Quote of the week:

"I tell you frankly, it makes me want to vomit" - the PQ's Jean-Pierre Charbonneau in Tuesday's Globe and Mail, responding to allegations that the party used Nazi-style tactics in the '95 referendum.

Addressing homophobia

According to local gay rights groups, every newborn baby is presumed heterosexual. This is one of many issues to be tackled at the first English event in conjunction with Quebec's third annual Anti-homophobia Day (June 1), an observance launched by Fondation Emergence.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Montreal, an extension of the U.S. organization, has planned an interactive forum featuring two homophobia research experts and a representative from Quebec's health department.

"We want to demystify queerness and discuss the effect of homophobia," says PFLAG's Jane Shulman.

Fondation Emergence and PFLAG stress that June 1 is a day for positive action, as opposed to encouraging victim culture.

"There is a problem, but there are lots of people who are working to combat that problem, and we want to celebrate how far we've come and encourage people to go even further," says Shulman.

The forum takes place at 5035 de Maisonneuve W. on Tuesday, May 31, at 7:30 p.m. For details about other Anti-homophobia Day events, including initiatives in schools across Quebec, go to www.fondationemergence.com. » Lorraine Carpenter

Social house party

Quebec's lack of affordable housing is a serious issue, but that doesn't mean solving the problem can't be fun. In that spirit, Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) is holding its "Fête Foraine", or "Fun Fair" this weekend to call for more federal funding for social housing.

"Parliament is acting like a circus," says FRAPRU coordinator François Saillant, "so we decided the best way to act against a circus is to act like a circus ourselves."

Saillant believes the recent budget deal between the NDP and the Liberals was a step in the right direction, but says it's simply theoretical "Monopoly money" to struggling Quebec right now. Ahead of the July 1 moving day, which leaves many people homeless every year, FRAPRU wants to see the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation legally required to reinvest its surpluses in social housing. Last year, that surplus topped $2.4-billion.

"We're asking all the parties to make an effort," urges Saillant.

The "Fête Foraine," featuring clowns, balloons and "educational plays," takes place this Saturday, May 28, at 12:30 p.m., on the esplanade at Place des Arts, followed by a march to Parc Émilie-Gamelin. For info, call 522-1010. » Christopher Hazou

Food for thought

The safety of growing, eating and transporting genetically modified foods is a global concern, one that led roughly 120 countries to adopt the United Nations' Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in Montreal in 2000. Ironically, Canada wasn't one of them.

"The world wants biosafety," says Greenpeace's Eric Darier. "We have a responsibility to make sure that our government behaves in a way which is proper for the environment and respectful of the wishes of the international community."

To support next week's official biosafety protocol meeting in Montreal (May 30 to June 3), Greenpeace is staging a public forum with international speakers representing environmental, consumer and farming organizations. The bilingual event takes place on Saturday, May 28 at UQÀM's De Sève building (320 Ste-Catherine E.), 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m.

More festive activities are planned for Sunday, May 29, including the launch of a symbolic GMO-free zone outside the site of the UN meetings (999 University), where entertainers such as Tomas Jensen will perform. For more details, go to www.planeteverte.info. » Lorraine Carpenter

Pooches on parade

Animal lovers, with or without pups in tow, are invited to the SPCA Montérégie's Dog Walk, a day of canine showmanship, contests, raffles, (human) chow and, of course, walkies. The annual event benefits the South Shore shelter, Quebec's largest no-kill SPCA, and encourages folks to give a dog a home.

"Right now, I'm sad to say, we have at least 230-odd dogs and 80-plus cats," says SPCA Montérégie's Barbara Mason, bemoaning the misconception that such shelters are government-funded, which leads many a fickle pet owner to use them as dumping grounds.

Due to its strict no-kill policy, its lack of advertising dollars and its obscure location in St-Angèle de Monnoir - which, Mason points out, is a mere 45-minute drive from downtown Montreal - SPCA Montérégie has grown steadily over 16 years, straining its all-volunteer staff. A fourth relocation to larger facilities is imminent.

The Dog Walk takes place this Sunday, May 29, in St-Lambert's Seaway Park on Riverside Drive, from 9:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Learn more about SPCA Montérégie at www.spca-qc.com. » Lorraine Carpenter

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

14 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
May 23–May 30, 1991

On the cover: Susan Sarandon, promoting her latest vehicle, Thelma and Louise. The actress says intelligent, complex chick flicks - not to mention intelligent, complex chicks - are scarce in Hollywood because, "Studios are so afraid of allowing women to think. They think it's not good box-office."

• Late local rockabilly singer Ray Condo laments the death of vinyl and the rise of what the Mirror's Brendan Kelly calls "newfangled media" (CDs and videos). Condo says, "There is only one type of music: live music. Everything else is a document."

• Many local and American disciples of an allegedly sexually deviant swami abandon the Integral Yoga movement he founded in New York in 1966. Former follower Susan Cohen calls the "supposedly celibate" swami a cult leader who engages female students "in a type of father-daughter relationship that leaves women confused and unable to say no" to "spiritual incest." Swami Satchidananda, who denied these allegations and was never charged with misconduct, attained Mahasamadhi (aka died) in 2002.

Angel >> File-sharing still legal The case is far from closed, but file sharers triumphed over the music industry last week when the Federal Court of Appeal upheld last year's ruling to prevent lawsuits against music swappers. The industry's lawyers argued that Internet service providers should be forced to reveal the names and addresses of major swappers, something the court deemed an invasion of privacy. Meanwhile, other middle-ground options such as iTunes enable music lovers to purchase individual songs for 99 cents, as opposed to buying overpriced full-length CDs that are, more often than not, padded with mediocre filler. Home taping didn't kill music - neither will the Internet.
Insect >> No justice for Zahra Kazemi After nearly two years of half-heartedly hounding Iran over the Zahra Kazemi case, Canada stayed the timid course of "restricting relations" with the country this week. Refusing to acknowledge Kazemi's dual citizenship, an Iranian official criticized Canada's "immaturity" in interfering in domestic affairs, while Kazemi's son Stephan Hashemi chastised Canada's ongoing patience with what he justifiably calls the guilty party, the Iranian government. Iran's commitment to solving the Montreal photojournalist's rape, torture and murder by government agents in Tehran has been suspect from the start - the next in a series of inconclusive investigations is set for July.