Behind The Curtain (23 June, 2023)
Accessible Audio read by Jason C. McLean
Mount Royal… Mine-Free Since 2009!
Fun Fact: I once got fired from a job because I was on TV.
A number of years ago, I had called in sick to an office job in one of the few high-rises on The Main, the one on St-Laurent Boulevard at the corner of Rachel. I wasn’t really sick, but rather taking part in a theatre stunt on the Mountain at 11am. We were protesting Canadian mining practices in Mexico, South America, and globally, by registering Royal Or, and staking a claim for an open-pit mine on Mount-Royal. And by “we” I mean a professor from McGill who organized everything, and sent the press releases, some McGill students playing surveyors, complete with the outfit and equipment, and invited guests from Honduras, Chile, Argentina, and the Congo. I had previously worked with some of the same people plus a group of theatre activists from Mexico to protest Metallica Resources for their open-pit mine in Cerro de San Pedro (that callout got some interesting responses from confused people ready to protest the band).
This time, they needed someone to play the evil mining company executive. I always love playing the heel, and got the call the night before. Something told me that a last-minute request for time off to do something my boss probably wouldn’t understand was too risky, so I opted instead to call in sick. I was worried the whole time I was up there that someone might spot me from the office windows (no real chance, but who knows), or that a co-worker might stop by the Mountain on their lunch break and see me. That didn’t happen, so I was in the clear…or so I thought. What I neglected to factor in was the massive bank of TV and mainstream print media cameras I was playing to. Everyone from CBC to 24 Heures was there (my speaking bit was bilingual). Françoise David, Québec solidaire (QS) Founder, and at-the-time Co-Spokesperson (but not yet an MNA) even recorded a video report, which is still on the QS YouTube Channel:
Leaving the event, I thought that things had gone quite well. I found out shortly after that while the fake company registration was real, the actual staking of a claim was just theatrical. Someone heard about what we were doing, and Quebec’s Title Management System removed Mount Royal from the available claims before we were able to officially stake it online. Even if it wasn’t the message we were trying to impart, it was a nice touch. Think about that for a moment. Mount-Royal, a public park for over 150 years, was available to claim for mining until 2009 (even with, you know, train tracks running underneath). So when you’re sitting at Tam Tams and there’s no open-pit mine next to you, thank me. Or really thank a professor named Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert, but he’s probably not reading this, so thank me. Anyway, I had escaped being caught by my job, but for some reason, it didn’t occur to me that my bosses were people who watched TV and read newspapers. So I got fired, then went on EI, and used the knowledge of this new fandangled thing called WordPress the company had introduced me to to start the precursor to this very site, so all good in the long run.
What amazes me to this very day is that it never occurred to me at the time that massive media exposure might, you know, expose me. When you put stuff out there, you can’t control, or sometimes even predict who can see it. Lesson learned! (Editor’s Note: Really? You just wrote that someone with a rather unique-for-Montreal name is “probably not reading this”. Do I need to explain how Google works?) What I really hadn’t gotten my head around, and, to be honest, still have trouble doing, is that despite me mentally separating one professional aspect of my life from another, they are still interconnected. Sometimes you can’t stop the worlds from colliding, no matter how hard you try.
Of course, my real takeaway from this is that Canadian mining companies are still, by and large, terrible, and oversight on them is as non-existent as it was on protecting Mount-Royal before our stunt. And this is altogether far more important than the repercussions of me getting caught erroneously calling in sick.
NOTES THIS WEEK
Housing (Minister in) Crisis
We learned on Tuesday that Quebec’s Professional Conduct and Ethics Commissioner is investigating Provincial Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau for "possible ethics code breach with respect to conflicts of interest". This stems from an investigative report last week by Ricochet and Pivot that revealed that the minister was lobbied by one her own real estate business partners, all the while trying to pass Bill 31 which will bar lease transfers. Then on Wednesday, the same outlets revealed that Duranceau met with another former business partner at a lobbying event in March. Premier François Legault has trouble admitting there even is a housing crisis. I wonder if he’ll at least admit that his minister is in a crisis of her own creation.
Plante v. Legault?
"I don't want Montreal to be just for the rich." That was how Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante responded to Premier Legault’s claims that increasing real estate prices are the sign of a good economy, adding that increased prices don’t necessarily correlate with increased wages. I like that the Mayor made it clear, once again, that she doesn’t want us to become like Toronto or Vancouver, but I really like that she is directly contradicting the Premier. It isn’t Houde vs. Duplessis Round 2, but it’s a nice start.
And the Frankie Goes To…
Watching The Oscars may sometimes satisfy my need for the gaudy and over-the-top, but lately, the Best Picture winner has rarely, if ever, been a movie I have seen. Last year, none of the movies I had seen were even nominated (I even went beyond my usual franchises and saw Glass Onion, but no luck). At the Frankie Awards, on the other hand, I had shows to root for. Six of them, in fact. It was a packed house for Montreal Fringe’s annual closing event Sunday at Club Soda, and I’m very happy that Caught won Outstanding English Production (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts Award), and Lady KaThy & son melting pot won the Spirit of the FRINGE Award. Both very deserving, and a big congrats to all the shows I saw, and those who participated.
There’s Still Time!
You haven’t missed your chance to donate to the FTB IndieGoGo campaign! So far, a bunch of cool people have donated. But you know who hasn’t? Elon Musk. That’s right, if you don’t donate, I’ll start calling you Elon Musk (Editor’s Note: No he won’t, he’s joking, only donate if you can afford it, and if you want to help us achieve our goals.)
Well, that’s it for this week. In the next Behind the Curtain, I’ll really try and stay off the Plateau and get back to St-Henri.
FTB Founder Jason C. McLean returns every Friday for another installment in his series, Behind The Curtain.
