Montréal Mirabel Airport was opened in 1975 at the cost of $2 billion adjusted. Ultimately its tarmac and runway areas alone were to take up 70 km
2 (27 mi
2) of space and would have made it the world's largest airport. The airport never got any busier than Boise Airport is today, and the passenger terminals are now abandoned shells (
slideshow). A key
factor in the failure was that for 22 years authorities banned all international flights from the much-closer, thriving Dorval Airport, heavily used by locals and business travellers. It didn't help that Montreal was already sliding into decline in the 1970s due to the growth of the Great Lakes and Toronto-based economies and uncertainties about Quebec's
political climate. Montreal is no stranger to alleged boondoggles:
Olympic Stadium, half-finished during the 1976 Summer Games, spiralled
$1 billion over budget.
posted by crapmatic
on Nov 27, 2009 -
46 comments
A recent series of posts on the web site of First Things magazine looks at what could be described as a reactionary moment on the part of some folk and roots musicians in Québec and around the world... and we're not talking
The Goldwaters (
Wikipedia).
[more inside]
posted by Jahaza
on Jan 7, 2009 -
10 comments
Results of tonight's election in Quebec are in. The Quebec Liberal Party has managed just barely to hold onto power in that province, winning a minority government--the first time this has happened in
la belle province since...well...since the year the phonograph was first patented. But there's an even bigger story. And that's the apparent collapse of the separatist
Parti Québécois vote, in favour of the centre-right
Action Démocratique Party, surprising just about everybody other than those who actually live in the province.
Here's the breakdown in the vote as of 11:00PM:
Liberal (32.50%) - ADQ (31.19%) - PQ (28.48%).
What these results mean for Canada's federal parliament---also in a minority situation---is anyone's guess at this point. The smart money is on Prime Minister Harper calling an early summer election. These results tonight would certainly give him reason to think that Quebec voters are in the mood for change. But like spring weather in these parts, things are quite changeable these days.
posted by runningdogofcapitalism
on Mar 26, 2007 -
69 comments
He's young, telegenic, bilingual, a Harvard grad... and
now André Boisclair, the
youngest person ever elected to a seat in Quebec's National Assembly, is the new leader of the
Parti Quebecois, the nationalist -- as in
Quebec nationalist -- left-leaning party
founded to take
Canada's mostly french-speaking province out of the federation. Oh, and
he's gay. And an
admitted (former) cocaine user (although that might be
a good thing.) Oh, and, according to the polls, the next Premier Ministre of Quebec.
posted by docgonzo
on Nov 16, 2005 -
116 comments
Canada, a 13+ link whistlestop glance at something from all the provinces and territories...
Alberta,
British Columbia,
Manitoba,
New Brunswick,
Newfoundland,
NWT,
Nova Scotia,
Nunavut,
Ontario,
PEI,
Quebec,
Saskatewan,
Yukon. Not to mention the talk about
Turks and
Caicos?
posted by edgeways
on Feb 15, 2005 -
28 comments
Do you, Adam, take this man Steve, to be your lawfully wedded husband ... "... a panel of Ontario judges ordered Parliament to broaden its definition of marriage to include gay men and women, the first decision of its kind in Canada. " Rulings on cases in BC and Quebec to follow.
Good news for the Canadian Tourist industry, at any rate. So far the only heartbreak in all this is the utter lack of Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and Pottery Barn stores in Canada for these people to register at.
posted by kristin
on Jul 14, 2002 -
13 comments
Families forgive driver who caused death of children Can death-penalty advocates bring themselves to this level of forgiveness? “The parents of four of the five victims of Sunday’s tragedy at Lingwick have asked authorities to withdraw charges filed Monday against Steve Rousseau, 21, the driver of a car that plunged into a quarry.... ‘We forgive Steve Rousseau and we’d like the charges against him lifted. He already feels a great deal of pain over what happened, which was an accident. He’s a little guy who has already been devastated by the burden placed on him. We don’t want to make matters worse,’ says Christian Morin, father of Marie-France. ‘We have no grievance with him.’ ” The Crown will prosecute
anyway. (Also
second article. All in French.)
posted by joeclark
on Jun 12, 2001 -
15 comments
FTAA Diary is a 48-page zine (available for download in pdf format) chronicling the experiences of folks who protested in Quebec. Illustrated with powerful black and white photos, the narratives personalize the events like no journalism could hope to.
posted by sudama
on Apr 29, 2001 -
21 comments
Mafiaboy pleads guilty today in a Quebec court. I think that this case was turned into a witch hunt. The media as always he no idea what it was talking about. A lot of people could have done what he did, but he was stupid enough to do it.
posted by bytecode
on Jan 18, 2001 -
0 comments
Only 24 more days til the
Ice
Hotel Quebec opens! You may have heard of the
Swedish
Ice Hotel, well now they are
building
one in Canada. A hotel built from ice and snow, and rebuilt every year.
It looks beautiful, but I have to wonder, do they bother putting ice machines
out in the hall next to the soda machine? Are hair dryers and irons banned? Would you spend a night at an ice hotel? Just remember to pack your fur lined footie pyjamas!
posted by ljc
on Dec 8, 2000 -
7 comments
October Coffee Crisis. Montreal Gazette: "In its communiques, the BAF warned that Second Cup franchises were to be 'in the line of fire' and warned of an escalation of violent acts if Second Cup and other chains insist on keeping their trademark English names." More Trudeau nostalgia?
posted by todd
on Oct 12, 2000 -
7 comments
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