Comments on: quebec elections

By: Hugh

Hugh — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:18:34 +0000

hi michael, actually I am old grizzly enough to remember the old days (just)… i got back to montreal in 1997 (after uni), as rents were creeping up. but there were still – and still are – old leases to be had at a song, so when I moved back from NYC in 2001 my yearly rent in Montreal was equiv to ONE MONTH of my NYC rent (tho I did have a roommate here). So I was able to take a year off and try to write a novel, and had a wonderful life, all on a saved chunk of money that put me below the poverty line, but i felt like I was living a king’s life.

but I’m not sure that montreal’s economy is strong compared with elsewhere – even if it is far stronger than it was in the early-mid nineties (when I left to uni in 1992, it was understood that there never would be a job here in mtl for me). parts of it are strong, but in general I am not so sure. but I have not seen the data, so i don’t really know.

anyway, montreal rents are still a far cry from Toronto & Vancouver, forget Calgary, and NYC is a whole different ballgame. That means artists can have comfortable lives, while doing some kind of occasional work, which is what drives our indie art scene. food & restos are cheap. SAQ overcharges for wine tho, but you gotta take your lumps i guess.

By: Michael Boyle

Michael Boyle — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 04:04:24 +0000

Hugh. your perspective on the art-scene/low-rent thing is hilarious! I mean, in North American terms it’s true – but you shoulda seen it in the mid-90s. Montreal now is VERY expensive compared to then. Most people I knew moved every single year because you could always get a bigger, sunnier apartment or share for your $250-300/mo – and I’m talking in the heart of the Plateau. I don’t remember how many people shared apartments in which both or all three roommates had two closed rooms apiece – one bedroom, one office/studio.

But the underlying point is valid – Montreal has always been an interesting place because it’s cheaper to live there than in NY or TO. I would not attribute that to a sluggish economy, however. Montreal’s economy now is better than it ever has been – at least in 30 or 40 years.

That it has managed to stay a little less expensive that other cities in the past 5 years as prices have rapidly climbed is a bit of a mystery, but it probably comes out of a combo of: the incredible pace of condo development; the relative scarcity of apartments; the strong economy over a sustained period of time… have led to a lot of lifelong renters joining the ranks of the propertied classes.

There is a total glut in condos right now, even though so many people have bought lately that the housing crisis we used to hear so much about is all but over.

Anyhow thanks for noticing my post and I hope to see you soon.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:13:19 +0000

sure … everyone has been shifting to the right. so the choice is right or more right. some expected results (mostly the original platform of the liberals):

1. 2 tier healthcare legislation
2. lifting provincial tuition freezes
3. cuts to the provincial beurocracy
4. cuts to social services in general
5. tax cuts

those are my predictions, we’ll see.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:30:05 +0000

Interesting post but you’re kind of still doing what I was asking about. “The right, the right, righties, big shift to the right”. What happens with that, what does it affect? What’s cut, what’s kept, which policies change? How is it different because of right wing ideals vs simply answering to economic imperatives and things crumbling more and requiring attention?

Frankly “the right” and “the left” don’t seem to mean that much, they are all close to center and their policies change way more according to the debt and what people are yelling about, change to get elected, than any right or left credo does.

Also, I’d like to see where the 50% dropout rate and 64th GDP ranking numbers come from.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:14:29 +0000

well i definitely don’t think all change is good change. but something needs to happen.

By: zura

zura — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:09:32 +0000

I’d have to agree. I think that all change is good change, or at least I really want to believe this. Things *do* need to change.