Public transit fares will be going up by an average 3% on Tuesday.
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Kate
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Kate
Even though more is written about the housing crisis around Moving Day, the effects of the housing crisis are felt all year, as this Radio‑Canada piece says.
I’ve just paid my 5.9%-hiked rent myself for July 1st. I felt it.
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Kate
A class action suit has been authorized against Tim Hortons in Quebec after a “roll up the rim to win” contest promised a boat and trailer each to half a million customers across Canada.
Could be worse. Thousands of people in Norway were informed they had won big jackpots in their national lottery. They hadn’t.
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Kate
The REM will soon close for a month and a half so the new sections can be slotted in. It will be tricky for people who depend on it.
Nicholas
The old line has been closed for 4.5 years, and they need 1.5 months to slot this in for tracks that already had the capability to through run. In Japan they had an 85-year-old rail line that ended at ground level that they wanted to lower down with jacks to connect to a metro line, so they could through run it. The slot in happened in 3.5 hours. That’s not a typo. Watch the video, where the last train rolls in at 1 am and the first train through runs to the metro at 5 am. This is how far behind we are.
Joey
Shame the journalist didn’t explain why the South Shore REM line has to shut down to get the north & west lines running. Maybe someone here can explain why the former can’t stay operational while the final touches on the latter are completed.
anton
Originally they said about the Deux-Montagnes line that there will be no shutdowns, “maybe a weekend or two”, and anybody who said that seemed unrealistic was shouted down.
Joey
That tracks. What’s the actual reason? Is it just that they have to deploy too many staff to bringing the new lines on board to manage the existing one?
Nicholas
Joey, the answer is they’re bad at their jobs. But don’t worry, the head of the CDPQ when this project was being designed, the former CN executive, who was leading the charge against people making reasonable points such as anton, is no longer in his job. Instead this month he was appointed to be the Clerk of the Privy Council, the highest civil service job in the country.
Robert H
Haha,failing upwards is the best policy.
Ian
Shit floats.
Uatu
Just want to make a note that my ABC pass is now 200$ a month. 200$ to take a bus to a train station to take a bus. Wish I had my express bus back. At least that felt worth the money.
Ian
2400 a year to get to wait in the rain and snow and still have to deal with the bus. Ugh. I’m lucky enbough to be all in zone A, but still…
It takes me roughly 2 hours to get from Mile End to Saint Anne de Bellevue by STM. Even when the REM is completed, the “Saint Anne” stop is Anse à l’Orme, north of the 40 near Morgan… so I will take a bus to the Outremont metro then the metro to Edouard Montpetit REM, take the REM to Bois Franc, transfer to the line going to Anse à l’Orme, then a shuttle bus from the REM to the town… which will take about an hour and a half total, minimum – assuming the REM is up and running, LOL.
REM or no REM, it will take me between 1.5 and 2 hours each way, for what is normally a 45 minute drive, door to door. 3 or 4 hours out of my day on public transit as opposed to an hour and a half if I drive certainly offsets the cost and inconvenience of driving.
Robert H
I don’t drive, don’t have a car, I’m a firm believer in people ditching their vehicles as often as possible for public transport. But good god! With a trek like that day in and day out, even I’d get my license and drive.
Ian
I never owned a car before I’d been doing the trek for a couple of years. Considering my classes at the time were only 4 hours long, the 4 hour commute was just too much to rationalize.
I know commuting to the west island is an edge case but lots of my students and fellow teachers do it, some from even further. It’s ridiculous that on-island transport is this bad.
MarcG
Ludicrous that they’re not offering rebates to inconvenienced users.
Ian, assuming you work at McGill’s Macdonald campus, the shuttle bus doesn’t do you any good?
Ian
I wish, it’s only for McGill students and employees. I’m at Abbott.
Joey
Presumably one could enrol in a continuing ed class (or even a non-cont ed class) to get a McGill ID to be able to board the bus for a lot less than $2400/year…
Ian
Hmmm cunning… I like your grift 😀
I’d still need an STM pass to get downtown and back, but still.
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Kate
You’ve probably seen the video by now in which the felling of a huge and magnificent tree ended up destroying a house. This happened not far from town and has been tragic for the tenant, but this piece still does not explain why that tree had to go.
(Link to video in comment below.)
Nicholas
I don’t understand this. He says he can’t insure the house because he’s in a flood zone. But I know people who’ve lived in flood zones, and they can insure a house, but they get no flood protection. So theft, fire and falling trees are all insured, just not floods. Also he’s a tenant, he can get renter’s insurance, but it’s the landlord who insured the house. And, as the article says, the company will be liable here, though if they don’t have insurance or were negligence they could go bankrupt.
MarcG
Here’s a video on Twitter https://x.com/_fluxfeeds/status/1938844879620383203
Nicholas
That video is embedded in the original article, though from a content aggregator. Kate, maybe you have no tracking on so you didn’t see it?
Kate
My brain may have omitted seeing it. Happens sometimes.
walkerp
Holy crap, that is a screw up. I’ve never chopped down a tree that big, though was part of a group that took out a front porch in a similar instance (fortunately the home was set to be demolished, but still did not go the way the guy directing us wanted it to).
Kate, I think your question is the most prescient one. There is this weird default to cut trees down and when you ask why, you rarely get a solid answer. There is always vague talk of danger and destruction to the house. Well they got the latter!
CE
Poplar trees aren’t supposed to get that big or live as long as they do when they’re cared for by humans. When they do grow that large, it’s because they grew very fast and the wood is weak and rots easily (especially since large branches can fall from the weakness of the tree and water can infiltrate). Eventually they start rotting from the inside and can be dangerous if they fall during a wind storm or ice storm.
People made a big deal about the big poplars being cut down in Parc La Fontaine but I went and took a look at the trunks and they were completely rotten in the centre. We look at them and see mighty trees but they’re actually weak and overgrown.
Kate
CE, is the tree in the meme video a poplar?
…I had another look. Big poplars usually have deeper‑grooved bark at ground level, but those look like poplar leaves. And few other trees get so big here.
nau
From the leaves, it looks to be an eastern cottonwood, i.e., Populus deltoides, so yes. Apparently, another name for eastern cottonwood is necklace poplar, though that’s news to me.
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Kate
The federal government is about to pass* what’s being called bubble zone laws to outlaw protests near churches, schools and daycares – essentially making protest illegal in most of the city.
* see comment below
steph
When was the last time we had a local protest that involved “blocking access to places of worship, schools and community centres”?
We block access to the street.Kate
Arguably the Gaza encampment at McGill could have been described in that way.
The point is that a lot of the city is within a stone’s throw of one of the categories. It’s one of the things that makes it hard to place a safe injection site, a shelter for the homeless, or an SQDC branch.
Mind you, most of the churches are empty, or nearly.
steph
They blocked people from playing on the field by using it for tents. But no one was blocked access to their classes.
IIRC the 2012 red square protests prevented some students from going to class. But that was after a student union vote a strike mandate and used picket lines to block scabs. (Is it even fair to call students trying to attend class “scabs” is a whole other discussion – but the union used work rules to engage.) Technically it wasn’t protest that blocked access but a picket line.
When I think about protesters blocking access – I think of abortion clinic protests. And we we don’t tolerate that here in Canada – lets keep that that way. I think we already have laws like that for those things.
Chris
> But no one was blocked access to their classes.
A quick googling shows your memory is wrong there, according to reputable mainstream media.
>When I think about protesters blocking access – I think of abortion clinic protests. And we we don’t tolerate that here in Canada – lets keep that that way.
So wait, are you arguing for or against this new bubble zone concept?
Or are you only against blocking access when you disagree with the protesters?
Ephraim
Meanwhile, at the protest during the F1, they were chanting “Khaybar Khaybar Ya Yahoud” and did we see any arrest? That’s a violation of section 319 of the criminal code. And did you see anyone arrested for it? Nope.
Kate
Some information about that chant.
Nicholas
“About to pass” is a little strong. No bill has even been introduced, maybe not even drafted, and they have to do a Charter review before introducing it, and Parliament doesn’t come back until September. We have no idea what the other parties think of this, and this is a minority government. It will likely take months to do second reading, committee review, report stage, third reading and then all that again in the Senate, not to mention all the other issues that could take precedence in the priority of the government. As we can see in this very thread, who should get protection from protest and what protest words should be criminal to say varies greatly, so this isn’t going to be an easy bill to write nor agree to; many legislators will be concerned that their supporters will be thrown in jail, and it’s not easy to write a law that says only some viewpoints are criminal and have it survive in the courts. I’d be extremely surprised if this passed this year, and good chance it isn’t law even by next summer.
Kate
Thank you, Nicholas
H. John
@Nicholas. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our Parliament worked the way you (and I) think it should.
If the Liberals want to pass this into law, it can easily be done by the end of October. I probably have to explain how.
How many people remember when s. 319 was added to the Criminal Code?
S. 319 says:
Wilful promotion of antisemitism
(2.1) Everyone who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or
(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.You’re certainly not alone if you didn’t notice it becoming law when the Bill it was in received Royal Assent in June 2022.
It was contained in a Bill titled “An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures”.
It was buried in the budget omnibus bill.
The summary of the omnibus bill explained: Division 21 of Part 5 amends the Criminal Code to create an offence of wilfully promoting antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust through statements communicated other than in private conversation.
As for Charter rights, neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals have a sterling record of standing up for rights.
In Dec. 2013, Harper’s government introduced Bill C-13 to deal with cyber bullying. Here’s The Liberal’s justice critic explaining everything that is wrong with the Bill, and the rights it would override, while saying that Liberal MPs would be voting for the Bill.
https://liberal.ca/voting-bill-c13-cyber-bullying/
They couldn’t afford to bring down the government at the time, so they held their noses and purposely voted to override rights.
Ephraim
Don’t have to go into the specifics about anti-semitism in this case. It violated the “Wilful promotion of hatred” statues
319 (1) Every one who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or
(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Marginal note:Wilful promotion of hatred
(2) Every one who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or
(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
It also violates 318, if you want to be specific, as incitement of hatred and a threat of violence. The fact that it mentions an identifiable group is exactly the problem. In many countries in Europe this will get you charged. Here, it’s illegal and nothing is being done and it’s creating not just an atmosphere where people are accepting discrimination, but it’s being seen around the world as such. It’s shameful. And it needs not just the police to listen to it, but points at a problem deep in our education system.
Ian
Blatant acts of antisemitism aside, I am curious about the definitions behind the bubble zone as in what precisely counts as educational or religious and what counts as protest. On my full block, for instance there are no “official”religious buildings per se but there are 4 shuls. Do those count? Does a garderie count as an educational institution? Is flying a flag or having a sign in your window protest or are we only talking about gatherings? Gatherings of how many? If a speaker comes to the Rialto around the corner and speaks on religious topics, before a large audience, does that count as a protest? How about if 5 of those people go to a local terrasse and start having a public conversation about it?
Ian
Apologies, I accidentally hit enter before checking my spelling.
ANYHOW holocaust denial is a pretty easy benchmark (I should hope) but the idea of criminalizing protest is inherently tricky. That’s why we still see anti-abortion whackadoodles with their foetus porn on street corners, just not specificallly picketing clinics and hospitals.
Even private conversation is sticky, it’s why online communites with passwords are allowed to get away with hate speech as long as nobody can be specifically said to have been incited by it to commit a punishable offense.
Kate
I edited you up a bit, Ian. Please let me know if I changed anything you wanted to keep.
Ian
All good, much appreciated.
H. John
@Ephraim
I think you’re wrong. You post articles from the criminal code while missing what it says (e.g. “where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace”).
I’m writing this as carefully as I can.
Pretending I understand how you feel is understandably insulting.
I’m not Jewish, I can’t.
This is a really difficult time for people like me who are disgusted by antisemitism, but who don’t know how to legitimately express how appalled they are by the current Israeli government.
Orr
I go with the United Church of Canada’s reasonably middle-ground and rigorously consistent morality on the issue this is all about.
Would the bubble-zone law would restrict Canadians from publicly stating these views in certain locations?
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Kate
No matter how legitimate a tenant’s complaint ito the Tribunal administratif du logement, having it on the public record often means being blacklisted when it comes to renting a new place. The RCLALQ wants TAL complaints made anonymous so that this ceases to be an issue.
I wouldn’t bet on the CAQ agreeing.
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Kate
The state of the Quebec Liberal Party is good for a laugh, but then so is François Legault’s declining popularity. Chapleau had already drawn Pablo Rodriguez at the head of the PLQ, harking back to Jean Charest’s line about having both hands on the steering wheel in 2012.Rodriguez’s hair is a gift to the caricaturists.
There were tributes to Serge Fiori, while Chapleau gives a nod to the choice of Denis Villeneuve to direct the next Bond film.
Chloé on yet another serious environment warning and the relative weight of world news compared to local conditions. World news was also on her mind later, and Côté produced the cartoon of the week with no caption needed.
DeWolf
I’m enjoying this weekly roundup of editorial cartoons because they aren’t necessarily something I would seek out myself (though I used to enjoy them back when newspapers were printed on paper). Thanks!
Tee Owe
Also like the cartoons – thanks!
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Kate
Notes on where to celebrate Canada Day.
What’s open and closed.
MarcG
Seen lots of Ontario plates around. Originally thought irony was making a comeback but maybe it’s people who read during the election that Quebec doens’t hate Canada anymore?
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Kate
A body was found by the Back River Saturday, but aside from its identification as a man, it is described as unidentifiable.
MarcG
My first thought is about the report of someone drowning off Cap St-Jacques last week.
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Kate
Two trials have been in the news, although I don’t usually post about court matters midway. The civil trial of Gilbert Rozon for sexually assaulting multiple women descended into mayhem this week, while the jury has been sequestered in the trial of François Pelletier, who has already admitted stabbing Romane Bonnier to death in 2021, so the decision turns on his degree of responsibility. Considering that Pelletier claims he had to kill Bonnier “to preserve her essence” he may well be on the road to Pinel, but the jury has yet to speak.
I heard some bits of Rozon’s defence on CBC radio this week and it left a nasty taste. Rozon still seems to think he’s the injured party. There was a sense that “I didn’t do it, but if I did, it’s natural that I should be expected to exercise droit de seigneur in the entertainment world.” I can see why the husband of one of the plaintiffs wanted to give him a pasting.
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Kate
Two young men are in critical condition from being electrocuted while messing with a circuit breaker in the old Chinese hospital in Villeray (although Radio‑Canada tiptoes around the location, describing it as “un bâtiment désaffecté situé sur la rue Faillon, près de la rue Drolet”).
Police line is that the teenagers were trying to steal something, but the building has been disused for years. Except for copper wire I can’t imagine what else of value would be on the property.
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Kate
In 2023, a fuss was made about how Quebec and Ottawa were collectively putting up $1.8 billion for 8000 social housing units in Quebec. Le Devoir asks how it’s going and gets evasive answers.
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Kate
A young man was shot in Montreal North on Friday evening and died in hospital. Witnesses say he was shot from a car, but the attacker then took off on foot, and has not been arrested. It’s the city’s 18th homicide of the year.
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Kate
A woman who went out collecting cans started noting down abandoned buildings around town, and she’s putting them on a map.
MtlWeb
This map is amazing; once you start looking, you’ll end up scrolling through all of them. Have walked by so many of these and always wondered why but as the article points out, it could just be due to the owner passing away.
Kate
I suppose a building could be in limbo while the government tries to find heirs, but there should be a time limit after which the property could be offered to the city for public use, and if it has no potential for that purpose, auctioned off.
I also know a couple of these buildings and could have added many more when I was working for the census in 2021. So many apparently abandoned buildings around Villeray and northern Rosemont‑PP.
Nicholas
Kate, that sort of already exists? We have eminent domain, so the city can take over buildings at any time, so long as it’s for a public purpose and it pays for it. Alternately, if the owner doesn’t pay property taxes, the city can foreclose and sell it at auction.
If we want to do something specifically against vacant properties, that can be hard, as you have to find out which are vacant. But you can do a roughly equivalent thing: raise taxes on all homes, and then give all residents all the money you got raising taxes. People who own empty buildings (including second homes) will pay the tax and get nothing, so will be incentivized to make their home more useful by selling or renting, while people who live in their home get money back, and actually a bit more because they get money from the empty home owners. There are some issues to work out, as taxes are based on the value of the property while refunds would normally be equal, but this just makes it progressive; you also would raise money from landlords and give it to tenants, but landlords could raise rents to get it back over time. You could do this for non-residential too, but then it’s just easier to do a land value tax, which incentivizes productive uses rather than abandoned buildings and surface parking lots.
Kate
It might be the time frame. Two of the buildings I’m familiar with on that map have been standing empty for at least ten years. Meantime they degrade and the prospect becomes more and more likely that the only future for them is demolition.
Nicholas
Montreal can eminent domain those buildings today. They can use the $25 million+ in the affordable housing fund (has any of that been used?) and turn it into social housing. Governments love crying about how they don’t have the tools to do certain things, but this is something they could do today, using a longstanding government power, not some new, untested tool. Make the announcement on moving day, and say the goal is that in a few years no one will become homeless on July 1 because the city will be taking over empty properties to create social housing. What’s the wait?
Kate
The simple explanation is the one we don’t want: they don’t want to.
bob
The people who run the city answer to landlords, not voters.
Ian
Cheers to that. As Audre Lorde said,
“For the master’s tool will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.”
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