Quote of the week:

“The Canadian public should have the opportunity to see and make their own judgment about Karla.” —Sylvain Gagné, vice-president of marketing and distribution at Christal Films, on the movie about notorious serial killer Karla Homolka, opening on Friday, Jan. 20.

Judging pirates

Film pirates are taking over the province, with covert camera equipment instead of peg legs and hooks. In the past, film copiers have been caught and escorted out of cinemas, but now, for the first time, the RCMP is turning the cannons.

The first alleged film-copying bandit to make his way down the plank in Canada is Jean-François Perron, an employee of the Chaplin theatre in Roberval. On April 24, Perron faces 12 charges of violating Canada’s copyright laws by videotaping a film. Pirated films are traced through watermarks, secret codes embedded in the prints.

“They tell us where the film was playing,” says Serge Corriveau, anti-piracy guy at the Canadian Motion Picture Distribution Association.

Films often hit the net hours after their first screening. And an estimated half of the world’s pirated DVDs come from Montreal.

“These people come in with sophisticated equipment, often hidden in a knapsack, they focus the camera at the beginning and that’s it,” he says. “Then they boast of being the first to put a new film on the Internet.” » Kristian Gravenor

Options on the table

The merger between two of Quebec’s left-leaning parties, Option citoyenne (OC) and l’Union des forces progressistes (UFP), is shaping up, with the founding convention slated for Feb. 2–4. But lefties still have a chance to see the two parties’ bigwigs, Françoise David for the OC and Amir Khadir of the UFP, along with UQÀM political scientist Jean-Marc Piotte, discuss the future of the left in Quebec at a panel discussion on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

“It will be an opportunity to discuss what the left can and will do in the future,” says David. “We’ll be covering several topics, including social issues and of course the all-important national question.”

The founding congress was set to take place this month, she says, but was pushed back due to the federal election. Talks between the two parties began back in December 2004, about a year after OC was formed and three years after the birth of the UFP.

The panel discussion takes place next Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the Centre St-Pierre (1212 Panet) at 7 p.m. A voluntary contribution of $5 is suggested. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Budgetting and housing

Social housing activist François Saillant knows there’s going to be something to look at in the new municipal budget, but he doesn’t know what. The budget, to be presented on Friday, Jan. 20, was delayed because of widespread outrage over the original presented in early December, which included tax increases, something Tremblay vowed he would avoid.

Tremblay also promised to build 5,000 units of low-income housing when he was elected in 2001, a feat that looks to be accomplished this year—several years after the proposed deadline.

Nevertheless, his group is more or less satisfied with the work the present team has done, although, he says, their satisfaction is “mitigated.” The delay in reaching its 5,000-unit goal is unfortunate, he says, but the real problem is the location.

“We know there is competition versus condos for space in certain neighbourhoods,” he says. “All the best land is being given to the private sector, and the available space is far from downtown.”

He also wants to know what the administration plans for future building projects. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Calming Plateau traffic

A committee of Plateau residents is trying to get traffic on the Plateau to slow down by getting the street to talk to your car. So they say.

The committee, supported by the Maison d’Aurore, a community resource network, will be putting up signs that read “MAXIMUM 30” in their windows urging motorists to drive at a staid 30 kilometres per hour, especially along residential streets (the current speed limit is 50 km/h). With the signs, more trees planted along the sidewalks, smarter crosswalk markings and narrow streets, says Isabelle Gaudette, a community organizer at Maison d’Aurore, “The street must speak to the car to make it slow down.”

Gaudette says quality of life is a big reason behind the campaign, as is living a quality life: according to her, 358 pedestrians and 582 cyclists were injured by cars in the Plateau between 1999 and 2003. Slowing speeds from 50 km/h to 30 km/h decreases mortality rates from 85 per cent to 10 per cent, she says.

To get involved, call 527-9075 or visit http://circulation.canalblog.com. » Patrick Lejtenyi

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

19 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Jan. 15–Feb. 4, 1987

On the cover: A still from Carbon 14’s Opium, a “play structured around a cataclysm, or rupture, which evokes a man’s shattered quest for his ideals.” The cover image is of a man in a suit and sunglasses, lying on his back and holding a paper airplane.

• Daniel Sanger examines Quebec’s demographic crisis i.e. its birth rate, at 1.4 children per woman, being the third lowest in the western world. “In government circles, falling fertility levels are talked about and studied endlessly,” says Jacques Henripin, a UdeM demographer. But, “That is as far as the government goes. No action is suggested. No action is taken!”

• Jenny Ross’s Predictions for 1987: “The Chameleons, Lydia Lunch will play here. Also the Beatles, Ian Curtis the original Pretenders…. And Ray Condo will open a disco.”

• Platoon “treats the case of humankind subjected to endless days of duress, with daily doses of death a graphic reminder of its eventuality.”

• MPP excoriates King Kong Lives, calling those responsible “moneygrubbing buncha dips!”

Angel >> Boozing in space Hard-working astronauts may finally be able to reward themselves with a well-earned drink after a long day of spacewalking. Pressure is mounting on Russian and American space authorities to rescind a five-year-old ban on alcohol aboard the International Space Station, a move that would be applauded by experts in space medicine. Citing booze’s relaxing and restorative qualities, Russian experts especially believe that there is no harm in allowing ISS crew a wee snort—about 50 ml—of wine or cognac a day. Until it was decommissioned in 2001, Russian cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station were known to fire small quantities of alcohol into their mouths from a syringe. When the ISS was built with American and European collaboration, however, teetotalling was enforced.
Insect >> Lotto ticket addiction Following the suicide last August of 62-year-old André Baril of Chambly, the provincial coroner issued a warning this week about compulsive lotto ticket buyers. Baril had won big playing Banco, raking in over $25,000. But he was soon ruined by burning through his winnings and his life savings, spending up to $500 a week on the cards. Quebec coroner Jean-François Dorval recommended Loto Québec train dep owners to recognize the signs of a compulsive gambler and to urge the owners to stop selling tickets to people they recognize as compulsive, although that’s been dismissed as impractical.