All the best from Move to Montréal. May your desire to move to this wonderful city be reached during 2010.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Dec 25th, 2009 by richard
Poetry in Plateau Mont Royal Council Meetings
Dec 17th, 2009 by richard
- Snow on Plateau Mont-Royal
Last night Le Plateau Mont Royal council held a meeting to discuss snow removal. There have been tensions in the borough after the council decided not to remove snow during the weekends.
Drivers were enraged at it makes it harder to park cars and business owners were unhappy at the thought that they’d loose car driving customers. 60% of Plateau residents don’t own a vehicle (source: CBC Radio One).
Given the tensions, the speaker of last night’s meeting decided to begin with a two minute poem to calm everyone down. That’s just what it’s like on the Plateau!
Image: http://images.doctissimo.fr/voyages/photo/hd/3023643302/montreal/plateau-royal-hiver-1573966e42.jpgPrivate Contractors Snow Removal
Dec 13th, 2009 by richard
Here is the equipment private contractors will use for your snow removal for a price of around $300 for the season.
First Snow Storm of the Winter
Dec 9th, 2009 by richard
Montréal was shook today by its first snow-storm. Well, shook is as much an exaggeration as the word storm.
Canadians refer to a large deposit of snow as a storm. Storm in many peoples’ eyes gives the image of violence and extreme weather. Yet a standard Canadian snow storm is neither extreme nor violent. It’s soothing, transforming and can be fun.
Back to today’s storm. It passed off rather well for the first storm of the season. Many people chose to work from home, so the traffic wasn’t too bad. There were no major traffic perturbations unlike in 2008. A total of 20cm of snow has coated the city as of this moment.
Once the level of snow starts reaches 2.5cm (about an inch for those still in imperial units), city crews and contractors start sweeping the roads of the city to plough all of the snow to the side. Over the next four days, the accumulated snow will be removed and placed in snow dumps until it can melt.
Private home owners have three solutions:
- buy a tempo, an awning, to cover your driveway
- pay a contractor to clear your driveway
- do it yourself with shovels and a snow blower
Option 2 for many is the preferred way to go. The average cost is around $300 for the season, however some boroughs charge an additional tax so the cost can reach as much as $600. NDG is reputed for the high cost of snow removal.
A private contractor clearing driveways in a Montréal suburb
Whatever you choose, some shovelling will be in order – don’t over do it and try to do a little more often than leaving a lot to accumulate.
Enjoy the snow!
Canada’s Unemployment Goes Down – Québec Moving Out of Recession
Dec 4th, 2009 by richard
Figures just published by Statistics Canada and reported by the Globe and Mail, show that Canada and Québec are once again adding jobs. The new positions are in all sectors including services, education and manufacturing in a sign that demand is growing again and things are returning to normal.
Québec has suffered less than other provinces and especially the US during the downturn and is now looking forward to increased growth. This is probably due to Québec’s diversified economy, it has suffered more in earlier recessions but has abandoned sooner low level manufacturing.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/73416633@N00/341396238/
Montréal Alouettes Grey Cup Parade 2009
Dec 2nd, 2009 by richard
In 2009 Montréal’s Alouettes football team won Canada’s Grey Cup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the last few minutes. It was quite a victory and a close call.
Quick as a flash, three days later a victory parade was organized along Montréal downtown’s Rue St Catherine. The atmosphere was charged, with jubilant fans and office workers on their lunch hour. The video of most of the floats going past is here. Also the mayor, Gerald Tremblay, even found his place in the parade.
Cup cake Camp Montréal
Nov 22nd, 2009 by richard
Today is Cup Cake Camp Montréal. The idea is that you can go and taste a whole set of cup cakes, have fun and meet Montréalers.
All the details are at: http://cupcakecampmtl.org/
Images from Montréal’s Santa Parade 2009
Nov 22nd, 2009 by richard
Here are some images from Montréal’s 2009 Santa Parade from the Gazette:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Gallery+Santa+Claus+Parade/2251835/story.html
De-icing an aeroplane’s wings
Nov 19th, 2009 by richard
As winter approaches here in Montréal, one is often reminded of how the city needs to adapt to its particular environment. Planes that leave Montréal’s Trudeau airport often have ice build-up overnight and need to be de-iced before taking off.
Here is a short video of the de-icing procedure at work:
Jobs Data Better in Québec than the Rest of Canada
Nov 6th, 2009 by richard
Unemployment statistics released today show that Canada has lost jobs in the month of October. However, Québec is an exception to this rule and has seen unemployment fall to 8.5% from 8.8% in September.
In Montréal, unemployment has fallen from 9.5% to 9.3% in a month. Although the economy is difficult throughout the world at the moment, Montréal still has a lot going for it. It’s possible that previous pain has created an economy that is more axed on high-tech sectors and is feeling the pinch less that traditional manufacturers.
More more information, check out this article in the Globe and Mail.