Quote of the week:

"If there's one thing that pisses me off, it's that guys are only clients when they're with a whore, but a whore is a whore forever." - former prostitute and author of the new novel Pute de rue Roxanne Nadeau, in Tuesday's Journal de Montréal.

Gay Games in peril

Montreal's biggest sporting event since the 1976 Olympics may wind up a lot smaller than originally planned, thanks to a looming budget and vision crisis. Organizing the 2006 Gay Games, which Montreal won the opportunity to host two years ago, has been a headache ever since it was revealed that last year's Sydney games ran an unexpected $1-million deficit. Now, the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is at serious odds with Montreal 2006, the games' organizing committee. At issue, says Montreal 2006 co-president and 1992 Olympic gold medallist swimmer Mark Tewksbury, is the licensing agreement that would dictate "the size, scope, number of participants, the budget and [financial] control" of the games.

"Our winning bid envisioned 24,000 participants and a $20-million budget," Tewksbury says. After Sydney, however, he says that "the Federation changed course. They said they want 10,000 participants and a $10-million budget. But with two years into the organizing process, it's not quite as simple as that."

Tewksbury says the minimum number of participants needed in order to break even is 15,540. Scaling back would work against the bottom line anyway: participants have to pay $275 per head to enter the games and pay for their own accommodations. "The operating budget depends on the number of participants," says Tewksbury.

If Montreal 2006 and the FGG don't come to an agreement by Nov. 7, he says, "We'll have to entertain Plan B, which is to host the games without the Gay Games banner. But I want to stress that this is all just exploratory." » Patrick Lejtenyi

Former Laval guy eyes papacy

When the Polish pontiff is no more, a purple cross will shine on Mount Royal and cardinals will hunker down in Rome, only emerging when white smoke blows over Vatican City. When the 134 voting cardinals come out from the conclave, there's a good chance the top job of the world's most popular religion could go to a Cuban who learned his religious ways in our parts.

Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, 67, Bishop of Havana, ranks as the second likeliest to slip into the job, with odds at 4-1 on becoming the next Pope, according to Internet gambling site www.paddypower.com. Other top papabili include the Italian Dionigi Tettamanzi, 69, listed at 2-1, and former frontrunner Francis Arinze, 70, of Nigeria, who has dropped to 6-1.

When Castro took power in 1959, Ortega y Alamino was one of 30 Cubans who came to do a four-year theology course among the brothers of the Foreign Mission Fathers of Quebec. Roland Neuville, Superior General of the Mission, studied for three years with the Cuban, who lived in Pont Viau until 1964. "I knew him well. He's kind, warm, intelligent, has a good sense of humour and gift for languages."

Neuville says that Ortega y Alamino would fit the papal mould as a second consecutive pope from a communist country. "I think he has all the qualities to do it," says Neuville. "He suffered under communism but he's also been able to relate to the authorities." » Kristian Gravenor

FRAPRU turns 25

Montreal's housing crisis didn't start a couple of years ago on the Plateau. The city, in fact, has a long history of landlord-tenant disputes, mass evictions and lack of affordable housing. Social housing advocate group FRAPRU, which celebrates its silver anniversary this week, has been one of the noisiest witnesses to the vagaries of the rental market.

"We want to celebrate our 25 years, but also to let people know that the struggle continues," says FRAPRU's coordinator François Saillant, himself a 24-and-a-half-year veteran. "Over the years we've done hundreds of actions, office occupations and the like, but the fight is far from done."

Indeed not. Saillant is worried that the Charest government's plan to re-engineer Quebec involves sharp cuts to social housing programs and construction, something that he says is already lacking in the province. If his fears are realized, this could mark another blow to the movement that suffered so much when the federal government pulled out of the social housing business in 1994.

Still, if cuts are coming, Saillant vows that he and FRAPRU will be there to fight them. "I do this because I like it," he says. "The work is extremely important. It highlights some of the glaring contradictions in our society."

FRAPRU will party at l'Alizé (900 Ontario E.), on Thursday, Oct. 23, with four musical acts, all for free. They will also be launching a journal detailing both the history of housing crises in Montreal and the campaigns the group has fought. » Patrick Lejtenyi

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

10 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Oct. 21-Oct. 28, 1993

On the cover: Johnny Depp, showing his short Stuff at the International Festival of New Cinema and Video. Co-directed by Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes, the piece is an "experimental ride" through the home of former Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. "I guess I feel like a musician more than I feel like an actor. I just get along better with musicians than anybody else," Depp says.

• In anticipation of the upcoming federal elections, the Mirror assesses party leaders' personality types based on Church of the SubGenius' Three Stooges yardstick. Kim Campbell is a Moe, Lucien Bouchard Curly, and Jean Chrétien and Preston Manning are Larrys. NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin is a "Curly acting like a Moe."

• Melvins drummer Dale Crover reveals (sarcastically) his indignation over getting left in the dust of fellow Aberdeen, Washington, native sons Nirvana. "We certainly aren't getting any royalty cheques for inventing the Seattle grunge sound," he says. He overcame his ire by inviting Kurt Cobain to produce some tracks on their album Houdini.

Angel >> Sensible Canadian drug programs on the street A group of heroin addicts in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver will be given free drugs early next year in a study aimed at getting addicts off the street and into a setting where they can shoot up safely. Based on treatment programs in Europe, the study will follow the addicts over two years. They'll be given free heroin for the first year, to be ingested in a clinic under supervision, and in the second year they'll be weaned off and given counselling. Results from a similar Swiss study show a high success level in treatment, decrease in street drug use and drop in crime rates.
Insect >> Ridiculous Canadian drug policy in Parliament The much-celebrated pot decriminalization bill looks like it won't be passed after all, even though 60 per cent of Canadians want relaxed pot laws. Parliament will probably be adjourning next month before the Liberal leadership convention and therefore won't get to it before they do. PM-in-waiting Paul Martin is seen as more keen to patch up relations with the U.S. than on supporting the bill, now languishing in Parliamentary-committee-land. Canadians will probably have to wait some more before the government gets serious about adopting a somewhat realistic stance on recreational pot.