Vincent Marissal has parted ways with Québec Solidaire, claiming he left voluntarily. The party says they threw him out because he’s been schmoozing up to the PQ, who look like they may be in power after next year’s election.
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Kate
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Kate
Paul St‑Pierre Plamondon hopes to convince anglos to be 100% Quebecers.
Toula Drimonis: “Sorry, but what does that even mean? Lol – I *am* 100% a Quebecer. Like, am I only 92% Quebecer if I vote for another party or only 65% if I don’t want Quebec to separate?”
Well, yes, that’s what PSPP means. We’re not truly integrated if we don’t vote Parti Québécois and long for Quebec to mint its own piastres.
Kevin
There is a stark divide in Quebec.
On one hand, you have the ethnic nationalists. The major problem with these people is they largely don’t realize or refuse to admit in public they are ethnic nationalists, preferring instead to refer to having a dominant culture or language. These people believe there is only one way to be a true Quebecer, and that is for everyone else in the province to assimilate into their way of life. In their eyes, you can only be a Quebecer if you give up everything else that makes you who you are.
On the other hand you have everyone else who demonstrates on a daily basis that the ethnic nationalists are wrong. And that group is in the majority, has always been in the majority, and they don’t bother arguing their case every day because they are busy living lives as real Quebecers.
jeather
Ah, voting for the Liberals makes you not a real Quebecer.
Trying to listen and it’s weird — who thinks that anglo/allophones want infinite immigration and increased religion? Canada duplicates services — but which? I grant we have RQ and CRA but that’s not Canada duplicating, really. Blah blah immigration. I’m not going to argue that the federal government doesn’t waste money, but do we really believe that the provincial government is better? He’s attacking the CAQ which, fair, I agree with him on all of that. I also like his attack on Trudeau.
I am fascinated by the “if we pay the federal govt, we will save all this money that we can use for doctors” and they didn’t bring up how well that worked out with Brexit.
I’m going to give PSPP some credit for doing this, because it’s a real walk the walk about wanting to appeal to anglos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtEJ9QD6n-4 is the video, I have listened to about half.
jeather
Ok I’m sorry he just talked about how an independent Quebec would “end the colonial project”, come ON.
Ian
Right? Go tell it to the Mohawks, Pierre.
bob
He means, of course, the British colonial project that colonized the native Quebecois.
Politics is inherently something of a grift, but the level of distortion in these paroles is outright fraud.
“we’re in a situation a situation of always being on the defensive with that government that is in my eyes abusing its powers all the time not respecting its own constitution.”
Zero self awareness.
Poutine Pundit
Here’s a fuller quote from PSPP: “I hope I will convince anglophones to be a 100 per cent Quebecers,” he said. “Because the fact is they are…”
The good-faith interpretation if you take that follow up sentence into account is that he’s addressing identity and belonging. Many anglophones in Quebec do not fully identify as Québécois, often self-exclude, or identify as Canadian first and foremost.
Granted, there are plenty of examples of francophone nationalist discourse that leans toward a narrow and exclusive ethnolinguistic definition of “Québécois,” which can explain why many Anglophones don’t feel included in the term, but PSPP’s tone here doesn’t seem to be playing to that, quite the contrary.
And no, I’m not saying the PQ generally promotes an inclusive vision of Quebec, but I do think there’s some bad faith interpretations of this particular example.
Kate
How would we demonstrate our belonging, PP?
Ian
In my observations of history, purity tests can never be satisfied.
Regardless, I think it’s funny (yet unsurprising) that our ti-Caillou doesn’t acknowledge the native question. How much of Quebec is treaty and or unceded, again? The colonialist project runs way deeper than the Plains of Abraham. Plamondon is just another ethnonationalist revisionist.
Poutine Pundit
> How would we demonstrate our belonging, PP?
By refusing to let narrow-minded nationalists define what it means to be Quebecois and define it ourselves in a broad and inclusive way, asserting–like Toula–that we are 100% Quebecers.
My point is that PSPP isn’t saying we aren’t, at least not in this quote.
Kate
If it’s the case, why even say it?
Ian
Those dogs ain’t gonna whistle themselves
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Kate
Gerald Matticks, one of the leaders of the West End Gang, sometimes known as the Irish mafia, has died. He was 85 and died of natural causes. His gang dominated the Port of Montreal for a long time.
The Gazette still has the 2015 obit of Richard Matticks online – he was Gerald’s older brother – with more background about the gang’s activities.
Updating to add a CTV piece about a toy drive in Matticks’ memory.
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Kate
McGill announced this week it was cutting a lot of its sports teams from lack of cash. Many students are not happy.
EmilyG
This makes me sad.
In my first year of university, it was rough trying to live through it. In my second year, I discovered one of their extracurricular clubs. I loved it so much, made so many new friends, and my university life was so much better. It was a theatre club and not sports, but I think that shows how important extracurricular school activities can be for students’ mental health.
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Kate
Geneviève Hinse is suing Marwah Rizqy for $500,000 over what she says was an unfair dismissal. La Presse asks and answers the question who is Geneviève Hinse.
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Kate
One young man is dead and two others were seriously injured on the REM tracks in Brossard around 3 on Saturday morning. This is well outside the REM’s normal schedule, so they may have assumed there would be no risk in being on the tracks at that hour, but presumably trains circulate for maintenance and testing.
The Brossard REM is stopped between Du Quartier and Brossard and there are bus shuttles running between Panama, du Quartier and Brossard.
This incident is reminiscent of the 2010 death of three teenagers messing around on the tracks under the Turcot at 3 in the morning.
Taylor C. Noakes
Am I wrong or does the REM operate without anyone aboard who can operate a brake in an emergency?
Am I wrong or was that done to avoid having more unionized workers (i.e. to cut costs)?
Blork
I doubt the absence of an operator is much at fault. I don’t know how something like this even happens, given that you should be able to see the REM train coming if you are on the tracks along that stretch, and it takes literally one or two seconds to step out of the way, whereas an operator, even if they saw someone on the tracks, would take several seconds to react, and many seconds for the train to actually stop.
Here’s a question: since the REM train was operating with no one aboard, was it operating without lights? If that’s the case then maybe that explains why these people didn’t see it coming. And if that’s the case then at the very least they need to change the SOP so that the train’s lights are always on when it’s moving, whether or not anyone’s aboard and regardless of the time of day or night.
Along that stretch the REM tracks are at ground level but you need to cross several lanes of highway 10 to get to them, and then climb over a concrete barrier and a wire fence, so from REM’s point of view there should never be anyone on those tracks. But… people. Especially young men people. The SOPs and safety policies need to account for stupid behaviours.
For reference, I’m guessing it happened somewhere around here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zbYTGp5M8zRcaY9h8
Nicholas
My first question on seeing the location is is the pedestrian overpass open overnight? If not that should be changed.
But you can’t prevent something like this. You could do a lot of things to prevent this one specific fatality, but they literally crossed a highway. The highway has no fence. Drivers at that hour, if sober, will have a hard time seeing a pedestrian in an unexpected place at 100 km/h. People do urban exploration and sometimes fall down and perish.
I remember reading a post about some Germans who went on a hike with some Americans in Germany. They get to a lookout and the Germans are admiring the view. The Americans asked why there wasn’t a safety railing, and lighting, and an emergency phone. The Germans were confused, “Why would you spoil this beauty?” “What if someone fell?” the Americans asked. Neither side could understand the other. I think about this story often.
Kate
Nicholas, this brings to mind the British comic Nabil Abdulrashid on Would I Lie To You, telling an anecdote about his childhood: “At that time in Nigeria, we didn’t have ‘health and safety’ – we had a concept of common sense. For example, there was a street next to a river. There wasn’t a fence and a sign saying ‘Caution: River Next to Street.’ Because the Nigerian philosophy is that if you can see the sign, you can probably see the river.”
Uatu
There’s security that rides the REM. They don’t have access to a manual brake, but they’re in constant contact with someone – I guess a security control center. They sometimes spot check everyone’s Opus cards for fare jumpers and report outages or if the train doesn’t stop etc. The REM will probably top the fences with razor wire or something for more security. Idiots apparently have to be protected from their own idiocy…
Uatu
@Nicholas – behind the covered walkway is an overpass with a sidewalk. These guys were just lazy.
Nicholas
Uatu, yes, duh, that’s an easy option.
Kate, that’s funny.
MarcG
I’m going to guess it was graffiti-related like the incident from 2010. I passed by earlier and there were city trucks blocking the left lane around the overpass which seems like a popular spot to hit.
Ian
That was my thought too but several stories carried the “shortcut” angle. If they were painting it probably would have been mentioned.
Blork
Sad update: one of the injured has died. https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-faits-divers/2025-11-23/jeunes-happes-par-le-rem/un-deuxieme-pieton-succombe-a-ses-blessures.php
Chris 22:44 on 2025-11-22 Permalink
Your summary is of course only one side of the “he said / she said”. Marissal seems to have choice words for his party, which sound plausible to me.
bob 07:23 on 2025-11-23 Permalink
He was talking to the PQ, got caught, and jumped ship before they could throw him overboard.
Once the CAQ is wrecked things will look like musical chairs in a daycare.
Kate 11:17 on 2025-11-23 Permalink
Chris, I summed up the situation as described, Marissal saying he quit, QS that he was fired. That’s both sides, simplified.
Chris 11:27 on 2025-11-23 Permalink
That summary is actually better. Your original has a “because” for why they threw him out, but no “because” for why he left voluntarily.
Kate 12:54 on 2025-11-23 Permalink
I had no information about why he left voluntarily when I made that post. All I knew from CBC was that he said he was leaving voluntarily. There’s more about his motivations on the Gazette, and QMI dug up a column from 2015, when Marissal was still a journalist, in which he castigates an MP who crossed the floor, accusing her of opportunism.
Chris, please keep in mind when dishing criticism here:
1. I am one person doing this blog solo, among other things I do
2. I am entirely dependent on what the media have posted at any given time, and have no other sources
Also sometimes I’m rushed and I admit that occasionally I’ll over‑compress a story, or jump to conclusions based on a quick glance at a headline and a deck. I try not to do this, but I am imperfect and do not have any editor checking my work.
This is not a city desk. It is what it is.
SMD 17:36 on 2025-11-23 Permalink
I thought your summary was just fine, Kate. And let’s not forget that Marissal mused aloud about running for mayor last year, hoping Projet would recruit him, and before that had tried to jump to the federal Liberals with Trudeau’s team. Clearly a political chameleon with convictions that are, to say the least, flexible.
Joey 17:29 on 2025-11-24 Permalink
Guess the people at QS wanted the people at the LPQ to hold their beer? With PSSP maybe overextending himself on the sovereignty question, the LPC under a shroud of self-inflicted corruption charges, and QS losing its prominent members, the premier must be feeling pretty bullish!