Quote of the week:

"This is a flagrant defeat and very hard for me to swallow. I wasn't expecting this." - former Montreal mayor and adéquiste Pierre Bourque, on finishing a distant third in his east-end riding of Bourget

Taxman threatens charities

Every day, the Chez mes amis restaurant in NDG provides 120 cheap meals to diners and another 40 to needy homes. But Tracy Dorion's seven-year-old restaurant could close its doors, thanks to complicated new provincial tax rules.

"We are in a lot of trouble," says founder Dorion, "and it has to do with Bill 150 and the reallocation of taxes. We've always been exempt but for some reason things have changed around this year and the result is we received a tax bill in the amount of over $8,000."

The restaurant is a registered charity for which donors can receive tax receipts, but it is not associated with the powerful Centraide fund, which can often help charities out in such binds. Bill 150, passed in 2000, forced municipalities to rearrange tax rates, leading to tax problems at such non-profit groups as the province's Legion Halls, and more recently led bailiffs to seize the contents of a food bank in Villeray.

"When they seized that food bank, I called to see if there was something we could do. I was made aware to be careful because we're going to get it too," says Dorion. "I can't imagine how many charities are going to be closing down over this."

Bureaucrats have advised Dorion to reapply for charitable status, an effort that will require a nine-month wait and won't exempt her from her current bill. Chez mes amis welcomes support at 482-2210. » Kristian Gravenor

Witnesses to war

The actual large-scale shooting war in Iraq may be just about over, but its effects, and the mess it left in its wake, will be felt for years. Speaking tonight, Thursday, at the Centre St-Pierre (1205 de la Visitation, metro Beaudry) will be Lisa Ndejuru and Zehira Houfani, two of the human shields from the Iraq Peace Team (IPT) who witnessed the destructive force of the American and British bombardments first-hand. Ndejuru, who went to Iraq at the end of January, and Houfani, who went at the beginning of March, both returned to Montreal recently and will talk about their experiences and what they saw before and during the bombing campaign.

"They left Baghdad a few days before the Americans got there," says Mary Foster, an IPT organizer and former human shield. Foster says that the team's daily visits to the bombing sites, the trips to the hospitals and the attempts to follow up with families of those injured or killed has had a disturbing and draining effect on them.

"Zehira is incredibly angry, and Lisa is still shaking and is often sick to her stomach," Foster says. "Their talk should be very gripping."

Foster says all the Quebec members of the IPT are out of Iraq, and only six internationals remain in the country. As for the organization's future, she says that when the rest of the members return, they will re-assess, regroup and "figure out what to do next." » Patrick Lejtenyi

Medical foreign policy bugs students

If you get the HIV bug in Canada, health authorities will offer you nifty antiviral treatments, but when it comes to those afflicted elsewhere, our government does nothing, something that student groups across the country are now protesting.

"Every single last penny Canada gives to address the HIV epidemic is geared towards prevention rather than treatment. We think that's hideously wrong," says Faiz Ahmad, coordinator of the McGill International Health Initiative. The 19-year-old group, formerly known as the Osler Medical Aid Foundation, is lobbying the federal government to change its aid policy.

"The policy of ‘treatment in rich countries, prevention in poor countries' is wrong on an ethical level. Every time you deny somebody HIV treatment, you are deciding that person should die from HIV and AIDS. That's the unspoken truth behind those words," says Ahmad. "The dogma is that HIV treatment is too expensive and complicated and won't work where there's not enough health infrastructure. But if you look at the medical literature and the few people who have had the guts to try treatment programs in the Third World, they've found that HIV has slowed down exactly as it has in a rich country."

The group has written a letter urging the Canadian government to contribute to HIV treatment overseas and the note has been endorsed by student unions representing 200,000 students across the country. Those who'd like to help urge the authorities to review their HIV aid policy are encouraged to e-mail mihi@po-box.mcgill.ca. » Kristian Gravenor

Frigo Vert in peril

Le Frigo Vert, Concordia's natural food co-op, has fallen on some hard times and will soon have to leave its location at 2130 Mackay. The owner is turning the building's top two floors into luxury apartments, and according to Zoe Cousineau, one of the group's coordinators, "The landlord's made it clear that he wants us out."

Presently subletting the space from the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), with whom they've shared the storefront locale for the past six years, Frigo brass thought they were safe under their lease until next April. But because QPRIG will be moving soon, Frigo could be out on the street. Downtown storefront locations are beyond the group's means but, they say, they need to stay in the area in order to continue supplying the student body, their main clientele. Along with reasonably priced natural foods and products, they offer regular free workshops, from make-your-own-clothes-with-recycled-material to home gynaecology.

The group is looking for donations and calling out to anyone with pertinent info about available spaces, as well as to any other groups who may be looking to share a downtown locale. This Friday they are holding a fundraiser lunch at the Mackay location, starting at noon. You can contact le Frigo Vert at 848-7586 or lvf@cam.org. » Alexandra Spunt

Rear view

11 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK

Cover: International clown-mime-movement specialist René Bazinet talks about joining the Cirque du Soleil for the premiere of Saltimbanco. "[Touring Japan] was incredible for a street artist who's used to getting harassed by the cops... or smashed over the head with a chain by a fire-eater who's upset because you've taken his crowd!" he tells Gaëtan Charlebois.

• The city waters down its anti-apartheid policy, only 15 months after adopting it. "It's nice to show off Nelson Mandela when he comes to Montreal, but when they decide to lift sanctions, they don't even contact the local representatives of the African National Congress," complains city councillor Sam Boskey.

• Filmmaker satirists Steve Gallucio, Albert Nerenberg and Heidi Coleman release Réaction Québec, a spoof documentary about four very serious French-language vigilantes on the prowl to bust language law offenders.

• Someone offers a "Bright 6 1/2, 2 balconies, hardwood floor, fridge/stove, Laurier/Esplanade $600" in the classifieds.

Angel >> Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility The environmental, anti-nuclear watchdog group will be keeping a close eye on the Quebec Liberals in the coming years for promises they made while on the campaign trail. While the group applauded the Liberals' pledge to conduct an "independent, scientific inquiry" into energy development in Quebec, specifically regarding the future of the Gentilly-2 nuclear reactor, they are calling for the 20-year-old plant's eventual closing. Extending its life would be too costly, they say (Hydro-Québec, which runs the reactor, wants close to $1-billion to refit it, although the CCNR expects it will cost much more, based on past experience), and too dangerous.
Insect >> UXO Unexploded ordnance is strewn across Iraq, from dud cluster bomblets dropped by coalition aircraft - between five and 10 per cent don't explode when they're supposed to - to land mines to rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), shells and munitions abandoned by fleeing Iraqi soldiers. These can have devastating long-term consequences for civilians, especially children, who come into contact with what look like otherwise harmless objects. While the situation in Iraq isn't as bad as it is in Afghanistan, Cambodia or Laos, there is a massive clean-up needed, and fast.