• Firefighters in Laval deal with major blaze at a repair garage

    Firefighters in Laval spent the better part of Friday afternoon dealing with a fire at a repair garage in the city’s St-Vincent-de-Paul district that generated smoke the could be seen from at least 20 kilometres away.
    A spokesperson for the fire department said the blaze, which started in a building on Leman Blvd. at around 1 p.m., was classified as a four-alarm fire.
    By 5 p.m. firefighters were still on the scene, but it was well under control, the spokesperson said
    The garage is located
  • Quebec election blog Sept. 14: Legault speaks to anglos, very slowly

    This was the Montreal Gazette’s live blog about the Quebec election for Friday, Sept. 14.3:40 p.m. Fresh-faced leaders
    Petite plongée dans les archives de Radio-Canada pour découvrir la vie des chefs québécois…bien avant la politique https://t.co/Bo8Uu4ijw3#Québec2018 #QC2018 #PolQc
    — Rania Massoud (@RaniaMassoud) September 14, 2018
    3:35 p.m.: The CAQ, in English
    Just in time for the English debate, the CAQ has posted a new video ad in t
  • Montreal councillors want smoking age raised to 21

    Montreal North borough mayor Christine Black and two city councillors are calling on the provincial government to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, arguing that such a measure would ultimately save lives.
    Black’s motion, proposed by veteran Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand and Andrée Hénault of Anjou, already has the backing of the director of the Montreal Public Health Department.
    “Raising the legal buying age to 21 is a promising solution to decrease access
  • Best of all possible worlds launches francophone theatre’s fall season

    The francophone fall theatre season is already up and running. Here is a necessarily incomplete look at a wealth of productions, which includes several adaptations of literary classics and reinterpretations of modern Québécois classics, as well as two epic plays marking the anniversary of the 2008 financial crash.
    Picking themselves up after the ugly events of the SLAV controversy over summer, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (84 Ste-Catherine St. W.) recently reopened with Pi
  • Advertisement

  • Inside the CFL: Hall of Famers Flory, Miles reflect on Als' glory years

    Maybe, when it’s all said and done Scott Flory admitted, it comes down to this — he showed up with the Alouettes at the right place and the right time.
    “No way could this have been done without being a part of great teams, without great teammates and coaches. This stuff just doesn’t happen,” Flory said this week by telephone from Saskatoon, where he’s the head coach at the University of Saskatchewan.
    Flory had to miss the Huskies’ game Friday against the
  • Quebec election: PQ won't commit to immigration numbers

    QUEBEC CITY — An increasingly bitter debate over immigration has forced party leaders to take a stand on the issue of who gets to call themselves a Quebecer.
    But while the Coalition Avenir Québec and Liberals clearly spelled out their positions at Thursday’s debate, the Parti Québécois still won’t commit to how many people it would allow in the province each year.
    The front-running CAQ leader is calling for an overhaul of the current system.
    François
  • Watch: Montreal media join forces for the English provincial leaders’ debate

    Three English Montreal television anchors, CBC anchor Debra Arbec, CTV anchor Mutsumi Takahashi and Global anchor Jamie Orchard will be working in tandem for the first-ever English provincial leaders debate on Sept. 17, 2018.
    It’s also a first that anchors from three networks work in tandem for this sort of event in Montreal.
    Bill Brownstein of the Montreal Gazette speaks with the trio ahead of the debate.
  • Shelter for women fleeing sex trade opens in Vaudreuil-Dorion

    A new shelter for women fleeing sexual exploitation opened its doors over the weekend in Vaudreuil-Dorion. Supporters say it is the first shelter in Quebec to provide a safe place specifically for women looking for a way out of prostitution.
    The shelter, which can accommodate up to five women, is funded by private donations to the La Sortie (The Way Out), a not-for-profit organization founded in 2013 to offer help and support for victims of sexual exploitation in Quebec.
    La Sortie director Ronal
  • Advertisement

  • LIVE — Quebec election: Here's why you should watch Monday's English debate

    This is the Montreal Gazette’s live blog about the Quebec election for Friday, Sept. 14. It will be updated throughout the day. Email me at [email protected] p.m.: Not a Manon Massé ad
    Infoman a volé ma publicité de campagne!🤭#Polqc #Qc2018 pic.twitter.com/PX7IchFjJ5
    — Manon Massé (@ManonMasse_Qs) September 14, 2018
    2:45 p.m.: On the hustings today
    François Legault says a CAQ government would expect the federal government to expel i
  • Canada Goose store with minus-25C changing room coming to downtown Montreal

    Signage announcing a new Canada Goose store at the intersection of Ste-Catherine and Peel Sts. went up this week.
    The standalone retail location, which will take over much of the space previously occupied by HMV, is due to open this fall.
    In June, Canada Goose said the Montreal store would be one of “the first locations in North America to offer a ‘cold room’ — an immersive experience where fans can test the brand’s warmest parkas in temperatures as low as  min
  • What the Puck: As Habs fans' hopes tank, players can't be happy, either

    Remember when the start of the Montreal Canadiens’ season was a cause for celebration?
    Until recently, no matter how middling the team might be, you’d be excited on the first day of Habs training camp. But you have to admit that, as training camp began Friday, expectations are probably lower than they’ve ever been. Well, OK, they were pretty low last season, too. Remember that one? That was the training camp when general manager Marc Bergevin said that the Habs’ defence c
  • Carey Price is only Canadiens player ranked in THN's Top 50

    The Hockey News has come out with its Yearbook for the 2018-19 season, in which it ranks the Top 50 players in the NHL.
    Carey Price is the only Canadiens player to make the list, coming in at No. 39 after the worst season of his 11-year NHL career in which he posted a 16-26-7 record with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. Price is heading into the first season of an eight-year, US$84-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $10.5 million.
    “Will the Habs compl
  • Quebec election: Couillard promises to diversify municipal tax powers

    QUEBEC — Municipalities in Quebec would get new taxation powers — long sought by the city of Montreal as it looks to lessen its dependence on property taxes — if the Liberal government is re-elected, party leader Philippe Couillard promised on Friday.
    Speaking at a meeting of the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), Couillard said that if his government is returned to power on Oct. 1, it would renegotiate the relationship between cities and the province.
  • The Right Chemistry: Chess, trickery and a turbaned automaton

    “Witches can only be found where there is ignorance. This man is no more capable of witchcraft than I.” With those words, Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, countered superstitious beliefs of the times and went on to pardon the poor soul who was to be beheaded, accused of practicing witchcraft. The 18th century ruler also supported science, having herself and her children inoculated against smallpox, a controversial procedure at the time. While the q
  • Quebec election: It will be up to Ottawa to expel immigrants, CAQ says

    QUEBEC — The day after the question of immigration became a flashpoint of the first televised leaders’ debate of the Quebec election campaign, Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault found himself grilled on whether or not he would expel immigrants who failed to pass French tests and a Quebec values quiz after three years in the province.
    Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard said during the debate the CAQ’s immigration policies would lead to fathers who could
  • Buchignani: Ferrari seeks to shake demons as F1 goes to Singapore

    This weekend, Ferrari returns to the scene of the crime — or, at least, to where it famously shot itself in the foot.
    That’s right, it’s time for the Singapore Grand Prix, where one year ago the Formula One drivers’ championship took a dramatic and devastating turn for the scuderia and its legions of tifosi.
    Remember? Sebastian Vettel was poised to leapfrog Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton atop the standings at a track where Ferrari arrived as the clear favourite.
    With only
  • Quebec election: PQ offers a third way forward on immigration

    QUEBEC CITY — The heated exchanges on immigration in Thursday’s debate made for a rare moment when candidates set aside talking points and grappled with the idea of what it means to be a Quebecer.
    Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard and Coalition Avenir Québec chief François Legault were at each other’s throats, each accusing the other of fear-mongering.
    Couillard says Legault’s idea of forcing immigrants to take a “values test” and a French exam a
  • Police asking for help in locating missing St-Hyacinthe teenager

    The Sûreté du Québec is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing teenager from St-Hyacinthe.
    Kelly Dalpé-Pouliot, 16, was last seen walking on Casavant Blvd. E. in St-Hyacinthe on Sept. 12 around 5:15 p.m. Police say she could be in Montreal,  St-Jean-sur-Richelieu or St-Hyacinthe.
    She is about 5 feet tall, weighs about 100 pounds and has blond hair and blue eyes. When she was last seen she was wearing jeans and a blue-checkered shirt.
    Anyone with info
  • Carb wars: Ex-NYT food critic likens Montreal bagels to 'broken glass'

    Important bagel news from the country that gave us the fireball whiskey bagel: former New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton has taken to the internet to liken the Montreal bagel to “broken glass.”
    The author of 1,000 Foods to Eat Before you Die, like anyone else with an internet connection, stridently expressed this food opinion on Twitter.
    “I have tried from all famous sources up there,” she said, “too thin, sweet not salty, so many seeds atop it’s like ch
  • Macpherson: From expelling immigrants to exiling young anglos

    The Quebec feminist, television personality and politician Lise Payette, who died last week, once compared televised election debates to contests between little boys to see who can pee the farthest.
    But in the campaign for the Oct. 1 Quebec election, François Legault and Jean-François Lisée couldn’t wait until the first debate on Thursday to show voters who could be tougher on minorities.
    Since Lisée’s Parti Québécois is fighting for its surv
  • Bill Zacharkiw's Wines of the Week: Sept. 15, 2018

    Every week, Bill Zacharkiw identifies his top wine picks available at the SAQ and offers ideas for food pairings.
    Under $15
    Côtes du Rhône 2017, Héritages, Ogier, France red, $14.45, SAQ # 535849. Classic grenache-based, silky southern Rhône. Good complexity with a touch of black olive alongside the black raspberry notes and pepper spice. A certain oak sweetness here that makes it more attractive, but the finish is dry and focused. Good all-around wine. Residual sugar: 2
  • Bill Zacharkiw: The fifty shades of gris (give or take a few)

    I think I have discovered the hardest grape to explain. It’s pinot gris. Gris? Grigio? The situation came to a head last week when a client at 40 Westt, where I work the floor on occasion, asked a waiter for a bottle of pinot gris. I imagine she was expecting the Northern Italian take on the grape: light, acidic, lemony, fresh. Pinot grigio. She was served a pinot gris from Oregon.
    She really didn’t like it, or at least at first.I was called into explain. From the look on her face, a
  • Quebec election: Montreal councillors want smoking age raised to 21

    Montreal North Mayor Christine Black and two city councillors are calling on the provincial government to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, arguing that such a measure would ultimately save lives.
    Black’s motion, proposed by Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand and Andrée Hénault of Anjou, already has the backing of the director of the Montreal Public Health Department.
    “According to the Canadian Cancer Society, tobacco use is responsible for 20 per cent of all de
  • Named in a #MeToo exposé, OdM's Bernard Uzan gone but not forgotten

    The Opéra de Montréal opens its 2018-19 season on Saturday with Verdi’s Rigoletto, the first of four productions in Salle Wilfrid Pelletier of Place des Arts. Twenty-five years ago, a schedule of seven productions was under way, six of them in Pelletier and one in the Théâtre Maisonneuve.
    Assessing the number of shows and spectators in 1993-94 requires more math than I can muster, but most operas then ran for six performances, not four (the OdM this season is haz
  • Canadiens Notebook: NHL veteran Joel Ward invited to training camp

    The Canadiens have invited veteran forward Joel Ward to training camp on a PTO (professional tryout).
    The 37-year-old right-winger played 52 games with the San Jose Sharks last season, scoring five goals and adding seven assists for 12 points. Ward was never selected at the NHL Draft and broke into the NHL with the Minnesota Wild during the 2005-06 season after playing four years at the University of Prince Edward Island.
    In 726 career regular-season games, Ward had 133-171-304 totals.
    The Canad
  • LIVE — Quebec election: PQ's Lisée may have won debate, but not by much

    This is the Montreal Gazette’s live blog about the Quebec election for Friday, Sept. 14. It will be updated throughout the day. Email me at [email protected] a.m.: Time to debate the debate
    Sometimes it takes a few days for people to digest the debate and figure out who scored the most points.
    But two high-profile pundits are ready to crown a winner.
    Politician-turned-commentator Mario Dumont and longtime Quebec political columnist Michel David say PQ Leader Jean-François Lis&e
  • Weekend traffic: Highway 15, Turcot Interchange closings expected again

    Here’s what you need to know about major road closings in Montreal from Sept. 14-16:
    Highway 15/Turcot Interchange
    Beginning at midnight Friday, Highway 15 northbound will be completely closed starting at Exit 58 (to the Bonaventure Expressway heading downtown). According to Transport Québec, a detour will be set up redirecting motorists to Robert Bourassa Blvd., St-Antoine St. E. and eventually leading to Highway 13 northbound.
    Highway 15 northbound will also be closed between Exit
  • While you were sleeping: Curious bear freed from milk can's clutches

    Here’s what happened while you were enjoying some shut-eye.
    A gunfight broke out near a park in the Villeray neighbourhood on Thursday night. It was still not clear Friday morning if it had resulted in any injuries. Montreal police say that a car with an indeterminate number of occupants approached a group of people in front of Nicolas-Tillemont Park around 7:15 p.m. Witnesses who called 9-1-1 said a conflict then broke out and shots were fired on both sides. Hours after the shooting,
  • Police investigating gunfight in Villeray

    A gunfight broke out near a park in the Villeray neighbourhood on Thursday night, but it was still not clear Friday morning if it had resulted in any injuries.
    Montreal police say that a car with an indeterminate number of occupants approached a group of people in front of Nicolas-Tillemont Park around 7:15 p.m.
    Witnesses who called 9-1-1 said a conflict then broke out and shots were fired on both sides.
    Hours after the shooting, none of the city’s hospitals had notified police of any pati
  • Pastels and patience: Montreal artist gets first solo show at age 99

    Pastel artist Sonja Lasalle Hugonnier de Ginet has painted and drawn for most of her life, been in group shows and won prizes and awards — but she is only now having her first solo exhibition.
    At 99.
    She will attend the vernissage at the Espace Mushagalusa on Friday evening.
    “It is a celebration of her life; I think she deserves a bit of recognition,” said her daughter Monique de Ginet. She frequently looks in on her mother, who lives autonomously. An older daughter lives in Eu
  • Habs icon Cournoyer says Molson must leave hockey decisions to GM

    Yvan Cournoyer, one of the greatest players ever to wear a Montreal Canadiens jersey, weighed in this week on the controversy surrounding the management of his former team.
    The Habs have had a rough couple of years under the management of team owner and president Geoff Molson and general manager Marc Bergevin, only making it into the playoffs once in the past three seasons. The year they made it into the post-season, in 2017, they were eliminated in the first round.
    Some have suggested one poten
  • B.C. Lions at Alouettes: Five things you should know

    Here are five things you should know about the B.C. Lions-Alouettes game at Molson Stadium on Friday (7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio-690).
    Matchup: Although both teams have losing records, both are on winning streaks. Montreal has won its last two games, improving to 3-8. It hasn’t had a three-game winning streak since the end of the 2016 season. And although the Lions are 4-6, they ended a two-game losing skid by defeating Ottawa 26-14 last Friday. It marked the third time this season B.C
  • Quebec election: Sparks fly during first of three leaders' debates

    François Legault went on the offensive in Thursday’s leaders’ debate, pouncing on a Liberal candidate’s inflammatory remarks about the Coalition Avenir Québec’s immigration policies to accuse Philippe Couillard of portraying his party as intolerant.
    But Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard pulled his own fast one on the CAQ Leader, blasting him for failing to show up at a joint news conference of Quebec players standing up for the supply management system.
    In a
  • Quebec election: Leaders confident with their debate performance

    After trading barbs and pleading their case for more than two hours Thursday, Quebec’s four major party leaders shared their thoughts on the first leaders’ debate of the provincial election campaign.
    François Legault, Coalition Avenir Québec
    “I’ve very happy with the debate, I think we managed to present the CAQ’s ideas, specifically in education, in health, and in the economy. I think we also managed to go over the Liberal government’s record fo
  • Kelly Olynyk helps power Canada past Brazil in World Cup qualifying

    Canada moved one step closer to qualifying for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup with an 85-77 win over Brazil Thursday night at Place Bell in Laval.
    The win gave Canada a 6-1 record in Group F, while Brazil fell to 5-2. Canada is tied atop the group with Venezuela, which coasted to an easy win over the Virgin Islands. The top three teams in the six-nation group qualify for the World Cup.
    This was an important win for Canada because they will be playing their remaining five games in the qualify
  • Quebec election: Party leaders faced off in first debate – as it happened

    If you’re viewing this on mobile, you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the blog.
  • STM maintenance workers protest in downtown Montreal Thursday

    Members of the Société de transport de Montréal maintenance union demonstrated in front of the STM offices in downtown Montreal Thursday afternoon.
    The 2,400 workers with the Syndicat des employés d’entretien de la Société de transport de Montréal are in the midst of contract negotiations. In a statement issued in late May, the union alleged the STM “seeks to roll back working conditions at all levels.” Ninety-eight per cent
  • Man arrested following fatal stabbing in Montreal

    The Montreal police have arrested a 42-year-old man as part of their investigation into a fatal stabbing Thursday morning in the Ville-Marie borough.
    The victim was stabbed near the intersection of Berri St. and Viger Ave. around 7 a.m.  A witness to what happened called 911 and the victim was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead shortly after he arrived.
    Montreal police spokesperson Constable Manuel Couture said the victim suffered several injuries to his upper body caused b
  • Alouettes DE Gabriel Knapton has a score to settle against the Lions

    During his brief tenure with the British Columbia Lions, Gabriel Knapton lived in Washington state, not far from the team’s Surrey practice facility. It wasn’t uncommon for him and Travis Lulay to carpool together.
    But Friday night at Molson Stadium (7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio-690), Knapton is going to try and discombobulate the Lions quarterback.
    “He’s a great guy and a smart dude, but I’m going to get after him. That’s my job and I’m going to do my
  • #ICYMI: Minister intervenes for teen, election debate, Habs, more news

    In Case You Missed It (#ICYMI) is a daily feature highlighting news in and around Montreal.
    Good news for Alois Orozco, who you made have read about in a report Thursday morning by the Montreal Gazette’s Catherine Solyom.
    The teen is heading back to school at Royal West Academy on Friday, after being granted an exemption from Bill 101 by the minister of education.
    Alois, who was born in Ecuador and moved to Canada in 2010, had been going to the English high school in Montreal Wes
  • LIVE – Quebec election: Follow along as the leaders face off in first debate

    This post is the Montreal Gazette’s live blog about the Sept. 13 French-language leaders debate. It will be updated throughout the evening. Email me at [email protected] 
  • Pointe-Claire resident who mugged 92-year-old woman gets 8 years

    A man who mugged three people in the West Island last year, including a 92-year-old woman while he was out on bail, was sentenced on Thursday to an eight-year prison term.
    Marino Conti, 63, was residing in Pointe-Claire when he robbed three people in an attempt to feed his addiction to crack cocaine. His victims included the 92-year-old woman, who had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for high blood pressure, and another elderly woman who used a cane to get around when she was robbed on Fe
  • New children's book explores – and extols – mother-daughter bond

    A touching and quietly beautiful book about the bond uniting mother and child is the latest offering from Academy Award-winning animator Torill Kove.
    Threads (Firefly Books), written and illustrated by the Norwegian-born Montrealer, will be launched Friday afternoon at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly.
    The book is adapted from her 2017 short animated film of the same name, a co-production of the National Film Board of Canada and the Norwegian studio Mikrofilm AS. It was named one of the
  • Stu Cowan: Wearing the 'C' can become a curse with Canadiens

    We don’t know yet who the next captain of the Canadiens will be, but it’s a pretty safe bet he won’t finish his career in Montreal.
    The last captain to retire in bleu-blanc-rouge was Bob Gainey, who hung up his skates after the Canadiens lost to the Calgary Flames in the 1989 Stanley Cup final after spending his entire 16-year NHL career in Montreal.
    Since then, the Canadiens have gone through nine captains: Chris Chelios, Guy Carbonneau, Kirk Muller, Mike Keane, Pierre Turgeon
  • Johnny Manziel's outburst deepens Alouettes' quarterback controversy

    Perhaps the problem is the Alouettes, in the words of Johnny Manziel, “traded half of an organization” to secure his services. Put that on general manager Kavis Reed.
    But then head coach Mike Sherman, at Manziel’s introductory news conference, said: “This has to work and this will work.”
    This organization has been sending mixed signals to Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round NFL draft choice, since he arrived on July 23. He thought he was the gu
  • Former Mount Real Corp. CEO Lino Matteo ordered to report to prison

    Lino Matteo is creating his very own definition of revolving door justice.
    The former CEO of Mount Real Corp. was ordered on Thursday to turn himself in within 24 hours to the Cowansville Institution, a medium-security federal penitentiary in the Eastern Townships. He is to resume serving the five-year prison term he received last November following his conviction in a case where he was found to have violated 270 counts of Quebec’s Securities Act. If he does show up at the penitentiary on

Follow @AylmerQuebecnws on Twitter!