12.24.2001 || 00h04

Thoughts about the end of a city's life

'This is the last letter I shall write you as mayor.... For, come January 1, the City of Westmount is no more. 128 years of history will be wiped out by a spiteful and stupid law, Bill 170. without consultation, without parliamentary debate, without even an electoral mandate, the PQ government decided to ignore the most elementary principles of democracy, and, at the same time, dump Quebec's varied and rich municipal heritage into the ash-bin'
- Westmount mayor Peter trent.

Christmas Eve.

The day after to-morrow, I will get on a plane and fly to British Columbia for a well-deserved and long-awaited respite from my life. When I come back, the cities of Montr�al and Westmount will both be gone, replaced by the new City of Montr�al. Things I have seen and taken for granted throughout my life will be changed, from little bits like the STCUM becoming the STM, to bigger things like mayors being reduced to borough concillors and a mega-shift in the balance of power on the Island of Montr�al. The new City of Montr�al wll be unilingually French, and boroughs made up of formerly bi-lingual cities (like Montr�al Ouest and Westmount) will only be able to maintain bi-lingual status if over 50% of the population is Anglophone.

I will not be here for the most important change in this Province's history since the battle on the plains of Abraham, or at least since the Quiet Revolution. I will be hiding on the opposite side of the country, where people probably don't even know that on New Years' Day over 120 Canadian cities will cease to exist, in violation of their citizens' rights and desires.

On wednesday morning, I will get up early, eat a quick breakfast, then leave the City of Westmount forever. Very soon after, I will leave the Montr�al I adore with my deepest affections for the very last time; knowing that when I return, a new city with an old name will have swept everything else into the ash-bin.



||Gods save the Queen,
||cf

back || forth

older shite

One last little note... - 09.21.2006

de-stressing, biking and terrorism - 06.06.2006

Mildly stressed... - 05.29.2006

More crime stupidity - 05.28.2006

Scary stuff - 05.25.2006



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