Opinion

Eighty-nine days. That is the amount of time between now and the provincial election, currently scheduled for Oct. 5. But who is kidding who? The campaign is already in full swing. Premier Christine Fréchette last week announced she would be switching seats, opting to seek support in the riding of Trois-Rivières this fall instead of her current district, the South Shore constituency of Sanguinet. The CAQ leader grew...

This, in my not-always-so-humble opinion, is the absolute best time of the year.

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.

And just like that, the first herbs of the garden are ready to be harvested.

From back in the black-and-white days to today’s kaleidoscope of small-screen streaming options, television has offered many pleasures. This new handful of viewing recommendations dances nicely along that spectrum, from a period drama with a much needed modern perspective, a weekend of she-raging, a couple of spy thrillers and golf as a path to true grace (and a few gut-laughs). Onward!

Ignoring the risk of sounding like that old person who wags a finger in the air as they predict that someone is about to lose an eye, can we take a moment and talk about kids whizzing around on e-scooters?

Here is a take that will probably be wildly unpopular. At the very least, though, it should get a few people fired up. We are only about a week into the World Cup soccer tournament and I have already had more than my fill of the whole spectacle.

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.

The summer solstice is almost here. And if it were a thousand years ago or so, every farmer and gardener would be busy right now, preparing to observe the most important moment of their year.

Weird, stupid, funny, intense and historically inaccurate are not the words they recommend using in TV reviewer school, and yet these are all good reasons to check out the latest batch of viewing highlights. Settle in. Probably get a drink. Maybe call your therapist. And then definitely press ‘Play.’

Taxes keep climbing upward — at about the rate of inflation. Well, that is about to come to a screeching halt.

There are certain milestones in life that society collectively agrees are important. Then there are the quieter milestones. Those are the ones I have been thinking about lately.

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. 

It’s been the kind of spring that makes gardeners jittery — and prone to take chances.

If you are stacking up your beach reads for the summer, here is a list of lightweight TV viewing for when you’re too tired to hold up a book or e-reader. Pour yourself a drink and press play.

How does a society lose sight of the big picture?

It is springtime in our little corner of the world. All the unmistakable signs are there. The leaves are out, the temperatures are pleasant, and the black flies and mosquitos are coordinating their assaults. This year there is an added bonus — the Habs are in the playoffs. And, they’re winning.

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.

I clearly remember that first garden. Everyone remembers their first garden.

Television is working hard to keep you occupied with escapism, supernatural twists and turns, and a good old-fashioned tear-jerker. Get comfortable. Here’s your new batch of small-screen premieres. 

In a world where everyone is rushing to judge others, it is harder and harder to show courage of conviction. But every so often, this courage is put forward.

Over the past 10 days or so, I’ve attended the funerals of the mothers of two of my oldest friends in the world. “Sadly” is the word that comes to mind, of course. Oddly enough, however, I came away from each experience feeling uplifted. Even joyful, which might sound like an unusual takeaway from a pair of funerals, but there you have it.

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...

As those recent photos of space from Artemis II so majestically show, the horizon is not fixed. It all depends on where you’re watching from. A hot new gardening trend is adopting this fresh point of view.

Bookended by soft-hearted stories from the lands of Jane Austen, Hollywood and sentient octopi, the rest of this edition of viewing suggestions has more adrenaline than any one episode of The Pitt, which we are all missing except for the gory bits. Well, there are occasional gory bits on tap here as well. Be prepared to look away or to wipe away a tear.

We have all heard the question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Here we are in mid-April in Montreal — that magical, confusing, slightly unhinged time of year that requires decisions. Or, more accurately, “leaps of faith.” Should I finally put the snow boots away? Swap the winter tires? Drag the rake out from wherever I defiantly tossed it back in November? Or, is this all an elaborate meteorological prank, with one last snowstorm lurking like a villain waiting for...

What a difference a year makes.

April is the cruelest month, say the poets. Gardeners think they may be right.

Normally, this would be when I would advise you to get outside and enjoy the spring, and save these recommended series for after sundown. But these will instead help pass the time until, say, summer? 

Recently, I had one of those moments that gave me a sudden, almost cinematic understanding of what my parents must have been thinking when they first heard the music of my youth.

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.

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen is not the only Canadian travelling through space on Artemis II. The seeds from five different types of Canadian trees are travelling along with him.

Spring is never really going to take root, so dig in until summer. Fortunately, there are plenty of new viewing options to occupy our new permanent hermit existence.

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....