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Jackie Robinson's Montreal Home Honoured
The home where Jackie Robinson lived during his stay in Montreal was honoured Monday with a gold-coloured plaque.
American diplomats, Montreal’s mayor, Robinson’s daughter and dozens of onlookers gathered to commemorate the day.
The event coincides with Black History Month, as Robinson went on to break pro-baseball’s infamous colour barrier.
Robinson stayed in Montreal in the summer of 1946 while he trained with the minor-league Montreal Royals.
The U.S. ambassador to Canada reminded spectators that he was there on behalf of an African-American president, unimaginable years ago. He thanked Montrealers for embracing Robinson, contributing to American civil rights and to the end of segregation in baseball.
Jackie Robinson died in 1972.
Libya Evacuation
The Canadian Forces will send a 13 member team to help bring foreign nationals out of Libya. Approximately 100 000 people have been evacuated so far. Among them, 250 Canadians.
Leader Muammar Gadhafi laughed off the revolution in his country during an interview yesterday with the foreign press. He said that all his people support him and that Al Qaeda is to blame for any violence. The UN estimates that 1000 people have died in the conflict.
Canada and the US have called for Gadhafi to step down and imposed severe sanctions. Canada has done its part by banning Canadian companies from doing business with Libya. Meanwhile the US has frozen 30 billion in Libyan assets. The largest sanction order in US history.
The conflict in Libya has already created a stir in world oil prices. Traders fear that the political instability will spread past Libya to other OPEC countries.
Gadhafi has made no sign that he will be stepping down anytime soon.
Quebecers to face roadwork this summer
Summer temperatures won’t be the only thing heating up Quebec roads this year as drivers will face lots construction work.
The government has announced a plan of $3.9 billion for road work in the province. Over $400 million will go to the 50 projects expected in Montreal.
Work will be done on the Decarie Interchange and the Dorval Circle, as well as the Metropolitan highway.
Transportation Minister Sam Hamad says most of Quebec’s roads are in good condition. But there is still more work to do and that is why the government is investing the money. He says people who haven’t been in Quebec since 2002 will see a big difference.
Is it worth it?
The federal NDP has made an important statement. They want Canadians to vote in a special referendum on whether to abolish the Senate. This could happen as soon as the next federal election. This proposal will be discussed Tuesday in the House of Commons.
The NDP is also suggesting the creation of a new parliamentary committee. This committee would help examine how to make representation in the House of Commons reflect more accurately how Canadians vote.
NDP leader Jack Layton says the reputation of the Senate continues to decline. However, abolishing the Senate will not be an easy task. The consent of all ten provinces, the House of Commons, and the Senate itself would be required for a constitutional amendment.
February 28th 2011
Read by Sofia Gay
Produced by Gareth Sloan
Stories by Corentine Rivoire, Sarah E., Marcin Wisniewski and Chris Hanna
New Canadian Sanctions on Libya
Canada shall impose further sanctions on Libya. On Sunday Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, announced Canada’s sanctions will go beyond those of the UN Security Council. On Saturday the UN Security Council unanimously voted to impose an arms embargo on Libya. It also backed travel ban on Moammar Gadhafi, his children and 10 top associates. The Council urged its members to freeze the assets of the Libyan dictator and his family members.
Canadian sanctions include a freeze and a ban on financial transactions with the government of Libya. The ban extends to financial institutions and agencies, including the Libyan Central Bank. Prime Minister Harper says, "These actions will help restrict the movement of and access to money and weapons for those responsible for violence against the Libyan people."
The UN General Assembly is meeting Tuesday to vote on a UN Human Rights Council recommendation to suspend Libya from the UN’s human rights body.
Quebecer arrested in Berlin for displaying Nazi salute
In Berlin, a tourist from Quebec was arrested by the German police yesterday for making a Nazi salute in from of the German parliament.
The police handcuffed him while he was being photographed by his girlfriend on the steps of the Reichstag.
After paying bail, the tourist was freed, although he risked up to six month in jail.
Any display of Nazi symbols is considered a serious crime in modern-day Germany.
The King's Speech wins big at Oscars
With 12 nominations going into the ceremony, “The King’s Speech” took home four of the biggest awards on Oscar night, including Best Picture.
The film was also awarded the lead actor Oscar for Colin Firth’s performance.
“The King’s Speech” director Tim Hooper and writer David Seidler also took home Oscars for the film.
The movie is about a British monarch with a stutter whose speech therapist helps him overcome it.
Other winners included “Inception” with four Oscars, “The Social Network” with three and "The Fighter" won two.
Quebec was well-represented, but could not bring home any gold.
Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies” lost the Foreign Language Oscar to Denmark’s entry “In a Better World.”
Montreal-shot “Barney’s Version,” based on Mordecai Richler’s book, was nominated for the Achievement in Makeup Oscar, but lost it to the team from “The Wolfman.”
Celine Dion performed “Smile” during the In Memoriam tribute.
Actors Melissa Leo, Christian Bale and Natalie Portman also won awards for their performances in their films.
Hey Rosetta! @ Le Cabaret du Mile End
To promote the release of their third album, Seeds, Hey Rosetta! (exclamation mark mandatory) is doing a North American tour. They sold out Montreal’s Le Cabaret du Mile End on Friday, February 18th.
Walking into the venue moments before the band took to the stage, I felt the sense of excitement and electricity in the air. Everyone was there to see the small town six-member band from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The size of the crowd was amazing; seeing the band member’s surprised and humble expressions throughout the whole show as they looked out at the mass of people, you knew they felt the same way.
Hey Rosetta! started the show with three songs off their new album, giving us a taste of why we were there. Mixing their garage rock sound with more traditional instruments like the violin, cello, and piano, the band’s new music stays true to their roots.
“Yer Spring” was the third song on the setlist and it is by far my favorite off the new album. The song showcases the band’s layered sound and lead singer Tim Baker’s energetic and balanced voice. Everyone in the audience had their eyes closed as they swayed to Baker’s voice, and jumped up and down as the song picked up. Hey Rosetta! has a way of making you want to slow dance and mosh all at the same time.
The band took a turn down memory lane and played a few songs from their first two albums, Into Your Lungs and Plan Your Escape. The classics they played really got the crowd roaring. Everyone sang along to "There’s An Arc" and Baker started a clapping interlude that felt 10 minutes long. After this the show really got going; the crowd was even more energetic, as was the band.
When the band got to the title track of Seeds, there were people dancing on stage, sitting crossed leg on ledges bopping their heads, and, I am pretty sure, there were some crowd surfing. This song really showcases the band’s flexibility; member’s switched violins for maracas and tambourines, cello’s for bases, piano’s for mandolins - back and forth throughout the whole song. A mini dance party started on stage in the middle of the song, but it didn’t last long enough. For a moment it seemed like Baker was going to start beat boxing.
Baker interacted really well with the audience and of course told us how much the band loved Montreal. He referenced J.D. Salinger and Leonard Cohen as inspirations for a lot of the music they make. Although he was the only one who really talked to the audience, the rest of the band looked so happy to be there that they didn’t need to express it in words.
The stage was properly dressed with antique chairs and a landscape background. Both represented their classic sound and folky East coast roots.
Hey Rosetta! ended their twelve song set with a personal favorite of mine, "Red Heart," off their second album. By the end of the song people had lighters in the air and wanted more. The moment Hey Rosetta! stepped off stage the iconic chant began, begging them to come back out for just “one more song!”. Playing four encores, Hey Rosetta! still left me wanting more. Maybe it was the massive energy of their live shows, the dancing highs and lows, or the intoxicating hum of their layered sound, but when they left the stage a second time all I could think was “one more song!”.
Set list:
- "Downstairs"
- "Welcome"
- "Yer Spring"
- "Another Pilot"
- "There's An Arc"
- "Yer Fall"
- "Young Glass"
- "I've Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time"
- "Swing The Cellar Door"
- "We Made A Pact"
- "Seeds"
- "Res Heart"
- "Bandages"
- "A Thousand Suns"
- "Time After Time" (cover of Cyndi Lauper)
- "New Goodbye"
Canadian Missing in Afghanistan
A Canadian citizen is missing in Afghanistan after travelling to the country as a tourist. The department made the statement Sunday after a news release claimed a Canadian spy had been captured. Canadian officials are working with Afghan authorities to assist the family in securing a safe release.
The Canadian government says it strongly advises against all travel to Afghanistan. The Canadian military says no one is missing from its ranks.
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