The Jewish Public Library of Montreal put Élise Gravel's books back on the shelves after being accused of censorship.

A Conservative MP whose Toronto office was vandalized this week is one of several federal politicians under visible police protection on Parliament Hill.

Five ambulances have been deployed to a "major police operation" in the suburb southwest of Montreal.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante shared news today that Griffintown will soon get its first refrigerated skating rink. The project, part of a previously announced series of green developments in Griffintown, is being built at the Bassin-à-Bois sponge park and will include a pavilion and other facilities.

“Griffintown continues to flourish. I salute the significant involvement of its citizens, who are motivated to improve their neighbourhood. We’re here to support them, upgrade services to the population and create comfortable living environments.”

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.

The post Griffintown to get its first refrigerated skating rink appeared first on Cult MTL.

In this episode of Good Question, Montreal, we get to the bottom of who’s behind this public art piece/DIY passion project — and take you into the small but mighty world of Montreal fingerboards.

People gathered in Montreal's downtown Cabot Square to take part in the annual Valentine's Day march for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S). Attendees remembered and honoured those who were lost and called for action from all levels of government.

An upcoming Montreal event promises to unite fans of video games and the symphony. Taking place at Place des Arts’s Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Feb. 23, Game ON! presents music from 14 blockbuster video games performed live by the 100-piece FILMharmonic Orchestra and choir (conducted by Andy Brick), paired with in-game HD videos and never-before-seen concept art.

Among the role-playing, action-adventure, puzzle and strategy, e-sports and battle games represented in Game ON! are World of Warcraft, Ori, League of Legends, The Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars 2, Assassin’s Creed and BioShock.

For more on Game ON!, please visit the Place des Arts website.

For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.

The post Game ON! gives game soundtracks a symphonic spin at Place des Arts in Montreal on Feb. 23 appeared first on Cult MTL.

A command post will be set up between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the intersection of de l'Assomption Boulevard and Pierre-de Coubertin Avenue, close to where the attack occurred. 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a news conference in Pointe-Claire, Que.

Evenko has announced that Jennifer Lopez will be bringing her This Is Me… Now tour to Montreal. JLo is scheduled to play the Bell Centre on Aug. 5, 2024.

Tickets are going on sale on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m.

For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.

The post Jennifer Lopez to bring her This Is Me… Now tour to Montreal on Aug. 5 appeared first on Cult MTL.

Montreal has a booming gaming culture, rich with history and diversity. From the neon-lit arcades of the past to the high-stakes world of modern eSports, this city has always been at the forefront of gaming. The journey from joystick to gamepad, from pixelated screens to virtual arenas, mirrors the city’s own transformation. This article explores Montreal’s gaming scene, exploring its roots in the golden age of arcade to the current explosion of eSports and online gaming communities.

The Golden Age of Arcades

In Montreal, the golden age of arcades was more than just a pastime; it was a cultural phenomenon. Neon signs, the clatter of coins, and the electronic symphony of beeps and buzzes defined this era. Iconic spots like “Amusement 2000 Plus” became landmarks for gamers and the city itself. These arcades were communal hubs, fostering a sense of belonging and competition. As technology advanced, these traditional arcades gradually evolved into modern gaming lounges, offering a more sophisticated yet nostalgically charged gaming experience.

Rise of Console and PC Gaming

The transition from arcades to home gaming systems marked a new chapter in Montreal’s gaming narrative. The introduction of consoles and PCs brought gaming into the living rooms, sparking the development of local gaming communities. Events and tournaments started to spring up, turning gaming into a shared social experience. Major game releases became city-wide phenomena, influencing Montreal’s gaming culture profoundly. This era saw the rise of multiplayer and online games, further solidifying gaming as a key component of the city’s cultural fabric.

The World of Online Casinos

Online casinos have become a significant part of Montreal’s gaming landscape, mirroring the global surge in digital gaming. These platforms offer a wide range of games, including the popular live casino feature, which brings the excitement of real-time, dealer-led games to players’ screens. This fusion of traditional and digital gaming experiences has attracted a diverse audience, blending classic casino enthusiasts with a newer, tech-savvy generation. The growth of online casinos in Montreal reflects the city’s adaptability to emerging gaming trends and its commitment to evolving and diversifying its gaming culture.

eSports Revolution in Montreal

Montreal’s eSports scene is a dynamic and rapidly growing sector, showcasing the city’s adaptability to global gaming trends. The city hosts key eSports events and tournaments, drawing international attention. Local teams and players have gained prominence, with some rising to global fame. Universities and educational institutions in Montreal play a crucial role in nurturing eSports talent, offering programs and platforms for aspiring professionals. This support has been instrumental in elevating the city’s status in the international eSports community.

Online Gaming and Social Connectivity

Online gaming has revolutionized how Montrealers interact and connect. The city’s gaming communities have expanded into the digital realm, where multiplayer games and online platforms have become central to social interactions among gamers. Titles like “Fortnite” and “League of Legends” are not just games but social spaces where players meet, compete, and build relationships. This digital connectivity has transformed gaming from a solitary activity into a vibrant, interactive community experience, further enriching Montreal’s diverse gaming culture.

The Future of Gaming in Montreal

Gaming in Montreal is at an exciting juncture, with emerging trends like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and cloud gaming leading the charge. These technologies promise to elevate the gaming experience, offering more immersive and accessible play. With its rich tech scene and creative talent, Montreal is well-positioned to be a key player in these developments. The city’s gaming culture is expected to grow exponentially, with innovations in these areas providing new platforms for storytelling, gameplay and social interaction. The integration of advanced technology will enhance gaming experiences and expand the industry’s reach, cementing Montreal’s status as a global gaming hub.

The post Exploring Montreal’s Vibrant Gaming Culture: From Arcades to eSports appeared first on Cult MTL.

Firefighters were called around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday to put out a blaze in a 10-unit apartment building on Christophe-Colomb Avenue, near Bélanger Street.

Binary options trading is a financial derivative that has gained popularity over the years due to its simplicity and potential for high returns. However, like any form of trading, success in crypto and binary options trading depends on a deep understanding of the market and the ability to identify trends. Let’s learn some practical strategies and tools to help you do just that.

Why Identifying Trends Matters

Trends are one of the most critical aspects of crypto and binary options trading because they provide traders with valuable information about the direction of an asset’s price movement. Successful trading requires accurate predictions about whether an asset’s price will rise or fall within a specified time frame. 

Identifying trends helps traders make informed decisions and increases the likelihood of making profitable trades. But just as it is important to notice a trend, it’s also important to identify trend strength, and for this, you can use Keltner Channels, for example.

Spotting trends is helpful for a few reasons:

● Increased Accuracy: Recognizing trends allows you to make more accurate predictions of an asset price movement. This can significantly improve your chances of winning trades.

● Risk Management: Understanding trends helps you manage your risk better. You can avoid making trades against the prevailing trend, reducing the chances of losing money.

● Timing: Identifying the beginning and end of trends enables you to enter and exit trades at the right time, maximizing your profits.

● Confidence: Trading with confidence is crucial. Knowing that you’ve identified a trend correctly can boost your confidence and help you stay disciplined in your trading strategy.

Now, let’s dive into some practical methods for identifying trends in binary options trading:

Technical Analysis

Technical analysis is a popular method for identifying trends in crypto and binary options trading. It involves studying past price charts and using various technical indicators to predict future price movements. Here are some key tools and concepts within technical analysis:

● Moving Averages: Moving averages serve as popular tools for trend identification, with two primary types in common use: the Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the Exponential Moving Average (EMA). When the prevailing price surpasses the moving average, it signifies an uptrend, while a situation where the price falls below the moving average suggests a downtrend.

● Relative Strength Index (RSI): The RSI (Relative Strength Index) is a tool that gauges the speed and extent of price changes. It operates on a scale of 0 to 100, with readings above 70 signaling that the market is potentially overbought, while readings below 30 indicate potential oversold conditions.

● Bollinger Bands: Bollinger Bands consist of a middle line (SMA) and two standard deviation lines above and below the middle line. When the price moves outside the bands, it may indicate a trend reversal.

Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis involves studying economic, political, and social factors that may affect an asset’s price. While it’s not as commonly used in binary options and crypto trading as it is in other forms of trading, it can still be valuable for identifying long-term trends. For example, if a country’s economy is growing, it may lead to an uptrend in its currency.

Candlestick Patterns

Candlestick patterns offer valuable insights into market sentiment and the possibility of trend reversals. Traders frequently rely on these patterns to pinpoint optimal entry and exit points. Several well-known candlestick patterns include doji, hammer, engulfing, and shooting star patterns.

Trend Lines

Trend lines are simple but effective tools for identifying trends. An uptrend is typically characterized by a line drawn along the lows of price bars, while a downtrend is represented by a line along the highs. When price bars consistently touch or stay above the uptrend line (or below the downtrend line), it suggests a strong trend.

News and Events

Stay informed about news and events that can impact the assets you’re trading. Unexpected news can lead to sudden and significant price movements, which can either reinforce or reverse existing trends. Keep an economic calendar and be prepared for major announcements like central bank decisions, economic reports, and geopolitical events.

Trend Confirmation

Using multiple indicators and sources to confirm a trend can increase your confidence in your analysis. For example, if you see an uptrend on the price chart and the RSI is above 70, it may indicate a strong trend. However, always be cautious of false signals and consider using stop-loss orders to protect your capital.

To Wrap Things Up

Identifying trends in crypto and binary options trading is a crucial skill that can significantly improve your trading success. Whether you prefer technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both, the key is to approach the market with discipline and a well-defined trading strategy. 

Remember that no method is foolproof, and there is always a degree of risk involved in trading. Always manage your risk carefully and never invest more than you can afford to lose. With practice and continuous learning, you can become a skilled trader who can identify trends and make profitable trades consistently.

The post How to Identify Trends in Trading appeared first on Cult MTL.

Arriving in Montreal as an avid reader, Sarah Gilbert was a regular at her local library in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. Thirty years later, her book about her neighbourhood is now on its shelves.

Takahawi Beauvais had never tried making digital art on a computer when she decided to head down to the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (KOR)’s dedicated Art Center, where community members can access art supplies and resources for free. 

“In the beginning, I was just using my fingers on my phone to make digital art,” Beauvais said. “But thanks to the KOR Art Center, I actually had the chance to use a stylus and use a computer. It made my art so much better.”

It was after spending some time at the Art Center that Beauvais decided to submit to the KOR annual skateboard design competition. She decided to submit her first-ever digital design, and to her surprise, her art was chosen to be made into one of this year’s skateboards.

Now, a skateboard with her design is available to buy from KOR, along with five other boards, each created by an artist from a sister community. 

“It’s beautiful. It’s so pretty. I was like, ‘Who did this? Did I do that?!’” she said. “It’s just so cool to actually see the whole picture of my design on the board.”

The project, which is in its third year, raises money through the sales of skateboards for Go Skate Day, an annual skateboarding event held on June 21 in Kahnawake, culminating in an outdoor community picnic. 

Alongside Beauvais’ artwork representing Kahnawake’s submission, designs are also made by individuals in Kanesatake (Kaysun Oke),  Akwesasne (Kanenrahtanó:ron Cook, Karennotakies Barnes), Kenhtè:ke (Michael Polak), and Wahta (Erin Strength). Boards, which have the designs printed on them, are being sold for $90.

“I’m trying to promote artists within our community as well as in other sister communities, and also to promote active bodies. It’s about just trying to promote a healthy community, the mind and the physical,” said Scott Berwick, KOR’s arts and archives department manager and coordinator of the project.

Berwick said the initiative has been a creative way to blend art and sport.

“It’s a lot of fun to see the different styles come in, I never know what to expect really, so I like that part of it and how they’re all touching on the culture and sometimes the language,” said Berwick. “It’s always tricky to choose what boards to use.”

This year’s designs feature a range of art styles, including a wampum-style piece, a piece featuring pictures of beadwork, and an alien abduction illustration. Beauvais’ piece features an owl, inspired by a video she saw of an owl in a church. She wanted to show how animals can bring certain spiritual messages.

“There was this owl dancing in a church, and people were trying to get it away, and I realized, ‘Oh, they think it’s evil,’ but really sometimes an owl is a messenger,” she said. “I decided he’d be carrying a peace pipe, and then I added golden rings, and filled it out with a buffalo and the Three Sisters – corn, beans, and squash.”

Beauvais said she spent days making the design at the Art Center, staying from 2 p.m. when it opened until it closed at 8 p.m.

“I felt like it was never long enough, I had the kind of focus that I could have probably spent the whole night on it and I wouldn’t have even noticed the time.”

Now that she’s mastered her first artwork on the computer, Beauvais hopes to continue growing her digital art skills at the Art Center. She’ll even be able to submit designs to the project for future use, as Berwick has this year changed the submission guidelines to allow for artists to submit work on an ongoing basis throughout the year. 

“I’m hoping we can generate a pool of artworks so that every year we can have a look at what we have in the inventory, and if artists submit something this year and we don’t choose them, it’s still in the pool for next year,” Berwick said. “Then they can submit as many artworks as they want, and I’m hoping it can pull in artists from communities further away too.”

Artists can find the board template and submit works at KORkahnawake.org/goskate, and boards – which come without hardware and wheels – can be purchased in-person at KOR during opening hours.

[email protected]

This article was originally published in print on February 9 in issue 33.06 of The Eastern Door.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has released a new conduct policy that will be implemented at community meetings moving forward. It comes following complaints from Council chiefs who say they’ve been victim to personal insults and intimidating behaviour from some who attend the meetings. 

MCK grand chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer denounced the behaviour at the meetings in a recent video address shared on Facebook last month. It came in response to name-calling she witnessed directed at MCK chief Jessica Lazare at the last community meeting on December 12 in particular, Sky-Deer said at the time.

The MCK’s public relations team met with several community members this Tuesday and Wednesday to hear their thoughts on the new policy, said Winona Polson-Lahache, chief political advisor to the MCK. A table was set up at the Kahnawake Services Complex for anyone who wanted to talk to them, she said.

“One of the messages that we heard yesterday was that it’s okay to have a diversity of opinions, as long as the place remains constructive and people remain open to hearing each other’s perspectives,” Polson-Lahache said on Wednesday. 

The draft version of the conduct guidelines asks that community members “maintain a respectful tone” without voices being raised and that they refrain from interrupting or “using foul or discriminatory language.” It also asks that people keep their phones on silent, and that they refrain from recording audio at the meeting. Those that refuse to abide by the rules could be asked to leave. 

Polson-Lahache said their team wanted to be the one to collect the feedback in the hope community members would feel more comfortable sharing their ideas.  

“We didn’t want people to feel that their feedback was going to be filtered in any way,” Polson-Lahache said. “We didn’t want it to seem politically motivated or anything.”

Timmy Norton was part of the MCK’s public relations team in the early 2000s. At the time he said they strongly recommended Council put an end to the community meetings – a stance he still holds to this day. 

“All it was was people having a place to yell and call down the Council chiefs,” said Norton, brother of the late grand chief Joe Norton. “It can get very nasty and ugly, and I’ve seen it.”

He used to attend nearly every meeting from 1999 to 2006, but hasn’t attended in several years because of how hostile it has become. He said meet the chiefs events and information kiosks provide a more productive outlet for people to raise their concerns to Council. He also believes a referendum should be held on whether to continue community meetings. 

Polson-Lahache said abolishing them isn’t the right approach, saying they create an environment where chiefs are called upon to be more transparent and accountable to those who put them in power.

“It’s an opportunity for the leadership to be able to dialogue with the community as well, and hear their perspective regarding the work that they’re doing. It’s a tremendously important venue,” she said.

Blue Sky is a longstanding regular at the quarterly meetings. She said if people tend to get frustrated at the meetings, it’s often because chiefs there refuse to be transparent.

“We have heard little to nothing of politics during this term and the people have become upset, not only with that, but with the headlines that have plagued this term of office,” she said. “With that, people are demanding answers and they are getting poor responses or no real response at all.” 

While she agreed people should remain respectful at meetings, she disagreed with the approach of the new policy, saying what’s really needed is stronger leadership. 

“Not that long ago at Golden Age, a community member rushed to get to the late grand chief Joseph Norton. He didn’t step down nor did he call for new policy, he dealt with it,” Sky said. 

The next community meeting has been set for February 28 at 7 p.m., with its location expected to be announced soon. Community members can also share their thoughts on the conduct guideline up until February 15 by emailing [email protected]. 

[email protected]

This article was originally published in print on February 9 in issue 33.06 of The Eastern Door.

When Montréal-Nord makes the headlines, it's often negative. But the people behind a small gallery in the northern borough say their community is so much more — and it's time the rest of the city took notice. Galérie 3440 is a blossoming hub for artists that is helping bring people together.

One expert says the cost of the sweet treat has been soaring over the last year for large producers and it's expected to keep climbing in the coming months.

Bob Marley: One Love sets out to celebrate the life and music of an icon whose message of love and unity resonates across generations. It had the potential to tell Bob’s inspiring journey of overcoming adversity and the genesis of his revolutionary music.

In collaboration with the Marley family, the production features Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician and Lashana Lynch as his wife, Rita Marley. While the casting appears strong, with Kingsley’s notable roles in Barbie and One Night in Miami… and Lashana’s contributions to The Marvels, No Time to Die and Captain Marvel, a closer look at the creative team reveals a more complex story.

Reinaldo Marcus Green, known for works like King Richard, Joe Bell and Monsters and Men, directs. Green seems like a perfect fit, with previous success in helming Black stories. The writing credits, however, might explain the film’s flaws. Terence Winter, renowned for his work on The Wolf of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos is one of the first screenwriters listed and it looks as though he was hired to lay the groundwork for a potentially great, elevated film. But, the writing team doesn’t stop there. 

Other writing credits include Zach Baylin, who wrote Gran Turismo, Creed III and King Richard (cinematographer Robert Elswit also shot King Richard, making for a trinity of returning collaborators from that film). Then we have Frank E. Flowers, better known as a music video director who has worked with Cisco, Jessica Lowndes and Post Malone, and written a few screenplays including an episode of The Ropes (on which he also served as co-executive producer). Director Reinaldo Marcus Green himself is also listed as a screenwriter. While a long list of writers isn’t always a bad sign, in this case, what ends up on the screen is a movie that feels plagued by rewrites, leading to a film that is ultimately unfocused and without a strong point of view. 

While much of the production team worked on fantastic and successful films about the Black experience — including Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, known for their work on If Beale Street Could Talk, Moonlight, 12 Years a Slave and Selma — you can’t ignore the fact that the majority of the behind-the-scenes team is white. Frankly, it’s hard to see this film as anything but commercial exploitation. Bob Marley is treated as a product rather than as a human being. The film’s executive producers are the Bob Marley estate, Matt Solodky and Brad Pitt. Not unlike the recent production of Bohemian Rhapsody (unsurprisingly, Bob Marley: One Love shares a producer, Richard Hewitt, with that film), which painted a toothless, band-approved vision of Freddie Mercury. 

Any of the groundwork and research present in the film are overshadowed by a commercial agenda to make the most viable product instead of a well-crafted, poignant and engaging story. Instead of a grounded filmic experience, the movie becomes a cheap ad that seems intent on jamming in as many Bob Marley songs per minute as possible. The film opens and closes with Wikipedia-style text, setting the stage for what audiences really wanted to see and hear, starting the movie with exposition about his youth and the social climate and finishing with more exposition of what ends up happening, telling rather than showing, cutting every potential of immersing the audience in a genuine cinematic experience. We don’t get to see or feel the beginning or the end — we’re told all about it. 

The decision-makers, perhaps influenced by a desire to prioritize and showcase Marley’s iconic songs (and capitalize on the rights they possess), sacrificed the potential for a nuanced and more elevated, City of God-style film in favour of a soulless paint-by-numbers product like Bohemian Rhapsody.

The repetitive and formulaic integration of Marley’s songs into the film kills any of their impact. Every scene starts and finishes with a song, sometimes cutting to yet another forced reenactment of Marley creating or recording another track. Some scenes feature up to three songs: an iconic song used as a transition, one played diegetically within the scene and yet another song used to transition into the next scene. Everything is so mickey-moused that when Marley fights with his wife Rita, there’s a “No Woman No Cry” needle-drop, or when a character says something about redemption, we hear “Redemption Song.”

The film’s shortcomings are starkly evident in the treatment of pivotal moments, such as Marley’s youth, his relationship with Rita, his transformative Rastafarian rituals and the One Love Peace Concert. The Rastafarian rituals shown could have been used to evoke a pivotal moment of transcendence and change. This sequence, potentially initially crafted with care and depth, is reduced to mere snippets, overshadowed by a forced insertion of Marley’s music, making everything more like a long rhapsodic medley music video interrupted by sparse interjections of cinema.

I hate to talk about what movies could be instead of what they are, but even if this film was made using the biopic clichés of the rags to riches story, from a grounded point of view of a young Nesta Marley and Rita’s growth into legendary status, adding Ziggy Marley’s point of view as a son of a distant father, it would have been way more interesting than whatever it turned out to be. 

The only saving grace is Lashana Lynch’s portrayal of Rita Marley. Despite dull scenes and simple expository dialogue, Lynch manages to portray emotion and depth. The most exciting moments are the flashbacks of young Nesta Marley playing and recording with the Wailing Wailers and his relationship with Rita and her Rastafarian influence on Marley. This feels like the backbone of an initial draft with so much potential, but it’s cut short, once again, prioritizing Marley’s songs over the emotional engagement of those scenes.

Bob Marley: One Love is meant to be a celebration of an iconic, larger than life character, his music and its impact in the world. Instead, it becomes another cautionary tale about prioritizing commercial viability over a genuine connection, failing to deliver on any of its artistic potential. Save your money for real cinematic experiences that genuinely deserve it, like Dune: Part Two or Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, as this directionless piece of content, unfortunately, is nothing more than the joint forces of white Hollywood and the estate of a long time deceased Black man to create another transparent money grab masquerading as a real film. ■

Bob Marley: One Love opens in Montreal theatres on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

For our latest in film and TV, please visit the Film & TV section.

The post Bob Marley: One Love does a major disservice to the story of a legendary artist and activist appeared first on Cult MTL.

On Tuesday, Quebec provincial police seized 54 vehicles in 26 containers at the Port of Montreal. The federal government says an estimated 90,000 cars are stolen annually in Canada.

The signed photo was stolen from Quebec’s peewee hockey museum in the Videotron Centre last Sunday. The man who donated the one-of-a-kind piece says he hopes he’ll see it again.

The Canadian Space Agency let journalists taste some of the food it serves astronauts when they're on missions. Let's just say it seems nutritious.

It’s not the first time Elon Musk has put his foot in his mouth. Since purchasing Twitter (now X), he’s repeatedly proven that he’s often not to be trusted with what he says on that platform. Recently, the world’s richest man, with a net worth of $210-billion, felt the need to attack — with half-truths and lies — those with the least: undocumented migrants. His actions immediately reminded me of that editorial cartoon where billionaire Rupert Murdoch tells the blue-collar worker that the people he should be concerned about are migrants and not bloated capitalists who’ve hoarded most of the world’s wealth. Musk decided to inform his followers about a few things that he said they “probably don’t know.” Things like, “illegals in America can get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver’s licences, free healthcare (California & New York) and in-state college tuition.”

“What’s the point of being a citizen,” Musk concludes, “if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesn’t pay taxes or do jury duty?” 

First off, am I the only one who finds it so off-putting that a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, an immigrant from South Africa himself, feels the need to target those with so little? 

He’s not alone.

The way certain pundits, politicians and public figures talk about migrants is deliberately dehumanizing. It’s on purpose. They provide easy ammunition for those either uninformed about the topic or, more importantly, with the desire to believe what is being told because it plays into their specific vision of the world. In my upcoming book, Seeking Asylum: Building a Shareable World, I reference Donald Trump Jr. who, in 2019, compared the border wall his father coveted to a zoo fence protecting Americans from the animals. 

“You know why you can enjoy a day at the zoo?” he posted on Instagram at the time. “Because walls work.” He was essentially calling migrants animals. And if someone who calls migrants animals can also convince others to see them as animals then Americans don’t have to care about them and how they’re treated by their government. 

‘Freeloaders’ gaming the system

In the same vein, Musk is inciting hate and suspicion of migrant workers by spreading false or incomplete information about them. If he can convince people that these “illegals” are underhanded and ruthless opportunists out to “game” the system and take advantage of good, hard-working legal American citizens and their hard-earned social benefits (and judging by the millions of “likes” under his false information, there are many who don’t question the validity of his statement and will happily share it), then those people won’t care about these migrants’ fate. 

It then becomes much easier for the public to support politicians who vote for and implement illegal pushbacks and the criminalization of migrants. Fear begets fear. If you lead with fear, if you incite fear, if you treat people as being worthy of your fear and your contempt, then you will get concern, hate, suspicion and fear in return. False information or facts presented without context help muddy already highly confusing debates.

It’s true that undocumented migrants in the U.S. can often get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver’s licences, free healthcare (California and New York) and 24 states do provide in-state college tuition. What about it? These people are working and therefore fill the requirements allowing them to get access to such things. They, too, pay their rent or mortgage like everyone else, but do not have access to public housing. It’s true that New York and California offer free or affordable healthcare to undocumented migrants, mainly because undocumented immigrants are not allowed to purchase health insurance like everyone else. Many states have also recognized that it benefits everyone if all residents have access to healthcare and higher education.

Regarding the second part of his statement, that undocumented migrants “don’t pay taxes or do jury duty,” Musk is correct about the latter part (only U.S. citizens are eligible to sit on a jury or vote in an election), but the former statement is a lie.

Undocumented migrants pay taxes

Undocumented migrants in the United States pay BILLIONS in taxes to fund services they will, in most cases, never be able to take advantage of. Between the tax returns that they file, and the taxes deducted from their paycheques, not to mention the sales taxes they pay every single time they purchase something, they are contributing billions in local, state and federal taxes. 

Are some undocumented migrants not paying taxes? Of course. Do those losses amount to the billions and billions some of these rich folks manage to avoid paying while engaging in tax evasion year after year? Doubtful. “The IRS and economists found in 2021,” according to Business Insider, “that the top 1% of earners don’t report nearly a quarter of their income and that the top 0.1% of earners underreport at nearly twice that rate. The Treasury Department has found that the top 1% of American earners evade $163-billion in taxes annually with the top .05% dodging $120-billion every year.”

But please tell me more about desperate people trying to eke out a living, while ignoring the 1% robbing us blind… Why am I supposed to be far more outraged about the former? 

The constant malicious focus on migrants persists because it feeds into an image of who they are supposed to be and how they supposedly take advantage of the system. But most do pay their taxes. And even the White House has concluded that legalizing them would reap more economic benefits, as they would be paid better and contribute even more money in taxes. 

And here’s how they pay their taxes for those wondering. Even though undocumented migrants don’t have a social security number, the IRS provides an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to people who are ineligible for an SSN so that they can comply with tax laws. In many cases, they can also use their ITIN to open an interest-bearing bank account or for obtaining a mortgage. Most migrants willingly pay federal taxes because it helps demonstrate that they comply with federal laws and builds a case for them if they choose to apply for U.S. citizenship. Many of these migrants are people who entered the country requesting asylum and are now working legally while their claim is being assessed. 

The reality is, there’s a whole lot of hypocrisy involved in how migrants are treated and used in filling desperately needed labour shortages and then often spit out or perceived as a threat to the very system they are helping uphold. Even though they pay back billions in federal taxes, they do not qualify for any social security benefits. Some do indeed qualify for the Child Tax Credit, but people arguing children should willingly suffer for any decisions adults make should reconsider their arguments — and their morals.  

Undocumented migrants are consistently paying into a system they cannot, in turn, benefit from if they ever needed to. And yet they are the ones routinely treated as freeloaders. Back in 2019, undocumented Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker and writer Jose Antonio Vargas, who was born in the Philippines and raised in the U.S., tweeted about how tax-paying migrants like him were helping “fund the very system that detains and deports” them.  

Canada, too

What many readers may not know is that the same often happens right here at home in Canada. Migrant workers contribute more in terms of taxes and social contributions than they generally receive in benefits. While migrants and all temporary foreign workers are required to pay taxes on any income they earn in Canada, they also pay into social benefit programs that they will mostly never be able to claim. 

The Walrus recently published a moving article on the 20,000 to 500,000 undocumented youth in Canada. We don’t have the exact number because, fearing deportation, people are reluctant to declare their status. Even though these young people have often been raised here and lived their entire lives here, they don’t have access to the same things the rest of us do, like free healthcare or local university tuition fees, often depriving these kids of a university education and a better future.

In some welcome news, Canada’s Trudeau government recently announced that it plans a “broad and comprehensive program” that will soon allow many undocumented people to apply for permanent residency. Most of these people entered the country legally as students or workers but remained here after their visas expired. They are here now, working, contributing and already housed. They simply need to be regularized. This regularization program, expected to soon be announced, has been long-awaited by many immigration lawyers and those who hope for permanent residency and all the benefits and peace of mind that would come with it. 

Contributing members of our society who remain undocumented continue to live in a precarious state of limbo and a constant state of fear, increasing their vulnerability and potential for exploitation. Most of them work hard, contribute to Canada’s economy, and deserve a chance at permanency and a better life. ■

Read more weekly editorial columns by Toula Drimonis.

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Last year, Molly Manning Walker’s feature debut How to Have Sex premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Un Certain Regard prize. The viscerally charged movie documents a group of girlfriends, fresh off their exams, on a clubbing holiday in Malia, Crete. The resort town with a courtyard overlooking a sky-blue pool will soon be overflowing with Brits from across the U.K. as they drink, party and fuck.

From the beginning, we’re brought deep into the subjectivity of Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), a petite blonde with the gift for gab, who becomes our surrogate in this loud, noxious world. The film is structured into two halves: the first is a big party, the second begins as Tara’s friends cannot find her. A landscape of fantasy turned into a world of disappointment with glimpses of horror, the film manages to harness the specific to tell an unfortunately common story of sexual violence as a marker of coming-of-age. 

Molly Manning Walker spoke with Cult MTL over Zoom about making the film.

Justine Smith: Can you explain to people who are not from the U.K. exactly what is unfolding in How to Have Sex? For North Americans, the closest thing we have would be Spring Break.

Molly Manning Walker: The film’s about three girls that go on a clubbing holiday, a rite of passage that we do when we finish exams in the U.K. Often, a group of friends will go to a Mediterranean island or a Mediterranean resort. It’s a bunch of really cheap hotels in a clubbing destination with cheap clubs and cheap alcohol. You go and party and celebrate the end of exams. It’s the end of a chapter in many people’s lives in terms of that part of education. And often, they’re quite highly pressurized with sex. It comes at a time of life when we’re sort of naive in sex and relationships. It often comes with, like, the idea that you would meet the opposite sex — or that’s what it was at the time when we were there — and create bonds with them or have sex with them.

JS: One of the best parts of the film is the cinematography by Nicolas Canniccioni [a Montreal-based DOP]. I love what you’re doing here with the film’s two halves. The high-octane first half and the second half with the “disappearance,” where the familiar locations are suddenly alien, even abstract. I’d love it if you could discuss your vision for the imagery in this film.

Molly Manning Walker: The whole film is designed in two halves. The first half, like you said, is very fast-paced but often looks at the group and the dynamic of the group. Then the second half is more intimate with her, and everything, including the cinematography, becomes more pressured. The camera gets closer to her, but the bass gets deeper, the crickets get faster, and the music clashes: everything becomes more stressful. We designed the zooms where she’s missing because we are in this really intimate handheld setup where we are rotating around her face and what she’s looking at. But if she’s not there, what do we look at? We didn’t want to pick up a new character. We thought if we zoom past all their faces while hearing these conversations, you really miss this face that’s been present on screen before that. 

JS: In terms of working with actors, there’s so much naturalism, intimacy and vulnerability. How are you working with them in order to achieve this result, especially since it does feel as though we’re so close to them, almost intruding on their space — especially that first half? It’s very realistic, though, capturing that age and those spaces where everyone is just kinda on top of each other.

Molly Manning Walker: They had this instant bond. Part of it was the casting process, which was very extensive. We were testing them with each other the whole way through. We could feel when they clicked and when they didn’t. Creating that bond was really special, and they are all really good friends and they supported each other through the filming. You can feel that in the footage.

JS: How did you approach sound design? It’s very complex, dealing with so much noise and so many people while also having these moments of really intimate quietness. There are some scenes featuring hundreds of people; it couldn’t have been easy. 

Molly Manning Walker: It was 200 to 300 people daily in the first two weeks. It was intense. The sound was tricky, and the sound design is amazing. We were constantly building and layering stuff going on, like the conversation down corridors or whether it was like people in the pool while they were out in the hotel. It was this idea that there’s this whole world happening. There are so many teenagers around. (We were also) playing with how she disassociates and how the sound drops out during those moments and becomes very internal. You just get more and more uncomfortable. Every department was working on making the atmosphere more and more tense as it went on.

JS: The sound design is obviously part of the post-production system. How did the edit work? It feels like there must have been so many images, and you also have these two distinct halves, all these different emotional trajectories. How did you make them come together and feel a part of the same universe and emotional reality? 

Molly Manning Walker: I had my editor [Fin Oates] there with me, which was really amazing. We were editing live as we went. She was a real ally in understanding what we had and how we could move forward. We were shooting in one hotel, then the strip right next to the hotel. Often, we would pick up things that we felt we had missed. With such a live-wire shoot like this, we wrote little scenes that connected things together on the day of the shoot. I was watching assemblies as we went, which was a real blessing. 

JS: I find that fascinating, can you elaborate a bit more on having an editor on set? 

Molly Manning Walker: Sometimes we’d finish a day and say, did we get anything? It was so free form, maybe we missed it all. Seeing it put together really quickly was cool — this is working or, you know, let’s tweak this in the next scene. There’s so much to keep on track, like the emotional journey of six people, how drunk they were the night before, how hungover they are and how big the party is. A lot is going on. It was amazing to watch the assemblies every day and see where it was going. ■

Read our capsule review for How to Have Sex from TIFF. 

How to Have Sex is now playing in Montreal theatres. It will later be available to stream exclusively on MUBI. 

For our latest in film and TV, please visit the Film & TV section.

The post Director Molly Manning Walker talks about her award-winning film How to Have Sex appeared first on Cult MTL.

The 10th anniversary of Quebec City’s le Phoque OFF music festival is currently underway, giving music fans a whole nine days’ worth of great live music. Every year, la Vieille Capitale puts on showcases full of nearly 100 emerging artists — mostly de chez nous or from elsewhere in Canada — for industry professionals as well as the public to discover.

Though many of the artists playing this year’s festival are only available with a pro pass or are part of its showcase component, there are still a number of shows available to the general public — and they’ve rallied some of Quebec’s best and brightest emerging talents to play those gigs. Here are five to watch if you happen to be in the provincial capital this week.

Totalement Sublime (DJ set)

Itching to go to a Phoque Off show literally this evening? You could do plenty worse than this one. Tonight’s show at La Cuisine sees superduo Totalement Sublime — consisting of members of Choses Sauvages and Foreign Diplomats — get behind the decks. No word on if we’ll get the otherworldly soundscapes permeating much of their new album Albédo, or something else entirely.

La Cuisine (207 St-Vallier E.), Wednesday, Feb. 14, midnight

TEKE::TEKE

After watching their electrifyingly hypnotic set at Le Ministère at Taverne Tour this past weekend, those going to Le Phoque Off are in for a treat. The seven-piece psychedelic rock outfit pull from influences from as far away as Brazil and Japan to thrilling effect, and are a band who need to be seen to truly be heard.

L’Anti (251 Dorchester), Friday, Feb. 16, 10 p.m.

Crachat

When you name your band after the French word for spit, one could assume your music’s pretty rough around the edges. Quebec City’s own Crachat indeed live up to their name by making raw, short-and-sweet garage punk, landing somewhere between Bad Brains and Bikini Kill.

Le Scanner (291 St-Vallier E.), Friday, Feb. 16, 11:30 p.m.

Ce qui nous traverse

The press photo you see of these dudes on the Phoque Off website implies that they’re some American Football-type emo outfit, but they’re actually a haunting, surreal experimental ambient duo. Hearing Ce qui nous traverse’s music live surely makes for quite the visual and aural experience, and there’s a rock edge to them, too.

L’Anti (251 Dorchester), Saturday Feb. 17, 9 p.m.

Jetsam

For those who aren’t afraid of a little powerviolence (and know that’s an actual music genre that exists), this queer, anarchist/anti-fascist Montreal trio are a good bet if you like your punk music chaotic, noisy and mostly instrumental. With support from experimental jazz-metal outfit Souphl, a show like this should be one hell of a 1 a.m. pick-me-up.

Le Scanner (291 St-Vallier E.), Saturday, Feb. 17, 1 a.m.

For more on le Phoque OFF music festival in Quebec City, please visit their website.

For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.

The post 5 artists to watch at le Phoque OFF music festival in Quebec City appeared first on Cult MTL.

Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough council is putting pressure on Quebec to open a CLSC in one of the city’s fastest growing neighbourhoods.

The Black Healing Centre needs more Black mental health practitioners, so they’re finding their own solutions and training them in a pilot program. Psychotherapist Lisa Ndejuru is leading the program.

Psychiatrists who treated a mentally ill Quebec man who killed a provincial police officer told a coroner's inquest on Tuesday about the challenges in getting patients to follow conditions from the province's mental-health board.

Réjean Thomas, and HIV specialist and the co-founder of the medical clinic l'Actuel, says people had less access to doctors during the pandemic, which may explain why there is an increase in the number of HIV cases.

Robert Miller has advanced Parkinson's disease and a heart condition. The lawyer representing victims in a proposed class-action lawsuit is concerned he may die before the case goes to court.

As crowded as Montreal’s festival scene may feel, Taverne Tour manages to stand out in a huge way. With shows in many classic Montreal venues as well as in Plateau-Mile End bars not usually known for hosting live music, the festival is a great way to discover music and stay warm during mid-February — or at least it usually is, since temperatures in Montreal have been unseasonably warm for most of this winter (my blood pressure is spiking from climate anxiety as I’m typing this).

Taverne Tour is nevertheless an excellent platform for emerging artists to play for curious show-hoppers, and the three-day 2024 edition was yet another feather in their cap. Here’s what I saw.

Safia Nolin

It’s been nearly a decade since Safia Nolin broke through with her debut album Limoilou, and I’ve felt like a bad Montrealer ever since for never having seen her live until Thursday. I was in for a treat, though, as she did a fantastic job bringing a sense of intimacy to Quai des Brumes — a venue which, though already small, was packed like sardines for her. Playing mostly acoustic guitar with an electric guitarist opposite her, Safia’s songs gave off a Neil Young-meets-Grouper type feel in this setting, skillfully combining emotion and raw storytelling.

Laurence-Anne

Some may recognize her through La Sécurité, but Laurence-Anne has always been a musical force in her own right. Thursday night at L’Esco playing synth-driven art-punk tunes with equal amounts of ethereality and ominousness, while sometimes sporting a cowboy hat. Given that finding a good place to stand (or breathe) with taller heads and bodies in front of you is high currency at L’Esco, I could barely see her from where I was standing. Regardless, her tunes ranged from hypnotic to psychedelic to eerie to everywhere in between — definitely a polar opposite vibe to Safia’s set two doors down.

Population II

My favourite performance of the entire festival this year came on Friday at La Tulipe thanks to this trio of experimental psychedelic rockers (with a hint of prog, blues, sludge metal and funk thrown in for good measure) opening for Jon Spencer. Singing drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton absolutely shreds behind the kit, taking on lead vocal duties while playing complex rhythms and double bass pedals. Add some wah-wah guitar effects, crunchy and menacing bass riffs, and a clever use of red and green lighting, and you get a delicious cross between Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Population II’s ability to push sonic boundaries and make your head spin in the best way possible was on full display, and lots of folks seemed hugely impressed.

SAMWOY

If you know SAMWOY’s backstory, the fact he’s even touring and playing shows at all is hugely admirable. The Montreal-via-Vancouver Island artist born Sam Woywitka got emotional while telling the crowd at Le Ministère on Friday about deciding to make music after waking up from a months-long coma following a car accident that killed his best friend, and you can hear that pain and passion in his music. His surfy garage rock tunes have a California skate punk feel to them at times, with spoken word screams and yelps adding emotional heft. They’re fun, raw and hard-hitting, and those songs drew in a packed crowd that night.

Sweeping Promises

Hailing from Lawrence, KS via Boston, indie rock duo Sweeping Promises took the stage at Sala Rossa on Friday immediately endearing themselves to the crowd, with frontwoman Lira Mondal greeting the audience en Français just before their first song. Using fairly straightforward garage rock instrumentation as a backdrop for Mondal’s dynamic vocal range, the Sub Pop signees delivered one of the more entertaining sets I saw this year — and one that wasted little time making Sala Rossa’s floor vibrate.

TEKE::TEKE

Friends of mine who also attended the show describe TEKE::TEKE as “Tarantino movie music,” and that’s honestly a pretty apt description. These Japanese/Quebecois psychedelic rockers play the kind of live shows that put you in a trance and take you right back to the ‘60s and ‘70s, and a teaspoon of ska and surf rock thrown in the mix. The seven-piece played to a packed house at Le Ministère on Friday, with songs that feel left-field and whimsical, yet sleek and rich and refined. A TEKE::TEKE live show is a wonderfully weird and kaleidoscopic audiovisual experience, and their Taverne Tour set was a strong example.

Booster Fawn

The artist born Joshua Seguin makes psychedelic folk-rock with a ‘90s lo-fi slacker edge, somewhere in between Alex G, Beck, Donovan, and Elliott Smith. His set at La Sotterenea on Saturday night opening for Night Lunch (actual headliner Daniel Romano pulled out) showcased his penchant for freaky, nostalgic tunes with strong melodies, and did so with a man down, as his guitarist couldn’t make the gig due to personal reasons. Just as memorable as the music, though, were the trippy, cartoonish claymation visuals — including one of a guy pissing all over a bathroom while lying on the floor. Lovely.

Night Lunch

With a Palestinian flag draped between their drum kit and one of their amps, Night Lunch took to the stage just after 11 p.m. with a spirited set, albeit one shorter than hoped for. One of Montreal’s most buzzed-about new local bands, the four-piece play music with ‘80s new wave as a core part of its identity (the Cure, David Bowie and Talking Heads are especially noticeable), with frontman Lukie Lovechild dressed to the nines in sunglasses and a suit and tie, with slicked-back platinum blonde hair and a voice that goes from slightly nasal in his higher register to crooning like he’s Elvis when it gets lower. Though they didn’t play “My Love Is a Rebel”, and their set didn’t feel quite long enough, it was still an example of Night Lunch showing their potential for even greater musical heights. ■

For more on Taverne Tour, please visit their website.

For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.

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It took only six minutes from the issuing of an Amber Alert for an eight-year-old girl from Repentigny to be found safe at a gas station in Kahnawake last Sunday, February 4. Her rescue came thanks to a security guard there, who spotted the vehicle matching the description in the alert in a parking lot. 

The Amber Alert was issued at 6:30 a.m. that morning, saying the eight-year-old was believed to be with her father. The security guard working at the Harnois gas station on Highway 132 called 911 just four minutes later, saying he saw what he believed to be the father and girl asleep in a parked car, said Kahnawake Peacekeepers’ spokesperson Kyle Zachary. 

Three separate Peacekeepers hit the road immediately after the call came from dispatch, he said, arriving there by 6:36 a.m.

“This is a testament to how efficient the Amber Alert system can be. It only took six minutes to locate this child from issuing the alert to the actual rescue,” Zachary said.  

“This one came at 6:30 in the morning, so I know it annoyed a lot of people and woke them up,” he said. “We’re thankful for the happy ending.”

The Amber Alert was issued from Repentigny, about 55 kilometres away from Kahnawake.

The 51-year-old man cooperated with the arrest, Zachary said. The major crimes unit for the provincial police also then arrived on scene, taking both the father and child in custody.

A manager who answered the phone at the gas station said their cashier also immediately noticed the car in the parking lot matched the description in the alert, also calling 911. The father and daughter had been in the parking lot several hours already before the alert was issued, said the manager, who didn’t want to share his name. 

He watched through seven hours of security footage that the gas station later shared with authorities, saying it showed them walking into a Tim Hortons and a convenience store before later returning to the car.  

The father appeared at the Joliette Courthouse via videoconference the same day of his arrest, where he was charged with abduction in contravention of a custody order.

[email protected]

This article was originally published in print on February 9 in issue 33.06 of The Eastern Door.

The smell of fry bread and wood fire wafted through the crisp evening air Wednesday evening as Kahnawake families took in the Winter Carnival’s first-ever night market.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Summer Lazare, community events coordinator at the Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC), which organizes the Winter Carnival each year. 

“You always hear about this being only in Montreal or other surrounding communities. I think this is a really good turnout and I think everybody’s enjoying it.”

The market took place beneath gleaming string lights between the Golden Age Club and the Town Rink, with vendors of all kinds setting up shop along the path to promote their crafts, treats, and other products. Propane heating and crackling fires – not to mention the Golden Age Club’s bathroom – provided respite as Kahnawa’kehró:non shopped and mingled.

“I wanted to come to support the community and all the other vendors, to see what was going on and what it was all about,” said Lacey Diabo, who attended with her husband and two children.

“It’s beautiful, I love it,” she said. “I was surprised when I turned around the corner and saw all the lights.”

Diabo noted she’s been to similar events across the Mercier Bridge, but never here in town. Her daughter bought a change purse and her son purchased a bag, while she picked up a spicy jam.

“There’s something for everyone,” she said.

Kahnawake Fire Brigade captain Karonhiio Curotte was on duty at the event, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this,” he said. He especially liked the idea of the nearby pond hockey tournament, which unfolded at the same time at the Town Rink on the other side of the path, noting the chilly but bearable weather was just right for it.

Phoenix White was also drawn to the ice, but he was a fan of the night market as well. “It’s really good,” he said. It didn’t take him long to identify his personal favourite vendor: “Probably the candy store,” said the eight-year-old.

Diana Murphy made the trek from LaSalle to introduce Kahnawake to her freeze-dried candy business, Sweet Dee’s, which also offers imported sugary novelties.

“It was a first, and I thought it’d be interesting to see what it’s like. I like to go to new markets and just get my name out there also,” she said.

Kahnawa’kehró:non with a sweet tooth were also treated to desserts from the BeaverTails food truck, courtesy of KYC, which handed out vouchers to community members.

There were several local businesses on site as well, such as the 392 Pepper Company, which was showing off new spicy chips and a range of hot sauces.

“It’s just a perfect thing to do – get out, meet people, and talk to people you haven’t seen in a while,” said owner John Mayo.

Even though the enterprise’s hot sauces are offered at stores throughout town, Mayo still sees value in promoting the family business at events like these, not least because it gives people a chance to try before they buy.

This can be especially important for a hot sauce business, he said, because spice tolerance can be so subjective, making it hard to simply describe on a label how hot something is.

“It’s a community event, and we’re from the community, so it’s a perfect time to get out and show off what we’re offering,” he said.

He’s enjoyed local markets before, but this was the first one he’s participated in at night, especially a frosty one.

“It’s better than being in the sun and rain,” he said. “I mean, it’d be horrible, I guess, if it was a snow storm. But for the most part, I think it’s pretty cool. And no pun intended.”

[email protected]

This article was originally published in print on February 9 in issue 33.06 of The Eastern Door.

Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The post Upper Town Night Parade draws a huge Carnival crowd appeared first on The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph.

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