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CBC
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Author Heather O'Neill and daughter Arizona find a bit of magic on the Montreal Metro
When the award-winning Canadian author Heather O'Neill was approached to write a serialized novel, she knew she wanted it to be set in the Montreal Metro, which had long served as both an inspiration and an escape for her. Originally published in weekly installments in the Montreal Gazette, the story follows a young orphan named Valentine who spots her lookalike in the subway. Earlier this month, the complete story was released as a novel called Valentine in Montreal, which features brand new illustrations by Heather's longtime creative collaborator — her daughter, Arizona. For Heather and Arizona, the Montreal Metro has long played a special role in their relationship. Some of Arizona's fondest childhood memories are of riding the metro with her mother. Since they didn't have a car, they'd often travel long distances together by transit. "I had trouble reading at a young age, so my mother read out loud to me, actually, until I was 12 because I have dyslexia and it's quite bad," Arizona tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview alongside her mother. "When we used to ride the metro, she would read out loud to me — which must have been obnoxious to everyone else around — but I remember us on the metro and her reading A Series of Unfortunate Events to me. [The metro is] a very comfortable place and it almost feels like a home." After graduating from McGill University, Heather unexpectedly became a mother at age 20, which changed the course of her entire life. "I thought I was going to go live whatever the writer's life is, like getting drunk in Paris with three husbands," she says. "But then all of a sudden I found myself with a baby. So I was constantly in this world of play. I was reading Jean Genet all the time at night, and then reading Dr. Seuss to Arizona…. But then I was like, 'We're going to just make the best of it. And I'm going to show you how amazing the world is.'" Heather published her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. It's about a 12-year-old girl named Baby who's growing up in Montreal's red-light district with her heroin-addicted father, Jules. "I was writing about difficult childhoods, but then there was this possibility that a childhood could be magical," Heather says. "Heather's writing has so much childhood fancy in it, even though oftentimes she's tackling very difficult subjects," Arizona adds. "So I feel, like, maybe trying to make me feel the magic, she's brought in this magic to her own writing. When I was illustrating [ Valentine in Montreal ] as well, [I could see] those moments of magic, because I see the world, actually, through my mother's eyes…. I never had to go to her and ask, 'What did you mean by this description?' I just had such an easy time illustrating it because I felt like I really knew the inside of her brain."
CTV News
19-06-2025
- CTV News
Montreal transit agency reinstates ‘move along' rule to boost sense of security
A Montreal Metro maintenance worker walks along a station platform during the early hours of the morning in Montreal, April 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL — Montreal's public transit agency has reintroduced a no-loitering rule in the city's subway tunnels. The Société de transport de Montréal says the measure helped decrease assaults on staff and increased users' sense of security when it was implemented as a pilot project earlier this year. Transit officials have expressed concern over the number of people struggling with drug addiction and mental illness who use the metro stations as unofficial shelters. They announced in March they would fence off problematic gathering places and implement a 'move along' policy for a six-week period. The announcement was criticized by advocates who said people who are homeless have nowhere else to go. But the agency says the measures had positive effects on safety and has reinstated them until April 30, 2026. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
CTV News
18-06-2025
- CTV News
Anti-loitering order back in effect in Montreal's metro
Cyclists can now bring their bikes on REM trains until July 4, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) Loitering is once again banned from Montreal's metro network, and the 'move-along' order will be in place until the end of April 2026, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announced Wednesday. The STM said the measures, which were in place for six weeks in the spring, yielded positive results regarding safety and maintenance. But advocates for the homeless population say it could harm those who have nowhere else to go. The rules 'led to a noticeable increase in the sense of safety among both customers and employees, as well as a reduction in service interruptions caused by disruptive behaviour,' said Éric Alan Caldwell, chair of the STM board of directors in a news release. He said that reimplementing the measures in the summer will give the city time to plan for the winter months when some homeless people take refuge from the cold in metro stations. 'We recognize, however, that this is not an ideal solution. The real solution will be a tangible and sustainable response to help the vulnerable, including more funding for resources, all year long,' said Caldwell. The STM said 'physical measures,' mainly partitioning off access to certain areas and making open spaces smaller, will be in place at eight stations: Charlevoix Peel Places-des-Arts Beaudry Pie-IX Bonaventure Place-d'Armes Côte-Vertu The STM's anti-loitering rules were implemented mid-March after a reported surge in service interruptions and criminal behaviour, including drug use, that led to some customers feeling less safe in the metro. During the six-week period when the anti-loitering order was in effect from March to April, crimes and offences went down by two per cent, people being escorted out at closing time went down by 17 per cent, there was a 30 per cent reduction in service disruptions, and the reported sense of safety went up by eight points (all compared to April 2024), according to the STM's report. Impact on homeless population By bringing back and extending the move-along order, the STM wants to collect more data on the impact of anti-loitering orders on its operations and 'maintain stability' and hygiene standards. Advocates for Montreal's homeless population say they are worried the measure will only increase their vulnerability. The Réseau d'aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal (RAPSIM)'s director, Annie Savage, said intervention workers reported losing contact with people with whom they had built a trusting relationship. 'In the long term, these measures undermine essential prevention and support efforts carried out by the community, contributing to increased vulnerability and need among people experiencing homelessness,' she said in a statement. The RAPSIM said women will be the most impacted by the STM's order, since many of them hide in the metro to conceal their homelessness and feel safer in busy areas. 'These spaces offer them relative protection from harassment, intimidation, theft and street violence, to which they are particularly exposed,' they said. The STM has said it wants to refer homeless people who spend time in the metro network to appropriate resources, like Mission St. Michaels. But RAPSIM says those are stretched thin and are often overflowing which means people will simply be displaced. Savage says the STM is losing an opportunity to put its resources toward inclusive resources by instead using a chunk of its budget to increase surveillance and security. She pointed to an initiative in Philadelphia, which turned a metro station into a shelter where people can rest, have coffee, do their laundry and receive essential care. The STM stressed that the move-along order will not be applied systematically and its special constables will take several factors into consideration during interventions to avoid tension. In its report, the STM requested Montreal open 24/7 high-threshold resources near Berri-UQAM and Bonaventure stations, increase funding for Mission St. Michaels services and ensure emergency accommodations from early November to late April 'for more sustainable solutions.'
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
STM maintenance workers resume strike for two more days
A special constable from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) locks the doors to the metro station due to the strike from STM maintenance workers in Montreal on Monday, June 9, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi) After a pause for the Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend, maintenance workers at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) are resuming their strike for two more days. On Monday and Tuesday, bus and Metro services will run during the morning and afternoon rush hours, as well as late in the evening. Outside these times, service will be reduced to 50 per cent. The strike by the 2,400 STM maintenance workers began last Monday. During the first phase of the strike, there was no service outside of essential hours, causing headaches for public transport users. The strike was suspended for the Grand Prix weekend, with safety concerns cited as the reason for the pause due to the large number of people expected to travel to Île Notre-Dame for the event. The nine-day strike by the Fédération des employé(e)s des services publics union, affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), is scheduled to end on Tuesday at 10 p.m. The first mediation meeting between STM management and the maintenance workers' union is scheduled to take place on Monday. Last Friday, the mediator appointed by Quebec met separately with STM management and the union to familiarize himself with the case and each party's position. Outsourcing is currently one of the main points of contention. Stuck with a tight budget, the STM says it needs flexibility. Meanwhile, the union argues it is fighting against the privatization of certain services and for the preservation of public service jobs. – This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 16, 2024.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Negotiations expected to resume as Montreal public transit strike enters third day
Special constables from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) lock the doors to the Metro station as Metro and buses discontinue service due to the strike by maintenance workers in Montreal on Monday, June 9, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi) Negotiations between Montreal's public transit authority and its maintenance workers are expected to resume Wednesday, as the third day of strike action causes headaches across the network. The strike by 2,400 mechanics is limiting bus and Metro service to morning and afternoon rush hours, as well as late at night. Regular service is expected to be maintained from Friday to Sunday for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, but will be restricted on other days until the strike ends on June 17. The union says negotiations have stalled on issues such as subcontracting and scheduling, particularly around night shifts. On Tuesday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said he contacted both sides and urged them to make a joint request for him to name a mediator. The head of the maintenance workers union has warned that the strike could escalate if a deal isn't reached. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
