Quote of the week:

"Jean Charest will not be able to go anywhere in this province unless he withdraws these anti-labour laws." - Union executive Arthur Sanborn, while storming Ste-Justine Hospital to protest the provincial government's re-organization of labour laws, in Tuesday's Gazette

T-word controversy

Three times since 1998, the artist duo Action terroriste socialement acceptable (ATSA) has erected makeshift refugee camps in Berri Square with army tents and enlisted the boys and girls in green to dish out hot food to the city's homeless in an event called L'État d'urgence. But not any more. After last year's event, the army backed out of the project, leaving ATSA scrambling to find sponsors who could fill the void left behind. Annie Roy, who founded ATSA with Pierre Allard, says that when she pressed the military for an explanation, they told her it was because of the "T" in the name of her organization. She says the reasoning left her flabbergasted.

"When we did the same event with the army in February 2002, just a few months after Sept. 11, no one in the press was bitching about our name," she says. "We're actually re-appropriating that word in order to better fight it, as well as to point the finger at legal, everyday terrorism, like environmental degradation and poverty, which engenders so much human misery." She suspects that the army just didn't want to commit to a yearly event that has the potential to branch out to cities around the country.

A Canadian Forces spokesman couldn't say whether the T-word was the reason, although he acknowledged it was possible, and also said prior military commitments took precedence.

The city and private partners have stepped in, and the event will go ahead as a Red Cross-Red Crescent camp instead. It lasts from Friday, Dec. 5 until Dec. 8. Food, expositions, films and music are on the agenda. For more info, visit www.atsa.qc.ca. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Dans la rue turns 15

It was the little street kid outreach organization that could. Le Bon Dieu dans la rue, founded by Father Emmett "Pops" Johns 15 years ago, has grown significantly since its humble, one-van origins. With a lot of hard work, a lot of fundraising and a lot of heart, Dans la rue has grown into one of the highest profile and widely praised charities in the city. And they're not slowing down, even though Pops turned 75 this year.

"We started with nothing," says Dans la rue's executive director Toni Cochand. "Pops had to borrow $10,000 to buy his first van. We rely heavily on the kindness of strangers. All our food bags come from donations, and that's the challenge: to make sure we keep people helping us."

Dans la rue now runs Chez Pops, a day centre on Ontario; the Bunker, a temporary shelter, and continues doing the rounds in the trademark white van throughout the city five nights a week. They offer a range of services, including work training, counselling, workshops, scholarship funds and a sympathetic ear. With a staff now 60 strong, they still rely heavily on the time and effort of over 100 volunteers. Cochand says the volunteers, who often offer specialized services, are needed because the organization deals with a variety of different problems. "Most people don't realize that, with these kids, it's not just one problem," she says.

Dans la rue's fundraising campaign is about to get into full swing. To find out how to help, visit www.danslarue.com or call 526-5222. » Patrick Lejtenyi

7-Up suit

A passenger distraught that he was brought a Sprite instead of a 7-Up on a flight from Montreal to Ottawa on August 14, 2000, hopes to score over a half-million dollars from Air Canada for the foul-up later this month. Michel Thibodeau, a computer guy at the House of Commons, is miffed that the stewardess couldn't figure out his simple request in French.

"On top of that, they called the Ottawa police on me. When I landed, they questioned me," says Thibodeau. "But I wasn't irate, I wasn't raising my voice. They let me go right away."

Thibodeau, who is asking for $25,000 in general damages and $500,000 in punitive and exemplary damages, has seen his requests delayed as Air Canada was allowed immunity from suit temporarily while rearranging its near bankrupt finances.

"It was hard. Newspapers were denouncing me, open-line shows too, and people were phoning me up and threatening me, but a few MPs gave me support, as did the Commissioner of Official Languages," Thibodeau says. "Unfortunately, they didn't offer me a lawyer, so I'm going to represent myself."

Thibodeau's also hoping to change the system in which unilingual Air Canada workers can maintain their seniority over bilingual counterparts. "They've had that problem for 30 years," he says. His next date at federal court is December 20, when he'll try to stop the stalling tactics practiced thus far by Canada's airline. » Kristian Gravenor

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

18 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Nov. 28-Dec. 10, 1985

On the cover: David Fennario, whose play Joe Beef: A History of Montreal, is opening at Verdun's Black Rock Theatre. He says he turned his back on the Centaur Theatre because it was really a "middle-class thing... and I didn't fit in. I became a socialist before I became a writer. This is something I did to pay my rent."

• The upcoming provincial election inspires a Mirror editorial office pool on voter turn-out. Estimates range from 34 per cent to the mid-60s. One writer bets turnout will be around 80, largely on the strength of three small lefty parties and voter apathy. No money is involved.

• The Mirror reviews anti-apartheid album Sun City, believing the title track is "destined to become a classic," based purely on its songwriting strengths.

• "How could a disgusting tub of lard from deepest, darkest post-industrial Quebec re-enacting the Faustian double-feature obsession with Elvis, the last ‘King of the Velveeta-coated quest for immortality,' fail to entertain?" writes Michelle Tardif of Elvis Gratton.

Angel >> Liberal MP Andy Scott The Fredericton MP is back at work after having spent a week in hospital recovering from a savage beating from one of his constituents. The reason for the attack? He supported same-sex marriage. His alleged assaulter is described as having "Christian values" and not believing in homosexuality. Scott, a former solicitor-general who headed the Commons committee that endorsed same-sex unions and cast the tie-breaking vote in the committee's largely symbolic acceptance of the Ontario ruling that allowed gay marriages, said that the attack has not changed his opinions on the subject, although he acknowledged there will always be fundamental opposition to it.
Insect >> Suds-unfriendly low-carb diets The recent trend of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets has changed the way a lot of people are eating and drinking, but it is not without its detractors. For one thing, the diets have vilified beer. A 12-ounce bottle of regular beer contains fewer calories (140) than a similar glass of orange juice. Not that many people know that: the country's brewers released a survey this week that notes that nine out of 10 Canadians have seriously inflated notions of beer's calorie count, and that beer's reputation is getting tarnished. Beer's medical benefits are too numerous to be listed here, and blaming growing waistlines on drinking it gives pizza, chips and poutine too easy a ride.