Observations from Montreal

An ever-changing collection of commentary by Montrealers or about Montreal politics and culture.

Observations from Montreal

“I didn’t vote for Legault and the CAQ. I would never vote for them. He’s a populist, he’s just going for whatever the polls tell him he will win. I don’t take as much interest in politics as I used to, because I’m so disappointed with Quebec politics right now. I’m 100% pushing for French. But we shouldn’t push people away, and part of what makes Montreal unique is that we have both French and English here. We have gotten along so well, but the government is trying to divide people. Of course we have to protect French, but we can do so without getting rid of other people. It’s like protecting the trees by getting rid of the flowers; to me it makes no sense.”

An excerpt from our interview with Mado Lamotte from Nov. 2023

“Within the last two days, François Legault received his all-time lowest approval rating and the CAQ had their worst poll result since 2017, all while they continue to shortchange education and healthcare workers. The Front Commun has rejected the Quebec government’s latest offer of 12.7% over 5 years, citing inflation projections of 18.1%. This means that the strike from Dec. 8 to 14 is going ahead. How long is the Legault government prepared to let Quebecers suffer?”

Dec. 6, 2023

“Just one day after receiving his all-time lowest approval rating, François Legault meets with Pierre Karl Péladeau, the president and CEO of the Quebecor media empire, to discuss ‘the future of media.’ Incidentally, Quebecor receives tens of millions of dollars in grant funding every year — part of which funds the divisive anti-immigrant, anti-Montreal, anti-‘woke’ columnists in the JdeM that seem to feed off CAQ policies, or vice versa — and a very significant portion of the Quebec government’s advertising budget. Surely, I can’t be the only person to recognize the sketchiness of the timing of this meeting? Perhaps Legault was consulting PKP about how to hatemonger his way back up the polls.”

Dec. 5, 2023

“You know you’re doing a terrible job running your province when you make even Doug Ford look good. Hopefully Legault’s new 31% approval rating — the lowest in Canada — will be a wake-up call for the CAQ to start prioritizing the issues Quebecers care about the most: healthcare, education, housing affordability and the cost of living. Start leading by uniting, instead of dividing.”

Dec. 4, 2023

“The Quebec government has approval ratings below 35% in healthcare, housing affordability, the cost of living and education. 420K public sector workers will strike again on Dec. 8, this time for a whole week. The CAQ still lives in an imaginary world where French is in decline and English is so dominant in Montreal that they need to revoke the right to English services in hospitals. But don’t worry, at least the National Assembly voted to save Christmas.”

Dec. 1, 2023

“What did Elon Musk think was going to happen? Dude, people used to respect you until you turned Twitter into a cesspool of misinformation, where incels and racists are rewarded for engagement. Of course no one wants to advertise on your platform.”

Nov. 29, 2023

“Calling in noise complaints against music venues and bars from your condo next to a major commercial street full of music venues and bars is classic bourgeois Montreal arrogance. Maybe the city should fine people who harass cultural and nightlife hubs in the Quartier des Spectacles and the Plateau instead of sending inspectors on behalf of these petty drama queens paying overpriced rent to issue threats to the kinds of businesses that helped make those neighbourhoods cool in the first place.”

Nov. 21, 2023

“At what point will CAQ apologists admit that Bill 21 is even partially to blame for rising levels of prejudice against certain minority groups in Quebec? When studies find that ‘Quebecers show a unique aversion to the Jewish kippa not noted elsewhere in the country’ or that feelings of Islamophobia are found in 52% of people in the province, you cannot simply ignore the harm that this bill is doing to those who wear religious symbols. There is a big difference between believing in a secular society and despising certain religions to the point where you think people should have basic human rights taken away. Quebec being a ‘société distincte’ should not be used as justification for lacking empathy for minority groups.”

Nov. 16, 2023

“The Quebec government is spending $7-million to bring the L.A. Kings to Quebec City for 2 games next year when the Habs had offered to play there without government subsidies. This was announced today by the same finance minister who says we have to tighten our belts over the next year, by the same government that prioritized giving themselves a $30K raise over negotiating with the healthcare workers, teachers, school staff and school bus drivers who are about to step up their strike. Bravo CAQ, another pathetic display of blatant hypocrisy.”

Nov. 14, 2023

“François Legault gave the OQLF more power to punish businesses with massive fines and repeat inspections via Bill 96, and this bullying is what’s led to Ye Olde Orchard renaming itself ‘Maison Publique Orchard’ — as if anyone is going to stop calling it Ye Olde Orchard. (Incidentally, Old Orchard is just a street in NDG, so is this all about the ‘Ye’?) I’m sure undercutting the anglo community pleases the radical anti-anglo base the CAQ is pandering to with their populist fear-mongering about the ‘decline of French’ — when 94% of people in this province can speak French.”

Nov. 10, 2023

“Proving once again that François Legault has no interest in actually increasing the knowledge of French among anglo university students, nor of encouraging their integration into Quebec society, the CAQ has rejected McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s ‘unprecedented’ offer to implement mandatory French classes in lieu of tuition hikes. The rejection of this offer, which would have been far more effective than almost all of Bill 96, is more evidence that Legault’s original intention was not to get results, but to divide. It’s all about the optics of Quebec nationalism and his own legacy. How utterly vile.”

Nov. 7, 2023

“No matter where you stand on Quebec politics right now, it’s plain to see that the timing of Premier Legault’s tweet this morning, bragging about Quebec’s supposed soon-to-be ‘booming economy,’ as 420K healthcare and education workers strike, is — at the very least — bad optics. This is yet another example of the CAQ’s total lack of empathy towards the lived realities of the labour force.”

Nov. 6, 2023

“With the school bus strike affecting all English schools boards on the island of Montreal, families that are already struggling will plummet further into poverty. Transco is a massive bedrock for English education in Montreal — not dealing with the bus drivers was an easy assault on the English community. François Legault just didn’t bother to engage with the public sector. The CAQ’s preference was to distract the public with incendiary French-language talk instead of negotiating with unions to keep basic societal needs like hospitals and schools functioning. And now, 400,000 public sector workers will be striking the morning of Nov. 6. Legault has been trying to run Quebec like a company, but that business is crashing and burning and he is just a bully in the ashes.”

Nov. 3, 2023

“We end this week knowing that the #1 choice for premier in Quebec is also the guy who successfully goaded the most progressive party leader in the province to say the N-word during a televised debate last year. Just normal everyday politician stuff. Have a great weekend, everyone!”

Nov. 3, 2023

“Should there not be any accountability when a company like Quebecor, which receives tens of millions of dollars in grant funding every year — not to mention a very large portion of the Quebec government’s advertising budget — lays off hundreds of people? The jobs of those at the top, who’ve clearly mismanaged these funds for years, are of course safe from the cutbacks. This doesn’t seem right.”

Nov. 2, 2023

“The hypocrisy of self-proclaimed ‘anti-woke’ crusaders complaining about Trudeau’s son’s Halloween costume is laughable. Had either of Pierre Poilievre’s kids done the same for their Halloween costume, these people would be the first to lash out against any criticism and political correctness, saying that we should ‘let kids be kids.’ These are also the same fragile people who complained when Trudeau and his son went to see the Barbie movie.”

Nov. 1, 2023

“Criticizing the Quebec government and calling out racism is not ‘Quebec bashing’ — this overused line, similar to people who label anything they don’t like as ‘woke,’ needs to be reinterpreted and used more carefully. But going forward, I would like to urge François Legault and the CAQ to practise empathy on a level we haven’t seen for years in this province. A compassionate government does not need to fear-monger about issues that a large majority don’t think are a priority, when most are more concerned about the cost of living, healthcare and a detrimental housing crisis. At a time when 94% of Quebecers can speak French, all Quebecers should be made to feel like they are welcome and treated equally, no matter their mother tongue or language they speak most often at home. It’s time for positive politics in Quebec.”

Oct. 27, 2023

“Roughly 70% of PPC supporters from 2021 now support the Conservatives, according to a new study by ARI. The incel appeal is strong with Pierre Poilievre, whose popularity is highest among the least educated in Canada, and those who live in rural areas.”

Oct. 24, 2023

“Have you noticed how fear-mongering about the so-called ‘decline of French in Quebec’ always comes with a pathetic throw-away line about how Quebec is ‘the only French nation in the Americas,’ as though that means anything at all? Some advice to people who think saying this proves your point: It doesn’t. Your rights are not reduced as a francophone in Quebec because you live in a continent that is primarily not French. All this shows is that you’re willing to use arbitrary facts about nothing to try to justify the fear-mongering you’ve already bought into.”

Oct. 23, 2023

“This government posts about the ‘decline of French in Quebec’ multiple times per week, ever since two employees at Uniqlo and Victoria’s Secret downtown had difficulty serving secret shoppers in French three years ago. This is not the reality for 94% of the population, but of course, the fear-mongering works. It’s almost like an inflammatory Journal de Montréal exposé led directly to Bill 96.”

Oct. 20, 2023

“It must really piss off Valérie Plante to see François Legault actively trying to sabotage Montreal. Not only do a minority of Montrealers support Bill 96 and Bill 21, but Plante acknowledged the existence of systemic racism in 2020, while Legault still has not. And with this latest move against English universities, Legault is trying to derail Montreal’s economy and international reputation, as well.”

Oct. 19, 2023

“What the Quebec government is doing with out-of-province tuition fees is purely vindictive, designed to do nothing but shrink enrolment in English-language universities and harm their reputations within Canada. By extension, when the reputations of Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s are harmed, so too are the reputations of all Quebec universities.”

Oct. 17, 2023

“We live in a time when studies that show evidence of serious disinformation campaigns being pushed by Conservatives are ultimately discredited and labelled as disinformation by that same group spreading the disinformation in the first place.”

Oct. 17, 2023

“Climate change is real. Anyone that cannot understand that basic scientific fact is not worth your time.”

Oct. 17, 2023

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