Every person’s life contains an incredible story – one that deserves to be well told.
Lives & Legacy offers the opportunity for family and friends to share these stories in a unique and personal way.
Recently the City of Montreal celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Olympics. Even after all this time, believe those Olympics will forever be an embarrassment to the city, to the province and to the legacy of former Mayor Jean Drapeau
I recently spent two weeks wandering around Quebec and Ontario. It was hard to avoid thinking of water, whether swimming in lakes in the Laurentians or the Eastern Townships, summer thunderstorms or floods in the Montreal area and Ottawa.
In my last column,I focused on why I love Quebec, as well as assessing some of its flaws. This week, I thought I would articulate the strengths and weaknesses of our country.
On this past St. Jean Baptiste Day, I found myself saying “I love Quebec.” I was born here and will more than likely die here. Proof of my affection for my home province is I left to explore Canada and the world from 1980 to 2020, then came back to stay.
There are moments when we’re reminded we live in a civilized world, with genuinely thoughtful intellectuals, whose concern for the future of humanity is paramount. Those reminders are, sadly, infrequent these days as we navigate the chaos and dystopia of politics, economics and daily life.
Ah, it’s finally spring. As Tennyson wrote: “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Or in Canada, to thoughts of separatism this autumn.
Government is often seen as something amorphous or complex to many Canadians. The census has a real impact on our daily lives, so it’s vital we ensure this “snapshot” of who we are is accurate.
As the Oct. 5 provincial election draws nearer, the tone of Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has become more shrill and anti-Canada. He is preparing the way for a “Oui” in the referendum campaign he will, no doubt, promote ad infinitum over a four-year mandate if elected. I have been casting about for a group to deliver a counter message for the “Non.” The convention panel might be the group.
The Bill 21 case is complicated, to say the least. It involves the question of “laicité,” or secularism, of the state in Quebec, and whether Quebec’s uniqueness gives it the right to ban religious clothing like hijabs or turbans for public employees, including judges, police officers and teachers.