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Why Anglos Prefer the Mafia to the Separatists

2009-11-08T20:05:30Z

As I watched the speeches after the municipal election I noticed that Mayor Tremblay was sporting a poppy, as well as most of the other politicians and journalists. But Louise Harel was not. Neither were any of the twenty or so people around her. Imagine, even though Quebec boys are dying in Afghanistan they couldn’t manage one poppy between them.

I also looked for any visible minorities in the crowd. It seemed that among her supporters there wasn’t a single visible ethnic to be rounded up to symbolize her willingness to reach out beyond the linguistic/pure-laine divide.

Top 25?

2009-11-08T19:00:11Z

Posted in article Tagged: farted, top 25, women

Pipe Dreams — A Look Above and Below the Northern Suburbs of Montreal

2009-10-27T02:17:43Z

Snow dump hatches inside the Decarie Raimbault collector sewer.

For the past couple of years now, I’ve been looking for ways to get inside the sewers found within a northern portion of the island of Montreal. Actually, that statement is a bit misleading since it hasn’t exactly been a high priority.

Covering the areas of Ville St. Laurent, Ahunstic-Cartierville and the Town of Mont Royal, my view towards these sewers was somewhat indifferent. I knew that they were often large (up to 15 feet in diameter), but because they consisted of long stretches and were built a relatively short time ago, I had assumed that they would be quite boring and repetitive. Maybe even duller than the industrial parks and suburbs that they pass beneath.

Drainage basins for the island of Montreal as defined by the City's planning department in 1955. The region in red is the focus of this entry.

These were always the ones I’d get to once I finished exploring more interesting things, but nevertheless I would occasionally find myself looking for ways to access some portion of it. I never had much luck until just recently.

Part of the problem in accessing sewers in Montreal, at least for laymen such as myself, is that 99% of the manholes are situated in the middle of the street. This wouldn’t be an issue if the lids covering them didn’t weigh up to 300 lbs— definitely not the sort of weight you can easily throw around.

Eventually I did manage to find one feasible entry point in a most ideal location— a quiet spot, free from both car and pedestrian traffic. Better yet, this entry point was at the center of the system so trips could be divided up nicely without having to make extensive round-trips.

Despite my low expectations of what these sewers might have to offer, I was quite pleased with my find. Just over a week has passed since the first visit inside of it, and we’ve only covered a relatively small portion, but so far those expectations have been exceeded.

But before we delve into the system, it’s worth having a peak at what was in this region both before during the time of its construction.

New Frontiers

Island of Montreal circa 1901.

If we go back to the late 1900s, much of this area was uninhabited save for the few hundred people living in the then small communities of Ville St. Laurent and Cote des Neiges. The surrounding land was primarily agricultural. A small network of roads linked the community of Cote Des Neiges at the foot of the Mont Royal to the North shore of the island.

1913 map showing the underground railway connection between the Town of Mont Royal and Montreal.

A decade later, with the advent of the automobile and tramway came population growth in the area. No longer would the growth of Montreal need to be exclusive to the areas immediately surrounding the city of Montreal. In 1911, the Canadian Pacific Railway purchased 2,307 hectares of rural land northwest of Cote des Neiges before building a tunnel straight underneath the mountain towards the heart of Montreal.

The acquired land would eventually be turned into the island’s first suburb. Incorporating a European-style radial street plan, this “Model City” would mark the arrival of planned growth for the island. From now on, the city would develop, not solely on necessity, but the anticipation of what the future might entail.

Baby Steps Towards a Sewer System

Detail of 1922 map illustrating the north island's collector sewer and its two tributaries.

Of course, with this new development came the need for sewers. In 1912 two seven foot concrete collector sewers were constructed. One served the northern edge of Notre Dame de Grace and the second for the Town of Mount Royal. The two sewers merged just northeast of where the Decarie interchange is today, then generally followed the path of what was then known as Farmer’s Road before emptying into Riviere Des Prairies roughly five kilometers away.

I recently discovered a way into the portion running north of the interchange.

The Notre Dame de Grace Collector, constructed in 1912.

At only 7 feet tall, the paris-style sewer “sidewalks” weren’t exactly convenient to walk on, but they did offer a respite from the often mucky conditions found in the centre trench. The half dozen rats scurrying along with me seemed to agree.

1911 plan for the Notre Dame de Grace collector. Source: Province of Quebec Archives, Montreal Region.

Missing in the section I walked through was the 16” pipe which appears on plans for the sewer. Although it’s unlabeled, it’s presumably a water main. This practice of running multiple utilities through the sewer system, while common in cities such as London and Paris never quite caught on in Montreal.

One of several low-tech flow regulators that stand in the way.

But in typical Montreal sewer fashion, nothing is ever as easy to get through as it first appears. A series of flow control gates cut across the sewer every 100 meters or so. In most cases, I could craw I’d you have to climb over the top. Not wanting to have to put up with this, and knowing that Riviere Des Prairies was a good four kilometers further, I didn’t venture too far downstream.

The junction where the two sewers combined. To the right: Notre Dame de Grace. To the left: Cote des Neiges.

At the upstream end, the junction for the NDG and Cote de Neiges sewers can be found, but unfortunately both have been sealed off making further passage impossible.

Growth and the Need for Planning

If the development of Mount Royal marked the beginning of rational planning, it’s clear that its sewage system was still mired in the 19th century way of thinking. At only seven feet tall over a total length of kilometers, there was no way this sewer could ever facilitate the rapid growth that would come decades later. As Ville St. Laurent and the surrounding communities continued to grow steadily, sewage overflows during heavy rainstorms became more common.

Wartime housing in 1944 in the Ville St-Laurent neighbourhood of Bois-Franc for employees of Noorduyn Aviation Ltd. Source: Pistard Archives.

By the time WW2 rolled around, large-scale industrial complexes such as Vickers and Continental Can were beginning to take up large tracts of land. War-time housing units, erected quickly for local employees took up additional real estate. Given the circumstances, new sewer construction wasn’t exactly a high priority. If the system was to be replaced, it would have to wait.

Naturally, things grew even faster in the years following the war. In the late 1940s, the Norgate Shopping Centre (Canada’s first mall) was constructed at Decarie and Cote Vertu. A network of relatively low-density residential areas was begin to spread. With talk of new highways and arteries being built in the near future, it only made sense that the 40+ year old sewer system in the area would require a major overhaul.

Big Thinking, Big Sewers

Open-cut construction of the Meilleur-Atlantique Collector sewer in Cartierville, 1953. Source: City Archives of Montreal.

The new collector sewers were designed far larger than necessary for the time, not to accommodate household and industrial waste, but to handle the storm run-off of the newly paved landscape. As Montreal’s Director of Public Works Department, Lucien L’Allier explained in 1957, their size was determined based on the region’s “imperviousness” more than actual population. Densely developed residential areas were given the same treatment as those designated for industrial use. “Medium class” residential areas, more likely to contain water absorbing lawns, were put in the same category as railway yards.

1956 diversion ditch for the waters of Ruisseau Raimbault. Its flow is now contained within the Decarie Raimbault sewer. Source: City Archives of Montreal

Determining the size and path of this system was no doubt a tricky task as it involved a fair amount of speculation in how the area would evolve. Given that it was the late 1950s, there was a high level of optimism regarding how much the island would and could be developed. To put this into some perspective, by 1961 there was an expectation that the population for the island of Montreal and outlying areas would reach 7 million by 2000 with much of this growth occurring outside the city of Montreal. While there would be explosive growth over the next two decades, their estimations were a bit off the mark. Today’s population for this same area sits at roughly 3.6 million.

For all the flaws of today’s sprawling metropolis, Montreal’s city planners must be credited for at least attempting to think ahead to the future. As mayor Jean Drapeau stated in 1955, efforts were being made to “not only solve today’s problems, but avoid creating others, and try to anticipate problems 10, 20, even 30 years in advance.”

While Drapeau was clearly referring to the city’s planned autoroutes, the same approach was used when planning the island’s new sewer systems starting to be built around this same time. The crown jewel of these new systems was the Decarie Raimbault.

Enter the Decarie Raimbault System

Sewers constructed for the Decarie Raimbault system between 1956-58. Image source: City Archives of Montreal

The Decarie Raimbault system takes its name from Decarie Blvd and Ruisseau Raimbault, the creek which was diverted underground during the development of the system. At over x miles long, it took three years to complete at a total cost of x number of dollars.

Heading around the bend towards Cremazie blvd.

Possibly the same location taken in 1958 during a final inspection of the sewer.

The first time nel58 and I entered this sewer, we were happy to find that it was easy enough to walk through. With the exception of a few slippery spots, it could be navigated quickly enough by keeping to the edges. This stretch was tunneled through limestone and despite its size could be built using any steel reinforcement. With the exception of one section where a portion of the ceiling has collapsed, it seems to be holding up quite well.

The first noteworthy feature we came across was a rather massive snow dump chamber shown at the beginning of this post. It’s a feature which seems to have been added late— during the 1990s, by the looks of the materials involved. Google Street View now provides us a convenient way of being able to see the facility that contains to the large hatches.

Sewer stretch marks at our midway point.

Carrying on up through the main section of the sewer provided few rewards. It is a 2.5km slog through the same style of pipe, running westward parallel to the metropolitain highway. These sections aren’t particularly deep below the surface, but it was chosen to use tunnel boring machines rather than more commonly used open-cut techniques.

Tunnelling of the southern portion of the Decarie Raimbault system in 1958. Image source: City Archives of Montreal

Although not stated explicitly, the disruptions of open-cut construction would have no doubt caused mayhem in an area already well known for traffic congestion. Before being replaced with the spaghetti junction that exists today, the old Decarie circle was described in 1957 as “chaotic, chronic and intolerable.” Local businesses were up in arms. I don’t imagine that digging open trenches along the neighbouring streets would have helped things any, especially not during a municipal election year.

Junction discovered after travelling roughly 3kms upstream. The passage where I'm standing heads south towards the Decarie expressway.

Eventually a junction appears, with one pipe heading south and a smaller one continuing further west. We opted for the smaller one with less water coming down through it. Given that it was already late, we didn’t travel much further before deciding to call it a night. Only after I looked the sewer maps upon returning home did I discover we had made it to the middle of the Decarie interchange. Not bad for one night. After all, how many people can say they’ve walked below one of the city’s more infamous traffic arteries? I know, not the most exciting thing in the world, but given the area, you have to take what you can get.

1959 Gazette article announcing the new Decarie interchange. Source: City Archives of Montreal.

Being that this system was only recently discovered, there is still an incredible amount of it left to explore. There are sewers that snake their way up towards the mountain. There’s a connection over to the Meilleur Atlantique collector which most living in Montreal are familiar with because of its tendency to overflow out onto the ‘Acadie interchange. Basically, there’s enough here to keep me busy for awhile so stay tuned.

Related Entries: Montreal’s Underground Underdogs

Wrong Way to Hope

2009-11-02T21:24:36Z

This is a rough draft of the movie trailer for the film project. There is much to be done here, especially with the sound, but take a look at this anyway. You can see that things are really coming along. I recommend maximizing the view window.

Also, if you want to see the movie when I do a screening (probably late March), leave a comment. Or leave a comment anyway.

Wrong to Way Hope - Trailer from Aaron Bryant on Vimeo.

Globe takes report off Scribd at Auditor-General's request

2009-11-06T01:35:40Z

The Globe and Mail Thursday took down a portion of the federal Auditor-General's report that it had embedded in a news report using the internet social publishing service Scribd, after the Auditor-General's office objected, citing Crown copyright. The Auditor-General's office apparently was concerned that the chapter could be altered by third parties, and was satisfied when The Globe replaced it with a link to the report on the Auditor-General's own website. But should the government watchdog be telling media organizations what they can do with public reports?

Question for Oprah: Broadcast or Cable?

2009-11-06T06:33:46Z

Oprah Winfrey could move her show from broadcast television to the OWN, or Oprah Winfrey Network, cable channel.

H1N1 overplayed by media, public health: MDs

2009-11-06T22:17:59Z

Public health officials and journalists have overstated the importance of the swine flu, a former Ontario chief medical officer of health says.

THE MOST UNDERRATED CANADIENS OF LAST 40 YEARS

2009-10-23T04:20:00Z

12:25 AM

So I'm sitting in the Jacques Beauchamp lounge at the Bell centre after the first period of the Habs win over the mighty Thrashers and I mention to Red Fisher that his placement of Claude Provost among the top 20 Canadiens of all time had me wishing that I had seen the right winger earlier in his career. I only caught Provost over his last few years when he was a strong defensive winger who gained notoriety for shadowing Bobby Hull and becoming the first ever winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy. I always saw Provost as an under appreciated player until Red set me straight.

So I said to Red, with Ron Reusch also at the table, "How about a list of the top 20 underrated players you've seen?".

After giving it about as much thought as I have recently about Miley Cyrus, Red snapped "Why don't you do it?"

Ok then. Here it is. My list, in reverse order, of the most underrated Habs since 1969.

20. Jeff Hackett. Hard to be an underrated goalie in a Canadiens jersey but I wanted one on the list and Hackett was better than Brian Hayward. Hackett played very well for some terrible teams in his career, including his four plus years in Montreal.

19. Benoit Brunet. A fine career absolutely destroyed by injuries. An elite penalty killer who also flashed some offense.

18. Chris Nilan. Too well known to be underrated? He won't be the last on this list. We all know about Nilan the enforcer and character. But he learned how to play the game, scored 20 goals one year while spending six hours in the penalty box. Had another season of 19 goals and became part of the NHL's best shutdown line with Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey.

17. Stephane Lebeau. Often overlooked center of the early 90's featured goal totals of 15, 22, 27 and 31 (& 80 pts) during his first four seasons culminating in the Cup win of 1993.

16. Craig Ludwig. A shot blocking machine who played mean but smart. Perfect partner for the young Chris Chelios.

15. Rick Green. Overrated early in his career after being selected #1 overall by the Washington Capitals in 1976 (terrible draft year). Thrived in Montreal as a support player leaving the spotlight to Chelios, Larry Robinson and others. Smothered forwards like The Blob.

14. Mike Keane. Could check, score and fight. Teammates and coaches appreciated him a lot more than some members of the French media who never forgave him for speaking the truth, "We speak English in this room." Patrick Roy wouldn't go to Denver without him.

13. Lyle Odelein. Can still hear some media types rejoicing the day Odelein was shipped to New Jersey in an effort to try to get Stephane Richer to become a goal scorer again. Odelein, like Nilan, transformed himself from fighter to key player, becoming one of the better NHL defensemen for a five year period including a position on Team Canada for the 1996 World Cup.

12. Brian Skrudland. Non-drafted fierce competitor who was all about work and winning. Huge goal in 1986 Final in overtime tied series heading back to Montreal.

11. Mike McPhee. Pierre McGuire likes to compare Max Pacioretty to McPhee. Younger Hab fans can only hope. McPhee was a big, strong left winger who could skate, check, work the corners and produce offense. Spent a good chunk of his career playing alongside Skrudland.

10. Jimmy Roberts. Had two seperate stints with Habs. Went to expansion Blues where he played defense and forward and tried shadowing Bobby Orr in 1970 final. Returned to Montreal to continue his multi-dimensional role. Very smart guy who was among league's best penalty killers and played on NHL's best checking line with Gainey and...

9. Doug Jarvis. Canadiens of mid-70s had just about everything but a stand out face off man at center. So Sam Pollack traded Greg Hubick (77 total NHL games) to Toronto for Jarvis, who had been the Leafs first round draft pick. Jarvis never missed a game in his seven years in Montreal, became the NHL's all time ironman, no small feat for a guy who's about 5'8", one of its best penalty killers and, yes the best face off guy in the league. Was always on the ice protecting a lead.

8. Murray Wilson. One of the best skaters I've ever seen. Pretty good shot too. His goal and point scoring totals were quite impressive for a guy who usually had limited ice time playing behind guys like Steve Shutt, Gainey and Yvon Lambert. Back problems forced him into early retirement.

7. Petr Svoboda. Skinny defenseman who could skate and move the puck with the best of them. Terribly under appreciated in Montreal perhaps because he always found himself plastered into the boards in Boston. But this guy was so much better than most of us thought at the time. Always had impressive plus/minus stats with a career high +46 in 1987-88. Traded to Buffalo for Kevin Haller. Kevin Haller?

6. Pierre Mondou. Flashy little centerman was an offensive dynamo who racked up three 30 goal seasons before his career was ended by an Ulf Samuelsson hi-stick to the eye.

5, 4, 3. Lambert-Tremblay-Risebrough. That's right the entire line, that would be the third line, some nights the 4th, on that great Montreal dynasty of the late 70's. Lambert didnt skate well but had great balance and used his large frame to set up shop in front of opposing goaltenders on the power play. Mario Tremblay was the "sniper" on the line with four 30 goal seasons while Doug Risebrough-my own personal favorite player of that era-was a smart, rambunctious, highly effective chippy little guy. A mini Bobby Clarke. Had a spectacular season in '76-77 when he scored 22goals and 60 points with very little or no action on the power play. All three guys scared the shit out of many opposing defensemen and would drop their gloves if you looked at then the wrong way. I don't think I've seen a line remotely like them since.

2. Serge Savard. A hall of famer underrated??? Yes. It's difficult to explain just how good Savard was. While Bobby Orr had his mangled knees, Savard suffered a broken leg (same leg) in back to back seasons. He lost some speed but slowed the game down to his pace. Constantly over-shadowed by the bigger, stronger Larry Robinson, Savard should have won at least one Norris trophy. He was-before the arrival of Robinson- the second best defenseman in the NHL behind Orr (yes, better than Brad Park). Savard was Scotty Bowman's go to guy with a lead to protect. And when he played for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series his team went unbeaten.

1. Rejean Houle. A shame his record as GM will taint his Montreal career. Because Houle could do it all. A scoring sensation in Junior, Houle was able to transform himself into one of the NHL's most effective checkers, inheriting Provost's assignment of shadowing Bobby Hull. But after he jumped to the Nordiques of the WHA, Houle regained his scoring touch and returned just in time to catch the final three years of the four year Cup run from '76-'79. And he was one of the best two way forwards in the NHL. He killed penalties. He played on the power play. He played all three forward positions. And he helped set up two of the most important goals in franchise history: Henri Richard's game winner in game 7 in Chicago 1971 and Lambert's game 7 overtime winner at the Forum vs Boston in 1979.

Honorable mention: Brian Engblom, Bill Nyrop, JJ Daigneault, Stephane Quintal, Turner Stevenson and Craig Rivet. Josh Gorges is almost there.

Reusch, clearly with very little to do without a TV show, spent the second period the other night compiling his own list. It included Dick Duff, Ted Harris, Terry Harper, Ralph Backstrom, Gilles Tremblay and Marcel Bonin all of whom played the majority of their careers long before I started watching.

There you have it. Please discuss.

Goodbye Talk1410

2009-11-05T19:28:31Z

There have been many changes in the Vancouver radio landscape over the last year or so and while some have been great (such as the addition of The Peak 100.5 and Shore 104.1), the mics of many beloved personalities have been turned off.

This morning I hopped into a Zipcar and while the tuner said “1410″ I heard the call sign “Team 1410″. I thought this must instantly be a mistake since Chum Radio Vancouver hosts both stations. The message was followed by a show intro and then men talking about basketball.

Instantly flipping over to Twitter I saw an update from John Bollwitt that included this link:

A message from James Stuart – Vice President & General Manager of CHUM Radio Vancouver….
… In 1996 CFUN’s very successful run as a music station came to an end and it began its life in the talk radio world. Since that time we as a company have continually and aggressively endeavoured over the years to grow the size of listening audience, and even though the effort has certainly been there, the results have shown us that our business model for CFUN must change – and the time for that change to happen is now.

To those who have listened to TALK 1410 through the many ups and downs of the talk format and changes in styles and personalities…we sincerely thank you and we also sincerely thank the advertisers who have supported the radio station as well over the past years. I truly hope you will give our new station a try, but I also will understand if you decide that it is not for you.

We will be the new home for world class sports personalities including Jim Rome, Dan Patrick, Bob McCown and the best of the best ESPN sports insiders. We will broadcast every BC Lions game, from pre-season to playoffs, and hopefully, all the way to the Grey Cup. Along with that, you’ll be able to listen and join in the conversation with extensive pre and post game shows for all of the Lions games. 1410 is now the new and permanent full time home for BC lions football in Vancouver, and that starts tomorrow night with the crucial, must win game against the Eskimo’s at BC Place. If you’re going to the game, take your radio and you can follow all the action as only Rick Ball & Giulio Caravatta can describe it, right here on TEAM 1410. [Read more...]

From what I understand, Talk 1410 (or 14 CFUN as many previously knew it) has ceased to exist. The Team 1410 will be kind of like an “ESPN 2″, complimenting the Team 1040. Nothing has changed at The Team 1040 aside from the fact that they will now have a brother station providing amped-up sports coverage. However to my knowledge, the future of those associated with Talk 1410 is entirely uncertain.

I have had the pleasure of appearing for a weekly afternoon segment at Talk 1410 for the last year, working with amazing folks like Patrick Maliha, Val Cole, Kate Gajdosik, Art Factora, and Joe Leary. I’m not sure where they are right now, or where they will be, but I wanted to say they will be greatly missed from the airwaves.

Not a week went by that I didn’t have someone email my contact form to say they listened to and enjoyed the segment. I can only imagine how the impact the full time shows, hosts, and segments had on the population.

I hope for the very best for all Talk 1410 personnel as they were truly a great bunch to work with. If you can find your favourite host online (website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN etc.) let them know how much you appreciated their talents.

As a side note, I have been interviewing people for a series about radio in Vancouver over the last month and it will be published in the coming weeks. At this time I just want to encourage Vancouverites to listen to local radio. It’s there with you anytime you need it – at home, in the car, during your commute and even in the shower. It’s free, hyper-local content at its best.

Dropping the Ball

2009-10-13T19:51:43Z

A few years ago I was a guest on a Hamilton radio station discussing the proposition that sports journalism on television is an oxymoron. Brian Williams, who was still with CBC Sports at the time, was my opposite number on the debate. He took great umbrage at the proposition. His proof being his own excellent work on several Olympic games including the coverage of the Ben Johnson scandal and Ross Regabliatti’s near disqualification for having traces of marijuana in his blood among others.

Concerning himself, he was right. Brian Williams has made a long career of trying to actually practice sports journalism on TV. His recent Olympic and CFL mini-docs for CTV and TSN are no exception. Brian has proved to be a fine story teller and a prime example of how it should be done. But Brian could not name another television reporter who was doing the same. CBC did eventually produce an excellent weekly sports journalism show but today that’s long gone. Bruce Dowbiggin won a well deserved Gemini Award for his work on the Alan Eagleson scandal, but CBC sports refused to run his work so it ran on CBC News. Bruce is no longer a TV reporter, he’s a Globe and Mail columnist.

Now, name another sports journalist on TV today. I dare you. Rogers Sportsnet and TSN produce hours and hours of what purports to be sports “news” every week. A viewer is warned not to hold his or her breath waiting for journalism. For the most part, say 80 percent, the coverage consists of highlights from earlier action. On earlier shows there’s the odd preview of upcoming action. The rest of the show is filled with banter and lists of the top plays, best fights, whatever can be scrambled together from the archives to fill out the hours. But journalism, as in WHY an event or situation occurs and where it’s going, you won’t find it here.

It seldom existed on local television newscasts either. When you have only five or six minutes to recap the day’s events there is little room on the sportscast for actual journalism.

The one place I would expect some enterprising sports reportage in Canada is on hockey broadcasts. Now that games come in at just over two and one half hours there is a 30 minute hole to fill, and that’s on top of two 15 minute between period segments. So where are the stories? Where’s the field work? Where’s the old “up-close-and-personals” that we see on the NFL coverage and even NBA coverage. The same sportscasters that lament the lack of star power in hockey are doing nothing to alleviate the problem.

Hockey Night in Canada is truly a wasteland. The first intermission is always Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry and Ron MacLean. I will be the first to admit that it’s an entertaining segment. It’s like waiting for a train wreck. When is Don going to say something stupid about fighting or foreign born players? How will Ron get a word in and when he does what silly pun will the viewers be treated to? Between Don’s “I told you so’s” and Ron’s slavish support of the dinosaurs of hockey it is all too predictable and lacks any semblance of information.

Cut to the second intermission and the viewer is treated to a panel of rumor mongers led by Al Strachan. Has anyone kept tabs on how many times Al’s insights turn out to be correct? I suspect they are few. In any case this is inside hockey talk that speaks to a small minority of Canadians. If you want to sell the game and increase the ratings it’s time to go back to story telling. When I was a youngster there were actual feature stories on players, coaches, owners, referees, etc. They created interest in the people around hockey. They introduced us to the personalities that make any sport more accessible.

It’s not any better at TSN. The same panel returns intermission after intermission with the same predictable opinions. No depth. Nothing new. Cheapo TV that fills minutes rather than enterprising reporting and journalism that could really wow an audience. On TSN they even use the same formula for football, but at least on CFL coverage they do have the Brian Williams stories.

It is frightening to see how low game coverage has sunk to in Canada. Interestingly this has come at a time when sports journalism has been growing by leaps and bounds in this country. The newspapers are doing a great job. The Globe and Mail in particular has a fine group of writers and columnists. You seldom pick up a sports section without seeing great stories, interesting commentary and real insight into what is happening in the sports world. Writers like Stephen Brunt, Dave Shoalts, and Bruce Dowbiggin in the Globe and Damien Cox and Doug Smith in the Toronto Star never seem to fail in finding new stories and new angles that make one think about sports in new and interesting ways. They engage their readers with new information and new insights.

Even on radio, where sports radio has talk shows like Bob McCown’s show on The Fan 590, to delve into the issues by going to experts and people in the know. Sure, they have panels too, but they don’t stop there. McCown and the other radio hosts get interviews with general managers, coaches and players. They talk to Jim Balsillie and his lawyers. They get legal experts and business experts to help us understand the underlying decisions being made by leagues and teams. There is a strong attempt to answer the only real journalistic question: WHY.

At a time when sports is as much about the legal and business affairs of players, teams and leagues Canadian television is dropping the ball.

Posted in Media Commentary Tagged: Ben Johnson, Bob McCown, Brian Williams, Bruce Dowbigging, CBC Sports, CFL, Coach's Corner, CTV, Damien Cox, Dave Shoalts, Don Cherry, Doug Smith, Hockey Night in Canada, Jim Balsillie, NBA, NFL, Rogers Sportsnet, Ron MacLean, Ross Regabliatti, Stephen Brunt, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, TSN

Toronto Star plans buyouts, outsourcing

2009-11-03T23:34:49Z

The Toronto Star has launched what its publisher is saying will likely be the biggest restructuring in the newspaper's history by offering voluntary buyouts to employees in all divisions of the company.

Either we suck, or this list sucks

2009-11-04T15:37:20Z

The Canadian New Media Awards finalists were announced, and it’s a lot of websites no one uses, made by innovators that are spent out and sputtering for ideas. When K-os wins “Best Online Artist of the Year,” in 2009, it begs the question:
“Does anyone else have any other ideas? Hello?”

“Anyone?”

Save Local TV? Calling Captain Newfoundland

2009-11-04T14:52:00Z

That phony "Save Local TV" campaign cliché kept clanging around my head in St. John's last week--especially when the hotel set was tuned in to NTV.
The bizarro local "superstation"--Newfoundland's oldest TV outlet dating back to 1955--is unique in Canada in that it carries a mix of both CTV and Global programming. You can watch Canada AM, for example, every weekday morning and then see Kevin Newman host Global National every night. There are promos for both running throughout the day.
Most of the prime time programming is straight off the Global feed, despite the fact that the red, white, blue and green CTV logo is still proudly emblazoned on the station's giant satellite dishes.
The strangest deal of all is in late night, where NTV has cherry picked David Letterman. I’m watching Tom Hanks whine to Dave last week about a trip he took in his VW van. Cut to commercial, except there is no commercial—there is a Black Eyed Peas music video. I’m getting into it when it abruptly cuts back to Dave. The whole thing repeats at the next commercial break with another music video, this time featuring Eninem. And again, and again.
Seems they don’t sell ads overnight on NTV, or--and this was one explanation I got in St. John's--the music videos played between commercial breaks were there to help boost the station's Canadian content. That’s what we’re down to, folks—cramming in CanCon three-and-a-half minutes at a time.
Which made it all the more ironic when, during other Letterman breaks, they played those “Save Local TV” ads. The most offensive one starts with a teary goodbye clip from an anchor on that recently shuttered Brandon station, the one it is becoming increasingly clear CTV gassed just so it could be the poster child for this brazen extortion attempt.
NTV seems like the kind of place where there should be some local TV to save. It is a community with a fiercely distinct personality. It is a small enough market that it should qualify to dip into that $100 million-plus local television fund. Yet there is not a lot of Canadian content in prime time or even in day parts on NTV during the week. There is a local early morning news show, and a local noon news and some early morning weekend fare ("Scenes of Newfoundland"). But while Captain Newfoundland, a trippy NTV CanCon concoction from the ‘70s, is still visible in a fading mural painted on the old Newfoundland Herald printing press building next door to the station, he is no where on NTV’s import-heavy schedule, at least while I was watching.
It may take a Captain Newfoundland, teamed with Captain Canada, to sort out the regulatory mess that is Canadian television today. It might help if there was some evidence of actual local TV worth saving at the stations across Canada that otherwise seems to be mashed together with content produced outside the country.

One London Paper to Rule Evening Commute

2009-11-02T04:28:13Z

As more established rivals have faded away, The Evening Standard has been left standing, although it may come to regret eliminating its cover price.

Columnist Quits After Newsday Starts Charging for Its Web Site

2009-11-02T05:02:11Z

Tilting against the tide, Saul Friedman isn’t interested in writing for Newsday if his column isn’t freely available on the Web site.

En photo - Coup de semonce à La Presse

2009-11-03T08:00:00Z

Les quatre syndicats des employés de La Presse qui n'ont toujours pas d'entente avec la direction ont manifesté devant les bureaux du quotidien, à Montréal, hier après-midi. Leur objectif: obtenir la reprise des négociations. Suite

Aspers got value for money in commissioned bio

2009-11-03T18:36:40Z

Peter C. Newman's Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada’s Media Mogul is an authorized biography that sheds less light on its subject matter than on its legendary author's reporting practices, according to reviewer Marc Edge. Edge is the author of Asper Nation: Canada’s Most Dangerous Media Company, a history of Canwest Global Communications.

[UPDATED] Toronto Star offering voluntary severance packages, layoffs likely

2009-11-03T21:07:15Z

[Note: This post has been updated] The Toronto Star is "seriously considering contracting out segments of work" and is therefore asking employees to consider voluntary severance packages in advance of likely layoffs, Star publisher John Cruickshank told staff today in a memo. In a note to employees (the full text of this memo is pasted at the bottom of this post.), Cruickshank told staff...

Voting for Everybody

2009-10-30T21:29:52Z

“We need your help,” my step-mother said when I stopped by for supper yesterday evening. “You know about this city stuff. You’ve got to help us figure out who to vote for.”

Oh dear. This election has got me turning in circles like a cat that can’t quite figure out where to plunk herself down.

“Well, who are the candidates in this riding?” I began tentatively.

“Uh, you know…Tremblay, and that woman, and…”

Sigh. I guess those election posters DO serve a purpose after all.

“Did you get the list of candidates in the mail?”

“No… All we got were these voting reminders.”

She dug out a trio of unopened envelopes from Elections Montreal addressed to her, my dad, and my brother who has yet to change his address.

On the back of the voting reminder we found the list of local candidates. Being in a Plateau Mont-Royal riding, my parents have 4 categories to vote in: Mayor, Borough Mayor, City councillor and Borough councillor. Glancing over the dozens of names on the paper, their uncertainty about the upcoming election went from bad to worse.

“We have to vote for all of these guys? Isn’t that a little…overkill?”

Well, maybe. But without going into debates about the municipal decision-making structure, I quickly sketched out the levels of government (fortunately, I’d looked it up just last week after puzzling over my own list of candidates):

The Borough Council

This is made up of five to seven people including borough councillors, city councillors an the borough mayor. However, some large boroughs do not distinguish between “borough councillors” and “city councillors” because everyone on the borough council also sits on the city council.

These are the folks that you are most likely to come in contact with if you want a permit to renovate your house, more bike racks, traffic calming, more parks, better libraries or sports facilities.

Urban planning at a local level
Waste collection
Culture (libraries, culture centres)
Recreation (pools, arenas, etc)
Social and community development
Parks
Roads (and snow clearing)
Housing
Fire prevention

City Council

The city council is composed of the mayor, the 18 borough mayors and 46 city counsellors from the different boroughs. The number of city counsellors that represent each borough at City council varies from 1 to 5, depending on the population of the borough.

The municipal council is the main deciding body, reponsible for (among other things):

public security
negotiating with other levels of government
subsidized housing programs
environment
the city-wide urban plan
approving some borough-level decisions

The Executive Committee

The executive is made up of 12 members including the mayor and 11 other councillors (chosen from among the elected borough mayors and borough councillors) appointed by the mayor. The Executive committee is a pretty powerful body, responsible for producing documents such as budgets and bylaws, which are then submitted to city council for approval. The executive committee wrote up the recent transportation plan and urban plan.

The executive committee can also grant contracts and subsidies, and manage human and financial resources, buildings and purchases. Members of the Executive committee were the players in the scandals that have marked the last administration (including the SHDM debacles and the water meter deal).

But the executive committee is not on the ballot, and that is the reason your mayoral vote matters most. The mayor usually appoints people from his or her own party – which is why it is worth taking a look at who the bigwigs are in each party, even if they are not in your riding.

To get some idea, here is the list of the Tremblay administration’s current executive committee, and Vision Montréal’s “working groups” led by an impressive lineup of candidates.

Interestingly, Projet Montréal’s Richard Bergeron recently said that, should he be elected, he would create a coalition executive committee including some members of his rival parties. Smart move for a fresh-faced party who could jump from 1 token representative to 32% of the vote. It would make sense to keep the competent, experienced councilors on board and avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I’m voting for everybody

We looked over my parents’ candidates and I picked out the ones I knew (like Michel Labrecque, the well-chosen president of the STM who is running with Team Tremblay.) Then we spent some time googling the candidates we didn’t know to get a sense of what their deal was.

One thing that the exercise really drove home was that the lines between parties are rather blurry. Between my folks’ deck of candidates and my own I’ve seen ex-Union Montréal candidates running for Vision Montréal and for Projet Montréal, and even an ex-Projet Montréal candidate running for Vision Montréal.

My advice ended up being: pick the individuals who best represent your interests no matter what party the are running with. And by that logic, the three major parties may well be getting votes from me come Sunday.

Image created by a design student at UQAM, part of the sos montréal campaign. Used with permission.

Médias - Le Soleil fermera son bureau à Ottawa

2009-10-08T07:00:00Z

Le Soleil va fermer son bureau de la colline parlementaire à Ottawa, selon les informations obtenues par Le Devoir. Le quotidien de Gesca a déjà réduit les effectifs de son bureau de l'Assemblée nationale. Le groupe avait pourtant promis de maintenir ces bureaux intacts et d'assurer la diversité des sources d'information lorsqu'il a acquis Le Soleil en 2000. Suite