Are these the good old days? Julie Raout, Staff Writer “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” The Office’s Andy Bernard nudges us with a gentle reminder that happiness often goes unnoticed until it has slipped away. Haven’t[Read More…]
Articles by Julie Raout
Squeaky cheese is Quebec’s new playground for cultural preservation (and I’m not mad about it)
The producer group representing Quebec’s dairy industry intends to request a protected Geographical Indication (GI) for Quebecois cheese curds. Products with a GI can only be produced in one given region, which certifies their authentic origin. Similar designations protect the quality of Bordeaux, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Tequila. The request to[Read More…]
Point-Counterpoint: On the divine right of groundhogs
For the Divine Right of Groundhogs The media is rich with speculation about The Most Honourable Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania native behind everyone’s favourite holiday: Groundhog Day. Some doubt his immortality—140 years of age is abnormal for a groundhog—but Phil is no ordinary groundhog. Others argue his eternal rule is[Read More…]
Quebec language laws over-police bilingualism instead of protecting the French language
Since the Legault administration adopted the 1977 Charter of the French Language, only students possessing a Certificate of English Eligibility can attend anglophone elementary and high schools. Not possessing the certificate has further limited access to anglophone education at the Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) level since the passage[Read More…]
Sexual assault survivors should not have to ask for safety
On Dec. 29, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) banned convicted Catholic priest Brian Boucher from several parts of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) and the Town of Mount Royal, after he repeatedly crossed paths with an individual he had sexually assaulted. The individual said that encountering Boucher caused discomfort. They noted that[Read More…]
Quebec independence will not solve climate change
Hundreds of Quebec separatists—predominantly younger Quebecers—gathered in Montreal on Oct. 25 for a rally reaffirming their desire for independence 30 years after the 1995 Referendum for Quebec sovereignty, which failed by less than one per cent. The young Quebecers at the front of this movement not only argue that secession[Read More…]
Trump’s ‘Department of War’ rebrand shows the power of rhetoric in framing political narratives
United States President Donald Trump renamed the Department of Defence (DoD) the ‘Department of War’ in an executive order issued on Sept. 5. Subsequently, ‘Secretary of War’ Pete Hegseth stated that the government is “going on offence, not just defence.” The White House’s rebranding of the institution is not a[Read More…]
Maple-washing by grocery giants threatens the Canadian domestic market
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed 12 cases of ‘maple-washing’ between February and May 2025, a marketing tactic that exploits Canadian patriotism to encourage sales of imported goods. The agency caught multiple grocery chains promoting non-Canadian products using “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” labels, as well as[Read More…]
Quebec fines LaSalle College $29.9 million CAD over anglophone student quota
LaSalle College overenrolled 716 and 1066 students in its English-speaking programs in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In response, the Quebec Government imposed a $30 million CAD penalty on the college, forcing the institution to postpone the school year kickoff, initially scheduled for Aug. 25. The cost of such substantial defunding[Read More…]