PHOTO JEFF MCINTOSH, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre waves to the crowd during the Calgary Stampede parade in Calgary, Alberta, on July 5.
Pierre Poilievre’s Dream Canada
In a video released last weekend, Pierre Poilievre describes his dream Canada: citizens can hunt, debate freely and drop their children off at school in pickup. Small problem: the wheat shown to illustrate the Conservative leader’s flight is American. The foothills are Indonesian. And the Rockies are those of Utah. Recognizing its mistake, the party deleted the video shortly after posting it online. But what is not a mistake is the message Poilievre wants to convey with this speech, writes Isabelle Hachey. He paints the picture of a country in ruins, but the data shows that Canada remains one of the best places to live. Broken, Canada? Certainly not as broken as Pierre Poilievre’s communications team, says our columnist.
Read Isabelle Hachey’s column “Poilievre’s Dream Canada”
PHOTO ÉTIENNE RANGER, LE DROIT ARCHIVES
The case of Pascal Mesthi has been much talked about this week.
Teachers struggling to work despite shortage
On the eve of the start of the school year, schools are still looking for thousands of teachers. However, some of them are unable to get a position. The case of Pascal Mesthi, recounted by our columnist Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, has generated a lot of reaction. Despite his 28 years of experience in renowned schools in Lebanon and Kuwait, the French teacher was refused his teaching permit in Quebec. In a letter, David Gagné explained that he still does not have a contract two weeks before the start of the school year, despite his availability and qualifications. How many are in a similar situation? The question is pressing, but Quebec has not been able to indicate the number of applications for probationary permits refused…
Read Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot’s column “Not qualified enough despite 28 years of teaching?”
Read the letter “If there is a shortage of teachers, why am I without a contract?”
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The number of temporary immigrants has increased from 300,000 to 600,000 over the past two years in Quebec.
Temporary immigration put under brake
In the midst of an immigration standoff between Quebec and Ottawa, the province is preparing to restrict the arrival of foreign workers and students in Montreal. Premier François Legault, supported by Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette, justifies these measures by the need to protect public services and the French language, reported Louise Leduc. Foreign students will also be affected, with a bill to come to limit their number. Criticism is emerging from the Parti Québécois, which sees these as insufficient “half-measures,” and from the business community, which emphasizes the constant need for workers. In his column, Paul Journet highlights the difficulty of acting on this complex issue.
Read the text by Louise Leduc “Quebec will slow the arrival of foreign workers and students”
Read Paul Journet’s column “Immigration seen from the stands”
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In Canada, one in two households is still unable to meet their food needs due to rising prices.
Towards a respite at the grocery store?
The consumer price index continued to slow, reaching 2.5% in July. This trend is fueling hopes that the Bank of Canada will announce further rate cuts in the coming months. More remarkable for households, food inflation seems to be under control and it was high time for it to calm down, according to data compiled by Marie-Eve Fournier. The price of a grocery basket is so high that in Canada, one in two households cannot meet their food needs. The proportion even reaches 71% in the case of single-parent families. This shows how much the 29 months of food inflation above 3% in supermarkets have hurt. This period, which began in September 2021, ended in February of this year. But prices have not gone back down. They have only increased at a more normal pace, our columnist points out.
Read Marie-Eve Fournier’s column “The havoc caused by three years of inflation”
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
“We are very aware that the spacing out of the collection requires a change of habits for Montrealers,” said the mayor of the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Pierre Lessard-Blais.
The overflow of composting
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais announced that the borough would now be collecting garbage every 14 days instead of every week. He hopes that the garbage won’t be smelly or dirty, since table scraps should normally end up in the compost. Will this help promote composting? “We’ve reached a limit in terms of awareness,” the elected official told our reporter Philippe Teisceira-Lessard. “We know that only one in three Montrealers composts when they have access to compost. And that more than half of what we find in our garbage is compost.” Will the measure force the recalcitrant to take out their brown bins?
Read “Composting: “We have reached a limit in awareness,” says a district mayor”