The self-service Mamie Clafoutis on St‑Denis had its windows smashed last week, although for some reason it wasn’t reported till Monday.
Likewise, an incident at a mosque in Côte‑des‑Neiges Friday morning wasn’t reported till Sunday.
Updates from August, 2026 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
A second try at installing underwater turbines in the river – by the same man who went bust trying this idea 12 years ago – is awaiting various permits to proceed. Environmental issues are handwaved here.
I suspect that with Mark Carney being all gung‑ho to cut through regulatory obstacles to make things happen, and with right‑wing governments in Quebec and at city hall, we’ll see a lot more of this kind of thing.
Tim S.
I’m dubious that this will work, but out of all the ways we have of generating power it seems relatively low-impact. I think this guy should be encouraged rather than lumped in with an oil pipeline.
Kate
Well, the article doesn’t explain why the previous attempt failed and what they’ve done to improve the technology since that time.
If they do put in two turbines as a preliminary experiment, I hope they’ll keep the media posted on their results. The river and its ecology belong to all of us.
Nicholas
Well we do already have turbines generating electricity on the St Lawrence, which can power most of the homes on the island, and the way they’re placed causes much more ecological damage than this would, I presume. Doesn’t mean this will work or is better. Also fun fact that the construction of this dam led to a major political bribery scandal which then partially led electricity nationalization and the creation of Hydro Quebec.
bob
Disoriented fish! Just what we need.
Bert
Not to forget the Rivière des Prairies generating station – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivi%C3%A8re_des_Prairies_generating_station
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Kate
McDonald’s is going to build a drive‑thru in a residential area in Pointe‑aux‑Trembles and many residents are unhappy. It’s clear from how this CBC piece is written that the borough didn’t want to face being sued by the fast food behemoth if they tried to hold the line against them.
Joey
The property is already zoned for commercial use. As the photo makes clear, it’s a pretty desolate abandoned building and an empty parking lot. The borough’s own legal analysis made clear they have little chance of blocking development on the lot.
Also too, it’s absurd that these NIMBYs are arguing that a drive-thru will make the street unsafe for pedestrians when it ALREADY doesn’t have a sidewalk.
Anyway, if the borough were indeed exposed to legal risk, it wouldn’t be from McDonald’s, it would be from the local developer proceeding with the project – hardly a behemoth…
Nicholas
It appears to have been a Renaissance previously and an Enterprise car rental before that. Two doors down, also backing on to residences, is a gas station, and across the street is a car dealership.
It’s very reasonable to not want all this car-heavy business, but that’s the bargain when you live in a car-dominant area. Every home with a pool backing on to that business has a driveway with a car in it on Google satellite view. I’m very sympathetic with banning new drive-thrus island-wide and removing the curb cuts wherever possible, but you have to do that before they apply for a permit. But in the end, the only reason there is a drive-thru planned is because people who drive like them and so create demand for them. And that includes the people here, who also probably bought the home backing onto commercial property after it was already commercial property.
dhomas
Not mentioned in the article, but there is already a sizable McDonald’s literally a 5 minute drive from the proposed location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4YhELuBLgTASky3g9?g_st=acIt’s a big one, too, with a drive-through and a kid park. Presumably, everyone who wants to use a drive-through has a car, so a 5 minute drive is perfectly acceptable. Why do they need ANOTHER location so close? Unless they want to replace the (somewhat lively) current location with one of those bland, soulless McDonald’s we’re so used to seeing in recent years.
Kate
I didn’t realize McDonald’s locations varied so much. I haven’t been inside one in a long time, which I hope doesn’t sound snobbish. But I don’t have kids and so have never been required to fill children up with happy meals.
One of these days I’m going to gather together a lot of my people and collectively sue McDonald’s for bringing the “Mc” prefix into disrepute.
dhomas
@Kate I don’t really go to McDonald’s all too often, especially since my family started avoiding American companies (A&W and Harvey’s are good, Canadian alternative when we “need” fast food). But I was mostly comparing McDonald’s in time rather than location. When I was a kid, McDonald’s shops were colourful with mascots inside and places for kids to play. Nowadays, they are mostly grey boxes of glass and brick with a splash of red and yellow outside and a nondescript interior that could easily be converted into a Starbucks by the landlord should McDonald’s move out.
The location I mentioned in PAT has been around since the 80s and still has a kid park in it, I assume because it has always had the physical footprint to allow it. My kids have attended friends’ birthday parties there (McDonald’s birthday parties are still a thing, I learned thanks to my kids). If they move to the new proposed location, it will likely drop the kid park and be just like all the other new McDonald’s shops.
As for the lawsuit, others have already successfully sued McDonald’s for naming rights, so you might have a shot!
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.4983770/david-vs-goliath-irish-burger-chain-beats-mcdonald-s-in-big-mac-trademark-case-1.4980448R T
The resident they interviewed says “vehicles leaving the drive-thu will exit onto her street, which is used by transit riders walking to and from nearby bus stops. High school students also use the street”, which she sees as reasons that the location is inappropriate for a fast food restaurant, but to a developer, a place with lots of transit riders and high school students sounds like a great place for a fast food restaurant.
Ian
Why it might even be a reason for the city to put in sidewalks, lol
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Kate
Eighteen road deaths were racked up during the construction holiday.
I looked for drowning deaths during the same period, but only found the sombre fact that Quebec has seen 43 drownings so far this year.
Later, TVA posted that there were nine drownings during the construction holiday.
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Kate
After the weekend’s hand-wringing, WestJet workers have reached a tentative agreement.
MarcG 06:25 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
The Mamie Clafoutis incident was reported by TVA the day after. In the interview I found the owner playing dumb about why they’re being targeted not very effective.
Chris 09:48 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Hmm, I doubt most people in fact dislike this whole automated store concept. Online shopping is exactly that, and wildly popular. The only difference here is you’re walking there to pick it up, instead of them delivering it your door.
jeather 10:57 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
I know this is not the point here but I do not understand the love for Mamie Clafoutis, I went a few times and occasionally the food reached “it’s fine”. We have better bakeries everywhere in this city!
Ian 11:04 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
@Chris on-site automation basically means they have figured out how to take both the convenience and personality out of the whole transaction, what’s not to like /s
Uatu 11:04 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Recently saw a yt vlog about bixis being vandalised especially the electric ones. There was all sorts of anarchist graffiti and the vlogger was wondering if it was modern Luddites who were against data collection and surveillance or just uninformed/ bored teenagers. This sounds like it might be related or motivated by the same anti technology vandals
Ephraim 11:30 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
And the more they do this… the more society looks to cameras and police surveillance. They sort of playing into the police agenda here.
Chris 12:07 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Ian, I personally loathe it all, but I’m talking about everyone else, not me. Amazon trucks and boxes are absolutely everywhere I look. I don’t think people, especially young people, care for the `personality` in the transaction at all. And not sure what you mean including `convenience` in there, many would argue shopping on your phone and having to-door delivery is *more* convenient that moving your ass to a store then discovering they have a higher price and no inventory anyway.
Uatu, wow, if they think Bixis have invasive tracking, wait until they learn all new cars have to include a camera watching your face constantly!
mare 13:11 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Yesterday I saw a group of around 10 teenagers hanging out in a park yesterday, surrounded by a bunch of electric Bixis lying on the ground. Since electric Bixis are charged by the minute, even if you have a subscription, that looked very suspect. Together they were basically racking up 10s of dollars in fees every few minutes, while not riding the Bixis, but just talking, drinking and smoking. There was a Bixi stand nearby where they could have parked them and saved a lot of money to buy more drinks or smokes.
I was walking a dog and didn’t have my phone on me, but otherwise I would have been tempted to unleash my inner Karen and call Bixi.
Joey 13:44 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Call Bixi for what? Kids being frivolous with their Bixi use?
Agreed that Mamie Clafoutis is generally fine but overrated, and I can’t say I had a memorable enough experience buying a croissant or a sandwich at one of their shops that would cause me to lament the loss of the personal transaction. I can think of a few stores whose customer experience would be greatly improved if they had automated/self-checkouts. Anyway, we tolerate vending machines, we can tolerate this.
Jim 14:25 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
I’m not a fan of these automated shopping things, but they have their advantages too. Things evolve, sometimes in ways we welcome and sometimes in ways we disagree with. We all have opinions, and there should be constructive ways to express them without damaging property or using violence to force others to listen. A world where people impose their beliefs and convictions on others is not the kind of world I want.
Kevin 16:46 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Chris
New cars sold in Europe (as of July 7) have Driver Monitoring systems aka Advanced driver distraction warning, but there is no such requirement in North America—and no timeline to change that.
Nicholas 17:02 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Seems the revealed preference at grocery stores is to use self-checkout. It certainly depends; some stores limit it to 30 items, and I’m more likely to use it with a small order and with fewer items with a PLU. I’ve even seen a bread slicer that the customer uses, with a locked door to prevent injuries. If people want to go to a bakery, that now can open 24/7, then good for them.
Also fun fact is the self-checkout machine was invented by a doctor from Montreal. He hates what they’ve become. And when he installed the first one the cashier’s union protested until they saw how clunky it was on the first day and figured they had nothing to worry about.
Chris 20:07 on 2026-08-04 Permalink
Kevin, not quite. The HALT Drunk Driving Act was passed by US Congress in 2021, and given what Europe has done, car manufacturers will likely do the same in USA next. It’s coming.
Bert 13:45 on 2026-08-05 Permalink
But understand that there are two basic self-checkout systems. In supermarkets, stores, etc. it’s the: scan the item, place the item on scale, place the item in the bag (another scale). Heaven forbid you buy alcohol. Go to Home Depot and you can line up all your items and just blast away with the barcode reader…. DONE!