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Comment? Vous ne parlez-pas le français, pas de tout? Mais, c'est pas necessaire, because we parlons l'Engleesh parfaitment, non? Cosmopolitan, hip and happening, that's Montréal.

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'We promise 2004 will be an exciting year' (No kidding) *
To Quebec's business community, Jean Charest may look like Santa, reports RHÉAL SÉGUIN, but the labour movement has declared war on him as the Grinch who stole Christmas. [More]

Adventuring in Québec (Peachin teaser) *
Québec offers a diverse contrast of activities and attractions. [More]

CHUM apologizes for Conan sketch *
A TV comedy sketch in which a grouchy puppet took potshots at French Canadians was called unacceptable and racist garbage by some federal politicians Friday. [More]

Confident Kovalev leads high-flying Canadiens *
Ever since he arrived from the New York Rangers in a trade in early March, the Montreal Canadiens and their fans have been patiently waiting to see the real Alexei Kovalev. [More]

CRTC muzzles Quebec shock jock *
He's been sued, criticized and isolated, but outspoken Quebec City radio host André Arthur is not about to clam up — not yet. He may just run in the next federal election. [More]

Dark horse takes top prize *
In a surprise twist, Louis Bélanger's Gaz Bar Blues was awarded the jury prize at Montreal's World Film Festival instead of the top-ranking Grand Prize of the Americas, which went to a taut Serbian war drama called The Cordon, by Goran Markovic. [More]

Everything but the bellboy *
Who needs Williams-Sonoma when chic hotels are selling their guests not just the sheets on their beds but the beds themselves. It brings a whole new meaning to the term 'boutique hotel' [More]

Fall in all its glory *
Cycling and hiking, festivals and luxury inns make autumn a fine time to visit Quebec's Eastern Townships [More]

Hells Angels members convicted in Montreal *
In a victory for the authorities in their long war against Quebec's most feared crime syndicate, a jury has returned guilty verdicts in a major jury trial against all defendants nine members of the Hells Angels and their puppet gang, the Rockers. [More]

How to keep the laughs coming *
Montreal's annual comedy fest offers speed dating, mind reading and Cosby [More]

L'Opera de Montreal's Marriage of Figaro in fine form *
L'Opéra de Montréal launched its 2003-2004 season with a musically strong and generally elegantly staged production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. [More]

Les Ateliers Marconi Montréal lofts *
Lofts in Montréal, en français, bien sûr. [More]

Louis Bélanger: A labour of love from Quebec *
Louis Bélanger grew up working in his father's gas station and pays tribute to those roots in his feature Gaz Bar Blues, the opener at Montreal's World Film Festival [More]

Mad skillz with duct tape *
Winnipeg's Robert Butler takes the Red Green approach to reinventing images [More]

Madeleine magic: The scenic Quebec archipelago *
The scenic Quebec archipelago pleases gourmets, adventurers and shoppers [More]

MÉLIÈS, Montréal -- MENU DE LA SAINT VALENTIN, 2008 *
offert du 14 février jusqu'au samedi 16 février, 2008 [More]

Miracle of the Dead Sea Scrolls *
Some of the world's oldest biblical material is about to go on display in Canada for the first time and prove that tattered, 2,000-year-old fragments can still draw a crowd [More]

Montreal deterred by Ferrari dominance *
After almost losing their Formula One event because of a federal ban on tobacco advertising, Montreal race fans have responded by making the Grand Prix of Canada a sellout for the third consecutive year, even though most predict Michael Schumacher will win the race. [More]

Montreal faces wrath of urban separatists *
When the location scouts for The Terminal needed a major but underused airport to shoot parts of the Steven Spielberg film that hits theatres on Friday, their good luck at finding one was a reminder for Montrealers of their city's bad karma. [More]

Montreal fans boo U.S. anthem *
A significant portion of the crowd at last night's National Hockey League playoff game in Montreal between the Canadiens and Boston Bruins booed during the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner. [More]

Montreal fest unveils line-up of 439 films *
With its contentious new position on the calendar of film festivals, Montreal's annual celebration of world cinema now overlaps Toronto's festival by four days -- and Venice's by several. [More]

Montreal museum to host 1960s exhibition *
Starting Oct. 2, the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal will host Global Village: The '60s. The exhibit will feature about 230 works in media such as design, photography, fashion and architecture, each exemplifying something that was brand new in the 1960s. [More]

Montreal surgeon's patients face mass AIDS test *
A Montreal children's hospital is scrambling to track down and test 2,614 children who were operated on between 1990 and 2003 by a surgeon who was infected with the AIDS virus. [More]

Notice to seize Auberge Grand-Mère is filed *
A credit union has threatened to foreclose on the Auberge Grand-Mère, jeopardizing a controversial government-agency loan that Jean Chrétien helped arrange for the inn in his riding. [More]

On Montreal's ever-changing strip, the Main, Moishes steakhouse endures *
Montreal's St. Laurent Boulevard must be home to the most motley collection of businesses in the country. There are hip clothing stores, new and antique furniture shops, transsexual bars and strip joints, the occasional family-run hardware store, a gaggle of restaurants (both low- and high-end) and even a gravestone boutique. [More]

Pop-laced fest hits sublime and ridiculous *
The second half of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal for 2003 is effectively the pop half. Norah Jones, Elvis Costello and Ben Harper have been the big news in recent days. Cesaria Evora is currently in town and Gino Vannelli will close out the 11-day event tomorrow. [More]

Quebec not giving up on Tour de France *
Quebec City officials remain hopeful that the first stage of the 2008 Tour de France will be held in the city as part of its 400th birthday celebration... [More]

Richler makes it into McGill *
Author's works don't get the academic study they deserve, symposium organizers say. [More]

Smoked meat, cigars and Richler's oeuvre *
Organizers of a conference at McGill steer clear of a love-in and create an atmosphere the author himself would have appreciated. [More]

Taming the automobile in Montreal's core *
City cordons off 10 downtown blocks in symbolic attempt to combat pollution [More]

The lord of the score *
Composer Howard Shore tells GUY DIXON about his 3½-year musical immersion in Middle-Earth, before heading to Montreal for tonight's North American premiere of his Lord of the Rings symphony. [More]

The most dangerous game *
On a cold autumn morning, Sûreté du Québec Sergeant Pierre Boucher stood by a bedroom closet, staring at half a million dollars in drug money. [More]

The Stills are going places *
The Montreal band is just one year old, but has already made a mark in New York and London, cut a stunning debut album and wound up on Rolling Stone's list of artists to watch in 2003 [More]

Torontonians happier, study suggests *
Torontonians, it should cheer you up to know: You are happier than Montrealers! [More]

Touring Montréal and Québec City *
Great adventures in the Outaouais and Laurentians can be combined with the fascinating culture and history of Québec’s great cities: Montréal and Québec City. [More]

Tribute captures legend's many moods *
It was 50 years ago this past May 16 that Django Reinhardt died in Fontainebleau, France, at the age of 43. The Belgian-born gypsy musician left a small body of compositions, a growing personal legend and an influentially extravagant manner of playing guitar -- more than enough, all told, for the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal to devote its major concert in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts on Monday night to his memory. [More]

Troubled ghosts of our sisters *
A year ago, as we in Iqaluit prepared to commemorate the Montreal Massacre, one of our own was added to the list of victims of violence against women, says ALLISON BREWER. [More]

Vélib Version Wows Montréal *
Montréal launches first Canadian program to offer car-centric residents a different set of wheels. (Vancouver soon to follow.) [More]

Vive la différence! *
Quebec films are beating out Hollywood blockbusters at the province's box office. KONRAD YAKABUSKI reports the recent renaissance in local movies may be more about quality than nationalism [More]

Why would graft run wild in Quebec? *
Watching the sponsorship scandal rock the federal Liberals, it's tempting to blame the scene of the crime. But don't forget what opened Pandora's box, JEFFREY SIMPSON points out. Nowhere else in the nation are the political stakes so high. [More]

Writers' fest comes of age *
Montreal's Blue Metropolis writers' festival, which ended on Sunday, has ballooned into a major Canadian literary event in just six years... [More]

You're cute, kid. Now make me laugh *
The New Faces segment of the Just for Laughs festival gives rookie comics a whopping 420 seconds to prove their mettle before a sea of hardnosed scouts, MICHAEL POSNER writes [More]

Yves Gaucher: The strange journey of genius *
A retrospective of Yves Gaucher is fascinating in how it shows the various phases that the late Montreal abstract painter went through, SARAH MILROY writes [More]

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A new generation redefines civic society *
They don't vote, and they don't join political parties. But in their own ways they're trying to make the world a better place. Day Seven of The New Canada series on Generation Next. [More]

A road show with a difference *
Independent poets, cartoonists and artists are mixing punk rock's do-it-yourself philosophy with avant-garde sensibilities in cross-country tours resembling variety shows, HAL NIEDZVIECKI writes [More]

A story of intrigue from A to Z *
Two Montreal men have been at the centre of allegations of arms deals, an African coup plot and business double-crosses. Now, one of them is on the lam from U.S. authorities. COLIN FREEZE reports [More]

Age just a number for Crosby *
16-year-old Quebec league sensation takes aim at spot on national roster. [More]

Band's new direction a little blurry *
In Britrock, reinvention isn't just an option; it's a career path. In order to endure as a popular act, a group must either change with the times (à la Bowie), or soldier blandly on into well-paid irrelevance (à la the aptly named Status Quo). The only other option is breaking up. [More]

Barbarian Invasions: Laughing in the face of death *
RAY CONLOGUE talks to Denys Arcand, whose acclaimed new movie about a terminally ill man looks set to revive his own drooping career. [More]

Bitter root, sweet harvest *
Next week, the Governor-General officially acknowledges the Acadian expulsion of 1755. We Canadians have learned much from this tragedy, says political scientist DONALD SAVOIE. [More]

Canada's kidding itself *
Whatever Stéphane Dion says, Canada shows little talent for dealing with separatist threats, says WILLIAM JOHNSON. [More]

Carmelite nuns of Montreal: HARD-WIRED FOR GOD *
Only something extraordinary could entice the Carmelite nuns of Montreal to break their vow of silence and venture out of the cloister, ANNE McILROY says. They have joined forces with science to look for a concrete sign from God -- inside the human brain. [More]

Garber Gastronomic: A Cheesy Survey (part one of three): Cheeses of Montreal *
And even if many of the best cheeses available for Canadian tables are still imported from Europe, the fact is we've become a great deal more sophisticated on the subject. (Part one of three.) [More]

Habs rein in elation over comeback *
Long after the Montreal Canadiens had skated off the ice following Saturday night's 5-2 victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series against the Boston Bruins, the celebration in downtown Montreal was going strong. [More]

Hospital gets 10,000 calls about HIV doctor *
Ste-Justine Hospital has received 10,000 calls in the past five days after it announced a former surgeon continued to work after contracting the AIDS virus, the children's hospital said yesterday. [More]

Hundreds protest WTO meetings in Montreal *
Several hundred people gathered in downtown Montreal on Sunday to voice their opposition to a World Trade Organization meeting to be held in the city. [More]

Isabel to drench Ontario, Quebec *
The weakened remnants of Hurricane Isabel will still cause very heavy rain and extremely high winds when they strike Canada, weather experts said Wednesday. [More]

Jazz: Some lesser lights who shine brightly *
Six little-known Canadian jazz outfits that are worth a listen this festival season [More]

Koivu relieved knee injury wasn't more serious *
Considering Saku Koivu's medical history, learning he would be out for only three to four weeks with a sprained right knee was almost good news to the Montreal Canadiens' captain. [More]

Lives Lived: Yves Laforest -- He waved Fleur-de-lis on Everest *
Famed Quebec mountain climber was lost on a B.C. river last summer. [More]

Montreal film fest absent its A-list status *
The upcoming 27th annual instalment of Montreal's World Film Festival could be its most interesting yet -- but less for what's on its screens than the circumstances under which it will be occurring. [More]

Not just ordinary bad guys *
To fight crimes such as Montreal's bombing, let's separate hate cases from others for the harm they do to whole communities, says criminology professor JULIAN ROBERTS. [More]

Opening night at Bowie's cabaret *
More than three decades ago, when David Bowie recorded Changes, he likely had no idea that the song would become his signature, changing from a description of the time in which it was written to a description of a man's ever-changing artistic moods. Or did he? [More]

Police raid Montreal Hells Angels *
Backed by tactical squads, hundreds of Quebec police officers targeted Hells Angels bikers and their affiliates Thursday in the largest series of raids in three years. [More]

Probe clears colleagues of MD with AIDS *
Regulatory body cites lapses in tracking ailing surgeon's work at Montreal hospital. [More]

Stars sparkle as Heart pumps up the buzz *
Music that makes you want to make love or cry is putting this Montreal-based indie band on the map [More]

The star-recycling machine *
Former sitcom leads, ex-pop idols, maybe even a former movie star's sister or brother, you'll find them in the next touring musical coming to your city, KAMAL AL-SOLAYLEE writes [More]

Top Hells Angels are guilty at major gang trial *
Life was cheap in Montreal if you crossed paths with the Hells Angels in the second half of the 1990s. [More]

Vancouver dance gets its turn *
PAULA CITRON takes a look at the only two non-Montreal dance companies performing at this year's Festival International de nouvelle danse. [More]

Welcome to popsouljazzblooza 2003 *
To grab the star names that draw audiences in, summer festivals are mixing musical genres with abandon, writes BRAD WHEELER [More]

Will the roving Magnetic North become a fixture? *
Does Canada need a national theatre festival? For the organizers of Magnetic North, the new festival that opened in Ottawa last week, the answer is obviously a yes, and a showcase of current Canadian theatre as well as a host of panels and talks has been duly mounted. For the rest of us, the answer will have to wait not merely until the festival closes next weekend but until next year and the year after that as the annual event, which will move from city to city across the country, does or doesn't establish itself as a cultural necessity. [More]