Monthly Archives: June 2009

Aleksandra the great

June 17, 2009 – 4:01 pm| Posted in Sports
Aleksandra Wozniak: Awesome

Aleksandra Wozniak: Awesome

A little hometownprovince pride for Blainville's Aleksandra Wozniak. A day after posting a huge upset to the No. 5 women's tennis player in the world (who had just come from a Roland Garros championship), she took down another higher-ranked player today at an England tournament and is in the quarterfinals.

Canada's male star in the tournament also advanced to the quarterfinals. Just imagine if they both won a title...

UPDATE (June 18): They win again! Off to the semifinals.

UPDATE (June 19): Wozniak loses to Wozniacki (again), but Dancevic is in the final.

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Brownstein the auto warrior

June 17, 2009 – 3:39 pm| Posted in Montreal, Opinion
On the left: Heroes. On the right: Terrorists.

On the left: Heroes. On the right: Terrorists.

The Gazette's Bill Brownstein is on a driver's rights binge this week. On Monday, he was on CFCF talking about how the city was "held hostage" by the Tour de l'Île, and repeating the anti-cyclist talking points:

  • The Tour de l'Île shut down the city and prevented people from getting to hospitals
  • Why can't the Tour de l'Île be held on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve where it won't bother anyone?
  • Cops never ticket cyclists and always ticket drivers
  • Drivers would like to walk and cycle everywhere, but it's impossible in this city
  • Drivers are an oppressed majority, and having a handful of bike paths and Bixi stations scattered around the city is going way too far
  • Removable poles along bike paths are better than permanent concrete medians like we have on de Maisonneuve Blvd.

Of course, there are counter-arguments to all these. The tours' routes were constructed to allow car traffic through wherever safely possible (and for crying out loud, it's one weekend day a year), emergency vehicles were given priority, and holding it on another island would defeat the purpose of a Tour de l'Île, wouldn't it?

When you consider how much space in this city is reserved solely for four-wheel transportation, and how many traffic rules are designed solely to prevent them from crashing into each other, you wonder if people who say drivers are oppressed aren't on some crazy drug.

Sadly, Brownstein's throwaway half-joking suggestion of a "car party" might very well come true if drivers' limitless sense of entitlement continues to grow.

This tunnel under de Maisonneuve Blvd. will link Concordia's Hall and Library buildings with the Guy-Concordia metro station.

This tunnel under de Maisonneuve Blvd. will link Concordia's Hall and Library buildings with the Guy-Concordia metro station.

Today, in his newspaper column, Brownstein talks about the tunnel being constructed at Concordia's downtown campus that would connect the two older buildings at de Maisonneuve and Mackay with the Guy-Concordia metro station (and, just as importantly, the two newer buildings):

Are you kidding me? The students can’t handle the two-block trek outside! Has this exercise really been worth it? Construction on that corner has done a marvellous job of crippling traffic for motorists and cyclists alike.

While this is true, consider what will happen once the tunnel is built. Students will no longer have to go outside to get between the metro and the Hall Building. They will no longer have to jaywalk across de Maisonneuve Blvd., and they'll no longer be an annoying swarm for drivers to contend with on a daily basis. Not to mention how much easier it will be to transport equipment between buildings. This construction will actually be good for drivers.

Brownstein also talks about Old Montreal being closed to traffic and the horror that's causing by forcing drivers to walk a couple of blocks to their overpriced restaurants overpriced hotels with their bags. (Bonus points if you notice the blatant hypocrisy here.)

Sorry Bill, you haven't made a convert out of me.

CORRECTION (June 25): Brownstein was talking about Old Montreal hotels needing to send bellboys blocks away to pick up bags, not people needing to walk to overpriced restaurants. Fagstein regrets the error.

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Overdrive

June 17, 2009 – 2:23 pm| Posted in Montreal, Opinion, photos

Front

I thought this vehicle only existed in Simpsons parody form until now.

Right

Note the rig-style side mirrors, roof-mounted horns and lights.

Truck left

And the handlebars and step needed to get inside.

Truck driver

You know, if your truck is so big you have to get on your tippy-toes to peek into the window, maybe it's too big for you to drive.

Truck driving

Especially when you're taking it to a bar on Bishop Street.

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Maisonneuve redesigns

June 17, 2009 – 1:28 am| Posted in Media

Editor/publisher/founder/poobah Derek Webster explains the new look of Montreal's alternative magazine, for those of you who care about what font it uses. (via J-Source)

They've also ditched the "eclectic curiosity" tagline, which they admit doesn't actually mean anything.

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Boulos defends Harel

June 16, 2009 – 2:44 am| Posted in Montreal

Karim Boulos, the anglo at Vision Montreal, wants us to know Louise Harel is not to be feared by our people. As a Liberal and federalist, even he can find a way to support her, because she believes in the same things Benoît Labonté believes in: centralization and improving services and bring more environmentally friendly and cookies and puppies and happy children and such.

He promises to highlight electoral platforms "as soon as the parties render them public".

I'm waiting too.

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Pillow fight Friday at Fringe Fest

June 16, 2009 – 2:35 am| Posted in Fun, Montreal
Pillow fight on April 4

Pillow fight on April 4

The Fringe Festival includes a pillow fight scheduled to take place Friday at 5pm at the Parc des Amériques a St. Laurent and Rachel. You can signal your presence on the Facebook event page.

Bring your own pillow (no feathers please) and hope it doesn't rain like last time.

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Journal Lockout Digest: FTQ traitors

June 16, 2009 – 2:21 am| Posted in Media

It's hard to argue that your employees should make huge concessions when you're in the process of bidding for an eight-figure sports franchise. And yet, that's exactly what Quebecor is doing.

But the Quebecor bid for the Canadiens took a new twist this week when it was discovered that it's being supported by the Fonds de solidarité of the FTQ. The FTQ labour union.

Needless to say that's raised a few eyebrows among the media, not to mention the folks at Rue Frontenac. The STIJM calls it immoral, Martin Leclerc is calling for heads to roll, Michel Van de Walle calls it treason, Serge Touchette is revolted and Beaudet takes a whack at the issue in cartoon form. There was even a protest, another protest at the Bell Centre, and an open letter to Jean Charest.

Aside from the union implications, the deal is also making some worried about what would happen to Canadiens games on RDS if Quebecor and its "king of convergence" at Planète Quebecor were to buy the team. The Gazette's Pat Hickey calls it "a bit scary", Mike Boone agrees and unions aren't crazy about it either. There's even a Facebook group to keep Quebecor from buying the team.

Back to the table, please

Remembering that there's a labour conflict going on, labour minister David Whissell wants both sides to return to the negotiating table. Though he says he doesn't take sides since the conflict is with a private corporation.

Inside the conflict

Radio-Canada's Desautels has a piece about the Journal de Montréal conflict. The audio is online in Windows Media audio.

Défi Chicoutimi

25 of the Journal's 253 locked-out workers have embarked on a bicycle trip from Montreal to Chicoutimi (via Quebec City) to express solidarity with their locked-out colleagues at Le Réveil. You can read about their departure, Day 1 and two reports about Day 2.

Those who couldn't make it on bikes hit the golf course.

Bonne Fête

The Journal de Montréal is 45 years old. Not quite the birthday it expected. Thoughts from:

Rue Frontenac expands

Reinforcing the fact that they're in this for the long haul, Rue Frontenac has added a new section, Détente, for weekend lifestyle features. It also has a special from Jean-Michel Nahas looking at the various candidates for mayor of Montreal.

TVA Publications likes this union thing

Rue Frontenac reports that ad salespeople at TVA Publications are looking to form a union. They've requested accreditation. TVA Publications, in addition to abusing freelancers, is mostly ununionized.

And...

Another pot shot at the Journal's manque de rigueur...

Meanwhile, at the Journal de Québec

Remember that labour board decision that Quebecor said they'd appeal? They're appealing it.

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Canwest gets another break

June 15, 2009 – 11:10 pm| Posted in Media

Like tonight's episode of House, the latest Canwest announcement is a repeat. That doesn't stop CBC, Reuters, CP, Variety and, of course, Canwest itself from writing stories about it.

The next date for our calendars is June 30, when this recapitalization plan will have to be figured out (or another deadline agreed on).

Meanwhile, my employer's employer is reportedly looking to save $20 million in labour costs through union concessions. It has sent letters to unions but says it isn't a done deal that they're officially making such requests. If they were, it would include managers like Dennis Skulsky (who is being given an honorary degree, by the way), but not Leonard Asper. Still, the unions aren't impressed.

The Gazette's union, the Montreal Newspaper Guild, says it "has received no communication of any kind, verbal or written, from Canwest or Gazette management requesting us to consider any salary or other concessions in our contractual relationship in any of our units."

The Gazette's editorial and reader sales departments have been without a contract since June 2008.

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It’s a crime wave!

June 15, 2009 – 7:17 pm| Posted in In the news, Media, Montreal

Editor: Hey reporter, do a story about all these shootings, will ya?

Reporter: Sure.

(Later)

Reporter: Police say they have no evidence there's a link between these shootings. It doesn't look like there's anything in common other than they all happened within 24 hours of each other.

Editor: Be sure to put that in your story somewhere near the bottom, you know, after you've convinced everyone that the entire city is on a shooting spree.

Reporter: Uhh... ok.

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La Presse to stop publishing Sundays

June 15, 2009 – 5:58 pm| Posted in Media, Montreal

It's official: La Presse will no longer be publishing on Sundays as a way of saving $3 million a year. The last Sunday paper comes out June 28.

Take the news through your favourite corporate filter:

Gesca wants to save $26 million. Half of that will come from reducing expenses, including cutting the Sunday issue, reducing the width of the paper by an inch and cancelling internships. It is asking for the other half to come from concessions from employees (including managers), and is throwing out thinly-veiled threats to shut down the paper entirely. La Presse's union has been without a contract since Dec. 31.

Cyberpresse and other Gesca papers aren't affected by these demands, though there is still an open call for buyouts.

La Presse's union says it is studying the concession demands, which would come with a promise that 15% of profits (should the paper become profitable again) would go back to employees.

UPDATE (June 18): Lagacé discusses the business model affecting newspapers (of which La Presse and Gesca are not immune) and predicts that employees will have to make some concessions, though he argues against those who say journalists are overpaid. Yves Boisvert waxes poetic about the physical newspaper and how it will soon be a thing of the past.

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