A Mi’kmaq chief lost his ceremonial jacket at Trudeau airport last week and is pleading for its return.
Tuesday, it was reported as found.
Updates from November, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
I have a REM question. Do trains run end to end between
Panama inBrossard and Deux‑Montagnes, or are the lines separate so that you have to change trains at Central Station?Benoit
They run end to end from Brossard (not Panama) to Deux-Montagnes
Kate
Thank you.
It isn’t Panama?
Blork
Wow, that’s fantastic. I thought they were two separate lines.
I’m sad that the REM is basically of no use to me at all, from where I live in Longueuil. (It would take me an hour or more just to get to Panama station by bus. Even driving to it is 20 minutes at the best of times, and it’s never the best of times.)
GC
Panama is one of the stations, Kate, but not the final one.
MarcG
And in the future, people coming from Anse-à-l’Orme line stations and the airport will have to switch at Bois-Franc to continue heading downtown?
Blork
Yes, the terminus is the Brossard station (one past Panama), which is colloquially the Dix30 station because Dix30 is just a short walk away. That area around the Brossard station has sprouted up a bunch of Griffintownesque residential buildings in the past few years. The transformation has been pretty remarkable given that not long before the Pandemic it was just a field. To wit: https://maps.app.goo.gl/aMCxnfkvjn4bPZby7
MarcG
I think that the Dix30 stop is called Du Quartier and the actual terminus named Brossard is just next door and basically serves as a carpark and repair station?
Blork
My mistake: Panama is two stops before the terminus. In between is the “du Quartier” stop, which is the Dix30 one.
Blork
Correct, MarcG. (You beat me by a few seconds.)
Nicholas
I realized today that the Cartier metro station in Laval and the du Quartier REM station in Brossard sound the same when pronounced if you ignore the du, which people do. Seems unfortunate.
DeWolf
@MarkG All trains will run to Brossard, so no, people coming from the West Island or airport branches will not need to change trains. It’s in the opposite direction when the trains branch off to their various destinations at Bois-Franc.
MarcG
@DeWolf: Thanks, that’s great.
James
Just to add what @DeWolf said to @MarcG, if you are coming from any of the 3 branches (DM / SADB / airport) but you want to go to north to one of the remaining two branches, you need to change trains at Bois-Franc which admittedly is a bit of a detour.
If you are going north from the centre branch (Brossard -> Bois-Franc), you need to make sure to get on the train going to the branch you want.
When fully operational, the service pattern northbound will be :
T1: train from Brossard to Deux-Montagnes
T2: train from Brossard to Anse-à-Lorme
T3: train from Brossard to Deux-Montagnes
T4: train from Brossard to Airport
repeat…Kate
Thank you, James
MarcG
Same idea if you’re going from, say Kirkland, to the airport, you’ll have to go to Bois-Franc, switch, and head back west? The idea of needing to choose the right train when you get on is kind of weird and will confuse tourists but for everyday users not having to switch is pretty sweet.
Mark
I have to say, I’ve been skeptical and somewhat critical of this overall project. The fact that it sort of cannibalizes the other bus/train lines, the “private” ownership of the tunnel, the need to high ROI instead of transit planning, all the concerns that we shared on this blog since 2016. But I have to say that this extension makes sense, and will continue to make sense as it connects to the airport. It felt like the REM to the South Shore was just replacing buses, but now it’s for Montreal. It’s a project that brings some excitement and a new dimension to transit in the city that we desperately need in the context of under funding. That being said, I’m still concerned that there is a lot of money for flashy projects (not that the blue line is flashy, but it does serve as a ribbon cutting experience for politicians, as did the REM)…….and seriously not enough money to run the metro and buses which anchor the whole system. But for now, yay for the REM.
Kate
MarcG: We’ve been conditioned by the simplicity of the Montreal metro system: if you’re on the right platform, you simply take the next train. But in a lot of places, trains using the same platform can be going to different termini.
CE
Choosing different trains on the same platform is pretty normal. Tourists are often surprised by how simple the system here is.
GC
For sure. Even subways in some places, like New York, will have different trains using the same platform. I think most tourists will be used to it.
Also, if one somehow gets on the wrong one, they can always get off at Bois-Franc or whatever and still switch to the correct branch.
MarcG
My provincialism is showing. TIL!
Nicholas
Our system is very simple that way, but we do already have some things like this. The three CP line Exo trains (Vaudreuil, St Jerome, Candiac) work like this. The Orange Line was built so half the trains short turn at Henri Bourassa. And there are also buses that short turn (24) and effectively branch even if they have different numbers (104/138). But I agree that the vast majority of our transit doesn’t do this, making things very simple.
Kate
I forgot about the orange line’s short turn, thanks for reminding me. So anyone who wants to get to Laval by metro would have to keep that in mind.
A thing I’ve never understood is the city buses with “École” up front, like some 193 buses on Jarry at certain times of day. That bus does serve a couple of big high schools, but I don’t know what else happens with them, and I’ve never tried to board one.
Nicholas
I should say during rush hour for the Orange Line, otherwise it always goes to Laval.
The École buses, sometimes marked X (193X), are buses that run some portion of the regular route to/from a school, but are open to the public. I took one coming home from high school: the bus would start at a stop near the school that was different from the regular stop (and not at the beginning of the line, this was halfway along, and about 100 m from the regular line), and would leave ten minutes after the bell and then run the route towards the metro, making regular stops. Regular buses would continue to run the regular route too. Anyone could use any bus (though a regular driver not wanting to let me on hit me with his bus). The reverse happens in the morning, with it leaving a metro and going to the school and then ending its run and going hors service.
They do this because they know there will be a lot of kids, enough to fill most of the bus, so it’s extra service. And sometimes regular people don’t want to be on a bus with rambunctious high schoolers (partly guilty), so it solves two problems. But you’re welcome to try!
I once was at St Luc high school in NDG around the ending bell and there were something like 5 École STM buses: 51, 66, 102, 103 (I think two of them). Note that some of these buses are a few blocks from their regular route, and the bus could divert even farther if needbe. They look at the number of kids taking each bus and if they need more they schedule more, but usually that’s figured out early in each school year and mostly doesn’t change year to year. I suppose they could run a single bus to/from two schools on the same run, but I don’t know if they do.
GC
I had no idea that some of the orange line trains don’t go all the way to Laval. I’ve only taken the metro there maybe five times, in total, and usually on the weekend.
Nicholas
Sorry, I should have said only half the rush hour trains went to Laval pre-covid. Back when they were running trains every 90-100 seconds, they decided they did not want to send all trains to Laval, for cost or capacity reasons. So they decided that when trains were running that often, only half would go to Laval. But turning every other train at Henri Bourassa would be tricky: you just had 90 seconds to get it emptied, past the station, reversed, and then inserted back into the southbound stream between other trains. A small delay would cause interference and mess up one or either direction. So they instead built a third platform at Henri Bourassa, which handles trains to Laval, and then trains terminating at Henri Bourassa use the old platform, while southbound isn’t changed. But now they don’t run trains frequently enough, and I believe Laval transit use is up proportionately compared to 2007 given the increased density, so they run everything to Laval.
GC
OK. Thanks for clarifying.
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Kate
A website about Canadian football ledes this article about the Grey Cup final “Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau never had much support in the province of Saskatchewan, but he’ll have even less after this week.”
I don’t understand why this is a thing – is it only because he has the nerve to support his home team* rather than the Roughriders? (Besides, he doesn’t need support and has no obligation to maintain a pretense of cultural neutrality any more either, because he’s no longer an active politician.)
Bonus: no mention of Katy Perry.
Item says the game is at 6 pm EST. Would there be a parade if the Alouettes win?
*Actually, I see on Wikipedia that Trudeau was born in Ottawa, for what it’s worth.
Kevin
Yes there would be a parade. Broadcast crews have already walked the route just in case. (They do it every time the Alouettes make the Grey Cup.)
Tee Owe
Yes he was born in Ottawa, Christmas Day I recall – his mother was there at the time 🙂
Kate
What no magi?
Ian
Don’t be silly Kate, there are no wise men in Ottawa
😀
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Kate
Just as the Henri-Bourassa REV opens on Sunday, TVA runs a piece about a business owner on the street who says she’s moving her shop out of town because the bike path has destroyed business. But she may get her revenge, as the city is likely to be dismantling cycling infrastructure over the next four years.
The image on the Cycling Magazine article, which reports a planned “citizen inauguration” of the Henri‑Bourassa REV on Sunday, is at odds with the snowy vista of reality.
Later, there was a report on the cyclist gathering that opened the REV on Sunday, cyclists clearly concerned they won’t have it for very long.
Blork
So… she says business has fallen because bike paths make it harder to park close to the store, so she’s going to relocate the store to the back of beyond 50km away, and she expects that will bring her customers back?
jeather
She’s also in two years of lowered business, which is well before the bike lane. And of course there’s also a bus lane, which in my experience also removes parking. It also looks like the store creates custom glass walls and showers etc, not the kind of thing you walk out carrying, because they do installation as well.
Kate
Seems some businesspeople who’ve realized that it’s no longer credible to blame their slump on Covid have switched to bike paths.
Blork
According to her Google reviews she’s been griping about bike paths for at least two years. (There’s a bike path on the perpendicular side street that runs up to HB.)
As jeather says, it’s a vitrerie, so it’s not like people are going to just drive over and pop in for a new custom chunk of glass. Although I supposed people pop in to discuss and make orders and whatnot. But are people NOT going to buy their custom glass thing just because they have to walk an extra half a block? Are they going to drive 50km into the woods to do so?
Jonathan
I think it’s worth noting that in the 2021 election the projet candidates for ahunstic Cartierville ran on a platform that included this Metrobus and REV as a topline item. So this talk about not listening to the people may be a bit exaggerated.
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Kate
Pivot looks into what the members of the STM unions want.
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Kate
Video from CBC’s Kwabena Oduro explores Canada’s deepest rail station – Édouard‑Montpetit. La Presse has a few responses from enchanted passengers on the new line.
MarcG
What’s the deal with having staircases before and after the elevators? I assume there are separate elevators to make those levels accessible but strikes me as an odd/annoying design choice.
DeWolf
I spent part of the afternoon riding the new line. A very diverse crowd in terms of age and background, lots of happy people. One dad travelling with his son through TMR was like, “You know, this is actually really fast. Want to keep going to Brossard so we can see the view from the bridge?”
A few observations:
McGill Station is pretty cramped and I foresee it getting unpleasantly crowded. But the other stations are pretty spacious, especially Bois-Franc, where a lot of people will be changing trains between the various branches.
There’s a strangely long dwell time at each of the stations. Maybe it will be adjusted? It was consistent between all the stations and noticeably longer than the metro.
It’s pretty amazing to be able to travel from downtown to the blue line in just a few minutes. I think a lot of people are going to start using the REM just for the McGill–Édouard-Montpetit stretch. The transfer will probably increase ridership on the blue line too.
The five high-speed elevators at Édouard-Montpetit are extremely fast. They seem identical to the elevators used inside HKU station in Hong Kong, which is exactly the same depth (70 metres) as É-M. The entire journey from REM platform to blue line platform took 3.5 minutes. The elevator ride itself was only about 20 seconds.
The entire journey from McGill to Deux-Montagnes was surprisingly fast. A hair over 30 minutes.
Kate
Thanks for the report, DeWolf!
Tim
Does anyone know if going on the REM counts as having been on the metro? For a single fare, one can only go on the metro once. Can I go on the REM, go out of the station and then get on the metro somewhere else on the same fare?
DeWolf
@Tim Yes it counts as a different mode of transit. So you can take the metro somewhere, get out, then take the REM without paying extra if you’re within 120min. At that point it would also be free to transfer back to the metro.
Such a ridiculous system… not sure why the STM is so dead set against having an unrestricted 120min included on every ticket like so many other systems.
DeWolf
To that point, I heard from someone who simply tapped onto a bus and immediately got off to get the free transfer (because metro>bus>metro is free but metro>metro is not).
Uatu
@DeWolf I think the frequency is supposed to keep McGill from being overcrowded. At least at the frequency it’s supposed to be running. The dwell time at stations has been inconsistent recently. Sometimes it’s a couple of minutes other times I’ve seen the doors slam shut on boarding passengers after 30sec. It’ll probably more consistent after a time. That train that slammed the doors also made announcements that the next stop was Edouard monpetit when we were heading to nun’s island so there’s clearly some adjustments ahead.
Tim
Thank you DeWolfe. I was also unaware that a bus transfer could get a user back on the metro.
James
The restriction from the STM has always been only one entry to the metro per ticket.
So you could go: Bus -> metro -> bus but not metro -> bus -> metro.
Now with the REM, this rule has not changed so you cannot do:
Metro blue line to EDM -> REM to McGill –> metro green lineThe problem is that at all three REM-Metro interchanges, you leave the fare-paid area and need to go through the turnstyles again.
There are other restrictions for the validity of the transfer:
- Needs to be within 120 minutes of the initial fare validation
- Cannot transfer to the same bus (example: 105-west / go shopping / 105-east)
nau
And because bus to different bus is also a valid transfer, there was one trip I used to do where if the connections were on time and my errand went quickly enough, I could do metro>bus>a short walk>bus 2>same metro line going back in the opposite direction on the same ticket. Agreed that an unrestricted 120 minutes would be much better for transit users.
nau
@James No two metro entries may have been the rule, but apparently the system wasn’t able to track that at that point in the past anyway (which I think was pre-2017).
James
I stand corrected: metro – REM – metro IS allowed.
https://www.stm.info/en/info/fares/transferswhat isn’t allowed is:
- Cannot transfer to the same bus (example: 105-west / go shopping / 105-east)
- Cannot re-enter the same color metro station (blue / go shopping / blue)
Even for unlimited passes you cannot re-scan your card a 2nd time at the same place within a certain time (this is to prevent you using your valid card to open the gate for your friend who doesn’t have a card)
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Kate
Chloe began the week with a special on the COP30, while Côté simply took delight in the early snow.But the growing unpopularity of François Legault was the theme of the week, Godin giving him an eye test and Ygreck putting him in the net when the doctors met at the Bell Centre. Ygreck returned bluntly to the theme later in the week, Côté linked it up with a popular movie revival in the news and Godin pictured him melting away.
Chapleau offered solidarity to the transit strikers (but see comment analysis below), but Godin was tired of the strikes by the end of the week
With lumber tariffs soaring, Legault advised forestry workers to get jobs with Hydro‑Quebec, which gave Chapleau an idea for a drawing. In turn, Jean Boulet gets in trouble with his anti‑union law.
Ygreck wins the week with his measles cartoon.
MarcG
Can someone decrypt the Chapleau ‘So-so-so-solidarité !’ comic for me please?
Kate
I don’t think there’s anything complicated. In a way, Chapleau seems to be saying that passengers are forced to offer solidarity, whether they want to or not, but by his making a drawing of it, he himself is offering solidarity.
MarcG
Thanks Kate. How about the significance of megaphone with footprints leading away from it?
Blork
Hmmm. I interpreted that as a sarcastic comment on the strikers expecting solidarity while greatly inconveniencing the very people who they want support from. The discarded megaphone in the snow symbolizes the passenger’s throwing away whatever support they had to give once the weather turned bad.
Blork
Actually, I think the discarded megaphone is from the union, who threw it down and left when they realized they had no support from the inconvenienced (and cold/wet) passengers.
MarcG
I think I figured it out, thanks for the ideas. The “solidarité !” is sarcastic – the union isn’t showing solidarity with the transit users (when the weather turned bad the union exited the frame and left them in the cold).
MarcG
Opinion piece in the Toronto Star today by Timothy Caulfield expounding on the subject of that last comic.
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Kate
More snow Sunday morning – feels like we’re in for a long winter.
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Kate
La Presse has a feature about a doctor who offers palliative care to homeless people with advanced cancer. Each of three patients is profiled in a sidebar.
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