• Watch: LaSalle Legion and the tax man

    Comedian Joey Elias is stepping up to help save the LaSalle Legion from foreclosure Nov. 4. He’s interviewed here, and columnist Bill Brownstein has a full report.
     
  • Unflappable Canadiens rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi shows veteran's poise

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi sat in his cubicle at the Canadiens’ practice facility in Brossard, a wide grin lighting up his face as he observed the activity around him.
    “Are you nervous about the home opener?”
    “Do I look nervous?”
    No, he doesn’t. Kotkaniemi is taking everything in stride, as he has since he arrived at the Canadiens’ rookie camp five weeks ago. In that short time, the 18-year-old Finn has defied the odds, winning a spot on the roster and becoming
  • Watch: Trudeau and Legault arrive in Armenia for la Francophonie summit

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec premier-elect François Legault arrive in Armenia Wednesday ahead of the summit of la Francophonie.
  • Alouettes trade Philip Blake and Patrick Lavoie for Joshua Stanford

    The Montreal Alouettes traded offensive lineman Philip Blake and fullback Patrick Lavoie to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for wide receiver Joshua Stanford and a second-round draft pick in the 2020 entry draft.
    The six-foot-one, 200-pound Stanford, 24, was drafted in the eighth round by the Roughriders in 2016. He saw limited action his first two seasons with the team, but so far this season has 17 receptions for 165 yards.
    “We are very happy to have acquired a promising young receiver like
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  • Watch: Canadiens unveil new food and drink offerings at the Bell Centre: M2 Marché and Mythik

    As promised by Geoff Molson at the end of last season, the Montreal Canadiens have upped their food and drink game at the Bell Centre, a place that was until now mostly known for its classic Forum-style hot dogs and way too expensive draft beer.
    Molson — the team president, CEO and owner — was on hand Tuesday morning for the official launch of what they are calling the M2 Marché-Montréal, a high-end food court and bar on the M2 level of the Bell Centre just below the ma
  • Four charged in drive-by shooting in Rivière-des-Prairies

    Montreal police say a man in his 20s was the target of a murder attempt late Tuesday in Rivière-des-Prairies.
    The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Élie Beauregard Ave.
    As the man stood next to a parked car, a shot was fired from a passing vehicle carrying four men that then sped away.
    Police tracked down the vehicle a few kilometres away at Maurice-Duplessis Blvd. and the Highway 25 service road.
    Police arrested two 18-year-olds and two 20-year-olds and seized a firearm.
    The
  • Pat Hickey book excerpt: P.K. Subban devastated by trade to Nashville Predators

    The following is an excerpt from If These Walls Could Talk: Montreal Canadiens by Pat Hickey (Triumph Books, 304 pages, $23.95).
    The Trade
    As the hockey world gathered in Buffalo for the 2016 NHL entry draft, there was renewed speculation that the Canadiens were shopping P.K. Subban.
    General Manager Marc Bergevin brought a temporary halt to the talk when he met the media on the afternoon prior to the draft. “I have no intention of trading P.K. Subban,” declared Bergevin. “He&rs
  • Pat Hickey shares some of his favourite Canadiens stories in new book

    Pat Hickey has been a sportswriter for 53 years and has been on the Canadiens’ beat full-time since 1992, following a stint as sports editor at the Montreal Gazette.
    Hickey’s first experience covering the Canadiens came during the 1960s when he was with the Montreal Star.
    “I don’t want to say that I was (Red Fisher’s) backup, because Red didn’t really have a backup,” Hickey recalled. “I did practices, I covered Jean Béliveau’s 500th go
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  • $640K microscope advances eye surgery at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital

    In what is being touted as a Canadian first, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital has acquired one of the most advanced microscopes on the market that will allow surgeons to operate on the eyes of patients suffering from corneal tears and other disorders while reducing the rate of complications.
    “It’s a very, very precise instrument,” Dr. Éric Fortin, co-ordinator of the Centre universitaire d’ophtalmolgie, said in an interview Wednesday.
    “It’s a new tool to h
  • Quebecers support #MeToo movement, but have their doubts, poll shows

    A year after the start of the #MeToo movement most Quebecers feel it is time for sexual misconduct to be denounced and punished, a survey conducted for radio station 98.5 FM and Actualité magazine suggests.
    But respondents also say they are not prepared to believe every accusation, many of them expressing concerns over those made on mainstream or social media or years after the fact.
    The #MeToo movement (#MoiAussi in Quebec) appeared on social media in 2017 when it was used by people
  • In Quebec, new-home construction has leaped 18% in seven years

    In a sure sign Quebec’s economy continues to boom, the number of residential construction projects in the province has increased by nearly 20 per cent since 2011. And it seems that more rental housing is being constructed than previous believed.
    For the first six months of 2018, the total number of residential construction starts stood at 19,317 — rental and non-rental — an increase of 18 per cent over the same period in 2011, according to a report by the Association des p
  • Quebec youth protection offices expect to handle 100,000 files a year

    The number of files opened by Quebec’s office of youth protection (DPJ) has not stopped growing and is expected this year to pass the threshold of 100,000.
    The prediction was made Wednesday as the Direction de la protection de la jeunesses for Montreal, Laval and Lanaudière unveiled their annual activity reports and called upon the newly elected government of François Legault to know it is now more important than ever to make the plight of young people a priority.
    The increas
  • Former child hostage tells court about the night his father was shot

    A man the police believe was Septimus Neverson managed to slip away from them during a violent home invasion in Côte-des-Neiges nine years ago after a 10-year-old boy was used as a hostage during the robbery.
    The boy, who is 19 now, testified on Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse where Neverson, 56, faces 54 charges related to 13 home invasions carried out between 2006 and 2009 in Montreal and Laval. In the Côte-des-Neiges case, a home invasion carried out on De Nancy St. on July 1
  • Beyond the Plate: Raegan Steinberg, Alex Cohen share a nosh

    This is the sixth instalment in the monthly series Beyond the Plate, looking at the motivations and passions of local chefs. This month: Raegan Steinberg and Alex Cohen of Arthurs Nosh Bar.
    Throughout my time spent with Raegan Steinberg and husband Alex Cohen, co-founders of Arthurs Nosh Bar on Notre-Dame St. W. in St-Henri, Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe was on a loop in my head:
    They say we’re young and we don’t knowWe won’t find out until we growWell, I don&rsquo
  • Steve Martin + Martin Short + 30 years = great chemistry, memorable show

    They got the title, typically and self-deprecatingly, wrong: It most certainly won’t be An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, if you catch Steve Martin and Martin Short when they roll into Place des Arts Oct. 21.
    Go figure that two of the sharpest wits of several generations would hook up decades after successfully going solo and become the hottest comedy tandem around. Just when most performers their age contemplate retirement, Martin, 73, and Short, 68, have taken their a
  • What the Puck: Canadiens show newfound spark heading into home opener

    Uncle.
    That’s it, I give in. These new-philosophy Montreal Canadiens look pretty darn good. There, I’ve said it.
    They’re fun to watch. That’s something you would have never dreamed of saying of the 2017-18 Habs. Last season, it was a painful chore to watch a full game. So far this season, it’s been a blast, as our heroes trampled over the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins and more than held their own against the star-studded Toronto Maple Leafs.
    So let’s give credit
  • Even once it's legal, Montrealers won't be allowed to smoke pot everywhere

    Seven days before recreational cannabis use becomes legal on Oct. 17, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has announced guidelines on where it will be permitted.
    Rules on pot will be the same as those on tobacco, the mayor said at a press conference at city hall.
    That means weed will be banned in hospitals, schools, CEGEPs, universities, daycare centres, bars, restaurants, sport centres, concert halls, restaurant terrasses, playgrounds and on public transportation and in bus shelters.
    It will a
  • Opinion: Religious discrimination violates Canada's treaty obligations

    Populism is on everyone’s lips these days.
    In his new book, Stephen Harper warns that unless we address the underlying grievances that lead to populism, we risk Trumpian consequences or worse. In Ontario, Doug Ford railed against a court decision that opposed the will of an elected government. And closer to home, premier-designate François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec has swept to victory on a populist wave of change.
    A central plank of populist politics is how to
  • Lionel Messi's the latest nimble performer to get a Cirque du Soleil show

    Cirque du Soleil is putting together a show based on the life of soccer star Lionel Messi.
    The Argentina and Barcelona star will be collaborating with Cirque du Soleil, PopArt Music and Sony Music on the show, which is expected to debut in 2019.
    In a statement, Messi said “it feels both crazy and incredible that Cirque du Soleil will create a show based on my life, my passion, my sport.”
    He is the latest global entertainer to be honoured by the Montreal-based circus company, which pr
  • Man gunned down in Lanaudière suffers life-threatening wounds

    A shooting victim was fighting for his life in hospital after being shot early Wednesday in the town of Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon in Quebec’s Lanaudière region.
    The shooting occurred at 7:40 a.m. and the man’s wounds are life threatening. Police were saying little about their investigation Wednesday morning as their attempts to track down the shooter continue.
    This story will be updated.
     
  • STM to hold garage sale Sunday, offering old signs, equipment

    Want to own an old bus fare box or outdated sign from Montreal’s public transit system? The Société de transport de Montréal is offering a chance for transit fans to buy souvenirs with a garage sale on Sunday.
    The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bellechasse garage, 5990 Casgrain St., near Rosemont métro.
    “In response to our customers’ wishes, the STM is creating an opportunity for collectors and Montréal public transit history buff
  • Lanaudière firefighters find marijuana grow-op in wake of firebombing

    Firefighters discovered a marijuana grow op in a residence in Saint-Calixte Wednesday after extinguishing a minor blaze caused by a firebomb.
    The Sûreté du Québec received a call at 12:30 a.m. that a firebomb had been thrown against the door of a residence on East 8th Rd. in the municipality, which is in Quebec’s Lanaudière region.
    While the flames caused minor damage, the 52-year-old occupant of the home was arrested after the grow op was discovered by auth
  • 4 arrested after drive-by shooting in Rivière-des-Prairies

    A man in his 20s was the target of a murder attempt late Tuesday in the city’s Rivière-des-Prairies district.
    The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Élie Beauregard Ave. as the victim stood next to a parked car. Another vehicle carrying four men approached and, as it passed, one occupant opened fire before speeding away.
    Montreal police tracked down the suspect vehicle a few kilometres away at the corner of Maurice-Duplessis Blvd. and the service road for Highwa
  • Revenue Quebec employees to stage parallel protests across province

    Professionals employed by Revenue Quebec will hold demonstrations across the province Wednesday to protest against the slowness of contract negotiations with the provincial government.
    The protestors include data analysts, financial management agents and tax auditors who are members of the Syndicat des professionnels du gouvernement du Québec.
    The workers have been without a contract since March 31, 2015, and negotiations have been going on since before the collective agreement expired.
    U
  • While you were sleeping: Geckos can apparently butt dial too

    Here’s what happened while you were sleeping through the rain.
    A judicial recount in the riding of Îles-de-la-Madeleine confirmed the victory of the PQ’s Joël Arseneau. He prevailed in the province’s least populous riding by 15 votes over Liberal Maryse Lapierre. The preliminary margin had been 18 on election night. The riding was the only PQ gain in the election. It was previously held by Liberal Germain Chevarie, who decided not to seek re-election. 
  • Montreal police arrest four after drive-by shooting

    A man in his 20s was the target of a murder attempt late Tuesday in the city’s Rivière-des-Prairies district.
    The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Élie Beauregard Ave. as the victim stood next to a parked car. Another vehicle carrying four men approached and, as it passed, one occupant opened fire before speeding away.
    Montreal police tracked down the suspect vehicle a few kilometres away at the corner of Maurice-Duplessis Blvd. and the service road for Highwa
  • Marquette MNA committed to helping struggling constituents

    Marquette MNA Enrico Ciccone is a self-described “emotional guy”. During a recent telephone interview from Quebec City where he was attending his first caucus, the former NHL hockey player remembered the day he took his first tour of Lachine.
    “It was the day after my nomination,” he said. “I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. I had stomach pains. I felt anguish. When I see something like that, I have to fix it.”
    Ciccone was referring to eastern Lachine,
  • Kramberger: Are the West Island and Off-Island ready for legal pot?

    The legalization of cannabis for recreational use in Canada is one week away.
    While the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) will initially launch about 20 outlets province-wide selling around 150 cannabis products, it’s presumed more stores will open down the road.
    Locally, an SQDC store is set to open in Vaudreuil-Dorion, much to the chagrin of Mayor Guy Pilon. So far, the SQDC has no plans to open an outlet in the West Island. Four outlets will initially ope
  • 7 questions with new Quebec premier François Legault

    François Legault is the premier-designate after a Coalition Avenir Québec wave swept through la belle province Oct. 1.
    But the CAQ’s 74-seat majority victory came with little support — two east-end seats — from the island of Montreal, which remains a Liberal stronghold.
    In a pre-election interview with the West Island Gazette, Legault, who grew up in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, talked about his own political evolution — from committed sovereignist to uncommit
  • Montreal's Nomad Bloc: a climbing wall to go

    What do you get when you put four engineers together to build a climbing wall?
    The short answer is Nomad Bloc. The slightly longer answer is Montreal’s — and perhaps the world’s — first mobile climbing centre.
    Nomad Bloc’s 1,800-square foot climbing gym looks normal enough on the surface, but the whole contraption comes with a twist: it can be folded up, transformer-style, hitched to a transport truck cab and driven pretty much anywhere.
    Babacar Daoust-Cissé
  • Montreal weather: Back to autumn

    It will be cooler and possibly wetter than it was yesterday.
    Environment Canada predicts we’ll have showers, with fog patches dissipating in the morning. Wind northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40. Temperature falling to 13 in the morning, then steady. UV index 2 or low.
    Tonight: Periods of rain. Amount 5 to 10 mm. Wind northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40. Low 10.
    Don’t forget to submit your photos of Montreal via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by tagging them with #ThisMtl. We&rsqu
  • From milkman to Quebec premier: François Legault's rise to power

    The campaign posters of the 2018 Quebec election are coming down, including one of a smiling François Legault on Cartier Ave. in the Pointe-Claire Village. The poster hung only steps from the home of family relatives the young François often visited while growing up in the West Island suburbs of Montreal.
    The red-bricked semi-detached home at 45 Cartier sits across the street from the Beaconsfield Golf Club, once considered a playground for affluent anglos who could look south from
  • Bill Brownstein: New Josh Freed doc about memory lapses turns out to be most topical

    Talk about timing: About 18 months ago, when Josh Freed began writing and directing the documentary The Memory Mirage, he had no clue whatsoever about newly minted U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford, who accused the former of sexual assault when they were teens but who was unable to thwart his appointment as a consequence.
    Neither Kavanaugh nor Ford appear in or are referred to in this compelling Freed doc, which airs Oct. 28 on CBC’s The Nature of Things w
  • Beaconsfield High School to hold 60th anniversary reunion

    Beaconsfield High School is throwing a Diamond Jubilee Reunion bash Oct. 19-20-21 to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary.
    All former grads, teachers and staff are invited to attend the three-day event which takes place at the school at 250 Beaurepaire Drive.
    Bill Stockwell (class of 1961), will co-chair this year’s reunion with Gina Briggs, the daughter of former Beaconsfield mayor Edwin Briggs, who served from 1960-82.
    Another BHS grad, astronaut Dave Williams (Class of 1971) wi
  • Briana Tomkinson: Pruning push reduces power failures in St-Lazare

    In our first year living in St-Lazare, we quickly learned that when the wind starts to blow, you had better make sure you know where your flashlights are.It seemed every storm was followed by the whir of generators, the lighting of candles and fireplaces and a flurry of posts on the local Facebook groups asking who had (and had not) lost power. But in the last year or so, we’ve only had the occasional flicker of lights and the briefest of power outages in my area.We’ve had as many wi
  • #ICYMI: Heat records, city #cannabis rule, CAQ softens stance, more news

    In Case You Missed It (#ICYMI) is a daily feature highlighting news in and around Montreal.
    If you were out and about in the city on Tuesday, you probably knew Montreal temperatures were in record territory.
    In fact, the city saw a 60-year heat record shattered as the high climbed to 26.7 C in the afternoon. The previous record for Oct. 9 was set in 1958, when it was 25 C.
    Read more here:  Heat records set in Montreal, six other Quebec cities on Tuesday
    ***
    Montreal will unve
  • Mayor Plante triples Montreal's contribution to student housing project

    Montreal will contribute $1.6 million — triple the investment announced previously — toward construction of a 90-unit student housing co-op beside Parc Lafontaine in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, Mayor Valérie Plante announced Tuesday.
    “Montreal is a university town and I am thrilled to support this kind of project that responds to a crying need that we have heard loud and clear from our student community,” Plante said.
    The $18-million project on Papineau Ave. at
  • Quebec election: Judicial recount confirms PQ win in Îles-de-la-Madeleine by 15 votes

    The Parti Québécois will keep all nine of the seats it won in the Oct. 1 general election.
    A judicial recount in the riding of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec’s smallest riding by population, confirmed the victory of Joël Arseneau by 15 votes over Liberal Maryse Lapierre. The preliminary margin had been 18 on election night.
    The riding was the only PQ gain in the election. It was previously held by Liberal Germain Chevarie, who decided not to seek re-election.
    Au
  • 'We need to act now' on climate change: Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante

    Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante hopes the recent chilling scientific report on climate change will help to persuade premier-designate François Legault that fighting global warming should be a top priority for his new provincial government.
    On Sunday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report warning that rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in how cities are managed, as well as land, energy, industry, buildings, and transportation, are urgently
  • Quebec's Human Rights Commission is too white and too French: Fo Niemi

    The head of a rights advocacy centre on racial discrimination is sounding the alarm about what he calls a lack of diversity in Quebec’s Human Rights Commission.
    Fo Niemi, the executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, said Tuesday he was concerned about the resignation of the last commissioner whose mother tongue is English.
    Niemi said he recently learned of the actions of Richard Janda, who sent a letter of resignation to the National Assembly severa
  • Stu Cowan: Matthew Peca fitting in with Canadiens in both languages

    Matthew Peca has only played two games with the Canadiens, but has already become a favourite with the French media in Montreal.
    There are only five francophones on the Canadiens roster — Jonathan Drouin, Phillip Danault, Charles Hudon, Xavier Ouellet and Nicolas Deslauriers, who is injured — so the options are limited when it comes to interviews that can run on French TV without needing subtitles. Paul Byron is also comfortable doing interviews in French, but not as comfortable as P
  • Plateau plans legal action against building touted for bachelor parties

    The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough plans on taking legal action against the owners of a building tied to a Montreal bachelor party company known for organizing racy events.
    The company in question, Connected Montreal, advertises bachelor parties that include “girl on girl shows,” “topless beer pong,” and “midgets.”
    On its website, it lists the dwelling in question as one of its “party friendly properties” and the perfect &ldquo
  • Parti Québécois caucus selects Pascal Bérubé as interim leader

    QUEBEC — Battered and bruised, the remaining Parti Québécois MNAs have selected Matane-Matapédia MNA Pascal Bérubé as their interim party leader.
    The party made the announcement Tuesday following a closed-door caucus at the legislature.
    Bérubé, an MNA since 2007 and house leader for the PQ the past two years, replaces Jean-François Lisée, who quit on election night after the PQ crashed along with the Liberals in the general ele
  • City's rules for smoking recreational cannabis same as tobacco: Plante

    Montreal will unveil its plans for regulating non-medicinal cannabis use within city limits at a news conference on Wednesday, but Mayor Valérie Plante said it should be no surprise to anyone that Montreal plans to allow pot smoking wherever tobacco smoking is currently allowed.
    “Montreal is sticking to the rules on tobacco, so (the rules around) consuming in public places will be the same as they are for tobacco smoking,” Plante told reporters Tuesday. “So there won&rsq
  • Canadiens unveil new food and drink offerings at the Bell Centre: M2 Marché and Mythik

    As promised by Geoff Molson at the end of last season, the Montreal Canadiens have upped their food and drink game at the Bell Centre, a place that was until now mostly known for its classic Forum-style hot dogs and way too expensive draft beer.
    Molson — the team president, CEO and owner — was on hand Tuesday morning for the official launch of what they are calling the M2 Marché-Montréal, a high-end food court and bar on the M2 level of the Bell Centre just below the ma
  • Witnesses in home invasions trial note similar mannerisms about robber

    Witnesses testifying at the trial of Septimus Neverson, the man accused of carrying out 13 home invasions, including one that ended in a homicide, have recalled similar characteristics while describing the person who terrorized them in their homes.
    “He was very calm. He knew what he was doing,” Laval resident Naima Bendahmane said on Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse where Neverson’s trial is in its second week.
    She was describing how the man who had entered her home, at aroun

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