Quote of the week:

"Reagan and me, good." - Saddam Hussein, on the former U.S. president and one of his principal backers in the Iran-Iraq war, as quoted by one of his American prison guards, in July's GQ. Hussein, however, describes both Bush presidents as "no good."

Divers/Cité fights on

Last week's announcements of sudden budget cuts to Divers/Cité, the Montreal gay pride festival, caught organizers off guard, but, says Suzanne Girard, its director general, they aren't down for the count.

The cuts are significant: the feds, through Heritage Canada, told organizers June 8 that, as they aren't considered "artistic presenters," they won't be eligible for $60,000 used for production purposes; Tourism Quebec told them last week that they'd receive only $50,000, half of what they were expecting.

"We've requested an emergency meeting with Heritage Canada, and that seems to be moving ahead, but the one who hasn't responded is Tourism Quebec, which is the shocker, because we considered them partners," says Girard. In 2003, she says, the provincial body cut $25,000 from Divers/Cité funding.

"I certainly don't consider [the money] a handout," Girard says. "For every $100,000 they invest, they get $5-million back [in tourist revenue]." She's further puzzled because they've received full funding for overseas promotion. "They want to give us money for an event we don't know we can put on!"

Divers/Cité runs from July 25 to 31. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Pools versus art

When the city unveiled a $186,000 metal statue along Wellington in Marguerite Bourgeoys Park last week, unimpressed locals launched a petition asking it be removed and replaced with swimming facilities. But nuns from the Maison St-Gabriel museum are equally fervent admirers of the tribute to Marguerite Bourgeoys.

"She founded a non-cloistered community, which was unthinkable at the time," says Madeleine Juneau, the museum's executive director who sat on the seven-member jury that approved the art. "This interlaced structure represents the village she imagined through time." Once it's completed with lights and a panel, she says, "I'm convinced that people will like it."

So far critics have been blunt: "I think it's a monstrosity, I can't stand it," says George McRae, a lifelong resident of the area and Web master of www.thepoint.ca. » Kristian Gravenor

Canada sucks!

This July 1 marks 138 years since the birth of Canada. A cause for the annual eruption of beery national pride in much of the country, except, of course, here. But it's not just sullen francophone nationalists who take issue with the idea of Canada Day. A group called the Anti-Canada Day Committee is taking advantage of the week leading up to July 1 to dredge up much of the country's less than sterling past, from ethnically cleansing natives to Québécois nationalism.

"The idea is to take advantage of the context to do the other history of Canada, to challenge some of the myths," says Committee member Antoine Libert. This will involve a series of workshops addressing the treatment of natives and Chinese immigrants, Canadian involvement overseas and of course, the ever-touchy Quebec question.

"The anglophone anarchist community has been turned off by Quebec nationalism, which has always attracted a racist and xenophobic element," he says. "We want to bridge the gap to be able to talk about this."

For the lowdown on the series, see http://histoires-populaires.ath.cx. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Demolition festival

After 15 years of prolonged political intercourse, residents of the area around Park and Pine have finally reached the shuddering climax of their desires, as the spaghetti-style raised roads finally meet the wrecking ball. The demolition calls for an outdoor party just south of the site (the park between Pine and Léo Pariseau, to be exact) on Sunday, June 26, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bellies will swell with munchies and ears filled with politically inspired jaw-wags, on top of which five musicians will strum and wail, including the ubiquitous Norman Nawrocki.

According to activist Lucia Kowaluk, the secret to the residents' success was in lobbying a series of government bureaucracies at public hearings. "You have to really persevere," she says. "It takes a long, long time for citizens working together to show a victory over something like this."

She also advises those pushing the city for improvements in their neighbourhoods to propose sensible solutions. "The other thing that's essential is that the plan has to be reasonable, it has to be do-able," she says. » Kristian Gravenor

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

14 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
June 20–June 27, 1991

On the cover: Louis-Joseph Tassé, a part-time prof who teaches CEGEP to prisoners. "People in here will steal a meal or will steal glue, but CEGEP permits me to avoid that," convicted wife murder Vincent Lafalce tells Lucy Niro.

• "It's fucking unfair," the Doughboys' John Kastner tells Brendan Kelly, concerning label difficulties surrounding their latest album, Happy Accidents. "It's so frustrating for us right now because we're getting offered great deals.... But this company is holding us back." Kelly salutes the band for their "blend of melodic, snappy songwriting, punk vigour, Buzzcocks guitar and pop-star looks."

• In the Gay and Lesbian Supplement, Ian Stephens laments the state of music in Montreal clubs. "Pretty Disappointing: the Doughboys, the Asexuals, Dysfuntions - straight as baseball."

• "Would we be seriously listening to the concerns of Canadian native peoples had the Mohawks been armed with pea-shooters?" asks longtime NRA-member Daniel de Lessard-Bégin, in a letter supporting ownership of automatic weapons.

Angel >> MPs at work Parliament is scheduled to wrap up for the summer on Thursday, June 23, but the federal Liberals are determined to keep the recalcitrant 308 members at their desks until they finish their homework. In this case it means passing a budget with $4.6-billion in social spending programs, bashed out in a life-saving agreement with the NDP earlier this spring, and passing Bill C-38, the contentious same-sex marriage law. The government said it will extend Parliament until both issues are resolved in a vote. Martin hopes that the legislation will pass quickly, saying he already has the necessary House votes sewn up.
Insect >> Religion and politics Thanks to his commitment to passing Bill C-38, Paul Martin, a practicing Roman Catholic, was roasted by the parish priest in his home riding of LaSalle-Émard over the weekend. Fr. Francis Geremia told a wedding mass that the government in Ottawa is doing "the devil's work," and has said that the PM no longer deserves the sacrament of communion. "You either serve God or you serve the devil," he added. In a country that to date has escaped the religious fundamentalism currently plaguing the U.S., perhaps the good padre should leave legislating up to elected officials and stick to keeping his flock blinded and bigoted.