Hello and welcome to montrealgazette.com and welcome to Midday. Here’s the rundown on some of the stories we’re following for you today.
A rash of illnesses and deaths linked to suspected drug overdoses at electronic music events in recent months will mean increased vigilance at Montreal’s upcoming ÎleSoniq festival, officials have confirmed. In addition to increasing the number of medical personnel in Parc Jean-Drapeau during the festival — which runs Aug. 15 and 16 — organizer Evenko will also have at least one pharmacist at the ready. “It’s certain that we’re very sensitive to what has happened elsewhere,” said Evenko spokesperson Caroline Audet on Wednesday. “We’re still in the process of reviewing our plans.” The renewed caution comes in the wake of the deaths of two partygoers at Toronto’s popular Veld music festival last weekend. More than a dozen other people had to be hospitalized after ingesting unidentified tablets. Boston was the scene of similar mass illnesses linked to drugs in late June, with more than 80 young people becoming sick at a single event.
Iconic bits of Montreal may soon be up for sale. Would you pay $75 for a blue-white-and-black downward-arrow métro sign posted outside a subway station? How about $40 for a bus stop? As it prepares to install newly designed bus and métro signs, Montreal’s transit authority may sell old ones as souvenirs. Everything from maps posted in subway cars to métro nameplates on platforms could be up for grabs. News of the sell-off comes a week after the Société de transport de Montréal said it was changing the names of 19 stations to remove grammatical inconsistencies.
More than two years after charges were first laid in the infamous Faubourg Contrecoeur affair, the trial of Montreal’s former executive committee chairman Frank Zampino and his eight alleged co-conspirators still seems a long way off — especially in light of the defence’s intentions to file several motions, including for a stay of proceedings and to divulge the contents of an anonymous letter sent to authorities in 2004. On Wednesday, Zampino’s lawyer, Isabelle Schurman, told a Quebec Court judge she wants to see that letter, which was included among the evidence disclosed to her by the Crown. The investigation of the Faubourg Contrecoeur real-estate development in east-end Montreal is said to have begun after police received a tip, but it is not clear whether it was verbal or in writing.
The city of Montreal plans to bill municipal employees’ unions for the cost of removing union stickers that workers protesting against a pension reform bill have affixed to city vehicles and buildings. “We’re following the situation as it develops. The city of Montreal has taken this measure to protect its equipment, will follow up and intends to send the bill to the unions,” city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said on Tuesday. The city has hired graffiti-removal company Solutions Graffiti to clean the stickers from city-owned vehicles. Sabourin said the city would not say how much the removal contract had cost or when the city intended to bill the unions. If the bill is not paid, the city will file an employer’s grievance with the unions, he said.
New York State Police Department investigators found no mechanical defect in the Quebec tour bus that crashed after veering off the highway in upper New York state, killing 14-year-old Chelssy Mercier. En route to New York City from Trois-Rivières, Que., the bus swerved off Interstate 87 in North Hudson, N.Y. the morning of July 21. The bus was carrying 55 passengers and a 61-year-old driver. Mercier died after being pinned under the bus after it careened off the road. Most of the other passengers suffered minor injuries. On July 31, victims of the crash announced that they planned to launch a mass tort lawsuit, similar to a class action, in the U.S. against the company that owned the bus, Fleur de Lys, and the tour operator, jaimemonvoyage.com.
For the last four days, 78-year-old Julia Hidalgo-Aguillera has had friends coming in and out of her Côte-des-Neiges apartment to help with daily tasks: cooking meals, reaching high objects, getting in and out of bed. Diagnosed in February with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, she’s needed people to get through her day-to-day. But the one person she’s wanted to see most, the person who’s been her caretaker for the last year, has not been around. Her son, Hector Reyes-Hidalgo, has been in hiding since Saturday, facing deportation orders that would have sent him back to Santiago, Chile, that same day.
And finally, federal health officials have announced recalls of two products due to concerns about listeriosis and a third recall due to possible E.coli. Concord Premium Meats Ltd. is recalling Marc Angelo brand Genoa Salami in 100-gram packages with a best-before date of Dec. 01, 2014. The salami was distributed in Ontario and Quebec. Avina Fresh Mushrooms brand Sliced Crimini Mushrooms in 454 gram packages are also being recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes.
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