September

* Swissair Flight 111 goes down 13 kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia near Peggy's Cove. All indications suggest the plane went into a freefall in its final minutes, and all 229 people aboard are pronounced dead. Only one body is recovered intact.

* As the Toronto International Film Festival comes to a close, Quebec Culture Minister Louise Beaudoin announces an inquiry into the internal operation of the World Film Festival. Beaudoin cites her concern at the World's lack of stature in comparison to the International. The World Fest had been savaged by Montreal critics, who ridiculed the decision to give neophyte Sandra Bullock a "Career Excellence" award.

* Documents incriminating the Prime Ministers' Office in the APEC pepper spray controversy are put on the Internet. The documents strongly suggest that the PMO wanted demonstrators out of Indonesian president Suharto's sight "at all cost,"though they do not implicate Prime Minister Chrétien directly in the crackdown.

* The city's much-loathed Green Onions--the ones who hand out the parking tickets--are caught red-handed: an investigation reveals they have been handing out VIP stickers to their families and friends, allowing them to park anywhere, anytime. A total of 84 Green Onions are suspended; the rest suffer the increasingly bitter wrath of Montreal motorists, as reports of verbal abuse against them rise dramatically.

* After a two-year legal battle with the city, well-known Montreal sex shop Boutique Séduction closes up shop. Club Sexe, the sex shop located across the street, jumps for joy.

* Montreal's municipal election campaign officially begins. An informal Mirror survey shows that most Montrealers don't know who the candidates are and that 93 per cent can't even name their city councillor.

* In an effort to bolster their chances, mayoral hopefuls Jacques Duchesneau and Jean Doré spend thousands of dollars commissioning catchy jingles for their campaigns. The tactic falls flat.

* Six Health Canada scientists go public with their complaints that multinational chemical giant Monsanto has been pressuring them to approve Bovine Growth Hormone, or BGH, for use on Canadian farms without proper clinical testing.

* Air Canada's 2,100 pilots go on strike, demanding mo' money. The company loses $13 million for every day of the three-week strike.

* NDP Leader Alexa McDonough announces that her party will pursue closer ties with small- and medium-sized businesses, adding that "Globalization is not by definition some kind of disaster." She is roundly criticized by Buzz Hargrove of the Canadian Auto Workers and Bob White of the Canadian Labour Congress, as well as MP Svend Robinson.

* After "retiring" from political activism, gay-rights advocate Michael Hendricks takes up the fight once more when he and his partner, René LeBoeuf, take the government to court in an effort to obtain the right to be legally married.

* In protest against the city's drive to shepherd punks out of Place Pasteur (at St-Denis and Ste-Catherine), Montreal's anarchists stage a "festival for everyone." Only 50 show up.

* L'Androgyne, Montreal's preeminent queer bookstore, celebrates its 25th anniversary.

* The Ice Storm baby boom that wasn't: nine months after the Great Ice Storm of 1998, maternity wards are not flooded with expecting moms ready to pop.

* Viagra, the chubby-enducing drug for aging men who can't get it up anymore, starts showing up on the London rave scene--the perfect complement to ecstasy.

* Most bizarre death of the year: A Winnipeg man died in his hotel room after one of his callouses, which he had bitten off his own foot, got lodged in his throat.

* The gigantic Cream festival of urban and electronic music brings a truckload of talent to town. Highlights include a bone-shatteringly loud set from drum & bass signifier Grooverider.

* The Stomp store gets burglarized. Police show negligible interest in rectifying the situation. Despite being insured, Stomp honchos are ska'd for life.

* The Lavilla brothers' film Hang the DJ opens. A back-and-forth look at both house and hip hop, it nicely defines the distinction between the two types. of turntablism... even if that's not really what they meant to do.

* Former Dead Kennedy Jello Biafra comes to Concordia for three hours of whining, scolding and lecturing. Good thing he's so damn funny.