Busy week? Here are the top five local stories that had our readers talking:
1. Justin Trudeau raked over the coals for French answers to English questions
Formal complaints have been filed after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose to answer all questions at a stop in Sherbrooke in French — even the ones asked in English. “Thank you for using our country’s two official languages,” Trudeau replied in French to Judy Ross who asked about mental health services for anglophones. “But since we’re in Quebec, I’ll respond in French.”
In an op-ed published in the Montreal Gazette, former Liberal MNA Clifford Lincoln calls Trudeau’s actions an “inexcusable misstep.”
2. Hudson’s Willow Place Inn finds new owners, set to reopen this year
The Auberge Willow Place Inn, an iconic institution in Hudson that closed last fall, has been sold and is expected to reopen for business this year. The new owners are David Ades and Patricia Wenzel, a Town of Mont Royal couple who recently finalized the purchase from Michel Poirier who had closed the Hudson landmark on Main Road at the end of October. On Tuesday, Wenzel said they are still planning the relaunch of the Willow.
“We are working on some details right now. We just purchased it,” she said. “We hope to reopen in the future, but don’t know when. We want to do some renovations.
Mechanic Fernelly Zuniga adjusts a brake system on a new métro Azure car at Ateliers Youville, the first and largest maintenance centre for métros in Montreal.
3. City defends new Azur trains after STM takes them out of service
Even as it parked them indefinitely following a major breakdown, the city was defending the reliability of its new Azur trains. Both the city and the Société de transport de Montréal said it’s too soon to blame the new trains for the problem, as the cause of the breakdown is not yet clear. The STM said it first noticed problems with the contact shoes on Azur trains in December, but didn’t think the damage was significant enough to warrant further investigation.
This week, the Montreal Gazette editorial board called on the STM to better communicate notice of métro shutdowns to its passengers. While the STM is touting a drop in métro delays in 2016, there was a jump in shutdowns affecting all four lines simultaneously.
4. Minimum wage increase brings relief and disappointment
Quebec’s announcement that it would raise the minimum wage by 50 cents to $11.25 this year and to $12.45 by 2020 evoked mixed reactions Thursday. Labour groups pushing for a $15-an-hour minimum already seen in some parts of the U.S. called it a slap in the face destined to keep the working poor impoverished, while employers’ organizations expressed relief the government hadn’t opted for a drastic rise they say would have crippled their members.
5. What is wrong with Carey Price?
That was the question posed by Brendan Kelly in his latest What the Puck column. “The Canadiens’ all-world/other-worldly/greatest-ever goalie simply hasn’t been himself for the past six weeks and it’s right there to see in his stats. He has had four or more goals scored against him in four of his last five games and in one of those games, that embarrassment at the hands of the Minnesota Wild, he let in seven goals,” he writes. Read the whole column here.
