Bernard Trépanier, a.k.a. 'Mr. Three Per Cent,' dies at 79
Bernard Trépanier, the former municipal political fundraiser who was identified at the Charbonneau Commission hearings as a key figure in corruption at Montreal city hall, has died. Trépanier, who was...
View ArticleValérie Plante faces massive test with looming labour talks
A key plank of Mayor Valérie Plante’s 2017 election campaign platform that pledged to improve relations with municipal employees will be put to the test next month when the city sits down to contract...
View ArticleTime ran out on talks with city firefighters almost before they began
The city and the union representing Montreal firefighters only started collective bargaining in mid-March, but they’ve technically already blown the negotiating deadline imposed on them by a new Quebec...
View ArticleMontreal to have 'most expensive composting plants in this universe'
Montrealers should brace themselves because the city is preparing to build the most expensive organic waste treatment centres in the world, sources are warning. The bids to design, build, operate and...
View ArticleResidents decry felling of 70 mature trees along Lachine Canal
Residents who live near the Lachine Canal say they watched in disbelief as a company working for Parks Canada clear cut a tract of about 70 mature trees during the past week to make way for a new bike...
View ArticleHow Montreal compares to other cities on organic waste treatment
When the city of Montreal went to public tenders last year for the first three organic waste processing plants that it plans for the island, it chose the same route as Toronto and several other public...
View ArticleMontreal's single-bid snow-clearing contracts raise questions about collusion
Three years after the inspector general of Montreal revealed patterns of collusion in municipal snow-clearing work, the city has just awarded 16 contracts that suggest the same patterns still exist,...
View ArticleGridlock at Atwater and René-Lévesque is real, but who is responsible?
One of Montreal’s most congested intersections due to ongoing construction isn’t indicated on the city’s Info-Travaux website and hasn’t elicited so much as a tweet on the city’s social media account...
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Little or no competition: A red flag for how Montreal awards municipal contracts
When Montreal needed to buy five mobile stages to host outdoor cultural events in four boroughs, only one company presented a bid for the nearly $1-million contract, which was awarded this past...
View ArticleMontreal inspector general says construction supervisors are tolerating bad work
The Montreal inspector general’s office has put a face on the city’s pothole problem: construction site supervisors who are tolerating improper work done by road and sidewalk firms. In a 29-page report...
View ArticleThousands of runners to converge on downtown Montreal this weekend
For the first time since the city began hosting a marathon, downtown will serve as the start and finish line for 25,000 runners who are expected at the 28th edition of the Oasis International Marathon...
View ArticleSuburban mayors welcome new openness from Plante-Dorais administration
Encouraged by recent discussions with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration, the mayors of the island suburbs held a news conference on Thursday to thank her for her openness and to herald a...
View ArticleMontreal files $14-million suit against Zampino, others over water meters
The city of Montreal is suing Frank Zampino, the former No. 2 politician at city hall, construction entrepreneurs Tony Accurso and Paolo Catania and 11 other people and businesses for $14 million over...
View ArticleMontreal is better late than never with message boards: traffic expert
Passersby might have missed the new electronic message boards the city installed on a pole on downtown Sherbrooke St. W. this week, given that they were installed behind a tree. But the city promises...
View ArticleQuebec election: Upsets and breakthroughs in Montreal's east end
The eastern part of Montreal Island was the stage for a number of upsets, breakthroughs and nail-biter finishes in the Quebec election on Monday. Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée lost his...
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Unseating the mayors: Bronze plaques at Montreal city hall in peril
Oh, if the bronze faces in the hallowed halls of Montreal city hall could talk, it’s possible they would be snickering. The city is reconsidering its tradition of adding to the gallery of portraits of...
View ArticleOpposition calls for Montreal to get ISO anti-bribery certification
The opposition at Montreal city hall says it wants the city to add one more tool to its arsenal in the war on corruption. Lionel Perez, the interim leader of Ensemble Montréal, says his party plans to...
View ArticleNew project expected for site of old Spectrum in Quartier des spectacles
The site where the Spectrum theatre once stood has been empty for a decade, a phantom place for those who recall the downtown corner’s storied past and a reminder that promises of an impending...
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Montrealers can expect decades of roadwork misery, 2016 report shows
Montrealers might be thinking the roadwork torture they’re being subjected to will surely come to an end at some point. One day several years from now — poof — the number of construction zones and...
View ArticleMontreal spends more on roads than rest of Canada, with worse results
It is not only an impression that Montreal roads are in worse shape than elsewhere. New data confirm the condition of the city’s streets is worse than in other places in Canada. It also shows that...
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