Monteal Alouettes 40, Calgary Stampeders 27

The Montreal Alouettes' defence swarms Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris during the first half of their CFL football game in Calgary on July 1, 2009. Photograph by: Todd Korol, CanWest News Service

Alouettes Get Sweet Revenge -- Montreal Gazette

CALGARY – It won't atone for the heartbreaking Grey Cup loss last November, but the Alouettes have finally exacted some revenge against the Calgary Stampeders.

Montreal went into McMahon Stadium last night and outlasted the defending Canadian Football League champions, 40-27, before a capacity 35,650 rain-soaked spectators in the teams' regular-season opener.

The Als lost all three games last season to Calgary, including 22-14 in the title game at Olympic Stadium. That meant Montreal rookie head coach Marc Trestman lost three times to his Stamps counterpart, John Hufnagel. Both became CFL coaches last season following stellar careers as NFL offensive co-ordinators.

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More News On The Montreal - Calgary Football Game

Stamps lose rain-soaked opener to Montreal -- Calgary Herald
Calvillo wins pivotal battle -- Canoe.ca
Stamps made a mess of their season opener -- Calgary Herald

Montreal Canadian News Updates -- July 2, 2009

Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri will probably form the Canadiens' new top line. Photograph by: Mike Stobe, Jim McIsaac, Frank Polich, Getty Images, Reuters

Cammalleri Highlights Habs' Free-Agent Haul -- CBC

Winger Mike Cammalleri cashed in on his breakthrough season, agreeing to a five-year deal worth 30 million US with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Cammalleri is the centerpiece of Montreal's free-agent haul, which included fellow forward Brian Gionta and defencemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill.

Cammalleri scored a career-high 39 goals for the Calgary Flames last season, who acquired the forward from the Los Angeles Kings at the 2008 NHL draft.

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More News On The Montreal Canadians

GM Gainey reshapes the Canadiens -- Montreal Gazette
Gainey's moves a mixed bag: Fisher -- Montreal Gazette
Gainey sizes up NHL market -- Montreal Gazette
Habs add Cammalleri, Gionta -- Globe And Mail
Gainey's all in -- Sportsnet
Numbers Game: Habs Add Two Scoring Wingers -- TSN
Mckenzie Blog: Habs Add Skill But Are They An Improved Team? -- TSN
Free Agent Frenzy hits Montreal -- Habsworld

Gas Jumps 11 Cents Overnight At Some Pumps

From CTV News:

Gas at some pumps on the island of Montreal jumped about 11 cents a litre on Wednesday, and one analyst says there will be days in the future when a jump this size will seem small compared to what gas could cost in the future.

Gasbuddy.com says yesterday's average litre price was around a dollar; today, some pumps are charging more than $1.11 per litre of gas.

Analyst Karl Moore says there are a number of factors contributing to the increase that will continue to affect the price of gas:

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Thousands Celebrate Canada Day

MONTREAL, QUE: JULY 1, 2009 -- 91-year-old Dorothy Perks, who served as an ambulance driver for the civil defense during World War II, salutes O Canada at a gathering at the end of the annual Canada Day parade in Montreal Wednesday, July 1, 2009. Photograph by: John Kenney, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

Spectators had small Canadian flags in their hair.

Young girls had red Maple Leaf stickers on their cheeks.

And marching bands from the Filipino and Chinese communities led the way as thousands celebrated Canada Day in midtown Montreal today.

The parade, which started at Atwater Ave., worked its way east along Ste. Catherine St. with the thickest crowds at the corner of Peel and Ste. Catherine Sts.

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Mayor Not At Canada Day Parade

Montrealers wave Canadian flags at the city's annual Canada Day parade on Ste. Catherine St., on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

From CTV News:

Downtown Montreal was filled with proud Canadians on Wednesday, as the city celebrated Canada's 142nd birthday with a parade on Ste. Catherine St.

"It's such a wonderful country, it's open to everyone -- everyone loves it," said one enthusiastic parade-goer.

"Oh I love it, every year we come," said another, who held a little girl as she waved a Canadian flag.

Though many were impressed with the music, the marching bands, and the colourful displays, some were disappointed with the turnout.

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Air Canada Warns Of Delays At Trudeau Airport

Construction near Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and the Dorval circle Tuesday, June 30, 2009. Photograph by: John Kenney, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL - Canada’s major airline has issued a travel advisory to passengers travelling via Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to budget for travel delays caused by construction around the airport.

“Air Canada advises customers with flights at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, to allow extra time to access and exit the airport, particularly during rush hours, due to major road construction under way until the end of July,” reads a bulletin sent out on June 29.

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What's Open/Closed On Canada Day

A parade watcher holds up the Canadian flag during the annual Canada Day parade on Riverside Drive July 1, 2008. Photograph by: File photo, The Windsor Star

From The Montreal Gazette:

Many businesses and government services will be closed or operate on different hours for the Canada Day holiday tomorrow.

Here is a partial list of those affected:

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Vigilance Essential For French

Montreal Skyline

From The Toronto Star:

Raising young children in Toronto in the early eighties, we hooked them on Passe-Partout, Télé-Québec's popular preschool program, and restricted television access to the length of the half-hour daily episodes.

The only language spoken at home was French, and both kids were home-schooled to read in their mother tongue long before they could decipher a word of English. That was part and parcel of bulletproofing our kids for the inevitable day when they ventured into the largely English-speaking Ontario world.

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My Comment: As readers of this blog know, I have lived in Montreal for 49 years .... I have a perspective that Chantal Hebert does not have. After over 30 years of discrimination, humiliation, fines and law enforcement against non-francophone business institutions, propaganda and fear mongering, forcing parents with their children to go to schools that they do not want to go to, terrorism through extremist groups like the FLQ, being banned from government occupations or work in professional fields like medicine due to inadequate french language skills .... etc. etc. etc. .... what we have to show for it is the slow death of the French Quebecois language and culture in Montreal.

The reason why is simple, French Quebecers gave up having large families a long time ago .... and demographically they are losing ground. The hope has always been that by forcing immigrant children to go to French educational institutions will stop this decline. It has not. As a child of immigrant parents I was exposed at an early age the French Quebecois xenophobia towards outsiders .... and this still continues.

As more and more of Montreal French schools become filled with the children of immigrants from Haiti, Latin America, and Arab countries, we are now having the phenomenon of French flight from Montreal into the suburbs (that are almost all French Quebecois) off the island. Ste-Therese and Blainville have boomed in the past 5 years as a result of this mass movement of peoples.

Chantal Hebert may be proud that her children speak both languages, but I wager that their children or their grandchildren will end up talking only in English.

Former Montreal Newspaper Premises Reborn As A Top-Drawer Hotel

The front entrance of the new Westin Montreal hotel located at 270 St Antoine W.
Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, Montreal Gazette

From Canada.com:

Montreal's newest luxury hotel bears little resemblance to the building's previous incarnation as home to The Gazette and, before that, the Montreal Star.

Le Westin Montréal, which began accepting guests in June, is the result of a $90-million investment by ATLIFIC Hotels.

Where the newspaper presses once rumbled and rolled along the St. Antoine St. side of the building is now an enclosed grand entrance to the spacious lobby of the 450-room hotel.

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Stevie Wonder Pays Tribute To Jackson At Montreal Jazz Fest

Stevie Wonder performs at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in Montreal on June 30, 2009. Photograph by: Phil Carpenter, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL - If you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer... so better to understand, then.

Last night, under steady near-biblical rain, a sea of umbrellas gathered on the radically revamped Jazzfest site north of Ste. Catherine St. And they knew why. And they believed.

Jazzfest organizers had spent literally 30 years working to make A Wonder's Summer Night happen. Naturally, this massive 30th anniversary Stevie Wonder blowout had to face its share of tests - Did we mention it was raining? And that Michael Jackson died? And yet, people were ready for a papal audience with a pop figure whose discography and world-embracing spirit would tend to inspire faith in something bigger.

And then, at 9:25, the rain tailed off. So, you know, this 'belief' thing...

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