Cartoonists this week
It’s the doldrums of news, the middle weekend of the construction holiday.
Godin references the anniversary of Le Monstre with a joke about SAAQclic, Côté (en rappel) on franglais, on the Quebec deficit and on the new container refund rules.
Trump, of course, is never far from the artist’s pen (or pixels): Godin on Canada vs. Trump, Côté on Trump’s dream. Godin ends the week with a magisterial portrait of the emperor’s new clothes and Chapleau nods to Stephen Colbert and the plan to rename the Kennedy Center opera house for Melania Trump.*
*Saparmurat Niyazov liked to name things after himself and his family members all over Turkmenistan. An excellent exemplar for Trump.
DeWolf 11:40 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
Every year, I forget just how quiet it can be during the construction holiday. There are still lots of festivals and events, and downtown is still busy with tourists, but it’s like half the road traffic evaporates and nowhere is quite as crowded as you’d expect. It’s like our own little version of Paris in August.
Kate 12:17 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
Even the pedestrianized part of de Castelnau, which is often quite lively on the weekend, was nearly empty on Saturday. It might be the smoky haze keeping people indoors, but I think it’s mostly that so many have fled for the construction holiday.
Kevin 17:59 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
I think something like a third of the province is on vacation, and the rest know their favourite spots are likely to be closed
Orr 18:36 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
Went to the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute/L’Institut canadien d’art vocal’s annual summer voice academy’s opera concert for the Festival d’art vocal de Montréal today at UdeM’s Salle Claude Champagne: Mozart’s The Magic Flute/La Flute Enchantée, music by L’Orchestre de la Francophonie (high-calibre student orchestra). I am not an opera buff but this show was amazing.
Get out and try something new is always good advice.
Kate 18:48 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
I went to the Maison de la culture Villeray yesterday to see the exhibit on Jarry Park. There are a lot of photos and other images extracted from old newspapers and so on – the origins of the park, photos from live shows as varied as Supertramp and wrestling extravaganzas.
The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1984 is a big topic, including a shot of René Lévesque in the audience lighting a cigarette, and a sex bar in the area selling papal souvenirs outside.
A side room focuses exclusively on the Expos and their history at the park, including a video projection.
(Disclosure: I did some enhancement work on some of the photos, but that was the extent of my involvement.)
It’s on till August 24. Worth a peek – it’s a couple of short blocks east of Jean‑Talon metro.
DeWolf 19:01 on 2025-07-27 Permalink
Thanks for the tip, Kate! I vaguely knew about the various 100th anniversary events for Jarry Park but had no idea there was an exhibition at the Maison de la culture. Haven’t even been there yet, even though I live nearby. It’s on my agenda now.
SMD 00:59 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
Complementing the in-person exhibit, the BANQ has an article on the Jarry Park centennial, and the Park Extension historical society posted a potted history of the park on its 90th birthday.
Kate 09:03 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
Thank you, SMD.
jeather 11:42 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
Not sure I understand the SAAQclic joke, given that we had ClicSante first. (It’s not letting me make appointments currently, which is fun.)
Kate 13:49 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
In this item at the end of last year, Christian Dubé was promising a new portal to replace Clic Santé which the article says is a private business that directs people to private medical services more often than not.
I think people largely had the impression that Clic Santé is a public service – I hadn’t thought about it much but I assumed it was – but you’ll notice it has no Quebec logo or branding on it.
jeather 14:16 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
I had no idea! I assumed it was public. I’ve only used it for blood samples or vaccination appointments and I always just choose free ones near me.
Kate 14:22 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
Same here. It works, you just have to make the right choices. I wonder whether Quebec can possibly make a public health portal that’s as efficient.
jeather 15:14 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
Interestingly, I have found I can’t actually make a blood test for myself when logged in — it autofills my name and medicare number so I can’t edit it but says there’s an error and it stays blank. I succeeded using “other patient”; another friend found it worked if you just don’t log in. The weird bugs like this are probably why I assumed it was government created.
MarcG 15:35 on 2025-07-28 Permalink
jeather: I’ve encountered that bug as well and have meant to report it but obviously have bigger fish to fry in those moments. They also don’t have a contact form so I would have to call them and try to describe the issue using words rather than just sending a screenshot.
Annette 00:10 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
Wasn’t prepared for a Turkmenbashi reference here.
Kate 13:12 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
It’s a local blog but it’s a big world!
Annette 01:45 on 2025-08-01 Permalink
In that case, perhaps a better analogue would be the Aliev dynasty (which, forebodingly, is a multi-generational affair):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heydar_Aliyev%27s_cult_of_personality