian
Interesting that the TVA site now blocks you if you have an ad blocker but still autoplays their videos. Insult to injury.
@Ephraim yeah red paint sure is a terrible injjustice compared to crimes against humanity. Good call.Chris
The Université de Montréal has committed crimes against humanity?! That’s news to me. If she vandalized the Israeli embassy I might agree with Ian, but I agree with Ephraim.
Ian
Oh right, I forgot the consensus was that this woman was protesting wrong. Silly me.
Chris
So Ian, if I think you behave incorrectly, or hold an incorrect opinion, am I allowed to paint your house red?
Ephraim
@Ian – Not a single thing that we do here in Montreal will have an effect on any of this. But moreso, costing UdeM money (or frankly anyone who is not directly related) to clean up, is not going to change anything at all. If anything, I sympathize more with UdeM. And the total waste of paint, money and worker’s wages on removing this. It was just a waste of time, money and even effort.
So, if someone smeared magenta paint on a McDonald’s, would it make me more or less sympathetic with the Houthis? Nope. Orange paint on the Museum of Civilization? Vanta Black on a Kia Nero EV? Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown on a vacuum cleaner?
Ian
A university is ntot a private home, nor is a commercial retail store. That you two are conflating these says a lot about how you see the role of universities in our society. Further, you sound like the politicians who see someone drawing fangs on their election posters as an act of violence.
That said, how is painting a Tela outlet not a valid act of protest? Or paintballing the home of a known fascist? You two are gatekeeping “valid” protest because you don’t like what’s being protested, I suspect. It’s not like this woman committed arson or planted a bomb, let’s be real here.
Chris
>A university is ntot a private home, nor is a commercial retail store.
Well, duh. But why do you draw the line there? Why is it wrong to protest at an individual’s but not a store/school? If the same reprehensible act has been committed by both, you say we can protest one but not the other?
And speaking of which, what exactly has UdeM done wrong?
>you sound like the politicians who see someone drawing fangs on their election posters as an act of violence
Nope. I reject that modern definition of speech (or drawing) being violence.
>Or paintballing the home of a known fascist?
A private home? Wait, didn’t you just say we were conflating those? So I *can* paint a private home if I disagree with the inhabitant???
>You two are gatekeeping “valid” protest because you don’t like what’s being protested, I suspect.
Nope. Perhaps it’s you justifying vandalism and property damage because you *like* what’s being protested.
Let’s try something you (probably?) don’t like: militant veganism. UdeM probably holds investments in meat processing companies (via stock holdings). Maybe you do too. If I find killing animals reprehensible, it’s ok that I paint UdeM and your house blood red?
>It’s not like this woman committed arson or planted a bomb, let’s be real here.
Sure, no one’s saying she should be thrown in jail forever. Ephraim’s suggestion of making her literally pay to undo her damage is a pretty minimal punishment I think.
Ephraim
So, what you are saying is that if I disagree with what’s happening in Iran, I’m entitled to deface the chalet at Mount-Royal park? NO! Sorry, I’m entitled to walk around a sidewalk with a sign. I’m entitled to scream, cry, shout and even burn an Iranian flag. I am NOT entitled to damage public or private property with indignity.I’m not entitled to throw paint on your car because I don’t like the brand. I’m not entitled to slash your tires because I don’t want you driving a car, I’m not entitled to drive a tank on to the UdeM campus and roll over the public art.
You lose me when you damage property. Every single time. I don’t care if it’s public or private. Someone is paying that cost in the end. Damage your own property… I don’t care, but not others. No one else needs to bear the burden of the costs of your tantrum.
jeather
I will note, somewhat tangentially, that I believe a significant portion of the attacks on Tesla dealerships are faked because they aren’t selling and this gets them more as an insurance payout, though I don’t have specific ones I believe are or aren’t real attacks. (Relatedly now that it’s being called terrorism I wonder if insurance policies which exclude terrorism will exclude these attacks.)
Ian
Oh so this is all about MONEY. I see. Oh no my property, lol. What makes you think people don’t paint my house already? It’s called graffiti, I live in a. city. Whatever. I love that you guys think that’s the big “gotcha”.
@jeather it’s crossed my mind, too.My life insurance does specifically say that if I get injured or killed in a riot even if I’m not involved with it, or by an act of terrorism, I’m not covered – which seems kind of unfair, really.
Ephraim
@Ian – So, you are saying that it’s okay for people to tag your house with political slogans? So I can put up a support for the IRGC support tag on your entire house and you are happy to have to spend the day and expense to remove it? I doubt it. Go out with your lovely sign, your flag and walk down St-Catherine street with it. I might even support it (well, not for the IRGC, but maybe for other causes) but damaging property and my sympathy lies with those tagged… definitely not with your protest. And that’s the point of protest, to get sympathetic ears.
Ian
Do you understand how graffiti works? People tag whatever the heck they want.
And no, that’s not actually the point of protest. There are different kinds of protest, all equally valid, whether you admire their aesthetic dignity or not. You are not the gatekeeper of protest; nobody is.
Ephraim
Yes, I understand how it works. (And why I have always removed all of it quickly, so they get no joy out of it.)
The point is, when you damage property, like she did in this case, it doesn’t move the protest forward. Like Mai Abdulhadi… no one is talking about that protest at all. Frankly, this protest fell entirely on deaf ears… all we are talking about is the damage to the building.
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Kate
A pasta restaurant in the Palais des Congrès has started offering a monthly subscription: all the pasta you can eat for $200 a month.
Blork
That’s La Popessa, which used to have an outlet at the NE corner of St-Denis and Roy. I think I went there once or twice in the late 90s. Interesting formula in that everything is made to order right in front of you and is pretty reasonably priced. Not a place for fancy dining, but good for folks on a budget or who want a quick pasta fix.
OTOH there’s a cringe factor in that you choose your pasta, then choose your sauce and then your “additions,” so it runs 180 degrees counter to Italian tradition and you can end up with some weird combos. But that’s 100% on the customer, since it’s the customer who decides.
Blork
I wonder how many takers they get for that $200 offer? If you eat there five days a week it works out to $10 a plate. But pasta five days a week? Especially in an all-you-can-eat format, so that would be a gut-busting main meal five days a week? Yikes.
MarcG
Eating a big pile of white flour pasta with a salty sauce and salty meat on a regular basis isn’t good fer yer body, just saying.
Kate
No, but if you’re young and active and happen to be working in the area, it might be an attractive deal.
CE
A lot of people eat much less healthy meals than some cheap pasta. I can imagine someone with a very physical but lower-paying job in the area being into some cheap carbs to keep them going while at work (especially someone for whom it would be difficult to take food to their workplace).
MarcG
I hope you’re right and it doesn’t end up being a bunch of seniors with diabetes on a budget.
MarcG
Nutritionists suggest a plate be 1/2 veg, 1/4 carb, and 1/4 protein – this is like 2/3 carb, 1/6 veg, 1/6 protein. I guess the only thing making it better than fast food places is the presence of any vegetables at all and not as much fat.
CE
I highly doubt many people are getting “1/2 veg, 1/4 carb, and 1/4 protein” in their meals on a regular basis. I consider myself to be a fairly healthy eater and I definitely don’t get this ratio in most of my meals.
MarcG
It’s a difficult ideal for sure. I’m just pointing out that this meal is almost opposite to it and the program is designed to encourage people to eat it very often.
Meezly
I thought this might be a sign of a recession but it does seem that Popessa wants to attract a more regular clientele.
jeather
Pretty good price for students, too.
Nicholas
Blork, the article says they have 72 signups, but that includes seniors, students, etc.
Kate
Post links about civic corruption, organized crime, street violence… crickets.
But post about noodles…
Ian
Man, a lot of foodcops here. Downtown workers might not feel like mall food ok?
@Blork Gut-busting, well, don’t eat so much of it lol. You can bust your guts on bread if you eat the whole loaf.
@MarcG so take a smaller portion and eat a side salad, yeesh.
When I worked in that area I usually went to Chinatown where you actually can get a better meal than in the business district… but most downtown core folks just eat whatever, you can do a LOT worse than pasta several times a week.CE
I know what it’s like to eat the same cheap meal over and over. When I was a student, every weekday I generally had a bagel for breakfast, People’s Potato for lunch, Al-Taib for dinner (although on one day of the week, the Concordia multi-faith chaplaincy would make a very good meal for a couple bucks). If Al-Taib had had a subscription model, I definitely would have taken them up on it!
Ian
I survived university on chickpeas and rice with tomato paste. If I was feeling rich I’d buy some frozen macedoine. Eating the same thign every day kind of sucks but life could be worse.
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Kate
Most media are reporting a slowdown at the airport, being blamed on computer problems.
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Kate
Michel Lalonde, who was a go-between between the city and engineering firms during the Tremblay years, testified Monday at the corruption trial of Frank Zampino. Lalonde described the mechanism via which engineering firms were permitted to bid, after handing off their 3% to Bernard Trépanier. Trépanier died in 2018. Lalonde’s testimony continues Tuesday.
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Kate
We’ve seen stories about fake taxis at the airport – now there are fake taxis cruising streets with bars at closing time, picking up people who’ve had a few and will pay well to be taken home.
Kevin
Who will be the first politician to promise to recreate the Taxi bureau?
Ian
My campaign promise:
Only medallions will save the children
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Kate
Two workers in a Videotron store on Ste‑Catherine were tied up and the store robbed, just before closing on Monday evening.
This is not the first time a Videotron store has been robbed. Here’s an item from May 2022 about several braquages à l’ancienne at their storefronts around town.
I also remember, when I went to a Videotron store on Jean‑Talon around that time to exchange some of their hardware, having to be checked out and buzzed in.
Ephraim
All it takes is a timed SAFE for the phones.The companies won’t do it until it costs them money. So, time to put their cost of worker’s compensation up to match the impact of these robberies on the worker’s comp for them being out after the robbery.
Ian 19:32 on 2025-03-25 Permalink
I saw “Janette sexier than ever” on a tabloid at the grocery store. 2 solitudes indeed.
EmilyG 20:25 on 2025-03-25 Permalink
I think I first became aware of her when the Charter of Values thing was being proposed back in 2014, and she said those things about the rich (Muslim?) McGill students in the apartment pool.
Some context here: https://cultmtl.com/2014/03/quebec-muslim-menace/
Kate 23:48 on 2025-03-25 Permalink
Good link, EmilyG, thanks!
bob 13:43 on 2025-03-26 Permalink
Janette who?
Orr 21:05 on 2025-03-26 Permalink
@bob
Janette of Les Janettes.
MarcG 08:27 on 2025-03-27 Permalink
Bob of Les Bobettes?