BIG SMOKES CENTENNIAL: Demonstrators led by Heidi Rathjen of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control (that’s her standing behind the Grim Reaper) say Happy Birthday to Imperial Tobacco outside its offices last Friday afternoon. No gifts for the 100-year-old company, just reminders of the tens of thousands of families affected by smokingrelated deaths annually. PHOTO BY WILL LEW

Quote of the week

“I’m going to do more time than many violent, repeat offenders.” —Marc Emery, after making a deal with U.S. prosecutors to serve five years in custody on a 10-year sentence in Canada, for selling marijuana seeds online. As part of the deal, Emery’s two co-accused will do no time.

Just say no to Bill C-3

Opponents of the federal government’s proposed security certificate law, Bill C-3, gear up this week for a final, last-ditch effort to prevent it from passing in Parliament.

Two “National Days of Action” are planned for Jan. 25 and 26. Here in Montreal, the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui and their allies are organizing a “massive call-in” on Friday, Jan. 25. Continuing their ongoing pressure campaign, they’re urging the public to phone their MPs, particularly Liberals and Conservatives, to let them know what they think.

Things culminate with a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court building in Ottawa (301 Wellington) on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 12:15 p.m.

While demonstrators march outside, former security certificate detainee Charkaoui will be before the court challenging the alleged destruction of evidence in his case by CSIS.

“CSIS is engaged in destroying evidence, just like their colleagues in the CIA who were recently caught destroying records of interviews [with terrorism suspects],” says Mary Foster of the Coalition.

A bus departs for the capital at 8:45 a.m. sharp from Berri-UQÀM metro. To reserve a free seat, or for more info, e-mail justiceforadil@riseup.net or call (514) 848-7583.

Squat for your rights

Although he paid $1 for the CN rail yards in Pointe St-Charles (not including $20 million in decontamination costs), making him the owner of one quarter of the neighbourhood, real estate developer Vincent Chiara is discovering that the local residents aren’t bought cheaply. Having been forced to turf a casino project after opposition from residents, Chiara now faces a group that wants the land reserved for a community centre that would serve the neighbourhood.

The group, La Pointe Libertaire, hopes to accomplish that by squatting. “We don’t have the money or contacts to buy the land,” says organizer Pascal Lebrun. “That’s why we need to occupy it. The community centre is a popular project, and people need it.”

Lebrun says the group hopes popular support might win it permanent rights to the land, on which Chiara now plans to build a shopping centre and upscale condominiums. “We’re working to put pressure on the owner,” says Lebrun. “The land was public before it was privatized [in 1995]. Everyone paid taxes for it, and then it was sold for $1 to a man who will make millions from it.”

The group will hold a meeting to start a media centre for the project today, Thursday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m., at 8655 St-Denis.

by SAMER ELATRASH

Hip hop
vs. sex trafficking

If you’ve ever wondered what Jesus would do to combat the sexual trafficking of minors in Southeast Asia, you’re not alone. The McGill Christian Fellowship and the Impact Church have given a great deal of thought as to what steps the son of God would take, and they have devised a plan that would most certainly meet Mr. Christ’s approval—a fundraising concert featuring some of Montreal’s finest up and coming hip hop acts.

The concert takes place this Friday, Jan. 18 at 8:30 p.m., at les Saints (30 Ste-Catherine W.), for $17 in advance or $20 at the door, and features Nomadic Massive, David Hodges and Bérénice Dauphin. All funds will go to International Justice Mission, an organization made up of multi-national law enforcement and legal professionals who investigate sex trafficking crimes, rescue victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

“Sex trafficking is the third biggest illegal industry right behind illegal arms trading and drug trafficking,” explains Jeremy Jackson, Bible-study leader with the McGill Christian Fellowship. “It’s time to raise more than just awareness.”

For more info, see www.justicejam.ca.

by STEVE ZYLBERGOLD
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Notre-Dame debate rolls on

Mayor Tremblay’s most recent highway project has rankled some residents of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, who oppose city plans to widen a nine-kilometre strip of the neighbourhood into an eight-lane highway. After the city unveiled the plan in November, these residents formed the Coalition pour humaniser la rue Notre-Dame to protest the development, saying it would further pollute the neighborhood and block access to the river.

The coalition has found an ally in City Hall in Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron, who will hold a conference on the topic today, Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. (at 1710 Beaudry). Bergeron says the city may spend up to $3-billion on the project, including the cost of installing a tunnel below the Lachine Canal. “We should build an urban boulevard, not a highway,” he says.

“[The city] wants to do the same thing they did in the 1950s, when they had a dream about highways running through downtown,” he says. “Look around at other cities the size of Montreal. There’s a new urban dream of a green and beautiful city that’s safe.”

Meanwhile, the city is inviting residents to discuss the project on Jan. 21 and 24. For details about these consultations and more, go to www.projetnotredame.qc.ca.

by SAMER ELATRASH

Rear-view mirror

11 YEARS AGO - JAN. 16–23, 1997

On the cover: “Canada’s best countertenor” Daniel Taylor. “There is a sad misconception that countertenor recitals are campy or gay, when in fact the music we sing is among the most serious in the repertoire and the roles we play are heterosexual,” he says.
• Mayor Pierre Bourque’s attempts to fire executive committee members Sammy Forcillo Pierre Goyer over “disloyalty” are tearing Vision Montreal apart, reports the City Haul column.
• “Madonna as Evita is a combination so psychotic it’s truly visionary,” writes columnist Josh Bezonsky.
• “He used to say we were the best band on Earth and now he hates our guts,” says Jesus Lizard’s David Yow, about their former producer Steve Albini.
• “It’s hard work having fun!” says David Fennario, about starring in his one-man show Gargoyles. “I’ll never scream at an actor again.”
• Referring to the Dec. 5, 1996 cover story on water-sports-loving Ashley MacIsaac, letter-writer “I.P. Daily” writes, “Wasn’t it Trudeau who said that the state has no business n the bedrooms (or bathrooms) of the nation?”

Angel >> SUVs in decline. Not only are Detroit’s major automakers phasing out their gas-guzzling atrocities and beginning to introduce fuel-efficient vehicles and alternative sources of energy, but sales of all new cars, trucks and SUVs are steadily declining in this country, according to Statistics Canada. High gas prices, emissions regulations, rebates for going fuel-efficient and competition from foreign manufacturers are among the pragmatic reasons for the auto industry’s evolution. Whether or not social consciousness is a factor, our planet and our lungs are grateful.

Insect >> Cancon on the Internet!? The CRTC recently announced that it will reconsider Internet regulation—after vowing to leave it be in 1999—raising the possibility of Cancon quotas for the WWW. The federal media overlords will release “preliminary thoughts” about Internet content regulation in March, ahead of public consultations. If your preliminary thoughts are “WTF?!”, you’re not alone. Just this week, the CRTC ruled that companies can own only two types of media per market, but preserved the excessive media concentration that already exists. Maybe a Chinese-style lockdown of the Internet will be easier to swallow with a spoonful of CanWest propaganda.