Montreal 2003- 2009

Heritage Montreal
Here is the wonderful  Montreal City Weblog that does 99.9% of our Montreal-focused work for us. It is full of current news and information, along with some excellent links and several years’ worth of weekly archives. The latter make entertaining if discouraging reading as one is reminded how many are recurrent and unresolved topics. Grateful and admiring kudos to blog author Kate McDonnell!
More on Wednesday-Night.com ;
Follow the Turcot Interchange debate: Reconstruction de l’échangeur Turcot ; Excellent video by Patrick Barnard on the Turcot exchange – and the very serious questions it raises.
Save Griffintown and  Committee for the Sustainable Redevelopment of Griffintown 
Tourisme Montréal ; Montreal International

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1 December
Montreal City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to pass a motion calling on the Quebec government to initiate a public enquiry into allegations of corruption in the construction industry. (La Presse)
27 novembre
Marianopolis: Québec donne son accord au projet
(La Presse) Après avoir exigé des changements afin de préserver les vues sur le mont Royal, le gouvernement du Québec a finalement donné son accord à la transformation de l’ancien collège des frères sulpiciens. Sans l’annoncer officiellement lors de la formation de son nouveau comité exécutif, le maire de Montréal a retiré la responsabilité de l’arrondissement historique et naturel du mont Royal des mains de Helen Fotopulos. Tout le dossier de mise en valeur et de protection de la montagne incombe maintenant à Alan DeSousa.
Mayor Tremblay takes charge
(Gazette editorial) Mayor Gérald Tremblay has presented Montrealers with solid evidence that he meant what he said about rebuilding public trust in city hall. His revolutionary appointment yesterday of two opposition councillors to the city executive committee qualifies as a serious start toward better governance.
16 November
Phyllis Lambert, Dinu Bumbaru and Dimitri Roussopoulos, IPAM: Toward a credible model of development for Montreal
The economic, social and ecological challenges to urban development require an open-minded and forward-looking dialogue accessible to all sectors of Montreal society. For these reasons, we have founded the Institut de politiques alternatives de Montréal (IPAM), a non-partisan, think tank made up of researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders who will contribute to urban development in Montréal over the long term.
7 November
Tremblay to reign supreme in Ville Marie borough
When Mayor Gérald Tremblay walks into the public meeting room in the offices of the downtown borough of Ville Marie on Tuesday, Nov. 24, he will be assuming control of the busiest, most visited and visible piece of political real estate in the city of Montreal.

Even the Economist took note of Montreal’s election
In Canada Montreal’s mayor, Gérald Tremblay, narrowly won a third term in office despite allegations that his administration had issued contracts to building companies with Mafia ties. A new civic party grabbed 25% of the vote.
No extension on stimulus cash for Montreal: Feds
(CBC) The federal government has given cities two years to spend stimulus cash on construction projects and says Montreal won’t get an extension as it deals with its current predicament … now that it has suspended building contracts while it cleans up after a scandal involving construction companies, politicians, and the Mafia.
4 November
Adam Daifallah: Montreal needs a leader
(National Post) The contest was so depressing that, for the first time in my life, I considered not voting. In the end, I grit my teeth and cast a ballot for Tremblay, figuring he was the best of the worst and that it was more important to stop Harel from further tarnishing Montreal’s reputation internationally. (In recent weeks, both The Economist and Macleans have devoted significant coverage to the disastrous state of affairs in Montreal.)
Alan Hustak: Too earnest – An historical perspective on the election
Following a bizarre campaign, Gerald Tremblay won his third consecutive term Sunday, the first mayor to do so since Jean Drapeau in 1966. But the comparisons end there. Drapeau won with 95.4 per cent of the popular vote. A majority of those who did vote on Sunday split their ticket. The Mayor lost some of his most experienced right hand men, notably his brother, Marcel Tremblay in Villeray-St. Michel- Park Extension, Michael Prescott in the Plateau Mont-Royal district as well as André Lavallée, in Rosemont, and Diane Lemieux, the star candidate earmarked to run Tremblay’s executive committee, who also went down to defeat in Ahunstic.
Madame la chef de l’opposition
(La Presse) «Dans le contexte actuel, j’ai une responsabilité, lui a-t-elle dit. Je vais assurer la transition.» Elle restera à la tête de Vision Montréal, le temps d’épauler son équipe, mais après, bye-bye ! Pas question de revivre le cauchemar des dernières semaines. «Je ne referai pas ça !» a-t-elle tranché. [More]
2 November
Yves Boisvert: Le faible maire d’une ville affaiblie
Quoi, c’est bien vrai? Tout le pays se lève ce matin et voit que Montréal, frappé par les plus gros scandales des 50 dernières années, a réélu celui qui a présidé à ce dérapage?
Mayoralty also-rans could play a crucial role
(Gazette editorial) After all his talk about transparency and accountability, Tremblay must resist the temptation to revert to business as usual. The test becomes this: What changes will he make to give his own councillors more independence, and to let opposition councillors make their contributions?
1 Novembre
Mayor Gérald Tremblay wins third term
(Gazette) Gérald Tremblay has won a third term as mayor of Montreal, following a six-week municipal election campaign that was one of the most heated and unpredictable in recent memory. Résultats détaillés ; Globe & Mail ; (Radio Canada): Une stupéfiante remontée qui permet à l’équipe de Richard Bergeron de prendre la direction, notamment, de l’arrondissement du Plateau-Mont-Royal, avec Luc Ferrandez comme maire, contre un gros canon du maire Tremblay, Michel Labrecque. – Helen Fotopulos should never have been asked to step down!

Josh Freed: Most vaccines fail to prevent Montreal’s Political Swine Flu
Excuse me, doctor, I’m not feeling well. I have the civic chills, a pounding electoral headache and a general feeling of municipal malaise. I’m indecisive – and sick to my stomach with nausea. In fact, I feel like retching into a brown envelope. I can’t even sleep without getting nightmayors. Tomorrow is election day but it feels more like dejection day. What do you think doctor? Do I have seasonal flu, or swine flu?
Doctor: Neither – it sounds like you’ve got the latest virus to sweep Montreal. It’s called PSF – Political Swine Flu. It’s a virulent epidemic that attacks the body politic of Montrealers. It’s brought on by repeated exposure to dirty city politics, polluted water contracts and contaminated politicians who cough, then laugh right in your face. It rots away at your whole system, just like flesh-eating disease – only it’s cash-eating.
30 October
Le suspense est total pour les élections municipales à Montréal : selon notre dernier sondage Angus Reid-La Presse réalisé les 28 et 29 octobre, les trois principaux candidats à la mairie, Richard Bergeron, Louise Harel et Gérald Tremblay, sont pratiquement à égalité dans les intentions de vote, à deux jours du scrutin. More
29 October
(Maclean’s cover story) Montreal is a disaster
The once-glamorous city is now a corrupt, crumbling, mob-ridden disgrace. What went wrong?
While other cities grapple with garbage collection, snow removal and other humdrum realities of municipal politics, Montreal has, in the past several weeks, become a chaotic and dirty throwback to its bad old days.
27 October
It’s not a great choice, just the only choice
With reservations, The Gazette today endorses Mayor Gérald Tremblay, the least distressing candidate in an unprepossessing field.
25 October
Montréal, métropole de la fraude fiscal
Le mécanisme appliqué depuis près de 10 ans maintenant s’appelle «l’indice de richesse». Revenu Québec a le droit, avec la bénédiction de la Commission d’accès à l’information, de coupler plus d’une soixantaine de fichiers gouvernementaux, des bases de données qui lui permettent de vérifier si vous avez immatriculé une Mercedes tout en déclarant 20 000 $ de revenus annuels. Afin de déterminer si votre train de vie correspond à votre revenu, le fisc a même accès à vos gains à Loto-Québec, à votre compte d’électricité et à votre impôt foncier. Depuis deux ans, Revenu Québec examine même les déclarations de vos locataires, flairant les oublis de revenus locatifs.

24 October

They’re all promising to bring back integrity But mayor offers nothing specific to fight corruption

Montreal’s leading mayoral candidates morphed into crime-fighting martyrs this week as stunning allegations of Mafia infiltration at city hall confirmed the corruption theme as the leitmotif of the municipal election campaign.
23 October
Cleaning up corruption: the wrap
It’s been a long time since corruption has been such a major crossover issue in Quebec municipal and provincial politics. Recent events in the Montreal municipal election campaign and allegations of corruption in roads contracts at the provincial level have pointed to a need for reform. How do we clean up this mess?
20 October
Allegations stain mayoral race in Montreal
(NP) Two weeks before the Nov. 1 vote, Ms. Harel is busy cleaning her own house. On Sunday, she fired her right-hand man, Benoit Labonté, amid reports that he solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from some of the same contractors who landed Mr. Tremblay in trouble. (CBC) Gomery calls for inquiry into municipal corruption – Former head of federal sponsorship inquiry weighs in on Montreal election campaign
15 October
Viewpoint on the challenges facing Montreal as a metropolis
(Montreal Economic Institute) Some ideas to improve Montreal’s economic outlook
Montreal faces enormous difficulties in playing its role as a metropolis because of its disappointing economic performance, its inadequate high school and university graduation rates, the rampant inefficiency of its municipal services, and a critical lack of action in implementing major projects.
6 October
The Metropolitain really, really does not like Louise Harel!
Beryl Wajsman: For too long Quebec politicians who practice the politics of division and discord – of “sang et langue” – wedded to suffocating control-state intervention into our private lives, have been given a free ride by the media. In this issue of The Met – “Dossier: Harel “ – we wanted to examine Louise Harel. She comes out of the background I just described. What does that mean for Montreal. She has made ethics the centerpiece of her campaign, yet in “How Louise spent some public bucks” you will read that her Ministry helped fund her partner’s Palestinian cultural activities and she did not recuse herself. She speaks of respect for cultural communities, yet refused to participate in a proposed CTV debate, saying her English wasn’t good enough. Three days later she was on English radio – alone – for an interview. She talks of respect for individual liberties, yet Jean-Jacques Samson reveals some searing aspects on her love affair with statism in “Louise et l`état.” Finally, Louise in her own words in an exclusive interview with Dan Delmar who did remarkable work on this issue. Daniel Laprès and Alan Hustak`s contributions were invaluable. My friends, welcome to “Dossier:Harel”. You need to read this. You won`t find it anywhere else.
Henry Aubin: Where are Montreal’s leaders?
It’s hard to get good people to run for city hall – here’s why
Many people are voicing dismay over the quality of the mayoral contenders in this fall’s Montreal election. A real hunger exists for a leader of integrity who can bring élan and a sense of direction to this city. Last week, for example, the Board of Trade sponsored a panel discussion on Jean Drapeau, the last mayor who (for all his faults) possessed those qualities. Will we ever see such a mayor again?
22 September
Tremblay annule le contrat des compteurs d’eau
À la suite du dépôt du rapport du Vérificateur général hier soir, le maire de Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, vient d’annoncer l’annulation du contrat des compteurs d’eau attribué en décembre 2007 au consortium GÉNIeau. Le Vérificateur général de la Ville de Montréal, Jacques Bergeron, a découvert des données si troublantes dans l’attribution du contrat des compteurs d’eau qu’il les a transmises à la Sûreté du Québec.
‘We took it for granted’
William Weintraub says that among Montreal journalists in the late ’40s and ’50s, it was a given that city politics were corrupt
11 September
Compteurs d’eau: Tremblay mettra fin au contrat
(Québec) Le controversé contrat des compteurs d’eau de la Ville de Montréal va être annulé. Le maire Gérald Tremblay jettera par-dessus bord cet engagement de 356 millions dès qu’il recevra le rapport du vérificateur général de Montréal, le 21 septembre.
26 August
Talk is cheap? Not for Bush’s local speech
Ex-president could net $150,000; High-profile moderator to be named next week for Queen E event
Comments on this item indicate a high level of unimpressed and considerable ire over the estimated $1million security bill to be paid by the Montreal taxpayer for an invitation-only event.
18 August
Coup de théâtre sur la scène municipale montréalaise: la présidente d’Union Montréal, le parti du maire de Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, Brenda Paris, rejoint Louise Harel et Vision Montréal. More
17 August
Les contraventions pour stationnement illégal coûteront bientôt jusqu’à trois fois plus cher à Montréal, a appris La Presse. L’administration Tremblay imposera en octobre cette augmentation draconienne, qui rapportera 14 millions supplémentaires à la Ville. More
11 August
Mount Royal condo project too large: report
Montreal’s public consultation office has recommended developers scale back a housing project planned for the former campus of Marianopolis College. In a report made public Tuesday, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal said the project is an important one because it’s the first test of the city’s Mount Royal protection policy, adopted last April.
8 August
Delays in Quartier could hurt Tremblay
Poor Gérald Tremblay. The mayor desperately wants to show that the years of immobilisme are past. That a vote for him in the Nov. 1 election is a vote for energy. The Quartier des spectacles – the future heart of Montreal’s entertainment scene – is the centrepiece of this new I-can-get-Montreal-moving-after-all campaign theme.
7 August
(Le Devoir) Dans une missive envoyée il y a quelques jours, la responsable du mont Royal au comité exécutif de la Ville de Montréal, Helen Fotopulos, a adressé une sérieuse mise en garde à Anushree Varma, qui pourfend le projet de transformation du site de l’ancien séminaire de philosophie des sulpiciens du mont Royal en complexe résidentiel de luxe. More

Media coverage of Marianpolis Project

6 August
Beryl Wajsman: A FREER, FAIRER, RICHER MONTRÉAL PLUS LIBRE, PLUS JUSTE, PLUS RICHE
Ethics and transparency? Inform the people of your decisions and leave more than a few hours a month for the public to ask questions. Montreal as an international city attracting world business? Stop the culture wars and make a tax free zone downtown for tourists. Transport? Build a highway and rail link parallel to the 20 through Turcot. Economic development? Cut social engineering and nanny state programs. Get rid of the boroughs. Reduce the size of government like New York and Toronto. And give the savings back in lowered taxes to Montrealers, particularly the small business people who create 80% of our jobs. Urban planning? Develop air rights and stop the empty talk of ‘sustainable development’ in a city with a third of our households below the poverty line. Governance? Talk straight to the people. They are not stupid. Just tired.
Grey defends Harel endorsement
(Westmount Examiner) Grey’s support of Harel is partly motivated by his belief that Gérald Tremblay must be replaced. Grey said Tremblay has been a very weak mayor, and he must take responsibility for the ethical misconduct that has marred his administration. “It’s inconceivable that Montrealers would re-elect such an inept and unfortunate government.” Grey said there are many qualities that make Harel the best candidate for mayor. He said her experience in cabinet attests to her ability to run City Hall [May we remind our friend Julius that Gerald Tremblay not only was an experienced cabinet minister, but has an MBA from Harvard?] and that she holds strong social values, having been “the conscience of the PQ.”
Alan Hustak: Louise Harel and the art of newspeak(The Metropolitain) Now Harel is running for Mayor, and the tables have turned, Early in June, she told Radio Canada’s Simon Durivage that if she’s elected, she will cut the number of boroughs, because all that patrie has turned the city into ethnic ghettos. In a June 29 interview with LaPresse she complained the arrondissements that she herself created, have now turned into “quasi-cities,” with too much power.
Warning flags up over bringing back F1
(Gazette editorial) Montrealers appear to be responding coolly to the news that Formula One racing could return next year. In fact, there’s a distinct chill in the air, to judge by reader comments at montrealgazette.com, and other anecdotal evidence. Politicians should take heed and drive a hard bargain, if they bring the race back at all.
5 August
Bernie Ecclestone says Formula One will return to Montreal next season. Globe & Mail story
29 July
Adam Daifallah: The revolution will be bixied
Montreal has always had a reputation for being the most avant-garde of North American cities. So it should be no surprise that it became home to North America’s largest bicycle-sharing program this May. The bikes, made of aluminum provided by Rio Tinto Alcan, are made in the Lac Saint-Jean region. Run by the Montreal parking authority, the Bixi system idea was listed as #19 on TIME magazine’s 50 Best Inventions of 2008 list.
16 July
Henry Aubin: Development critics are making a mountain out of a molehill
Marianopolis project would retain green space and bring tax dollars to city
15 July
Developers might tweak Mount Royal plan
For example, the non-binding report by the Office de consultation publique de Montreal, a city agency, might suggest that the developers sell a chunk of the greenspace on the 6.5-hectare site to the city for $1, Claude Marcotte, an architect attached to the project, said yesterday.
13 July
In the wake of the Madoff and Sanford schemes, is it inevitable that Montreal should have one too?
Canada investment adviser accused of Ponzi scheme
(Reuters) – More investors said on Monday they were victims of an investment advisor whom they allege ran a so-called Ponzi scheme similar to the one that landed U.S. fraudster Bernard Madoff in jail for life. Bertram Earl Jones, who won clients through word of mouth and was not registered with securities authorities, allegedly swindled investors out of as …
3 July
Harel gathers prominent supporters – Some consider run for municipal office
(Montreal Gazette) Civil rights lawyer Julius Grey also supports Harel but will not run for office. He has offered to guide her candidates as a “resource person” on ethics and transparency. … Grey added that he supports Harel because “Montreal has to have a change of mayor, and Louise Harel is the only serious opponent and must be elected.” He regards her spearheading the drive for municipal mergers in Quebec while she was municipal affairs minister as “a mistake.” “But she has now accepted that,” he said. Still, Harel has always demonstrated “personal integrity” and “always been on the side of social justice, of transparent and honest government, and that’s what we need right now.” Grey urged voters to set aside the fact Harel is a lifelong indépendantiste because Quebec’s status is not an issue at the municipal level.
28 June
Fotopulos will seek new seat
Côte Des Neiges. Outgoing Plateau mayor eager to ‘take on’ Harel
Harel has vowed to recentralize certain responsibilities at the city level if she’s elected on Nov. 1. That’s anathema to Fotopulos, who argues she was able to introduce a participatory budget process and citizen-run committees in Plateau Mont Royal only because each borough has been given a degree of autonomy.
26 June
Les scandales de Montréal dans The Economist
Les scandales qui ébranlent la mairie de Montréal commencent à attirer l’attention des médias étrangers, et non les moindres. La prestigieuse revue britannique The Economist consacre un article Water and grime, Montreal’s mayor under pressure aux allégations de conflits d’intérêts qui minent l’administration Tremblay dans sa livraison d’hier, une terrible publicité pour la Ville selon l’opposition. Municipal corruption in Canada –
23 June
Henry Aubin: Winners, losers in the demergers
(Montreal Gazette) Five years after the referendum, a clearer picture has emerged
By Quebec law, Montreal’s mayor is still the absolute ruler of Montreal Island. The demerged suburbs might control their libraries, recreation, planning, snow removal, street repair and other local services, but the Montreal mayor reigns over such island-wide services as fire and police protection, economic development, municipal court, water supply, property assessment and transit. What’s more, acting through his legislated control of the agglomeration council, the mayor can force the suburbs to pay for, say, new sidewalks in residential parts of the city that, unlike the business core, are of no benefit to the island as a whole.
22 June
Molson brothers buy Montreal Canadiens for $500M 
The Molsons were the last group to enter the bidding for the Canadiens, but their efforts were rewarded yesterday when it was announced that they had reached an agreement in principle to buy a controlling interest in the team from George Gillett Jr.
Molson brothers: Who are they?
(The Gazette) Geoff, the front man for the group, played hockey at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and has an MBA from Babson College in Boston.
He started his business career working for Coca-Cola in the U.S. and later worked for Kalchas Group, a consulting firm. He held several marketing positions with Molson in the U.S. before returning to Montreal as the brewery’s vice-president of marketing for Quebec.
Andrew Molson was named vice-chairman of Molson Coors when his father stepped down last month. He’s a partner in Res Publica, a holding company for two of Canada’s top public relations firms, National Public Relations and Cohn and Wolfe. He has an undergraduate degree from Princeton, a masters degree from the University of London and a law degree from Université Laval. Geoff and Andrew are both involved in a number of charities in Montreal. Geoff is on the board at St. Mary’s Hospital, while Andrew is involved with Ste. Justine Hospital.
Justin is the only brother with no connection to the family beer business. He’s a landscape architect in Vermont.
15 June
Funding announcement from Canada Economic Development – Montréal International is delighted with the financial support from the Government of Canada until 2011
11 June
Three Molson brothers confirmed Wednesday they have made an offer to buy the Montreal Canadiens, the Gillett Entertainment Centre and the Bell Centre. Geoff, Andrew and Justin Molson say the bid was delivered to George Gillett, who owns the Bell Centre and about 80 per cent of the National Hockey League team. Molson Coors already owns a 20 per cent stake in the franchise.
Montreal Mirror of 11-17 June
Anushree Varma: How green was my mountain
With the old Marianopolis project in mind, Montrealers are wondering if development and real estate trump environment and heritage
4 June
Louise Harel for mayor of Montreal? Two damn anglos weigh the odds.
Maclean’s Martin Patriquin and Philippe Gohier in an informed and amusing exchange
Peur et émoi chez les Anglo-Montréalais That’s pushing it – incredulity at the gall is more like it.
Peter Trent n’en revient tout simplement pas. «C’est Louise Harel qui a créé le monstre. Je trouve ça paradoxal qu’elle prétende vouloir maintenant régler les problèmes de Montréal.»
3 June
Louise Harel announces her run for mayor
(ctvmontreal.ca)  Wednesday afternoon Louise Harel made it official: she will run for mayor under the banner of Vision Montreal. Benoit Labonté is the current head of Vision Montreal, and opposition leader at city hall. The pair held a joint news conference at Marché Bonsecours where they confirmed that if Vision Montreal wins, Labonté would serve as head of Montreal’s executive committee.
Fotopulos a victim of party politics
(The Gazette) Helen Fotopulos is out, as Plateau Mont Royal borough mayor and as a member of city council’s executive committee, and Michel Labrecque is in. It remains only for the voters, come November, to rubber-stamp this change within the Union Montreal party of Mayor Gérald Tremblay, who orchestrated the switch. Such is democracy in Montreal. Fotopulos, a good soldier to the end, insisted bravely that this was her decision, but who could believe her? People leave politics, sometimes, but who voluntarily relinquishes some of their political power?
5 May
Marianopolis project’s foes speak out
Public hearings open; Groups say condo plan would jeopardize other green spaces on Mount Royal
6 April
MUHC chief fears backlash against superhospital
The top executive of the future McGill University superhospital fears a mounting backlash against the project because of delays in a similar plan by the French-language Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal.
30 March
Superhospitals get super-sized price tag
Montreal’s two superhospitals will cost at least $1.6 billion more to build than previously projected, the Quebec government confirmed Monday.
The total price tag for the two projects has soared to $4.7 billion, and the future hospital of the Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal will be completed in 2018 – five years later than expected. CHUM should stop changing its mind, city says
18 February
Downsized Projet Griffintown to Proceed
Devimco’s Projet Griffintown will proceed in a greatly reduced and modified fashion, say spokespeople for the developer and the City of Montreal. According to information released at recent press events, a downsized Projet Griffintown will be built on approximately 30% of the originally planned surface area, starting in 2010, in stages.

2008

30 December
Henry Aubin: Montreal could do worse than look like the City of Light
Our island could combat sprawl and still be a lot less dense than Paris
Urban sprawl continued its mad march this year. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports that 73 per cent of the 20,693 housing starts in the Montreal metropolitan region were built off Montreal Island in the first 11 months of the year. That’s up from 70 per cent a year ago.
29 October 2008

Montreal’s new logo has people seeing red (and pink, and tangerine)
MONTREAL — In the fall of 2006, the Montreal Metropolitan Community decided it needed “a branding that will clearly and cohesively present the metropolitan region’s features on the international scene.”
Two years and $487,000 later, here is what they have come up with:
The Gazette was the first to get its hands on the new stylized ‘M’, which it described as a “patchwork of hot pink, tangerine, rhubarb, turquoise and green apple.” If it were a jar of jelly-beans, it would have a certain appeal, but as a logo to sell Montreal to the world, it leaves a lot to be desired.
21 July
Learning to plan for the people: Old Montreal used as case study for desirable urban space
6 May
Conservative Cuts to Montreal International Show Lack of Vision
OTTAWA – The decision by Quebec Regional Economic Development Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn to cut Montreal International’s funding demonstrate his profound lack of understanding about Quebec’s economy, say Bourassa Liberal MP Denis Coderre, and the Liberal Regional Economic Development critic Pablo Rodriguez, MP for Honoré-Mercier.
“With a relatively modest federal financial investment of $2 million a year, Montreal International generates billions of dollars in spinoffs for Quebec’s economy,” said Mr. Rodriguez. “This contributed to attract world-class institutions such as the World Anti-Doping Agency, or the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.” Mr. Rodriguez is not moved by Minister Blackburn’s attempts to justify his decision not to continue financially supporting Montreal International, in order to concentrate efforts on one-off projects whose “concrete” results are more easily “measurable.”

Background to the merger/demerger issue – see also Merger notes on Wednesday-Night.com
June 2003 Summit of Montreal
(Board of Trade Submission) We firmly believe that the merger of Montreal Island municipalities is in the best interest of its citizens. First and foremost, this municipal reorganization meets the requirements stemming from the increasingly important role that cities must play and the growing responsibilities they must assume in all spheres of development – particularly that of the economy.
The Centre for Community Organizations ; The economic arguments against municipal mergers (IEDM)
Montreal: Merger and demergers
(Wikipedia) Until 2001, the island of Montreal was divided into 28 municipalities: the city of Montreal proper, and 27 independent municipalities. These formed the Montreal Urban Community (MUC). On January 1, 2002, the 27 independent municipalities of the island of Montreal were merged with the city of Montreal, under the slogan : “Une île, une ville” (“One island, one city”). This merger was part of a larger provincial scheme launched by the Parti Québécois all across Quebec, resulting in the merging of many municipalities. It was felt [by some, but never proven by any studies] that larger municipalities would be more efficient.