Behind The Curtain (30 June, 2023)
Accessible Audio read by Jason C. McLean
Throwback Granite Tree Stumps
Facebook Memories are a mixed bag, to say the least. Sometimes it truly is a great memory of a party or trip, sometimes it’s a reminder that I used to think my status update had to be in the form of a sentence with my name included (“Jason C. McLean is enjoying lunch” and such…aaah 2008), while sometimes it’s a reminder of something I would just as soon forget. Yesterday, though, Facebook decided to remind me of something I think we all should never forget: that time in 2017 when our municipal government thought spending $3.45 Million on fake tree stumps made out of granite, that were awkward to sit on, to boot, was a great way to celebrate Montreal’s 375th Anniversary. I had taken a picture of a few of them after they went up on The Mountain (one still in its cage):
Photo by Jason C. McLean
We talked quite a bit about this on the old .net, as did everyone interested in municipal politics at the time, plus those people who didn’t really pay attention to our municipal political scene, except for when something really ludicrous and expensive came down the pipe. The whole 375eme thing was a massive head scratcher, and I’m not just talking about celebrating colonialism without even a modicum of self-reflection, I’m talking about the ways our municipal government under then-Mayor Denis Coderre, chose to celebrate it. Sure, lighting up the Jacques Cartier bridge made sense, and was kinda nice, so was the River to Mountain walk up Peel Street, if a little bit intense on the last leg. Those, in no way, make up for the out-of-touch mindset that decides to hold a rodeo to celebrate Montreal’s history, or the sheer lack of political optics that commissions a National Anthem for the Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles at a cost of $119 000.
I don’t care about the price tag in this case, rather that one random borough (which the Mayor’s party controlled) gets a National Anthem when Quebec, which identifies as a nation (or a nation within a nation, depending on who you talk to), doesn’t have one. Neither does Montreal, which I sometimes like to think of as a future city-state, but in any case, was what this money was celebrating in the first place. Why didn’t the Sud-Ouest Borough get a National Anthem? One of my former bands, not [sic], has a song called The Beaches of St-Henri, we could have used that! Why not a National Anthem for the Plateau? Something by Leonard Cohen? Andrew, any suggestions? (Editor’s Note: Personally, my choice for a Plateau anthem would be Move BITCH, by Ludacris.)
Before I go on, yes I am aware that former Mayor Coderre had a stroke this April, and is in recovery, and doing interviews about it. To be crystal clear, I wish him a speedy recovery, and hold no malice against Denis Coderre the human being. While I have never supported his candidacy or his governance, I recognize that he did believe in what he was doing, committed to it fully, and even got some things right. What really irked me back then, and still does now, is the type of local politics he and his administration represented, and took to a whole new level of arrogance. Exemplified by these uncomfortable, useless, (no disrespect to the sculptor, good job on getting paid, but) ugly, and pointless granite fake tree stumps our city was littered with.
2017 was six years ago, and also the year Montreal changed administrations, electing Valérie Plante as Mayor, and giving her party, Projet Montréal, control of City Council, along with several boroughs. They repeated their success in 2021. Montrealers weren’t impressed with the Coderre Administration’s choices. His allowing the Formula E electric car race to occupy city streets, when we have a perfectly good, world-class race track off-island, was a particular sticking point with voters. And they didn’t forget when Coderre was the candidate again the second time around.
Since then, some have suggested that I’ve been too soft on the Plante Administration. Admittedly, I haven’t been as vicious on them as I was in my attacks on the Coderre and Gérald Tremblay administrations (I let the courts deal with Michael Applebaum, and Laurent Blanchard was Mayor for close to four months and didn’t get arrested, or cause any scandals. Cheers, Laurent, on a job well done!). My lack of vitriol is because I remember what came before. Yes, some things Plante & co. have done have really pissed me off, and I’ve called them out when they did. But their underlying approach has always been one of asking what works best for the people who live here. Even if their answer is wrong, it comes from a good place, or at least a place that cares what I think. Even their tree stumps are better.
I tweeted this news story the other week on Forget The Press:
The Peel Street Trail, when completed, will have 11 stations, each with two bronze seats, one sculpted by Indigenous artist MC Snow, and the other by non-Indigenous artist Kyra Revenko. The one comment on this tweet, by NDGWinning, simply reads “Well, at least they aren't granite this time.” I’d add that at least they have some meaning this time. At least they are designed to provoke conversation, which may lead to reconciliation, this time. At least they are, you know, actual art this time. And at least you can comfortably sit on them this time.
Sure, the Plante Administration has had their excesses, too. Namely the giant fucking ring installed downtown. While I don’t, for a moment, believe that it had any chance of accomplishing the administration’s stated goal of bringing people back downtown to work in offices, at least it had a goal. And yes, when you see the $5 million price tag, you know that the money could have been spent elsewhere, like on the homeless, but at least the private sector (Ivanhoé Cambridge, which owns Place Ville-Marie), and the provincial government, kicked in a good chunk of that. Wasteful and needless? Yes. Ugly? No. Plus we have the memes:
This week, Facebook reminded me of why I’m way more chill talking about Plante than what came before. While I realize I could probably be a little tougher, I’ll take a giant useless ring over ugly fake tree stumps any day.
NOTES THIS WEEK
Moving Day
Tomorrow is Moving Day for many in Montreal. With the housing crisis in full effect, some may be left out in the streets. As the provincial government is trying to make things harder for renters with Bill 31, fourteen mayors, including Sud-Ouest Borough Mayor (and the person responsible for housing for the City of Montreal) Benoit Dorais signed a letter calling on the Quebec Government to adopt a public, mandatory, universal rent registry. Here’s hoping these mayors get what they are asking for.
Progressive 416
We don’t usually talk about Toronto on this site because we’re local, and who wants to talk about Toronto (I kid, I kid). But I would like to congratulate Olivia Chow, ehm, Mayor-Elect Olivia Chow, on her victory in their municipal election. I would also like to congratulate Toronto for shaking off the Ford daze and following Montreal’s lead down a more progressive political path.
Free Transit For Seniors
Starting in July (aka tomorrow), public transit (bus, metro) is free on the Island of Montreal for people aged 65 and up. Since the only people I know for sure that read this series every week are my friend Laurence, and my Mom, I assume that my demographic is 50% people over 65. (Editor’s Note: That’s not how demographics work. Also, I read it every week….because I have to). Regardless, for half of you, or maybe for just some of you, this is good news, and a step in the right direction. For the rest of us, we just have to hope and wait for transit to be free for us all.
Money Talks
If you do have a roof over your head, and a bit of cash to spend, you can still donate to our IndieGoGo campaign and help us achieve our goals of supporting local ground level and underground artists, and their art.
That’s it for this week. If you celebrate Canada Day, hope it’s a good one for you, and also hope you reflect on our colonial history amid all the nationalistic hoopla. To everyone else, happy long weekend!
FTB Founder Jason C. McLean returns every Friday for another installment in his series, Behind The Curtain.
