by PATRICK LEJTENYI

Outremont happens to be the riding with the most number of independent candidates in the country, at four. Among them are former squeegee punk, junkie and star of the Daniel Cross documentary S.P.I.T. (Squeegee Punks in Traffic) Eric “Roach” Denis, who hopes to bring the homeless issue and poverty to the forefront of the debate; former Marijuana Party stalwart Yan Lacombe; pro-life Catholic Régent Millette; and, the youngest of the bunch, at 22, Xavier Rochon, currently a UdeM student and wannabe history teacher, who wants a more participatory and direct democracy.

• Independents notwithstanding, Jean Lapierre looks like he’ll be holding onto his Outremont seat, however narrowly. Certainly there is no shortage of people who want him out. But it won’t be easy for Paul Martin’s Quebec lieutenant: a recent poll showed him only two percentage points ahead of the Bloc’s Jacques Léonard, but the strong presence of the NDP, whose colourful and gabby candidate Léo-Paul Lauzon can count on 17 per cent support, could very well split the lefty vote. Plus, the fact that there are strong Italian, Greek and Jewish communities in the riding who usually don’t vote for separatists is only good news for the Grits—who need all the good news they can find in Quebec, or anywhere else.

• Still confused about all this democracy business? Check out www.voteforachange.ca. Following the lead of American organization MoveOn.org, a group of young, politically-motivated Canadians from Toronto’s Centre for Social Justice created the site as a “nation-wide voter education” kind of deal. It’s a progressive-minded, left-leaning Web site that raises questions about social justice and a “sustainable and inclusive Canada,” meaning it’s way pro-NDP.

• For the second federal election running, a nervous-looking nebbish from Ontario who calls himself Yvon Tripper (say it out loud and see if you get the joke) is pushing for what he calls “association-sovereignty of Quebec” through his Bloc Québécois de l’Ontario Web site (www.blocquebecois.ca). The new Bloc encourages the Québécisation of Ontario—meaning it should become more like Quebec and more French—by Québécois voters joining forces with their Ontariois (his word) cousins and make their own block (or bloc). While not running in the actual election, he has the best party slogan: “Our Québec includes Ontario!”

• The Marijuana Party of Canada is indeed running some candidates in the federal election, but its profile is relatively low as compared to the 2000 and 2004 elections. In Quebec, it’s only fielding five candidates. There are several reasons, says MPC candidate for Rosemont-Petite-Patrie Hugo St-Onge. The first, and perhaps most important, being that since the federal Liberals announced they’d decriminalize marijuana a few years ago, most people with a pot-heavy agenda think decrim is on its way regardless. Another is what St-Onge calls a crisis of legitimacy: to get the issue taken seriously, Vancouver’s self-styled “Prince of pot,” Marc Emery, is endorsing Svend Robinson’s political resurrection in Vancouver Centre, and the Marijuana Party’s founder, Marc-Boris St-Maurice, jumped ship to the Liberals last year. The new leader, Blair T. Longley, hasn’t been able to draw recruits for a winter election and, to top it all off, says St-Onge, the party’s broke.

• Conservatives deny it, but famed abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler says the party’s social stance indicates they will restrict women’s rights to choice. The party, he told a press conference earlier this week, is “chock full of people who are violently opposed to the rights of abortion,” and will raise the issue in the next Parliament.

• On Monday, the National Post ran an article on Stephen Harper being a Seinfeld fan, and published quotes from the show that could be applied to his campaign. Election Notebook suggests another Seinfeld-ian topic: which leader would last longest as Master of His Domain? Probably Paul Martin, given his 68-year-old libido. First out? Harper. Anyone as uptight as he is about sex is probably having a hard time keeping his hands out of his pants.