Quote of the week

“We had nothing to hide. They came to get people from Quebec.” —Danie Royer of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, accusing Toronto police of profiling Quebecers at last weekend’s G20. Of the 450 Quebec protesters who travelled to Toronto, only 125 had returned by press time.

Villeray
hearts Inuit

Rarely does an abandoned Chinese hospital no one’s cared about for a decade incite this much commotion. The proposed plan to convert the building into a hospital for Inuit patients from northern Quebec has got everyone in Villeray/St-Michel/Parc Ex chattering, particularly after some racist literature describing the Inuit as drug addicts and alcoholics was slipped in residents’ mailboxes in early June.

“When I received that horrible little red piece of paper, I was [scandalized],” says Geneviève Beaudet, a Villeray resident whose home faces the hospital. Since then, she says some residents’ knee-jerk scaremongering has revealed a more deep-seated xenophobia that Beaudet and a new neighbourhood committee hope to dispel. “If we live here, it’s because we like [the multiculturalism].”

The pro-hospital group is now circulating a petition that makes four suggestions, including creating a cultural space in the hospital to help integrate the Inuit and the neighbourhood, as well as having a resident on the planning committee to voice neighbours’ concerns.

The hospital would cater to the medical needs of Nunavik’s sick and suffering who can’t get specialized care in the north.

The committee’s first meeting is Saturday, July 3 at 10 a.m. at 660 Villeray. Call (514) 509-0829 to RSVP.

TRACEY LINDEMAN

Oxygène
for life!

The saga over the fate of Oxygène Park—essentially a little strip of alleyway on Hutchison just above Prince Arthur that was transformed into a neighbourhood park some 20 years ago by area residents—soldiers on. Locals continue seeking solutions to save it from being turned into condominiums.

“We’ve really stepped up our campaign in recent weeks,” confirms Milton Park resident and major O-Park supporter Norman Nawrocki. “We’re gathering more letters and signatures of support from a plethora of different folk and at least one local citizen group has pledged to help buy and preserve Parc Oxygène for the community.”

Nevertheless, given that the property is arguably worth a few hundred thousand bucks, residents are going to need more supporters than that if they realistically intend to preserve their precious green space through private donations. “Ideally we want the city to take action but we’re still waiting for a response from them,” adds Nawrocki. “They’re investigating all kinds of options but the future of our park remains in limbo. The wheels of City Hall turn slowly.”

The next Oxygène Park “Love-In,” taking place Sunday, July 11, will be a Theatre in the Park affair. Any budding thespians who’d like to participate should contact Nawrocki via facebook.com/parcoxygène.

CHRIS BARRY

Dammed
if you do

“Whether you’ve ever seen the Romaine River or not, you’re paying for it,” says Chris Scott of Alliance Romaine. The group opposes the hydroelectric project on Quebec’s North Shore due to its forecast environmental impact, poor consultation process and sketchy political handling.

“The price tag is officially $8-billion,” he says. “When the government is telling us we may have to pay to go to the doctor, when they’re hiking hydro rates, this is obviously an ideological choice.”

To raise awareness about the project, its problems and its less costly alternatives, 10 members of Alliance Romaine climbed into a canoe this morning (Thursday) to travel to the Romaine shores. On July 8, they’ll meet with like-minded environmental groups in nearby Sept Iles—as well as natives from the Innu communities that live by and depend on the river—to put together an action plan. Although work on the land is already underway, actual dam construction won’t begin until next year, Scott says, allowing time to scale the project down, at the very least.

“We do think there’s a chance that this project can actually be halted,” he says.

For more details, and to sign a petition, go to allianceromaine.wordpress.com.

LORRAINE CARPENTER

Postering
solution

Pollution or promotion? This has been the crux of the dispute between the city, which has cracked down on public postering especially hard this year, and the art community that just wants to advertise.

Recent court decisions have sent mixed messages on the issue. The Quebec Superior Court ruled in favour of la Sala Rossa, while also setting a precedent that could see $2,000 postering fines transferred from the venues to the promoters, be they established production companies or small-time bands. But Canada’s Supreme Court also ruled that municipalities may regulate but not prohibit postering.

According to Peter Burton, a member of COLLE (la Coalition pour la libre expression) and executive director of the Suoni per il Popolo festival, the city has proposed placing 700 rubber “collars” around lampposts, allowing for cleaner and more easily removable postering surfaces. Postering coalitions will discuss the proposal on Monday, July 5 at Cagibi (5490 St-Laurent), at 6:30 p.m.

“We’re trying to line up the postering community behind a solution and hopefully put political pressure on the city to do something,” Burton says. “Because the city promotes itself as a global cultural centre and takes a lot of credit for projects that do well, we feel their policies should support cultural activity rather than hinder it.”

LORRAINE CARPENTER

Rear-view mirror

16 YEARS AGO - JUNE 30–JULY 7, 1994

On the cover: An illustration, including the Mirror’s logo, for the “Jazz Fest Survival Guide.” One article solicits the opinions of local music bigwigs on the fest. Says radio host Katie Malloch: “It’s a bit like Disneyland, but all you have to do is step outside the barrier and you’re back in the city.” Bass player Charlie Biddle: “I hear them saying that all kinds of music is jazz. That’s bullshit.” Ripcordz singer/guitarist Paul Gott: “It’s a corporate art function of the worst possible kind.” Flautist Dave Gossage: “As a musician I can’t complain.”

• Protesting the city’s decision to cancel Carifête, a coalition of “various groups” is denouncing the move as “nothing short of racism,” according to the Mirror.

• While making their documentary Climate for Murder for the CBC on gay murders in Montreal, filmmakers Albert Nerenberg and Patricia Bush encountered strong opposition from local gay activists. “There is good reason for mistrust,” says gay Concordia film studies prof Tom Waugh. “What has the CBC ever done for us?”

Angel >>Neo-Rhino Party Long live the Neo-Rhinos! The satirical federal party, a descendant of the 20th century Rhinos (revived by François Gourd of Entartistes fame), nearly lost their status this week but managed to attract enough new blood to placate electoral officials in Ottawa. By far the most entertaining bunch in the drab national political scene, the Neo-Rhinos dream of abolishing the military, tax havens and the entire Canadian government to establish sovereign provinces and territories including “Cubec,” a union of Cuba and Quebec. Let’s hope they bring some spark to the next mind-numbing re-election of a minority government.

Insect >> .xxx The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the .xxx top level domain name suffix for adult websites last week, after 10 years of wrangling. This created an odd opposition alliance between the Christian right—who don’t want any kind of mainstreaming of porn, regardless of what happens in the real world—and pornographers and civil libertarians, who fear the suffix will lead to increased regulation, scrutiny and censorship. Civil libertarians also fear that a conservative legislature, particularly in the U.S., will shunt anything it deems pornographic into the .xxx ghetto, from vintage erotica sites to gay content. Another case of why bother?