A branch of the REV bike path meant to go along Lacordaire has been put on hold. Alan DeSousa’s claim that this branch “goes nowhere” doesn’t fit with the map, where the path was designed to link Montreal North, St‑Léonard and Hochelaga‑Maisonneuve.
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Kate
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Kate
The Word bookstore is holding a fundraiser to restore their very old, singular building on Milton. I have no connection with the store but would not like to see it go away, so I’m passing this on.
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Kate
The number of aggressive dogs reported to the city has risen by 41% since 2021, a trend blamed both on the growing popularity of dogs, and on owners who have no idea how to train or discipline their animals.
Bert
… or people reporting said events…..
jeather
I bet people bringing their dogs everywhere so there’s a lot more interaction between dogs and strange people also isn’t helping.
Blork
…including on the Metro.
Ian
Well Bert, people are more inclined to report incidents if there are more dogs.
Probably even more inclined to report incidents if the dogs bite.FWIW, there was a large uptick in dog ownership after covid.
“The number of cats and dogs residing in Quebec homes increased by more than 200,000 18 months after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a recent Léger survey commissioned by the Association of Quebec Veterinarians in Small Animal Practice (AMVQ)”
https://globalnews.ca/news/8432565/update-quebec-cats-dogs-covid-19/“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cats and dogs in Quebec has increased by about 200,000 to about 3.25 million, a Léger survey shows.
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Quebec’s cat population is estimated at 2.134 million and the dog population at 1.118 million.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/52-per-cent-of-quebec-households-have-a-cat-or-a-dog-the-highest-rate-ever/
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Kate
People who bought a house in Hudson in 2024 are demanding money back from the seller after finding out that an intruder had been killed on the premises by the previous owner during a home invasion. Previous owners are sticking to the point that the intruder was declared dead in hospital, not in the house.
I had no idea you had to check off an item saying that no suicide or violent death had happened in a house you were selling, and that such an incident reduces its value.
CE
When I bought my house a couple years ago, I remember seeing that section in one of the many documents I had to sign. I thought it was odd but I guess there are people who care about it.
Joey
I guess this is still a legit thing – I suspect there are a lot more real estate agents who advise clients that they can get a big discount on a home that had a gruesome event occur inside it than there are homebuyers who sincerely believe that such a history legitimately decreases the value of a home (though we shouldn’t underestimate the number of superstitious people out there). Anyway, my sympathy for the sellers – who basically experienced a terrible home invasion that had the net effect of diminishing the value of their home by 15-25% – started to run out when they tried to loophole their way out of the disclosure. Didn’t help their cause when they were quoted saying that the onus was on the buyer (to not accept their checking a box indicating a violent death hadn’t occurred there despite a Coroners’ report to the contrary?). Leave it to the agent, who should have an ethical and profession obligation not to allow their client to mis-represent the truth, to come out looking worst of all, referring to the buyers: “La courtière Shareen Quraeshi avance même qu’ils sont les « seuls responsables de la malchance qu’ils allèguent ».”
I doubt TVA will follow up, but my sense is the buyers have a strong case here…
azrhey
A friend selling their duplex close to Sauvé metro 10 or so years ago got the buyers arguing for a rebate because they could see a bit of the cemetery from the front door. I’d been there and you’d really have to stand at the corner of the stoop to see a bit of the fence on Berri. But, apparently, that was enough for some people…
People are strange.steph
When we bought in 2021, during the heart of the bidding wars, we put an offer on a house which had a suicide. Our agent told use the suicide would keep some of the competition away. She said “it’s about a 10k devalue. lets just lower our bid by 5k”. It made no difference, it still sold 100k over asking, 25k over our offer, we were in 5th place.
IMHO cemeteries make for the best neighbors and would be an added value.
DeWolf
In Hong Kong, it’s almost impossible to get a mortgage for a property where there has been a suicide or violent death. The banks consider them to be a total write-off because the vast majority of the population follow traditional Chinese religious/spiritual practices:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_ghost
I can only imagine there are a lot of people here in Montreal who, because of their particular cultural background, would not be comfortable living in a space where someone died of unnatural causes. I don’t know if I would be, either. I’m not religious, but when you spend enough time surrounded by certain beliefs and cultural practices, they seep into your consciousness.
Meezly
Same if you watch enough of The Conjuring movies…
bob
So, let me get this straight. There are people who would not live in a house where someone died, therefore the price is lowered, because those people will not buy the house? It is like saying that milk should be sold at a discount because there are lactose intolerant people who won’t buy it. Scam.
Kate
When I lived in the Plateau, it was in a building dating from 1880. It occasionally crossed my mind that people must have been born and died in the rooms I was living in, as would be true of any residential building of that age or older. Unless you move into a brand new building, it’s the chance you take.
Kevin
I suspect this requirement is part of Quebec’s Catholic heritage, since there’s no obligation to make a disclosure in the rest of the country unless specifically asked.
jeather
Could also be related to stronger consumer protection laws.
Ian
I co-signed a lease for someone that killed themselves in the apartment, now I am realizing why the landlord basically broke off all contact with me instead of demanding further payment.
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Kate
Pretty much the only local news Monday morning is the Canadiens winning their first playoff match on a hat‑trick by Juraj Slafkovský, and Habs fever taking over the town.
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Kate
Plans are finally going ahead to build a new swimming pool in Baldwin Park. As previously reported, the old pool needed to be replaced, but was found to be built in an old dump, so it had to be rebuilt in a new location.
The old reports suggested a new pool could be ready for 2026. I don’t think it looks likely.
Baldwin Park is one of the city’s lesser known parks, and has always been a quiet refuge in the eastern Plateau. The article talks about more additions beyond a new pool, which I hope don’t cram it with too many aménagements.
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Kate
Spring flooding is happening all over Quebec; sandbags have been piled along the Back River in Pierrefonds and on the other side in Laval.
EmilyG
I live near the river in Pierrefonds. I’m worried about that area, even if my home isn’t quite in a flood zone.
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Kate
Artists love a cartoonable face like Christine Fréchette’s, with her big eyes and arched eyebrows. Ygreck shows her accepting a dud torch and crossing the desert with two familiar vultures looking on. Côté brings in Legault’s compass (it’s been a recurring motif for a long time) and Ygreck gives Fréchette her own compass too.The best editorial cartoons cross two news threads. Côté offers a good example as PSPP sells his brand of maple syrup, while Godin links seasonal flooding and potholes.
Floor-crossing and the federal Liberal majority was another theme this week, Godin making it a hockey joke and Côté showing us the Liberal bus.
Mark Carney makes a gift of cutting the gasoline tax and Godin hints at where the funds are coming from.
The only cartoon that made me chuckle this week was Côté’s kid getting around a rule forbidding kids to go online. He also had a pertinent visual about the attractiveness of fake news.
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Kate
Radio-Canada has a good piece Sunday on two men getting help from Diogène, an organization that helps homeless individuals overcome addictions, and helps pay for them to have a place to live.
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Kate
Projet gets to snipe from opposition now, taking down Ensemble on an unmet promise to clean up the city for spring.
Le Devoir also looks at city hall having to face rising salary demands.
As a longtime supporter of Projet, having watched Ensemble take pot‑shots from the sidelines for years, without ever explaining how they would act differently to solve civic problems, it’s giving me some small pleasure to see SMF & Co. facing the practical difficulties of running a big city and finding out it isn’t so easy. Although it’s a muted pleasure, because this is my city too and I don’t like seeing it run aground on their lack of experience.
DeWolf
Ensemble certainly seem to have a habit of overpromising and underdelivering. Claude Pinard on March 16: “Today, we’re announcing that there have never been so many cleanup crews and pieces of equipment dedicated to this major cleanup so early in the year—and for such a long period. This is a major undertaking. Residents will see the difference very quickly.”
I’m certainly not seeing any difference. The city seems about as dirty as it always is in mid-April, and the cleanup does not seem to be happening any faster than in other years.
MarcG
I saw 2 dudes picking up trash in the park nearby earlier today and thought they were just some do-gooder local Dads but maybe they were ad-hoc city employees.
EmilyG
There are some cleanup projects going on, such as this one: https://mission1000tonnes.com/
I think there’ll also be one, or has been one, in the Champ des possibles.Kate
Jarry Park always has a cleanup brigade day – this year it’s on May 2.
As I mentioned earlier, I cleaned up my block last week. All it takes is a windy recycling or garbage day to mess it up again, though.
EmilyG
I would like to maybe do some cleaning around my area, though I’d have to figure out what to do with the garbage after I collected it. If I fill, say, a garbage bag, where could I put it? If I tried putting it in my own personal garbage can at home, that’s usually already filled with my home garbage. I don’t imagine I could stuff a full bag of garbage into a public trash can.
I’m not trying to look for excuses not to clean. I welcome suggestions.CE
Couldn’t you just put out a second bag? I cleaned up around my yard and front of my house over the weekend and will be putting out three big bags or garbage along with my one bag of household garbage this week. I can only see this being an issue if you live in Hampstead where you only have so many bags you can put out a week.
Joey
@CE EmilyG means where is she supposed to store the garbage until pickup day (i.e., outside her house).
jeather
When it is done in my neighbourhood, people store it in their front areas, usually behind the staircase, until pickup day. If it’s properly tied no one gets fined for it.
EmilyG
I think in my area, you have a garbage can that you put out on collection day, and however many bags you have for that week, have to fit into that one can.
Ian
My landlord specifically forbids that, it’s even in our lease.
Daisy
I use a small bag (kitchen garbage bag) and put it in a public garbage can when it’s full.
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Kate
Bars are getting hyped to welcome the playoff crowds that will start piling in on Sunday.
Le Devoir chased down some locations connected with the Canadiens, beginning with the fossil of the old Forum.
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Kate
Charlie Billions says he’d renew the notwithstanding clause that protects Bill 96 from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Obviously it’s in Milliard’s interest to demonstrate that the PLQ is not on the side of the anglos.
And Mark Carney assured Christine Fréchette on Friday that he won’t meddle with the clause.
What’s the point of a charter of rights with a get‑out clause that basically says “unless we really want to, then we will”?
H. John
Milliard may have taken a step back:
Kate
I think he’s testing the waters to see how the public is responding to the options. But flip‑flopping too much isn’t wise either.
Ian
It’s been pretty obvious for a long time that the Liberals really don’t give a crap about anglos. They assume that anglos will simply vote for them becasue they are federalists or whatever so they put all their energy into vigorously demonstrating what “real” nationalists they are, in no small part by performatively screwing dem henglish.
So given that ALL our parties are now apparently ethnonationalists, who are immigrants and anglos to vote for?
Kate
Michel David writes about just this in Le Devoir.
R T
Milliard’s backtrack, saying that he’ll invoke it if they need it, is in some ways the worst of both worlds. It dissatisfies many francophone voters and it allows the CAQ and PQ to accuse him of backtracking, while on the other hand, invoking the notwithstanding clause when it’s not needed doesn’t abrogate any Charter rights—it’s when it is needed that’s an issue!
Ian
Between Anglade and Billions I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Quebec Liberals have no intention of giving special attention to anglo voters so we may as well just get used to this as the new normal until some new party shows up that swears up and down it is anti-racist, progressive, and federalist (lol).
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Kate
It’s the 50th anniversary of Robert Charlebois’ classic Je reviendrai à Montréal, so his son has recorded a new version with a video featuring historic views of the Canadiens in their glory years, and new lyrics about playoff season. The video.
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Kate
City blue collar workers are marking the last day of their three‑day strike with a protest in front of City Hall on Friday.
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Kate
Weekend notes from CityCrunch, Le Devoir, Journal de Montréal, La Presse, CultMTL, the Gazette.Some weather notes.
DeWolf 22:02 on 2026-04-20 Permalink
It would have been a crucial link in a part of town that is fairly dense but completely deprived of safe cycling infrastructure. It’s not like there is a shortage of space on Lacordaire, which has six lanes of traffic.
Oh well. Maybe in another few years if the anti-bike crowd is voted out of office.