Lives & Legacy

Don’t you hate it when a death ruins a perfectly good friendship? Or, your son turns out to be a Nazi? These are troubled times in TV land, so grab the popcorn and the remote and possibly something to hold in front of your face when the blood starts flying onscreen. Happy streaming? Elisabeth Moss (from left), Kerry Washington and Kate Mara play best friends in Imperfect Women, which hits Apple TV today. IMPERFECT WOMEN (series premieres with the first two of eight episodes Wednesday, March 18, on Apple TV) “Friendships are built on secrets,” says the trailer of this mystery. Yikes. The next time the girls and I get together for drinks, I will engage in some hard staring. Onscreen here, Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Kerry Washington (Scandal) are both stars and producers in this new mystery series, joined onscreen by a solid supporting cast, including Kate Mara (The Astronaut), Joel Kinnaman (The Killing), Corey Stoll (House of Cards) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton). Bottom line: a crime shatters lives and assumptions in the decades-long friendship of three women. Despite all that, my spidey sense is twitching, so if this is more sizzle than steak, consider How to Get to Heaven From Belfast (now streaming on Netflix), also about three longtime female friends thrown into chaos by news of a death. It’s darkly hilarious, with some good twisty developments. PEAKY BLINDERS: THE IMMORTAL MAN (movie sequel to the series premieres Friday, March 20, on Netflix) I tried to watch the acclaimed six-season series when it premiered on Netflix in 2013. I had read it was a historically inspired series about post-WWI gangsters in Birmingham, England, and it starred Cillian Murphy, who was impressive even before Oppenheimer launched him to interstellar fame. The series was also surrounded by quite a bit of bluster about the gang sewing razor blades into their wool caps and filling the streets with blood. I took an “ick” pass, but always meant to catch up. Instead, I might just dip into this movie sequel, set in 1940, where Tommy Shelby (Murphy) ends his self-imposed exile when his wayward son (Barry Keoghan of Saltburn fame) takes a shine to Nazism. Tim Roth also joins the cast, which includes the stalwart, everywhere man Stephen Graham (Adolescence, A Thousand Blows). If you are a completist Peaky fan, be advised that this film will be followed by a pair of six-episode sequel series set in the 1950s. BAIT (series premieres all six episodes on Wednesday, March 25, on Prime Video) The actor Riz Ahmed is a seriously good actor, as seen in the serious thriller The Night Of, the serious drama Sound of Metal and Shakespeare’s serious classic Hamlet. Here, he has created and stars in a black comedy about a struggling actor Shah Latif, who defies his family, friends, an ex-lover and the world itself as he dares to audition to be named the next James Bond. Never mind his career: Will Latif himself survive? Among those lending very conditional support are The Gentlemen’s Guz Khan and Yesterday’s Himesh Patel. JO NESBO’S DETECTIVE HOLE (series premieres on Thursday, March 26, on Netflix) In the latest entry in the Nordic noir subgenre, Det. Hole (pronounced Hoo-lay, by the way) is brilliant but tormented not only by his own demons and news of a new serial killer but also by his corrupt longtime colleague Det. Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman). Can Hole (Tobias Santelmann) bring both the killer and a bad cop to justice in one nine-episode season? Diligent readers of Jo Nesbo’s novel series will recognize the story from Book 5, The Devil’s Star, and should keep their spoilers to themselves. Subtitled, but you can do it! MIKE & NICK & NICK & ALICE (movie premieres Friday, March 27, on Disney+/Hulu) This final pick was a close horse race between two weird, violent options. I was very much intrigued by Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (series premieres Thursday, March 26, on Netflix), a wedding-day horror thriller from Stranger Things auteurs the Duffer Brothers. However the trailer — is a dread-laced daisy chain of at least eight “sorrys” that are already giving me nightmares. I’m out. Don’t bother telling me how badly it ends. However, I am totally on board for a time-travelling gangster revenge comedy in which James Marsden (Dead to Me) plays Mike and Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) is Alice opposite not one but two Vince Vaughns (Bad Monkey) playing two Nicks. (Yes, that is a lot of names!) Adding to the fun, Keith David (The Lowdown) also stars. Broadcast times and dates are subject to change. Questions, comments, suggestions all humbly accepted at d2calm@gmail.com.

Just when we thought we might be out of the winter woods, leave it to the Old Farmer’s Almanac to bring us back down to earth. “When March has April weather, April will have March weather,” their pundits cautioned recently. In other words, be careful what we wish for. It’s true that the month of March has been pretty agreeable so far, except for that pesky ice storm followed by snow again. But after a winter with tons of snow and a brutal below-zero stretch in February — not to mention the nicely early Easter (April 5) that’s on its way — you could start to believe that spring will be early this year. As a gardener, I’ve always loved an early Easter. Even when the notorious March storms rage, it makes me feel like winter is over when the tulips come out right after all the greenery of St. Patrick’s Day. When on top of it all I get my garden seedlings going on my window sill, it really doesn’t matter if winter decides to break the mood with another snowstorm or two. I say early Easter gives us permission to move right past winter into spring. You could start shoveling all the snow you just shovelled off the driveway back on to it so it will melt faster. You could start wearing your running shoes instead of your crampon-studded boots. You might even start to plan your summer garden. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when I quote you a further piece from the Old Farmer’s recent missive: “Snow in April is manure.” Just how should we begin to understand this piece of advice? It seems that snow in April is often called “poor man’s fertilizer” because it supplies nutrients, especially all-important nitrogen, to the soil. As snow falls through the atmosphere it attracts the nitrates and ammonia in the air, bringing to the ground these two essential ingredients of good garden soil. As if that weren’t enough, snow stays on the ground and only melts gradually, so the nitrogen can further seep slowly and evenly into the earth. As the garden warms up in April, any snow cover will keep this gentle nutrient boost going, benefitting all the spring bulbs and perennials waking up after the winter. Finally, if you did get off to an early start in March, the April snow also acts as a blanket that will protect new growth in the event of any sudden night chill. But I have to admit I never thought of snow as manure. It will add a certain je ne sais quoi to the next snowfall, won’t it?

St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday. While being Canadian by birth, the Irish roots run deep in my family. So much so that traditions and ways of life have been passed from generation to generation — sometimes intentionally, sometimes just because nobody thought to question them. I grew up thinking that a roast beef wasn’t done until it was grey all the way through; that a little flat ginger ale could cure anything; and that it was perfectly normal to have holy water by the door so you could bless yourself as you left the house — and, God willing, when you returned. In our home, both medicine and theology were conveniently located within arm’s reach of the front door. Family stories were passed along regularly. And there was one story in particular that frequently popped up around this time of year. Given our Irish roots, the story may have been embellished a bit over the years, but the main points remained. I even did a bit of research to verify them, which is always a dangerous thing to do with family lore. It was 117 years ago, on Wednesday, March 17, 1909, my great-grandfather, Thomas Whelan, set off for work early in the morning as usual, except that, he probably had a small sprig of a shamrock pinned to his uniform’s lapel. Unbeknownst to him, this St. Patrick’s Day was about to take a very tragic turn. Thomas was a gateman at Windsor Station in downtown Montreal. I can remember being told that he was the station master (that would be the embellishment). No, he was a gateman. Still an important job, just without the fancy title. Anyway, at about 8:30 that morning, Thomas received a signal that the overnight train from Boston, which he was expected shortly, had just run through the Montreal West station at break-neck speed. Then, word came that the engineer and brakeman had both jumped, or been thrown, from the train near the Westmount station. Consider this for a moment: in 1909 a train station in a major city would have been absolutely packed with travellers and people waiting to greet arriving trains. This day was no different. The platform was crowded. Knowing he had only a few minutes at best, Thomas started yelling and shoving people out of the way. He and a colleague then entered the bustling concourse at Windsor Station and did the same thing. Subtlety was not an option. They managed to clear almost everyone out before the runaway train barrelled through a shed, smashed the barriers at the end of the track, continued through the wall into the concourse, and then, through the wall on the other side of the station. It finally came to rest teetering over the street below. Accounts vary as to how many people perished that day. Neither the brakeman, nor the engineer survived. The engineer was hailed a hero, having done everything he could to try to save the fatally damaged train. In the crowded station, it was either two or four people who died, depending upon which version of the story you hear. Hundreds more survived. There were many other, far cheerier stories passed along over the years, but that is one I always remember around this time of year. And you can be sure that my daughters know the story as well. That, I suppose, is my point. Every family has its traditions and its stories. One of Thomas’s daughters — my great-aunt — was the first to tell me that story. Before she died she asked my sister, brother and me to keep the family memories and stories alive. Do a little digging. It is so easy to find information online. Even easier, talk to family members. Many of us are only a generation or two away from people who helped build the communities we live in today. And those stories deserve to be brought into the light — any time of year. Here’s hoping you celebrated well and had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. There is more celebrating to come this weekend. Enjoy the parades. I’ll be driving one of the little Shriners’ cars in the downtown parade on Sunday. So, from one very proud Irishman to everyone — whether you’re Irish or just wish you were — Sláinte. Tom Whelan is a veteran broadcaster who can be heard weekend afternoons on CJAD 800 AM. He can be contacted by email at info@the1019report.ca. 

I am a senior living at Manoir Cavagnal in Hudson, which faces the back of the Botté restaurant owned by ex-Hudson town councillor Peter Mate. I am and have always been a senior citizen advocate and, now at the age of 66, a senior. Never in my life did I think that I would be put in a situation where I am bullied on a daily basis, and I now know how the seniors who I have helped felt. It is very stressful and intimidating, degrading and frustrating. Mr. Mate has absolutely no respect for the seniors living in Building D of the Manoir. In the last few years we have gone through demolition of the old Cripps and Clarence building and the rebuilding of the restaurant, with constant and ongoing loud noise due to construction, garbage and recycling trucks, delivery trucks and clients who pull in with loud music and let their cars run with loud music and gas fumes invading our apartments.  Let’s say our lives have taken 180-degree turn from a peaceful and safe living environment at the Manoir to a partying, loud music, screaming kids and drunks, spotlights from the building and car headlights shining into our apartments and much more, even children and adults peeing behind cars facing our rooms. We can no longer sit on our patios and enjoy our coffees and flower gardens. We are locked in our apartments with windows closed and at times with headphones on and we can still hear the music and noise. Even at 10 or 11 p.m., after closing at 9 p.m., there is screaming and loud music from his young employees. They also slam the recycling and garbage bins at all hours, making us jump from the loud impact. The music sometimes starts as early as 9 a.m. while the employees are prepping the tables. Can you imagine waking up to this in the morning and going to sleep to this? Finally, Mr. Mate has shown his total disdain for us in many ways; he looks down on us as the poor lower-class. How could this restaurant have been approved by our town council knowing that there are aging seniors who are sick and some in the dying phase to endure all this white noise and disrespect? The seniors who live here are veterans and people from the community who have raised their families here and built this community and now to be treated like this is craziness. His latest action of quitting to get attention shows us how far he will go to get what he wants without any regard for other people/citizens’ opinion or welfare (“Councillor quits, triggering by-election 3 months after election,” The 1019 Report, March 4). All seniors living in Building D are dreading the coming summer. As he says, he will get his permit, and we, the seniors, will go through another phase of his renovations and construction again. Chantal Pousseur,Hudson

Editorial This fall, this region needs
 to elect effective advocates
In less than seven months, Quebecers will be voting in a provincial election. And the movers and shakers in this region are asleep at the switch. Do you want to dispute that assessment?

 Go ahead. But answer this question: Who are the candidates who will be vying for your support? The only declared runners are the incumbents — Marilyne Picard for the Coalition Avenir Québec in Soulanges and Marie-Claude Nicholls for the Liberals in Vaudreuil. There is no race with only one candidate per riding. Sure, there is an argument to be made that it’s too early to be out campaigning. That is not off base. But before there is a campaign, you still need a candidate. And given the poor pool of prospects who were put forward during the last provincial election, party organizers need to do better this time around. Vaudreuil-Soulanges is one of the fastest-growing regions of the province. It is also a booming economic regional force. It is strategically located between Montreal and Ontario, a vital trade corridor. The population increase here, according to the last census, showed a growth rate that outpaced both the provincial and national averages. In fact, Statistics Canada showed the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area even surpassed the growth rate of the Montérégie region, which includes 14 MRC districts that stretch from the Ontario border along the South Shore of Montreal to Brome-Missisquoi, and northeast to the Sorel area. That was the 2021 census. Since that time, this expansion has accelerated. So let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s look to the future. Every current indicator — housing demand, development plans, the opening of the new hospital and all the spinoffs it will trigger, job openings — point to a region maintaining a trajectory of growth. That is the big picture. Now, let’s drill down on the demographic data. Looking at the subcategories — in terms of age, education, income — Vaudreuil-Soulanges is young, educated, highly employed with strong household incomes and able to fully function in both French and English. Every way you cut it, this region deserve proper representation. It needs effective advocacy, as all this growth needs to be accommodated. Municipal officials are managing thegrowth, but it is the higher levels of government that will fuel the support to build the infrastructure: both the physical infrastructure — the roads and schools — and the structural infrastructure — the services, funding support and policy initiatives that will help towns and community groups manage the growing needs. With all the polls showing the likelihood that the CAQ will be booted out of government, the Liberal party has an opportunity. But it needs to recognize the region’s full potential and importance and not simply view it as a place to parachute someone into. This region needs a boots-on-the-ground advocate that brings a full-range of understanding, talents and experience to the conversation, someone who also possesses the basic courtesy and ability to at least say a few words in English in public. This takes nothing away from functioning fully in French. The polls reflect a strong sentiment for change. Parties need to recognize that, including that doing things the same old way won’t cut it. Political arrogance has fallen out of fashion. Respectful, informed competence is in. The times demand it. And it is time that Vaudreuil-Soulanges be given the opportunity to earn its place at the big table. But it has to have the right advocates to fight for it, to make its case, to frame its vision, to formulate and articulate a plan. And in doing so, reflect its future of possibility. This is not an arena where a well-connected party insider from somewhere else, or an aspiring hopeful who has not accomplished anything should be allowed to pretend. There is too much on the line, too much that needs to accomplished. And time is running short. All parties will be running candidates in the next election. They always do. But in this region, they have to do better than what they have shown in the past. Look at the mess this province is in. We can’t afford to waste the chance to be better. Brenda O’FarrellEditor-in-chief

I am a big fan of “lunch-bucket” science fiction, with themes like time travel instead of bizarre worlds. I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells when I was a teenager, and was hooked on the theme in television shows. I fervently watched each episode of the short-lived 1960s series Time Tunnel, even though it was cheaply made and used Hollywood backlots as the stage for historical events. In recent years, the theme of time travel was taken up by the Apple TV series Timeless, which lasted only two seasons. I have always contemplated what it would be like to go back in time and change events of the past to see what might have been instead of what was. However, because no one has invented time travel, it just is not possible, and we live with the successes or the mistakes of the past. This brings me to some recent, controversial revelations. Last November, former federal minister Sergio Marchi published his memoirs, Pursuing a Public Life. Marchi held the post of Citizenship and Immigration minister in Jean Chrétien’s cabinet back around the time of the 1995 referendum. So when he published book last year, in interviews with the Quebec media, he was asked about a plan allowing applicants for citizenship to be processed in time to vote in the Quebec referendum of October 1995. Marchi said Chrétien encouraged the decision to fast track 12,000 applicants as potential “Non” voters. The reports of what became known as “Operation Citizenship” caused a furore in the Quebec media and political circles. The Bloc Québécois demanded Chrétien appear before a House committee. Chrétien refused, but it’s now part of the Parti Québécois and Bloc Québécois’s vendetta against Canada. Fast forward to this past January, when former CBC president Tony Manera made headlines when an account in his unpublished memoirs alluded to a link between Radio-Canada’s reporting of the 1995 referendum and cutbacks at the CBC. Manera claimed then-Communications Minister Michel Dupuy was upset about coverage of PQ committees looking into the “benefits” of separatism, and suggested there might be cuts to the network as a result. Manera resigned from the CBC in 1995 when Chrétien, along with his finance minister at the time, Paul Martin, reviewed government program funding and cut the CBC’s budget by 30 per cent. But let’s look back: The cuts in the 1995 budget were enormous, with 53,000 people leaving the public service. This was the experience of anyone in the federal government. Dupuy was not part of the Chrétien “in crowd.” More than likely he was currying favour when he spoke with Manera. I recently spoke to Manera, and his desire is that future CBC-Radio Canada coverage of sovereignty referendums in Alberta and Quebec be unaffected by political influence. However, his account is already being used by Quebec separatists as proof of federal “cheating” in 1995. And let’s be clear: Having worked for CBC in Montreal, I can affirm federalist or objective reporters were few and far between in the French network. The proof is the number of journalists working for the French-language service who have become political partisans or elected PQ and BQ legislators. I believe their reporting in the referendum campaign in 1995 helped the Oui side, so much so I could predict the polls according to their reporting. To return to that time now and reveal confidential conversations provides fuel for the PQ’s Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and the Bloc’s Yves-François Blanchet. And without a time machine, no one can say with absolute certainty what took place so many years ago. I believe in transparency, but I also believe ministers and senior public servants have a duty to be discreet. And there is no “best before” date on confidential information, although some cabinet discussions are released decades later. In the past, I worked as a ministerial adviser, public servant and diplomat. And in doing so, I took an oath to not divulge any secrets or cabinet confidences. Since that time, and as a journalist who has been writing about politics for several years, I have never revealed any secrets acquired during my time in public service. Similarly, the mother of a friend died a few years ago, and in her obituary, it mentioned she was a code breaker at the famed Bletchley Park, the top-secret Allied code-breaking centre in England during theSecond World War. She never revealed what she had done during the war. She did so because she had taken a lifelong oath of secrecy. As the Parti Québécois and Alberta United Conservative Party promised referendums loom large on the horizon, all former federal public servants and ministers should keep in mind the ammunition they could provide to separatists by recounting tales from the past. Andrew Caddell is a veteran journalist and columnist. He writes a regular column for The Hill Times, which covers Parliament and the federal government. He is president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, a grassroots group that was formed in the wake of Quebec’s Bill 96, which overhauled the province’s Charter of the French Language.