It's a bad time for the Canadiens' captain to be hobbling on crutches, with a handful of other players out with injuries too. posted at 08:16

 
In a story that just pre-dates the start of this blog, seven years ago the city sold the rights to build condos above a string of city parking lots along rue Généreux, the lane that gives delivery access to businesses along a stretch of the north side of Mont-Royal. After much discussion, digging began last week. posted at 08:09

 
Benoit Labonté fires back at Mayor Tremblay as he launches his campaign to become head of Vision Montreal. posted at 08:05

 
A site called Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History is reviving the question of how two of the Redpaths were shot dead in their grand mansion on Sherbrooke Street in 1901. posted at 08:01

 
Mayor Tremblay took the opportunity of this weekend's launch of a new road resurfacing system to devote a few withering words to Benoit Labonté's campaign to run Vision Montreal and thus make a run for mayor. Michèle Ouimet raises an eyebrow at Labonté's penchant for charging posh resto meals to the taxpayer. posted at 10:05

 
More dense but rewarding architectural reading, one piece on public space design in Montreal in our time, and another on Place d'Armes in particular. posted at 09:50

 
It's a bit odd to find this assessment of Montreal's cafés in an article from the Salt Lake Tribune. The writer makes fairly good choices, although I've always found the Santropol's espresso pretty sad stuff, and would direct anyone interested in fair trade goods to check out Café Rico instead. Also, while the Caffè Italia makes a sublime shot, I think it's edged out by the Café Milano on Jarry East, who have a barista di tutti baristi. posted at 09:42

 
How Vice magazine, originally a Montreal fixture, has grown into a media empire. posted at 09:26

 
Another article on the plight of Emru Townsend, the Montreal man who needs to find a bone marrow donor. posted at 19:30

 
Interesting article on three exhibits that address Montreal urban issues: the Complexe Desjardins "city of the future" exhibit I blogged on Thursday, a Concordia gallery exhibit on Montreal in the late 1960s, and a photo show by Jogues Rivard of scenes from disused buildings. posted at 19:25

 
Architect Gavin Affleck ponders the Montreal metro, especially the three Laval stations: Is the new Metro in Laval a panacea of urban complexity that will temper suburban banality or is it the introduction of urban decadence into the suburban pastoral? There's a poser. posted at 18:58

 
Don't forget Earth Hour is tonight from 8 till 9. Mind you, blork blog lays out a solid argument why turning off the lights is not relevant here in Quebec, where most current comes from hydro dams and thus doesn't generate greenhouse gases. posted at 09:34

 
It's mildly amusing to notice that Canoë puts a positive spin on StatsCan's recycling numbers for the city, while the Gazette, in its wisdom, emphasizes the negative. But it seems clear we could be doing better, no matter how you slice it. posted at 22:41

 
The gussying up of Park Avenue will begin with the installation of blue and white flowers in honour of the Greek community, although some Greek shopkeepers find this somewhat skimpy as a gesture. posted at 22:35

 
A 211 bus was consumed by fire yesterday after letting people off at Lionel-Groulx. I hadn't been aware that the STM has been losing one low-floor Novabus a year to spontaneous fires being blamed on an engineering flaw. More photos halfway down this Montreal Livejournal community entry. posted at 22:31

 
After seeing metric basketloads of stories and comments on the Jonathan Roy hockey fight – covered more intensely than Paris Hilton or the death of the pope – I was relieved to read this level-headed Rima Elkouri piece about the business. posted at 22:15

 
Folks in the soccer biz are planning and scheming to get a major league soccer team for this city. Even as things stand, Canadian soccer is getting more ambitious with an eye on sending a team to the playoffs that eventually choose World Cup participants. posted at 08:02

 
The 75th season of the MSO is announced, and will include a massive performance at the Bell Centre with 1000 singers; Le Devoir's writer is not overly impressed with the lineup. posted at 07:58

 
No surprise in the news that Benoit Labonté, mayor of Ville-Marie, is launching his attempt to become Vision Montreal party chief, a position that would pit him against his old boss Gérald Tremblay in the 2009 election. posted at 07:52

 
Montreal police engage in a PR exercise to try to clean up their reputation particularly among ethnic communities. I don't mean to sound too cynical: any improvement would be good, even if it's done grudgingly at first. posted at 07:47

 
The long harsh winter has notched up a record of claims against the city for sidewalk injuries, and hospitals have seen a boom in fractures and shovelling injuries too. posted at 23:44

 
Mirror piece about pedestrianized streets isn't bad, but repeats the common error that Prince Arthur is the city's only pedestrian street, forgetting the equally long and well-used stretch of la Gauchetière in Chinatown. posted at 23:41

 
Montreal is to go dark for Earth Hour between 8 and 9 p.m. on Saturday evening, including shutting off the cross on Mount Royal and the rotating searchlights on Place Ville-Marie. posted at 23:30

 
Montreal writer and longtime blogger Emru Townsend is looking for a bone marrow donor to help him recover from leukemia. The catch is that he's of Caribbean descent, and most people on the donor registry are white and unlikely to be a match. But everyone who can is being asked to sign up – the Hema-Quebec site has the necessary form and instructions. They list it under stem cells in English or cellules souche in French. posted at 08:04

 
The city's approach to patching potholes is being reconsidered as the patching technique appears to break down pretty fast. Either way, the city's got to spend big bucks on it. posted at 08:00

 
Park Avenue through Mile End may also be called Greektown or the Quartier hellenique or possibly Agora if plans go through. The annual Greek parade (it takes place this Sunday along Jean-Talon in Park Ex) might be moved there, too. posted at 07:50

 
The Opéra de Montréal plans a full season of five shows next year. posted at 07:43

 
Upcoming urban developments are on display at Complexe Desjardins till March 31. If you don't like what you see, you can drown your sorrows at the wine and spirits show at the Palais des congrès, today till Sunday. posted at 07:28

 
A new "intelligent" hotel has opened at René-Lévesque and Mountain, but the intelligence seems to be confined to fancy environmental controls. posted at 07:20

 
An architect and urban planner lays out the explanation why a high-density suburban development for Griffintown is all wrong – people do more with their lives besides work, shop and sleep, and the urban fabric has to allow for that. More on the growing dissent with the city's current plans for the area. posted at 08:13

 
For the first time, Montreal Fashion Week, normally only for the industry and its hangers-on, is holding a public show at Marché Bonsecours. But there's a lot of twittering about the event from fashion journos. posted at 08:04

 
It seems to be big news that Woody Allen and his band are going to play at the jazz festival, going by news clips I'm seeing in German, Spanish and other languages. posted at 07:57

 
Three teams of planners are to submit ideas for the revitalization of the moribund part of Ste-Catherine out by the old Forum and around Cabot Square. posted at 07:36

 
Look out for the new door-closing warning sound in the metro. This page will let you tell the STM what you think of it, too. posted at 10:14

 
Coolopolis has more vintage Verdun views, and yet more. posted at 09:40

 
Montrealer Saul Itzhayek, imprisoned in India on what his family has called a bogus visa charge, is coming home this week; another Montrealer in jeopardy, Mohammed Kohail, is still at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia. posted at 09:21

 
It's going to take much longer than usual for the accumulated snow to melt this spring; so much snow has fallen that greenhouse-grown vegetables will be more expensive because many Quebec greenhouses are snowed under; the long winter has slowed maple syrup production as well. posted at 07:55

 
The redevelopment of Montreal's waterfront areas as seen from a Toronto business perspective (an article which inevitably refers to it as a New Harbourfront, ick). posted at 07:47

 
Projet Montréal is putting a lockdown on its platform ideas after seeing many of them poached by rival city parties. But many of the party's environmental notions are ideas whose time has come. posted at 07:45

 
The Canadiens beat the Senators last night to guarantee themselves a playoff spot. posted at 07:40

 
Terse yet amusing contrast of train stations in Montreal vs. Quebec City. posted at 17:55

 
Phyllis Lambert speaks up for a new consultation process for the redevelopment of Griffintown, in this latest roundup of news about the ongoing issue. posted at 14:52

 
Marjorie Jean-Baptiste, who saved her seven kids from a fire recently, has been helped to put herself back on her feet with the sum of $25,726 collected from the Haitian community and others. posted at 13:56

 
A driver has collected two grand from the city after her car was damaged by an enormous pothole two years ago. posted at 13:49

 
A friend alerted me to this great series of photos of various kinds of decrepitude visible around the elevated section of the Metropolitan. posted at 13:42

 
Despite an earlier threat, disgruntled workers at Notre-Dame are not on strike today. posted at 09:55

 
There was a riot and vandalism last night at the corner of Saint-Laurent and Ste-Catherine, and it wasn't because Saku Koivu swept the Bruins in the shootout. It was because some folks were denied entry to Club Soda. posted at 09:48

 
List of classic pop performers who rarely tour to Montreal, but are scheduled to do shows here this year. posted at 09:45

 
Two reports on last weekend's anti-police-brutality demo which became a riot: the Mirror's view with a sequence of images, and a view from a startled passerby who became the object of unprovoked police nastiness. posted at 10:17

 
Looking forward to Montreal fashion week. posted at 10:07

 
Blogger Kristian Gravenor writes his confessions of a slumlord today, accompanied by tips for managing low-end rental properties. posted at 10:04

 
Intensive interview with Canadiens forward Alexei Kovalev, whom Guy Carbonneau thinks deserves the Hart Trophy this year as the league's most valuable player. posted at 10:01

 
UQÀM, already hurting financially, has had to foot a sizable security bill in the face of student unrest. posted at 09:55

 
Le Devoir has some cultural stuff today: Mayor Tremblay on Montreal as cultural metropolis; Lasalle as an example of cultural impulses coming from the boroughs; longtime dance centre Tangente gets the Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal. posted at 09:50

 
The folks spearheading the defense of Griffintown from suburban-style development have made the cover of the Mirror to illustrate a good article summarizing the situation. posted at 14:02

 
Snow and weather remain in the news: people are stealing snow shovels because they're sold out all over; roofs continue to collapse in town and outside it, and schools are still nervously closing so their roofs can be made safe; the weather has led to an epidemic of potholes now too. posted at 13:46

 
A chilly Good Friday makes for a properly penitent setting for the various religious marches held in Quebec towns today, including the traditional Montreal march to Notre-Dame. Alan Hustak explains why Easter is so early this year.

It's also a traditional day for a blood drive, this year's being at Saint-Sacrement, the Catholic institution next to Mont-Royal metro. posted at 13:34

 
Protesters have been asking for amnesty for homeless people ticketed with fines they simply can't pay and who sometimes find themselves facing jail time instead. But the city refuses to budge on this ridiculous issue, demanding community work from people ill-suited to produce either money or labour. posted at 13:19

 
English Canada has been interviewing Denys Arcand since L'Âge des ténèbres opened in translation. Relevant bits from the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail; pan from the CBC. posted at 13:14

 
Coolopolis has some great old photos from Verdun and a second instalment of more. posted at 09:31

 
The city is turning to technology to monitor the health and growth of its trees. posted at 07:51

 
Some schools are reopening, others closing, as rain adds to the weight of snow on rooftops. And yesterday, an east-end recycling plant was destroyed by fire after its roof caved in. And snow removal companies are pondering establishing a limit to their work after which the client would pay extra, or be left on their own. And Michèle Ouimet has some stern words for the mayor about the state of our roads and sidewalks, an issue that cuts to the quick of the efficiency and legitimacy of the whole borough system. posted at 07:49

 
The Telegraph (UK) says we have a thrilling collision of cultures, asking what other city has both a Napoleon and a Wellington Street. posted at 07:42

 
The city is pondering getting geothermal snow melters – if they spend significant money on them, what odds we get a run of dry winters? posted at 07:40

 
The CHUM is paying a million dollars to a U.S. consultancy to help them figure out how to run Notre-Dame Hospital's ER more efficiently. posted at 07:36

 
A giant 8 kg lobster won in a raffle in Boston and spared the cookpot has come to live at the Biodome. It's estimated to be 50 years old. posted at 07:34

 
Now the Journal is wringing its hands over sin and getting quotes saying that our godless society is bad for young people. Wonder how many of their editorial staff are regular churchgoers... posted at 07:41

 
Kids may still be off school because of the snowy rooftops on their school buildings, and the CSDM is promising to improve its roof snow removal plans – forgetting perhaps that winters like this happen only every few decades? posted at 07:35

 
A vast amount of paraxylene, a toxic substance, leaked out of east-end tanks leased by Ultramar in 2003, and an unknown portion of it got into the river. And nobody mentioned it till just now. posted at 00:24

 
Apparently the Mercier Bridge won't be closed to trucks after all, although reinforcements will be added on the Lasalle approach side. posted at 17:53

 
The Journal de Montréal has the results of a sondage today showing that many Quebecers feel that, in having deserted the Catholic church, Quebec has lost its moral footing, and of course they have a selection of quotes from people in the religion biz. Richard Martineau brings a note of sanity to the business, pointing out the contradictions in the numbers, and observing that although people get sentimental about the good old days, nobody really wants to go back to a time when Quebecers were dominated by the church. posted at 09:04

 
The Quebec transport ministry is considering banning trucks from the Mercier Bridge because of concerns about the state of some of its concrete; this would cause traffic chaos till repairs were completed. posted at 08:58

 
Something like 300,000 people turned out yesterday afternoon to watch the Paddy's Day parade. posted at 08:49

 
A new concert hall opens tomorrow on Saint-Denis, just below Ste-Catherine, where the Cinéma Berri used to be. It will be called the Salle Telus, after its corporate sponsor. posted at 08:34

 
CSDM schools are closed today along with a few others so that their roofs can be cleared of snow. posted at 08:11

 
Wordy piece wanders around this topic: we don't know much about Samuel de Champlain, and some of the things we thought we knew are false. posted at 18:31

 
Le Queen Elizabeth – that's to say the hotel, not the monarch – fêtes its 50th anniversary this month. posted at 11:40

 
UQAM produces hot spot map of the city, showing that – not surprisingly – axing trees and paving over the soil leads to local areas getting seriously overheated in summertime. posted at 11:28

 
Many sidewalks are still snowed up a week after the big storm. Including mine, and most of the ones I used yesterday afternoon doing errands around Mile End and along Park Avenue. posted at 11:23

 
An east-end park is going to be renamed for the capture of a would-be American hero who tried to capture Montreal in 1775. posted at 11:12

 
It's not the first time the police have put down an anti-police-brutality demo – it happens every year around this time and seems to call out the worst impulses in the force.

Yesterday also saw a demo against Canada's continuing involvement in Afghanistan, one of several held across Canada on the same issue. posted at 11:01

 
The 184th annual St. Patrick's parade starts at noon and proceeds along the usual route. The Gazette has a look back at a politically fraught parade of 1868. posted at 10:55

 
Sacré-Cœur Hospital has just installed a modern new emergency room although with ten fewer beds than the old one. posted at 19:23

 
Patrick Lagacé talks to Benoit Labonté about the bad state of Ville-Marie sidewalks this week, and concludes that it can ultimately be blamed on inequities in city funding that are the fruit of the fusion-defusion debacle.

All over town, rooftops are being cleared of their weight of waterlogged snow as some kind of general panic has followed the Morin Heights roof collapse.

And apparently Quebec media are obsessed with snow this winter. Jeez, I wonder why. posted at 19:19

 
Lots of interest in Roy Dupuis' return to the stage in his first live theatre role since 1994, in Blasté, a translation of Sarah Kane's notoriously violent play Blasted. The STM has already refused to allow a gory production photo to be used on publicity posters in the metro. posted at 18:59

 
The city has plans to direct traffic away from Old Montreal and make it more pleasant for pedestrians, on the face of it a good thing, although lack of consultation is being called against them (as with so much of what the city admin is doing). Sensible thinking on pedestrianized streets from Chris DeWolf on Spacing; observations of the return of the Vieux as a night-life habitat; review of a lower McGill resto. posted at 10:27

 
After this week's fatal collapse in Morin Heights, the city's biggest school commission has become nervous and has closed all its schools while rooftops are unburdened by workers. Schools reopen Tuesday – just in time for a three-day week before Easter weekend. posted at 15:37

 
More details on yesterday's pepper spray attack at Saint-Laurent metro. posted at 10:33

 
The city is keeping a sharp eye on our surrounding rivers as the time approaches when they will start to melt, using electronic surveillance systems in a number of tricky spots. posted at 07:25

 
Postal delivery folks have been told not to deliver mail on streets with unplowed sidewalks. posted at 07:22

 
UQÀM students flooded rush-hour streets yesterday as part of their ongoing strike against increased fees and tuition; the alternative is that everyone in Quebec foots the bill for the university's financial misadventures. posted at 07:19

 
Someone let off pepper spray this morning at Saint-Laurent station, bringing the green line to a halt and (I can attest to this from personal observation) snarling up traffic for blocks around as ambulances rushed to the scene. The green line reopened not long after rush hour ended. posted at 21:33

 
The Sulpicians want to sell off the building which hosted Marianopolis CEGEP until recently, saying that the money will pay their expenses for the next fifty years – if there still are any viable Catholic orders in fifty years' time. They also hope the terrain will continue to host a school, but at a $45-million price tag, I can tell them it will not. posted at 21:24

 
Details on the human rights film festival which opens toward the end of the month. posted at 07:38

 
A look at the Montreal music scene and the relatively small group of people who organize it. posted at 07:34

 
The metro's new carte à puce system makes its debut April 16; for the moment, fares remain the same. posted at 07:27

 
Snow removal has been slowed down by equipment breakdowns; three women died in a Laurentian warehouse today when the roof gave way under the weight of snow; even large clumps of icicles are causing concern. posted at 23:25

 
Ville-Marie is not sated with turning Sainte-Catherine partly into a pedestrian street this summer – it also has its eye on pedestrianizing Saint-Paul Street in Old Montreal; other boroughs are contemplating similar plans. posted at 07:21

 
Prolonged white winter is provoking snow rage over snowblowing and parking issues. posted at 07:17

 
A peek at a weekend night seen by an Urgences-Santé driver. posted at 07:15

 
The city's blue-collar workers are being called heroes for a change for the sustained effort needed to keep the snow removal wheels turning this season. Despite this, the city is asking for patience with the process, expected to take till the weekend. Looking ahead, a gradual thaw would be better than a sudden warm snap which could bring on flooding in riverside neighbourhoods, although there's no sign of that happening yet. Nonetheless, Madame la Bloggeuse, famous clairvoyante, foresees that the run on snowblowers may be followed by a run on rubber boots.

Also, some nice glimpses of Sunday's aftermath by a snowshoe-mounted journalist. posted at 21:47

 
Superior Court has rejected Vincent Lacroix's attempt to launch an appeal of his conviction on 51 counts of fraud. posted at 21:20

 
A new protest group is saying the St. Patrick's Day parade is too English, which may be true. More signs and cheers in Irish would be appropriate on the day. posted at 21:16

 
Defenders of Griffintown arrived in a buggy for the first public consultation sessions on the proposed redevelopment of the area. posted at 00:19

 
Quebec's culture minister is looking for ideas how to repurpose the Bibliothèque Saint-Sulpice – but it has to have some cultural point or purpose. posted at 00:17

 
Montreal has a new hockey team called the Junior de Montréal. Till recently the St. John's Fog Devils, the team will begin to play next season at the Verdun Auditorium in colours reminiscent of the Montreal Maroons. posted at 00:10

 
Consultations on the future of Griffintown begin tonight. posted at 19:37

 
As Leonard Cohen prepares to be subjected to the apotheosis of induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writers ponder his œuvre and dig into Cohen's fabled bohemian history off the Main. posted at 14:05

 
Isn't it a bit soon to be declaring any storm the storm of the 21st century, especially given the new climate report predicting more severe storms among other climate-change effects in Canada?

There won't be much news today beyond ramifications of the storm. Schools are closed and chaos reigns at the airport. Everything connected with snow is sold out, and now Marcel Tremblay says it'll take till Friday before the snow's all cleared. And a wider look at how the storm treated a whole swath of eastern Canada. posted at 01:05

 
After a fall of 30 to 40 cm of snow, major snow removal operations have started in some parts of town. Radio-Canada says this is the ninth major snowstorm of the season. posted at 14:45

 
Influenza is making its mark on local emergency departments. posted at 14:26

 
Turns out the demolition of the building at Saint-Laurent and Ste-Catherine had no proper demolition permit: the area is considered a heritage zone because of the proximity of the Monument-National. posted at 14:24

 
A brief sampling of local English-language blogs from the McGill Daily. posted at 12:50

 
Trudeau Airport ground to a halt this evening and highway conditions have been terrible. posted at 00:34

 
The city has opened five more snow depots, bringing the total to 38, and blue-collar workers are authorized to work longer shifts as more snow continues to blanket the city. Marcel Tremblay says this storm should be cleaned up by Wednesday. I will hold you to that, Marcel.

A brief hark back to the 1971 blizzard has two video links, the first to cuts of archival snowstorm footage, most with no narration, but a partial voice-over in English kicks in at 3:09 then is cut off. The second one's a more typical talking heads piece with folks reminiscing. (Snow clearance technology hasn't changed much, except it's no longer dumped directly into the river. Shouldn't we have, like, snow-melting laser cannon by now?)

You're not imagining it: Quebec gets more natural catastrophes and of more varied kinds than the rest of Canada, with ice storms and floods in addition to snow. posted at 14:38

 
A woman has made the point that a parking ticket on one's car can expose one's private information to passersby, so the police will change their methods. posted at 12:41

 
A woman in Pointe-aux-Trembles saved her seven kids from a fire by tossing them out of a window into the snow. There were a few injuries but everyone lived. posted at 12:37

 
Another blizzard is expected to bring between 15 and 30 cm of snow tonight, depending who you read, adding to borough budget woes; snow dumps are already full up. posted at 12:24

 
Sports Illustrated says fans of the Canadiens are the best in the NHL based on a poll of players in the league. posted at 12:19

 
This week's language news has been a dizzying collection: more immigrants choose French as a second language, French is losing ground in Montreal, kids are worse at French in school, and in general the situation is hard to pin down.

In this blog I glance at language issues because they inevitably come home to roost in Montreal, but it would be a great blog idea for someone to examine news and opinion on that issue if they could do so cool-headedly without bias. Mind you, that's a tall order. posted at 11:48

 
Despite citizen protests, mayors of suburbs off Montreal's northeastern corner are looking with favour on the prospect of the enlargement of the massive garbage dump in Lachenaie. Half of Montreal's garbage currently ends up there. posted at 12:45