{"id":711087,"date":"2026-06-03T00:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T00:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711087\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T00:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T00:10:08","slug":"letters-potholes-aside-lots-to-love-about-living-in-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711087\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: Potholes aside, lots to love about living in Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Re: \u201cDig around to find money<\/a>\u201d (Letters, May 23)<\/p>\n

A letter-writer laments the one-two punch \u2014 rising provincial debt and higher taxes to fix outdated infrastructure \u2014 that give rise to circumstances that might push more people to leave our city.<\/p>\n

But is there a paradise elsewhere in Canada to run to?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that taxes are higher in Quebec, but what is the trade-off? In the Greater Toronto Area, the average selling price for a home was more than $1 million in April, while a property in Greater Montreal cost one-third less.<\/p>\n

And what about the daily cost of living? When we moved here from Toronto in the new millennium, Montreal\u2019s lower transit fares were a surprise. That\u2019s even more welcome now as we ride free. In Toronto, monthly seniors\u2019 passes for both of us would set us back $256.<\/p>\n

For me, best of all, is Montreal\u2019s network of outdoor farmers markets (let\u2019s hear it for Quebec growers) and independent food retailers with good prices for fresh produce.<\/p>\n

Sure, hitting a pothole is frustrating, more so when money can be found for projects that have little to do with quality of life.<\/p>\n

But you can\u2019t put a price on spending a Sunday afternoon walking in our beautiful city.<\/p>\n

Dorothy Lipovenko, Westmount<\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu on Ste-Catherine<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cFix for crumbling roads isn\u2019t in Quebecers\u2019 wallets<\/a>\u201d (Allison Hanes, May 21)<\/p>\n

Allison Hanes has delivered another well-researched analytical column \u2014 this time on the critical need for infrastructure investment in Montreal, the limited means of municipalities to obtain these funds, and the inadequacy of trying to fund with property taxes.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

I was struck by accompanying photo showing extensive digging and repair at the intersection of Guy and Ste-Catherine Sts. The caption states the photo was taken the day before but it could well have been taken a few years ago \u2014 when this same intersection was torn up as it is now, and eventually repaved after extensive underground work.<\/p>\n

Yes, there is a critical need for infrastructure funding. But it needs to be spent efficiently.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

David Grogan, Westmount<\/p>\n

Imagine all the people <\/p>\n

Re: \u201cAfter effigies hung at rally, mayor signals a rethink of restrictions on protests<\/a>\u201d (The Gazette, May 29)<\/p>\n

After reading the article and learning about the group Montreal4Palestine, I began to wonder: Where is the group\u00a0Montreal4IsraelPalestineJusticeandPeace?<\/p>\n

I imagine a rally of such a group would be peaceful and bring like-minded people of all faiths and political leanings together, finally. We do exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bluma Goldberg, C\u00f4te-St-Luc<\/p>\n

\u201850% + 1\u2019 doesn\u2019t add up <\/p>\n

Re: \u201cQuebec rejects PM\u2019s stance on separation<\/a>\u201d (The Gazette, May 28)<\/p>\n

How strange that no political party in Quebec seems to appreciate the perverse irony that such a fundamental change as making Quebec an independent country would require only a simple, razor-thin majority vote of 50 per cent plus one, while in many less consequential contexts \u2014 such as in Quebec\u2018s Business Corporations Act and other laws \u2014 a two-thirds majority is required for organizational and other changes deemed to be of a fundamental nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cStandard\u201d laws adopted by simple majority vote can relatively easily be reversed by a subsequent simple majority vote. Creating a new country however, is a fundamental change that goes to the core of a society\u2019s identity, and such decisions tend to be permanent. They should reasonably require a broad social consensus. A vote of 50 per cent plus one to create an independent Quebec would, however, reflect only a sharply divided society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daniel Levinson, C\u00f4te-St-Luc<\/p>\n

Bravo Habs, from Ottawa<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cHabs have carried torch with aplomb<\/a>\u201d (Jack Todd, May 30)<\/p>\n

I live in Ottawa, but I have always been a Habs fan.<\/p>\n

I am only a little disappointed in seeing my team seemingly run out of gas after a really great and fabulously entertaining season of hockey.<\/p>\n

On the ice and in management, les Canadiens are the crest of a wave that I believe will come to change the NHL for the better, reflecting true athleticism on the ice and respect in the offices<\/p>\n

Bravo to them all.<\/p>\n

Thomas Brawn, Ottawa<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

Submitting a letter to the editor<\/p>\n

Letters should be sent by email to\u00a0letters@montrealgazette.com<\/a><\/p>\n

We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette.<\/p>\n

If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one.<\/p>\n

Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are \u2014 ideally, fewer than 200 words \u2014 the greater the chance of publication.<\/p>\n

Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation.<\/p>\n

We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer\u2019s argument.<\/p>\n

Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or \u201copen letters\u201d addressed to third parties.<\/p>\n

Letters are published with the author\u2019s full name and city or neighbourhood\/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published.<\/p>\n

We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.<\/p>\n

Please send the letter in the body of an email, not as an attachment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Re: \u201cDig around to find money\u201d (Letters, May 23) A letter-writer laments the one-two punch \u2014 rising provincial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,1007,2338],"class_list":["post-711087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-construction","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}