Quote of the week:

"Are you okay, Celine?" - CNN talk show host Larry King, as Celine Dion broke down in tears while raging against the war in Iraq and the chaos in Louisiana, on Saturday night. Dion pledged $1-million (U.S.) in assistance for Katrina's victims.

Activist lit

Seven years ago, Yves Engler was playing junior hockey in Chiliwack, B.C., surrounded by typical jocks and their Neanderthal sensibilities on race, sex and homosexuals. Today, he's an ex-student executive barred from Concordia University, committed social justice activist and, as of last month, a published author. Engler's book, Playing Left Wing, is part memoir, part call to arms for student activism. Engler knows his subject: he was part of the notorious student government during the Sept. 9, 2002, anti-Netanyahu riot that cemented Concordia's reputation as a hotbed of radicalism.

Asked about the hockey metaphor, he says, "The simple reason is I played in junior hockey and went from this total jock world to total activist. And I wanted to de-mystify activists and activism. Most people think activists aren't regular people, but there's nothing more regular than playing hockey in Canada."

There will be a launch at McGill's Bronfman Building (1001 Sherbrooke W. Rm. 151) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8 and another at QPIRG Concordia (1500 de Maisonneuve W., Rm. 204) at 2 p.m. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Trash town rebels

When your junk gets gobbled up and hauled away, do you ever wonder where it goes? There's a good chance your green bag gets hauled to the St-Thomas dump near Joliette. And as Montrealers remain ever-generous with our garbage, the site owner has proposed an expansion. But residents of the area are profoundly unhappy with that notion, and the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environment recently advised against it.

"St-Thomas is an astronomically large mega-site already and there's land, contamination, environment and capacity questions around such places," says Annie Baillargeon, coordinator for garbage-awareness group Action Re-buts. "These mega-dumps make for social problems as well, which the owner has no legal responsibility for after it closes."

Quebec has ordered more studies about the possible expansion, and Baillargeon suspects they might green-light the growth, a possibility that she and many protested against last Monday. Quebec's Action Plan for Waste Management, established in 1998 orders each municipality to deal with its garbage on its own territory by 2008. It's something she'd like taken seriously. » Kristian Gravenor

Portugal relief

This year will go down as the worst on record for forest fires in Portugal. Suffering the most severe drought in decades, Portugal, one of the poorest countries in the European Union, has lost almost 150,000 hectares to forest fires in 2005 alone. Montreal's sizable Portuguese community is now getting ready to pitch in any way it can, but mostly by raising money for reforestation efforts.

"Over 40 per cent of Portugal's forests have gone up in smoke over the past three years," says Isabelle dos Santos, a Montreal actress of Portuguese origin and UCIM city councillor candidate for the Plateau. "This is an ecological catastrophe. The south is already at risk from desertification."

There is a problem with more donors being tapped out after having contributed to relief efforts post-Hurricane Katrina, but dos Santos thinks the Portuguese community will rally behind the cause. "We can't just sit in our living rooms and watch this unfold on our televisions," she says.

The organizers of Opération Solidarité Portugal ask donors to make their donations to the Red Cross. Call 1-(800) 418-1111. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Carless in Montreal

It might be just a one-day gesture, but Montreal's authorities are hoping to cure you of your nasty car habit when you come into town Thursday, Sept. 22.

For the third straight year, the city is taking part in the "in town without my car" event and you're invited, but your gas guzzler isn't. The Agence Métropolitain de Transport is blocking off the perimeter between de Maisonneuve, René-Lévesque, McGill College and St-Urbain from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Ste-Catherine between Jeanne-Mance and St-Urbain will be closed the whole day.

Cars will be replaced by info booths and activities, all proposing methods to make the downtown scene without personal vehicular support. One organizer suggests spiralling gas prices will intensify interest in the event, which is being held in 1,346 cities.

"With what happened [last] week, I think people will look at other transportation alternatives and maybe people can down come to get information on how to change their transportation habits," says the AMT's Mélanie Nadeau. » Kristian Gravenor

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

17 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Sept. 9–Sept. 22, 1988

On the cover: Canadian TV mogul and former Montrealer Moses Znaimer, in town to launch MusiquePlus' 24-hour service. Previously, it was produced out of Toronto's Citytv headquarters on Queen West. "I'm forging a new kind of work which is the making of channels, rather than the making of individual shows, and creating identity in channels which until now have really been vehicles for distinct programs," he says.

• Facing 16 counts of fraud, "colourful" Park Ex city councillor Sofoklis Rasoulis grants an interview to the Mirror, having returned from five months abroad to conduct "research." The article refers to him as a "running joke," and says "he speaks in broken English, no French and is illiterate in either language."

• Regarding Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, David Oancia writes, "I'm not going to review the politics of this LP - not only do I not have the right to, but it's too easy to analyze Public Enemy's Black politics and overlook the music."

Angel >> Fighting ragweed This week saw the opening, at long last, of a class action lawsuit against the former city of Montreal and 22 other island municipalities over their inability to deal with the ragweed problem. Françoise Nadon launched the $2-billion lawsuit in 1992, which represents 200,000 people, claiming the various administrations failed in their promise to remove ragweed from public property by Aug. 1. It's estimated that between 10 and 15 per cent of the population is allergic to ragweed, and that related illness costs Montrealers $17-million a year. Ragweed season is also getting longer: in 2002 it lasted 126 days, up from 71 in 1994.
Insect >> Hydro's new rate hike Like an insatiable glutton, the provincial energy monopoly keeps demanding more and more. Hydro Québec is asking for yet another hike in rates, this time by three per cent. If approved, it would mark the fourth increase in two years. Hydro execs say it has nothing to do with the increase in gas prices, but the result of higher demand. It certainly has nothing to do with the state-run utility's financial vigour: Last month it reported that its second-quarter net income rose $27-million, to $402-million. The PQ energy critic is demanding Hydro withdraw its request.