The old slogan of the city of Montreal which said “Pride has a city” is distorted in all directions these days. My colleague Richard Martineau found a version that fits reality well. “Dirt has a city,” he repeats aptly since the return of spring.
For my part, I’m going to go with “Shame in a City”.
I’m going to make it my own, because I already used this language when the City publicized its slogan in the media in the 1980s.
I don’t remember if it was at the end of Jean Drapeau’s long reign at City Hall or after the election of his successor Jean Doré. But the city was showing its first signs of decline.
But I never thought it would get this bad.
City in agony
It makes me sad, having grown up in La Petite-Patrie, Parc-Extension and the Villeray district. Montreal is being ravaged by a debilitating disease.
It can’t continue like this and yet… treatment is slow in coming.
Our governments leave the sick to their own devices.
So much so that Montreal is in agony.
Some may say that this is an exaggerated statement, but it is only the truth.
Montreal is reminiscent of New York in the 1970s. Crime has taken over. No one wanted to go to the American metropolis anymore because of the great disorder that reigned there.
The authorities carried out a major clean-up and the megacity regained its rights. This is where advertising was born. I love New York, the letter o being replaced by a heart.
Good or bad sign?
It turns out that one blunder doesn’t wait for the other in Montreal. The lights at city hall are on, but there is no one in the offices.
Last weekend, it was the Grand Prix which suffered. Yesterday, we learned that the president of F1, Stefano Domenicali, had requested a meeting with Mayor Valérie Plante.
It’s hard to imagine Mr Domenicali being made from the same mold as Bernie Ecclestone. If so, Mme the mayor is going to have a bad time.
But the visit of the first leader of F1 will not be one of courtesy either. The gentleman will share his recriminations with Mme Plant.
A reputation is lost quickly!
In the space of three days, the Canadian Grand Prix has fallen in the esteem of F1 manufacturers and drivers. That’s all it takes to lose a good reputation.
It’s like going to your favorite restaurant. For years, we come away satisfied and then one good evening, we say to ourselves that the place has lost its feathers. And we end up throwing the manager’s card in the trash.
I would be surprised if the future of the Grand Prix is in immediate danger. But the City and the event organizers will have to act quickly, otherwise we could see the end of the F1 race in Montreal.
There are plenty of wealthy people in the world who are willing to pay big bucks to afford a Grand Prix in their backyard.
If Toronto had to take over our Grand Prix, that would be a great leg up for us.
Again.
The wokes will say good riddance, but Montreal would suffer.
Professional sport is an industry like any other. It brings in taxes.
The athletes who play on our teams pay taxes like everyone else. For the Canadiens players, it means a lot.
So much progress gone
Our city has lost the splendor it acquired during the Quiet Revolution.
People who lived through this period, the most beautiful in the history of Quebec, will have the opportunity to recall beautiful memories in our edition tomorrow, which will mark the 60e birthday of Montreal Journal.
Today we live in a world where progress and wealth are criticized. French has once again become a second language in the city and some of our municipal officials want to make Montreal a Central Park from north to south and east to west.
I cycled for a long time and the network of cycle paths from the 1990s and 2000s suited me very well.
Now driving a car on rue Saint-Denis, my rue Saint-Denis, is an adventure. Both sides of the artery are divided into three. There is one lane for bicycles, one for parking and one for cars.
All it takes is one vehicle to stop to make a delivery and everything is blocked.
Traders pull the plogue.
Where is common sense?
