Sidewalks as Bike Lanes: Replacing One Dangerous Situation with Another
In 2014, a truck ran into and killed cyclist Mathilde Blais as she rode through an underpass on St-Denis. City Hall opposition party Projet Montreal and other groups immediately called for something to be done. Now, it seems like the solution Mayor Denis Coderre’s administration came up with is to turn a potentially dangerous situation […]
A Grassroots Candidate: Accountability, Construction and Sue Montgomery’s Bid to be Mayor of Côte-des-Neiges/NDG
Anyone living in the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough will tell you that unless you are construction worker with a cushy government contract, the area is a living hell. Entire blocks of main streets have been closed to construction and companies operate in flagrant violation of municipal noise and safety laws. Everyone is afraid to phone in a […]
Paint Porn, Glitter and Gummy Worms
I am a painter, I appreciate all colors and the way they change when mixed. A friend of mine introduced me to Vancouver artist Annette Labedzki and everything changed. Her videos are simple, like Bob Ross but more sensual, a complex psychedelic kaleidoscope of bliss, just a woman’s hand pushing paint. The sounds and scrapes […]
The Problem with Pardons: An Insight into Criminal Pardons in the US and Canada
The notion of pardons has made headlines recently with the Orange President’s pardoning of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio is involved in a racial profiling in a case in which his patrols targeted and imprisoned Latinos in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration. He was ordered to stop but Arpaio told his […]
FTB Podcast: Season 4 Episode 4: NDP Leadership, JFL Recap & News Roundup
Panelists Ron Roxtar and Tanu Oberoi discuss this year’s Just for Laughs Festival and several news items in the News Roundup segment with host Jason C. McLean, plus an interview with NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton, Community Calendar and Predictions! News Roundup Topics: Charlottesville, North Korea, Canadian media companies focusing on old models to their […]
A Necessary Evil to Keep Quebec French: A Crash Course on Bill 101
In Quebec there is no law more hotly discussed, debated, or resented than Bill 101. These days Bill 101 is seen one of two ways. People who love the Bill see it as necessary way to preserve Quebec’s Francophone identity in the face of cultural and linguistic assimilation attempts. Others see it as a means […]
Boobs as Currency: Take Down the Dirty Green Paper
Some things are more important than money. Things like knowing someone wants to be in a cabin in the woods with you, spending our days in no hurry, reading, making art, and building forts. Burning wood and making love, swimming naked under the stars and howling at the full moon. I want to plant a […]
Freedom to Hate: The Paradox of Censuring Hate Propaganda in the US and Canada
There is a racist misogynist money-grubbing cheeto in the White House who has recently and very publicly expressed his sympathy for White Supremacists and Neo Nazis and his contempt for those who fight them. His influence has spread northward to us, emboldening the most morally repulsive people in Canada to come forward and express their […]
Mainstream Political Xenophobia is Alive and Well in Quebec
Just when you thought you had heard the last of xenophobia and hate driving mainstream Quebec politics, they’re back! Or rather, they never left. I’m well aware that the vicious undercurrent of bigotry in Quebec has only gotten bolder in the past year. There was the attack on the Mosque in Ste-Foy, then there was […]
I’m Going to Beat the Shit Out of the Solar Eclipse
Things are gonna change for me around here. Real soon. I’m done with being disrespected. I’m sick of being laughed at. I’m tired of being judged by passing birds. And most of all, I’ve had it up to here with being ignored by the cosmos. That all changes tomorrow. I’m going to show all those […]
Im Gonna Let You Know That I Think This is F*cked
WTF? Seriously, why are people creepy and evil? It is just a stream of murder and hate, a world in disarray. It has always been this way. Young girls are constantly being objectified and used. Transgender and non binary humans live life in fear. Kids, especially black kids and other people of color, can’t walk […]
A Brief Overview LGBTQ Rights in Quebec and Canada and the Laws that Protect Them
Montreal Pride is upon us and with it the sights and sounds of people celebrating sexual diversity in an environment that is supposed to be safe and welcoming. Though in Canada we pride ourselves at our enlightenment on issues of sexuality and gender identity, we have still have a long way to go. Before we […]