The Provincial Politicians Are Back At Work In Quebec City

Quebec's national assembly resumed sitting Tuesday. (Canadian Press)

Quebec Legislators Debate Deficit, Ethics -- CBC

Premier cites 'exceptional circumstances'.

Public spending and ethics dominated the first day of the winter session at Quebec's national assembly, where the Liberal government hinted that austerity measures may be in order to tackle the province's deficit.

"These exceptional circumstances call on us to look at everything we are doing to make sure we are going to be disciplined in our own backyard, before we do anything else," said Premier Jean Charest, alluding to the sluggish economic recovery and Quebec's $4.7-billion deficit.

Read more ....

Update #1: Ethics scrutinized as National Assembly returns to work -- CTV News
Update #2: PQ to pressure Charest on corruption -- Montreal Gazette

My Comment: I thought Premier Charest was in India? .... I guess he has returned.

Police Divers Find Two Cars In River

Montreal police divers begin the search of the Riviere Des Prairies Tuesday.
Photograph by: Allen McInnis, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL ­ Police divers located not one but two vehicles in the Rivière des Prairies Wednesday, one of which was comfirmed to be that of Hugo Pereira, a black Acura.

The Sûreté du Québec joined the search near the Viau Bridge Wednesday morning and used sonar to locate the vehicles.

Police are now working at retrieving both vehicles from the river.

Read more ....

Update #1: Missing Laval men's car found in river -- CBC
Update #2: Divers find car in river in search for two missing men -- CTV

My Comment: This mystery is getting more and more mysterious.

Montreal Model Makes Splash In ‘Sports Illustrated'

Photo: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition hits the newsstands March 12 with Montreal¹s Zoe Duchesne gracing the pages. She is the only Canadian model in this year¹s edition. (Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated)

From The Toronto Sun:

NEW YORK — For the second year in a row, a Montreal native is featured in Sports Illustrated magazine’s Swimsuit Edition.

This time the Montrealer is Zoe Duchesne, 24, of the Montage agency.

Duchesne was photographed by Canadian photographer Raphael Mazzucco in San Pedro de Atacama, Chili. In a video on the magazine’s website, www.si.com, she joked that getting photographed in the salty ocean “burned the butt a lot”.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Montreal papers ignored this story .... do they not understand that some of us would like to see a pretty Montreal Girl in a bikini in the middle of winter?

I guess not.

Good for Zoe Duchesne .... SI is a big break in her career.

For more pictures of Zoe Duchesne, go here.

Editor's Note

For the past two months I have been working abroad, coming back to Montreal for only a short stint of time.

Well .... the contract is now over and I will be staying here for the foreseeable future.

Yes .... my blogging is back to normal.

Women Protecting Herself Gets Arrested

Montreal Woman Could Face Charges After Stabbing Intruder -- Montreal Gazette

Two children were in St. Henri home at time of break-in; victim was arrested in January on charges of conjugal violence

MONTREAL – A 30-year-old woman could be charged with assault with a weapon after a man broke into her apartment on Friday night.

The man, 31, who was arrested in January on conjugal violence charges, broke into the apartment located on Bourget St. at the corner of St. Antoine St. in St. Henri, about 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Read more ....

My Comment: Bottom line .... if you injure someone who has a history of violence with you and is breaking into your home .... you can go to jail.

This is obviously self defense that I find it incredible that the police are even bothering to charge her. Now she has to find a lawyer, go to court ... etc. etc. etc.

The law (sometimes) does suck.

5 Quebecers Die In Snowmobile Accidents

From The CBC:

Quebec police are urging snowmobilers to ride safely and respect off-road speed limits after deadly accidents on the weekend claimed the lives of five people.

The five Quebecers died in separate snowmobiling accidents between Saturday and Sunday in different parts of the province.

Read more ....

My Comment: In my place up north, snowmobile accidents are a dime a dozen, and the reason why is simple .... the need for speed. Enforce the speed limit, acidents will decrease.

More Quebec Teens Are Taking Up Smoking

Lung cancer is the most preventable of all cancers as smoking is its leading cause. Photograph by: Morris Mac Matzen / Reuters, Special to the Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL - More teenagers in Quebec are turning to smoking – a troubling new development that raises questions about whether the provincial government has gone far enough to curb tobacco use among youth, experts say.

The latest survey on smoking by Statistics Canada shows that in Quebec, one in five teens age 15 to 19 lit up last year – an increase of three per cent from 2008.

By comparison, the national smoking rate for that age group declined from 15 per cent to 14 per cent.

Read more ....

My Comment: The more that kids are told not to smoke .... the more that they smoke. Fortunately, the stats are not as horrible as they use to be .... but the trend for Quebec is the wrong way.

Chinese Train Company Says Its Montreal Metro Bid Would Save Taxpayers Billions

Commuters crowd the Montreal's Berri-UQAM subway station. Photo from the Globe And Mail

From Winnipeg Free Press:

MONTREAL - A Chinese railway manufacturer says it can save Quebec taxpayers billions of dollars and create up to 1,000 jobs in the city if it beats out a Bombardier-Alstom consortium for the contract to build new subway cars for Montreal's Metro system.Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive said Monday it would assemble the subway cars in a Montreal plant in order to respect the requirement that 60 per cent of the content be Canadian. Components and engineering would likely come from China.

Read more ....

Update: Train bid squabble heats up -- Globe And Mail

My Comment: It figures that I have to read this story from a Winnipeg paper. The steel cars are not only cheaper, but they are also more eco-friendly. Will the Montreal City Government jump on this offer .... probably not even with the courts demanding that the Chinese make their bid. The reason why is simple .... too many union jobs on the line.

Taxes, Ethics, Corruption Highlight Legislature Agenda

Photo: Quebec Opposition Leader Pauline Marois will raise the issue of Liberal ethics during the upcoming session. (CP)

From CTV:

Members of the National Assembly will be back in Quebec City Tuesday for the opening of the spring session.

There are a number of unresolved issues including the upcoming budget that will include a sales-tax hike.

Quebecers can also expect a major increase in fees for a range of government services that could include Hydro-Quebec rates.

Read more ....

My Comment: We might as well get use to all of this .... there are 3 more years in this mandate.

Gainey Resigns As Habs' GM

Bob Gainey (left) with Canadiens president Pierre Boivin and newly appointed general manager Pierre Gauthier. Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, The Gazette

Canadiens' GM Bob Gainey passes Torch To Pierre Gauthier -- Montreal Gazette

MONTREAL – The Canadiens didn’t have to look far to find a replacement when general manager Bob Gainey decided to step down.

Pierre Gauthier, who has served as Gainey’s right-hand man for the past 61⁄2 years, is the team’s new GM.

“I’ve done my best and now it’s time for me to pass the torch,” Gainey said during a news conference at the Bell Centre yesterday afternoon. “I believe that the general manager position requires a long-term vision and a long-term commitment. At this point, I’m not prepared to make a commitment of four or five or six more years in this position.

Read more ....

More News On The Resignation Of Bob Gainey

Pierre Gauthier named General Manager -- Canadiens.com
Gainey steps down as Habs GM -- CBC
Canadiens GM Bob Gainey steps down -- CTV
Gainey resigns as Habs' GM -- Globe And Mail
Time runs out on Habs GM Gainey -- SI.com
Gainey planned exit strategy long ago -- CBC
Last two seasons hurt Gainey's legacy -- Montreal Gazette
It was time for Gainey to go -- Montreal Gazette
Cox: Gainey was one of the best -- Toronto Star
'Bob brought silver polish to his job' -- National Post
A quick look at Bob Gainey's career -- Canadian Press