Aylmer, Quebec news

• Canadiens Notebook: Questions remain ahead of Saturday night's game

  30-11-2018 23:58 via montrealgazette.com
  Canadiens coach Claude Julien took a day off from speaking with the media Friday, but after practice in Brossard the team’s media-relations staff said a final decision has yet to be made on who will start in goal Saturday night against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio) and whether Paul Byron will return to the lineup after missing the last 14 games with a lower-body injury.
  The Canadiens cancelled a scheduled morning skate Saturday in Brossard
  
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• Warming centre opens as winter threatens lives of Montreal's homeless

  30-11-2018 23:53 via montrealgazette.com
  The year before St. Michael’s Mission started opening its doors on winter nights, 13 of its clients died.
  Not all of them froze to death; some overdosed, others died of heart failure. But in most cases, the withering effect of sleeping outside on a cold Montreal night played a role in their demise.
  That stopped in 2016, when the downtown shelter launched its warming centre program. That winter and the following year, none of the homeless people who frequent the mission died on the streets,
  
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• Noël symphonique: classical Christmas favourites at Maison symphonique

  30-11-2018 23:34 via montrealgazette.com
  Christmas comes early Saturday with the third edition of Noël symphonique, featuring a varied roster of Quebec singers performing orchestral versions of seasonal favourites.
  Performers include Roch Voisine, Jonas, Marie-Ève Janvier, Patrick Norman, Nathalie Lord, Christopher Hall and Brigitte M, and Jean-Pierre Ferland, accompanied by pianist Blair Thompson and the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. Youth choir Les petits chanteurs de Laval will also take the stage.
  There are two pe
  
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• Canadiens make power play a priority as schedule squeeze looms

  30-11-2018 23:33 via montrealgazette.com
  The Canadiens had an 11 a.m. practice scheduled for Friday, but associate coach Kirk Muller jumped the gun.
  Muller had the team’s power-play units on the ice early. There was more work on the power play during the 50-minute practice. And Muller kept the players on the ice for some extra work after the practice ended.
  “(Shea Weber just came back and we’re working on finding the right places, the right spots,” said Jonathan Drouin. “Weby’s been back for one game
  
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• Advocacy groups disagree over car use on Mount Royal

  30-11-2018 23:10 via montrealgazette.com
  Two groups presented starkly different visions Friday on whether cars should be banned from using Mount Royal as a thoroughfare.
  While the non-profit group Les amis de la montagne has favoured traffic calming, and improving local arteries on Mount Royal to discourage drivers from using the mountain as a shortcut, environmental lobby group Équiterre said the only way to change habits is by making it more difficult for cars to drive on the mountain.
  The groups presented back-to-back briefs
  
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• Social Notes: Bob Saget goes from tame to wild at Laughing My Diaper Off

  30-11-2018 22:22 via montrealgazette.com
  One of the coolest things about penning this column is that you never know what adventure is around the corner, as today’s Social Notes — highlighting the dazzle of the inaugural Laughing My Diaper Off (LMDO) fundraising event for the new Montreal chapter of the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation — underscores. Ready, set, showtime!     
  THE PRE-SHOW: When the main event is a comedy show, it’s always key to get the momentum buildi
  
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• Macpherson: Egging on a schoolyard bully

  30-11-2018 21:06 via montrealgazette.com
  Quebec has a schoolyard bully for a premier. Only François Legault’s targets aren’t children, they’re teachers. And public opinion is egging him on.
  In his speech at the opening of the National Assembly session on Wednesday, the Coalition Avenir Québec premier reiterated his intention to forbid government employees “in positions of authority,” including teachers, from wearing religious symbols at work.
  In principle, the prohibition would apply to judge
  
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• Quebec's education minister won't yank controversial history textbooks

  30-11-2018 20:44 via montrealgazette.com
  QUEBEC — Education Minister Jean-François Roberge has no intention of removing controversial history textbooks from Quebec’s schools.
  Despite critics saying the books are “fundamentally flawed” and portray a distorted view of history, especially when it comes to minorities, Roberge said other experts believe the books are just fine.
  It’s all a matter of opinion, the minister said, downplaying the issue.
  “The current history books were written and approv
  
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• What the Puck: Early-season Canadiens optimism gives way to reality

  30-11-2018 19:47 via montrealgazette.com
  Just call them the team that fell to Earth.
  There was a buzz in the city in October as the Canadiens surprised everyone, including most of the other teams, zipping out of the gate and scoring goals right, left and centre. Fans were enthusiastic about the Habs, something that never happened during the dismal 2017-18 season.
  But some of us wondered if this wasn’t just yet another of those ephemeral Octobers that have been the team’s stock-in-trade for years. You know the scenario. Les
  
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• Hotel Intel: Hôtel Birks is Montreal’s chic new bijou

  30-11-2018 19:14 via montrealgazette.com
  Once again, the illustrious Birks name is proving itself to be the pre-eminent purveyor of luxury in Montreal.
  This time, the commodities are not diamonds and gold. They’re possibly even more precious: a serene night in sumptuous surroundings and fine food and drink in an ooh-la-la brasserie.
  The landmark century-old Birks building on Phillips Square has been transformed and reborn as Hôtel Birks, the new sparkling jewel of Montreal’s flourishing hospitality scene.
  Design-wise,
  
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• Saint-Félicien zoo celebrates birth of baby polar bear

  30-11-2018 18:03 via montrealgazette.com
  The Saint-Félicien zoo in Quebec’s Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region announced Friday that Aisaqvak, the 16-year-old female polar bear that has already given birth three times — two of those offspring survived infancy — became the mother of a fourth cub on Tuesday.
  Aisaqvak’s older cubs, both now nine years old, have been moved to other zoos — one in Toronto and the other at the Aquarium du Québec. The latest arrival follows four attempts by the zoo
  
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• Wine: Some of the best bubbles on offer at the SAQ for the holidays

  30-11-2018 18:00 via montrealgazette.com
  While I drink sparkling wines all year long, most people wait for the holiday season before popping bottles. But with 463 sparkling wines and Champagnes available at the SAQ, what to buy?
  I have tasted close to 200 over the last few months; here are my top sparkling wines at various price levels.
  Cava or Prosecco?
  These two styles anchor the entry-level category, and it’s an eternal debate. I vote Cava. It’s made like Champagne, going through a second fermentation in bottle, not
  
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• Bill Zacharkiw's Wines of the Week: Nov. 30, 2018

  30-11-2018 18:00 via montrealgazette.com
  Every week, Bill Zacharkiw identifies his top wine picks available at the SAQ and offers ideas for food pairings.
  Under $15
  Saumur 2017, Marcel Martin, France white, $14.55, SAQ # 13188794. Very good effort here. Chenin blanc is one of the world’s most exceptional white grapes and, while less complex than others, this wine does it proud. Nervous and twitchy due to its vibrant acidity, but let it warm and the grape’s honeyed texture shows. Great discovery for white wine fans. Grape va
  
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• Quebec medicare plagued by overbilling and errors: auditor general

  30-11-2018 17:50 via montrealgazette.com
  QUEBEC — The Régie de l’assurance-maladie (RAMQ) is dragging its feet in checking up on the billing practices of the province’s 21,000 doctors even though RAMQ billing cost taxpayers $7.7 billion in 2017-2018. Errors and overbilling continue to plague the system.
  And the province is once again swimming in used tires of all kinds and the recycling agency in charge of finding new uses for them can’t keep up.
  The province’s auditor-general, Guylaine Leclerc
  
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• Impact extends goalkeeper Evan Bush with three-year deal

  30-11-2018 17:31 via montrealgazette.com
  Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush signed a three-year contract, the club announced on Friday. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
  In his seventh Major League Soccer season with the Impact and eighth with the club, Bush, 32, was named MLS Audi Player Index Top Goalkeeper and the team’s defensive player of the year. He led all MLS goalkeepers with 132 saves, 34 games played, 34 starts and 3,060 minutes played, and was second in the MLS with 184 shots faced, tied for third with 10 shutouts
  
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• The Right Chemistry: 'Alkaline' diet theory is just twaddle

  30-11-2018 17:30 via montrealgazette.com
  He doesn’t eat strawberries. In fact, he avoids all fruits except for the occasional banana. No sugar, no white flour, not even a sip of coffee pass his lips. He doesn’t eat tomatoes or green peppers or any other “nightshade” vegetable. Everything he eats must be organic and conform to an “alkaline” diet. He is Tom Brady, one of the most successful quarterbacks in football history.
  What Brady is not, however, is an expert in nutrition. Neither is his “li
  
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• Hudon, Deslauriers on bubble when injured Habs return | HI/O Bonus

  30-11-2018 17:00 via montrealgazette.com
  In this bonus episode, our panelists — Gazette columnist Stu Cowan, CBC Daybreak’s Jessica Rusnak, Dan Robertson of TSN 690 and host Adam Susser — discuss which players will probably lose out when Joel Armia and Paul Byron return from injuries.
  Related
  Canadiens’ ability to finish needs more polish | HI/O ShowJoin the Hockey Inside/Out Facebook group
  Check us out:Facebook: facebook.com/hockeyinsideoutTwitter: twitter.com/habsioVideo Production by
  
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• While you were sleeping: Island rescue, Mount Royal and a hotel hack

  30-11-2018 15:19 via montrealgazette.com
  Here’s what happened while you were dreaming about the weekend.
  Nearly a day after being almost completely cut off from the outside world, cellphone and internet service has been restored to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
  Local Mayor Jonathan Lapierre made the announcement on his Facebook page at 10 p.m. Thursday.
  He wrote that it seemed one of the two underwater cables that provide telecommunications service for island was functional, although hundreds of residents remained without elect
  
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• Îles-de-la-Madeleine back online as islands slowly recover from storm

  30-11-2018 14:58 via montrealgazette.com
  Nearly a day after being almost completely cut off from the outside world, cellphone and internet service was restored late Thursday to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
  Local Mayor Jonathan Lapierre made the announcement on his Facebook page at 10 p.m.
  He also wrote that it seemed one of the two underwater cables that provide telecommunications service for island was functional, although hundreds of residents remained without electricity because of a storm that had swept the islands with wind gus
  
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• Weekend traffic: Downtown Montreal will be cut off from main artery

  30-11-2018 14:52 via montrealgazette.com
  Work on the Turcot Interchange will cause traffic headaches as usual in the west end of Montreal, but downtown will be also be negatively affected by road closures this weekend.
  Transport Quebec has announced the complete closure of Highway 720/R136 and Highway 20 heading west, between Exit 5 in the Ville-Marie tunnel and the entrance to 1st Ave. in Lachine, from 11:59 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday.
  The following are also closed during the same hours:
  — Temporary entrance on Ste-Anne-
  
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• Montreal gets double-whammy smog warning, special weather alert

  30-11-2018 14:52 via montrealgazette.com
  After a mild and sunny couple of days, Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement advising Montrealers a “Colorado low” is bringing precipitation this way Saturday night.
  Meanwhile, a smog warning blankets an area from Gatineau to Montreal: “High concentrations of particles will affect Southern Quebec beginning Friday evening and should persist into Saturday morning,” the agency cautions.
  Because of the poor air quality, Environment Canada says small c
  
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• Stoned or sloshed, Quebec cops warn driving impaired isn't worth the risk

  30-11-2018 14:09 via montrealgazette.com
  Quebec police forces and highway inspectors for the province’s automobile insurance board have launched a month-long crackdown on impaired driving that will see heightened patrols and regularly deployed road blocks to check for motorists driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  The province-wide operation was launched on Thursday and will continue until Jan. 3.
  The Sûreté du Québec, responsible for the province’s highways, is warning that its patrols
  
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• Opinion: HIV patients should not face financial barriers

  30-11-2018 12:00 via montrealgazette.com
  As we celebrate the work being done in Montreal on the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day Dec. 1, we will be thinking of our most vulnerable patients and the important work left to do.
  Montreal became Canada’s first “Fast-Track City” last year, signing on to the UNAIDS Paris declaration that committed it to diagnose 90 per cent of people living with HIV, provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to 90 per cent of people diagnosed, and suppress the virus in 90 per cent of
  
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• MUHC researchers develop effective HIV self-testing app: study

  30-11-2018 12:00 via montrealgazette.com
  Researchers at the McGill University Health Centre who developed a smartphone app for people who want to test themselves at home for HIV have found that the software has immense potential to help reduce the transmission of the virus and to link those who are infected with timely treatment.
  Researchers evaluated the app on 451 men who have sex with other men. Since home-based HIV tests are not yet approved in Canada, the men visited the Clinique Médicale L’Actuel on de Maisonneuve Bl
  
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• Montreal real estate: Families flock to off-island suburbs

  30-11-2018 12:00 via montrealgazette.com
  If you’re hoping for a newer, move-in-ready home with room for a growing family, it’s pretty slim pickings these days on the island.
  Competition for homes under $500,000 on the island is fierce. Inventory is low and demand is high, so it’s becoming increasingly difficult for families to find what they’re looking for at a price they can afford.
  But for those willing to cross a bridge, half a million still goes pretty far. In areas like Brossard, Vaudreuil and Laval, it&rsq
  
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• Gazette Christmas Fund: Natalia’s friends vanished after MS diagnosis

  30-11-2018 12:00 via montrealgazette.com
  Natalia had always prided herself on her autonomy. She’s always lived alone and worked hard to support herself. Physical activity had also been very important to her, she said.
  That’s why, four years ago, after falling at work, she was shocked to learn that her brain cells showed signs of multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks and weakens the central nervous system. The disease can disrupt the communication between nerve cells, which means the body could struggle to perform basic
  
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• Reduce, don't ban, traffic on Mount Royal, consultation hearing told

  30-11-2018 04:50 via montrealgazette.com
  Vehicular traffic should be reduced but not banned on Camillien-Houde Way by narrowing it, and authority over the road should be transferred to the office that manages the Mount Royal heritage site to ensure that anyone passing across experiences the park and not just a shortcut, Heritage Montreal told a public consultation examining access to the mountain on Thursday evening.
  “We don’t object in principle to people using the link between Côte-des-Neiges Rd. and Parc Ave., but
  
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• François Legault puts the brakes on $600M Apuiat wind-farm project

  30-11-2018 03:27 via montrealgazette.com
  QUEBEC CITY — Premier François Legault has scuttled the $600-million Apuiat wind farm project near Port Cartier on the North Shore, at least until Hydro-Québec has sold its surplus inventory.
  Legault made the announcement Thursday night after meeting for nearly two hours with Innu leaders in the offices of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The announcement put an end to several months of controversy, with critics having urged the newly elected premier
  
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• #ICYMI: Measures for the homeless, climate change, more news

  30-11-2018 02:14 via montrealgazette.com
  In Case You Missed It (#ICYMI) is a daily feature highlighting news in and around Montreal.
  The city of Montreal and the provincial health authority for the Centre-Sud district have unveiled the measures in place this winter to protect local homeless people from the cold.
  Read more here: City of Montreal, community groups team up to help homeless in winter
  ***
  Advocacy groups are hoping the new CAQ government will reverse what they call an “attack on the homeless” by succes
  
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• Spirit of Pops is still alive, Plante says after visit to Dans la rue

  30-11-2018 02:05 via montrealgazette.com
  Mayor Valérie Plante visited Dans la rue Thursday afternoon during its open house to mark 30 years of helping street kids.
  Plante paid tribute to the organization founded by Father Emmett Johns, known as Pops, who died last January at age 89.
  “Pops isn’t with us any more, he left us last year, but you can see how vibrant the organization is, and you can feel the spirit of Pops somehow,” she said to journalists.
  Plante said one of the highlights of her visit was lear
  
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• Paul Byron's imminent return should bolster Canadiens' lineup

  30-11-2018 01:55 via montrealgazette.com
  Shea Weber’s return to the lineup wasn’t enough to end the Canadiens’ losing streak, but maybe the return of Paul Byron will do the trick.
  After missing the last 14 games with a lower-body injury, it looks like Byron will be back in the lineup Saturday night when the Canadiens play the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio). The Canadiens, who are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Weber’s season debut Tuesday nig
  
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• Homeless advocacy groups demand higher welfare payments

  30-11-2018 01:32 via montrealgazette.com
  Advocacy groups are hoping the new CAQ government will reverse what they call an “attack on the homeless” by successive Parti-Québécois and Liberal governments.
  Demanding a steep increase in basic welfare payments, about 50 people representing several advocacy groups rallied in front of the Tour de la Bourse at Victoria Square, which houses the offices of Premier François Legault and Labour Minister Jean Boulet.
  Sheetal Pathak, a community organizer for Proj
  
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