Quote of the week:

"Super, super, super." - F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to CKOI host Marc-Antoine Audette on Monday, who, posing as Jean Chrétien, asked if he could get a job with the organization after he retires this fall. Antoine and partner Sébastien Trudel have prank-called the Pope, Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates.

Quebec to be first
to ban racial profiling

Black youth living in public housing in St-Michel and young Latinos hanging around the Parc metro station - the latest alleged victims of police racial profiling - are slated to live free from future harassment if the Quebec Liberals hold true to their campaign trail promises. Up until now, no Canadian government has defined or banned racial profiling, the practice of police routinely searching, ticketing or harassing people based on their religion or ethnicity. Our provincial government vows to be the first, while under some careful scrutiny by anti-discrimination groups, promises Fo Niemi, director of the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR).

As proof that the problem of racial profiling exists in Montreal, Niemi cites the public housing project at 25th and Robert. "Residents have complained that their children are under constant police harassment and are subject to abusive arrest and searches," says Niemi.

At the Parc metro, darker-toned individuals are apparently being targeted as well. "They're being told to move while white youth aren't being told the same. They're being given tickets for loitering that cost $97 to $115," Niemi says.

He will soon meet with provincial Minister of Citizen Relations and Immigration Michelle Courchesne to discuss the reforms. Niemi says the previous PQ government was "totally dismissive" of the problem of racial profiling.

Niemi says that discussing the problem publicly has helped. "People are more conscious of racial profiling when it happens, they're putting a name to it now." » Kristian Gravenor

Stomp goes to Pot

Ska fans upset about the recent closing of Stomp Records' Latin Quarter store may find some solace when they find a cannabis café there by late September. The city's pot politics braintrust - the provincial Bloc Pot and the federal Marijuana Party - will be opening the space for weed aficionados to meet, spark, smoke and discuss the current state of drug laws, right in the middle of one of the busiest and most tourist-friendly neighbourhoods in the city.

"Historically, the Latin Quarter has been a place to exchange ideas," says the BP's Hugo St-Onge. "But in the past 10, 15 years, it's been focussed on commerce. We want to bring back that atmosphere of uncensored ideas." Being near UQÀM and CÉGEP Vieux-Montréal may help business too.

"Our goal is to have a public, no-attitude space," St-Onge says. "We will use it to advance the cause, where activists can meet and discuss the problems around cannabis laws." He says the café - its working name is the Coffeeshop - will be similar to the Blunt Brothers' one in Vancouver, but "more political."

St-Onge, however, says that no marijuana will be sold in the store. There will be food, drinks, video games, music and special events, but they themselves will not be involved in any transactions - which may help keep the police off their backs.

Not that he's expecting much hassle from authorities. He sent letters to the police, the provincial Minister of Public Security and the media, and expects the public attention will help them in the long run. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Treasure island's
lost booty

A Westmount resident who spent frustrating decades trying to dig up a hidden treasure deep beneath a Nova Scotia island is reportedly ready to sell his stake in the affair. According to Nova Scotia MLA John Chataway, David Tobias of Montreal and his partner Dan Blankenship are ready to give up their efforts to dig up a rumoured buried treasure, which scavengers have been attempting to find since 1795.

"I think they would sell if they had the right offer for the property, but they're not going to give it away," he says. Oak Island, considered by some to be one of the top 10 mysteries of the world, has attracted booty hunters ranging from Dwight Eisenhower to John Wayne, but visitors have been banned from the site since the late '80s. Chataway thinks it could be time to bring tourists to the isle. "We're trying to raise money for a very good business plan for tourism on the island," he says.

Tobias, reached at his home in Westmount, declined to comment on the sale. But his partner reportedly asked $7-million for the treasure island last winter.

Local author Darcy O'Connor, now penning his third book on the Oak Island treasure hunt, believes that the owners won't give up their search. "They're still hanging onto it. They have big plans," he says, but he admits that years of digging for the treasure have made the site a "dog's breakfast." » Kristian Gravenor

Rear view

12 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Aug. 15-Aug. 22, 1991

On the cover: AKA-X, a black-rights activist group, as the Mirror looks into civil disobedience. "Demonstrations, for hundreds of people, are their only political action," says AKA-X member Ariel Deluy.

• A poll asking various prominent Montrealers which movies are most reflective of their personalities reveals the following results: Corey Hart picks One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Expos pitcher Dennis Martinez taps Bull Durham, and Mitsou names "all films with Marilyn Monroe."

• "It's great for all uz old timers," says Motörhead drummer "Philthy" Phil Taylor, referring to metal being back in vogue, as demonstrated by their headlining the Operation Rock 'n' Roll tour. Other bands include Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Dangerous Toys and Metal Church.

• "Double, double toil and trouble" is translated as "On s'donne du troub' en doub'" in Michel Garneau's French version of Macbeth. Reviewer Gaëtan Charlebois promises the play, which winds through Old Montreal with minimal sets and costumes, will be "one of the most interesting theatrical experiences of your life."

Angel >> ATSA's anti-SUV campaign L'Action terroriste socialement acceptable (ATSA), a Montreal non-profit artist-activist organization, will be launching its anti-SUV campaign today, Thursday, Aug. 14, at Ste-Catherine E. and St-Dominique, in front of the Metropolis. Featuring street theatre (where they will launch their "ultra-non-performing vehicle"), handicrafts and education, the group will be denouncing the dangerous, smog-producing "energivores," the industry that produces them and the governments that don't do enough to limit them. On site 24 hours a day until Sunday, the group hopes to take their campaign to other cities across the country next year. Everything except the handicrafts is free.
Insect >> The Missisquoi Bay mess The nasty blue-green algae gunk that's been floating around the Missisquoi Bay (the northern, all-Canadian tip of Lake Champlain) is, scientists believe, not only the result of too many phosphorus deposits - mainly pig shit and fertilizer - but also the lack of organisms that normally eat algae. The situation has become so severe that health warnings have been issued, beaches closed and residents warned not to come into contact with the toxic water. Although Quebec and Vermont have signed an agreement to gradually reduce the amount of phosphorus seeping into the lake by 2016, that is certainly no guarantee that the water will be clean in the forseeable future.