Only 14.5% of the city’s blue collar workers are women, a decline from 20% in 2006. Women cite psychological and sexual harassment on the job as disincentives.
Updates from May, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Modular housing is to go up on the old Blue Bonnets land, but it’s somewhat deflating to read that it will house 30 people. Better than nothing, but a drop in the bucket.
Likewise, Laval is trumpeted in this Radio‑Canada headline as mounting an offensive to create social and affordable housing – then the subhead reads “La Ville investira 21 millions de dollars étalés sur une décennie.” That won’t go very far.
Orr
My parents bought a factory built home in 1977.
I would have thought that by now these home factories would be pumping out small modular homes like cookies, for affordable prices.
But both towns and developers want to maximize tax revenue/profits and small affordable homes achieve neither.
Never underestimate the control that property developers wield over town planning.Kate
Habitat was supposed to be a proof of Moshe Safdie’s idea as a young architect, that individual dwellings could be produced industrially, then stacked up in aesthetically pleasing ways. I’ve read that originally he wanted to have a machine on site that would keep producing more units so people could watch the structure grow throughout Expo 67. That didn’t happen, of course.
Habitat wasn’t meant to be an elite living space but it quickly became one and still is.
Ian
Even the Bauhaus had this idea back in the 20s but their modular philosophy only got wide adoption by Industrial and manufacturing building.
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Kate
The fire at the monastère du Bon-Pasteur on Sherbrooke Street was two years ago, but no restoration has been done as the situation is tied up in court cases. La Presse talks to some older people who were living there and can’t go home.
Taylor C. Noakes
You’d think this city would have already worked out the legal framework and funding for some kind of program where they could intervene to repair or restore old buildings of historic or architectural value to a minimum standard (e.g. preventing further degradation) while these court cases get worked out.
For a city that supposedly cherishes its distinct architecture and its history, it just doesn’t do much to save it
Kate
Agreed.
H. John
Luc Ferrandez discussed the problem Friday morning on Patrick Legacé’s radio show:
Ian
Trop cher, lol, maybe if we didn’t have an $824 million police budget we’d have a couple million left over for housing. Or maybe instead of turning the mountqain into a MAMIL piste. Or the 100 million for a “pré”.
There’s lots of money, it’s just been allocated to other projects that our elected officials consider more important. That they consider those projects more important than housing tells you a lot.
This is just like how the city’s hands were tied over AirBnb until suddenly they weren’t. It’s all about poolitical will.
Chris
> There’s lots of money, it’s just been allocated to other projects that our elected officials consider more important.
And we elected them, not you. Your pet priorities of defunding the police is not shared by most. So sure, we could stop spending on x and spend on y instead, but money is finite and we have to chose.
Ian
Ok so I guess you’re ok with hundreds of millions on vanity projects and an inflated police budgets instead of dealing with homelessness and the housing crisis. At least you’re willing to admit it, unlike city hall.
Ian
Addendum:
I am not alone in thinking that the police budget is overinflated. For example, see this fairly in-depth CBC article from just last year:
“In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, demonstrators took to the streets of Montreal and other cities across Canada, chanting “defund the police.” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said there was a “conversation” to be had about police funding, with “plenty of good ideas” around.Fast forward to four years later. Police critics and those calling for change say the city and its police force aren’t being held accountable for police spending, leaving little left over for cost-effective, community-centred alternatives.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-budget-canadian-cities-1.7062604The thing is, if you think that just voting is all it takes to be an involved citizen, you’re wrong.
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Kate
WCAX Burlington sent a journalist here to report on our safe injection sites and the result is interesting, being more graphic and more direct than anything I’ve read from here.
Nicholas
Great report! Good on the reporter thinking, “Instead of just talking to locals who haven’t experienced this, let’s go see it in action elsewhere.” I think if they could be open 24/7 that would reduce a lot of the use outside: I bet those people waiting outside for hours sometimes decide they can’t wait, so that attracts outdoor use to that block.
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Kate
A garage in Montreal East belonging to alleged gangster Marco Pizzi – site of arsons and a shooting – has been bought by the Société de développement Angus and will be developed as affordable, subsidized housing.
MarcG
Will they put up a commemorative plaque (like they did for the old-school bowling alley that used to live at 642 de l’Eglise)?
Nicholas
Who says that mob arsons are only bad!
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Kate
STM maintenance workers had planned a strike for May 25, but the Tribunal administratif du travail has declared their work essential for public health and safety.
Canada Post is still unsettled, the union telling its workers to refuse overtime. I will add any more recent bulletins here that come up.
A construction strike is also in the offing for next week.
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Kate
Weekend notes from CityCrunch, La Presse, the Gazette, Le Devoir, CultMTL. Le Devoir deplores the closure of part of St‑Denis in the Plateau for the Festival BD.
Road, bridge and tunnel closures for your delectation.
Nicholas
I did a double take and figured that must have been a typo and you meant JdM/TVA. But yes, it does start strong, though the head of the SDC loves it, and they’re right: business is up. Still lots of places to drive.
DeWolf
Yeah, it’s a bit of a bait-and-switch. Kind of cheeky actually.
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