A study by the Union des municipalités du Québec shows that prices for sidewalks are 72% higher now than ten years ago, and costs for municipal projects like park chalets, swimming pools and fire stations have soared. This is blamed not only obvious factors like materials and labour, but heightened construction standards too.
Updates from December, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Cycle paths were mostly not cleared on Friday, so city advice to cyclists was to leave the bike at home and take public transit instead.
Although seeing bike paths cleared first used to be a sore spot for many, and was one of Ensemble’s leverage points, city spokesman Philippe Sabourin claims that no new snow clearing policy has been instituted since the election of Ensemble.
Nicholas
Ah, Luis Miranda being as delicate and compassionate with cyclists as he is with teens.
Kate
On Facebook, Craig Sauvé and a fellow Transitioniste lit into Miranda. I can’t embed Facebook here, but this is a cut of the English version of his text:
PRESS RELEASE – Transition Montréal condemns Luis Miranda’s comments on the safety of cyclists and people with reduced mobility.‘For the right to safe and equitable mobility, in all seasons.’
Montreal, 13 December 2025 – Comments made by Luis Miranda, Mayor of Anjou and responsible for snow removal in the City of Montreal, inviting cyclists to abandon their bikes in favour of public transport, have caused deep concern and strong disapproval within Transition Montreal.
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The current situation – where many bike paths remain uncleared more than 24 hours after a storm – forces users to ride among cars, compromising their safety and the harmonious coexistence of modes of transport.“We strongly condemn Mr. Miranda’s comments and opinions, which relegate cycling to the status of a seasonal leisure activity, when in fact it is a real mode of daily transport for thousands of citizens. The right to mobility for all cannot be conditional on the weather. It must be guaranteed for everyone, at all times. As the saying goes, cycling is not just a sport, but a mode of transport,” added Mr. Bataille.
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In addition, cycle paths are often used by people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters so that they can travel more comfortably and safely. “This is nonsense and completely contradicts all the progress made in recent years. We reaffirm that every citizen has the right to safe and continuous access to their mode of transportation, whether they are pedestrians, cyclists or public transit users,” concluded Craig Sauvé, leader of Transition Montréal.Ian
Tangentially, I was surprised today to see the bike paths cleared on Bellechasse but not the sidewalks.
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Kate
Two women died outside recently, one in Longueuil and one in Laval, and now a 78-year-old man has been found dead outside in Rosemere. Authorities say it could have been exposure or some other health issue.
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Kate
The STM’s maintenance union is accusing the STM of scare tactics by publicizing projected numbers of how many buses and how many departures will be missing as the month‑long strike progresses.
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Kate
The new Quebec law forbids public institutions from serving halal or kosher food. Jean‑François Roberge claims “it isn’t complicated” to serve both kosher and other food, which tells me he has no idea what it means to keep a kosher kitchen.
One sad thing here is that people who have no family to accompany them to hospital and provide them with food suitable for their beliefs will either not eat, or be forced to eat food they feel is unfit. I suppose this has to be seen as a win for secularism.
jeather
” In a statement on Roberge’s behalf, a spokesperson says there are no exceptions provided for in the bill.”
That is of course not overall true: they are allowed crosses on buildings and religious names on schools, there are no exceptions provided for *non-Christians*.
Nicholas
It forbids them from serving only halal or kosher food, not serving it entirely. But as I’ve said, institutions will surely find creative ways around this, like handing people who want an alternative a tray with a kosher meal with meat and a sealed package of Quebec cheddar from a fridge kept outside the kitchen. The law doesn’t require serving pork or shellfish, and because the demand is nonsensical it’s impossible to put it into a written legal standard, so loopholes will abound.
It’s like those people who don’t want to eat a “vegan meal”; ok, here’s a glass of milk and a can of spam.
jeather
I’m just — if they serve salad, is that automatically halal/kosher so it doesn;t count, or does it have to have pork, milk and meat together, or alcohol in it? (I don’t really look closely at meat to know how much beef/chicken is kosher or halal, but for most people dairy is automatically kosher and doesn’t need a hechsher and eggs from kosher birds are automatically kosher as well, so a vegetarian meal created in a kosher kitchen is automatically kosher.)
Kevin
In order to demonstrate they are now free from the oppression of the Catholic Church, the CAQ has decided to oppress members of other religions.
Kate
Kevin, you’re already winning at “calendar quotes for 2027”!
Joey
Must be fun to be both a moron and an asshole. You can be a monster!
Kevin
Kate
It’s not even 2026 yet!
And damn, the abuse I endured as a child is paying off ↕️Ian
@jeather my stepdad (who is not Jewish) spent his final year in a nursing home associated with the Jewish so all the food actually was kosher… but his only complaint was not enough salt and no pepper.
As they say in Yiddish, “הינדל טייסץ ווי הינדל” – chicken tastes like chicken.
Actually I just made that up, it’s not a saying – but it should be.
PatrickC
@Ian, You remind me of the movie “Take This Waltz,” in which Seth Rogen played a chef famous for a cookbook titled “Tastes Like Chicken!” The joke was that he actually used chicken in the recipes.
Uatu
Enjoy your non Kosher/ halal meal in the hospital caf. Now get back waiting the 12hrs to see an ER doc lol
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Kate
La Presse says that rental increases will be lower next year, although this is based on projections by Canada Mortgage & Housing, and not by what the TAL will permit.
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Kate
Weekend notes from La Presse, Le Devoir, CityCrunch, Montréal Secret, CultMTL. -
Kate
The REM was down again Friday morning all the way from Brossard to Bois‑Franc in both directions. Officially, it’s a ralentissement.
Uatu
There was also a delay Friday afternoon because of stuff on the tracks. I wonder how frequent those type of delays will be in the future…
Ian
I guess that anywhere the tracks aren’t elevated there’s a risk of branches or debris blowing onto the tracks. I hear the bus is way scarier though, you’d better just sit and wait for that delay to be cleared.
Uatu
Yep, but seeing that’s my only option across the Champlain bridge I have no choice except to wait lol
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Kate
The first segment of the promised high‑speed train will link Montreal and Ottawa. Construction is to start in 2029.
Roman 03:49 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
As a rule of thumb, due to inflation everything doubles in price roughly every ten years. Pandemic years have accelerated that even more. So 72% in 10 years doesn’t seem outrageous.
Anton 07:13 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
Prices doubling every 10 years implies 7% inflation. That’s a lot.
The average rate is around 2-3%, so we should get 20-35% increases over ten years.
Ian 10:14 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
“everything doubles in price roughly every ten years”
*except wages
tl,dr; average wages in Canada only went up 30.13% over the last ten years
Nicholas 15:34 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
Inflation over the last decade was 30%, according to the bank of Canada. There is no rule of thumb that inflation doubles every decade; that hasn’t been true since the 1970s/early 1980s.
Joey 18:35 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
But at least the work is done properly with the appropriate materials (and always precisely as described in the project specs) so that it lasts.
Ian 21:00 on 2025-12-13 Permalink
Haha yeah and apartment rental turnovers go up 17.2% on average because the landlords do renovations