Blog Posts by Steve Mertl

Living out here on the Left Coast, I don't pretend to have a deep understanding of the nuances of Quebec's political culture.

But like most political junkies, I'm fascinated by what comes next after Tuesday's raucous election in the province.

Much of the post-vote attention has focused on what the Parti Quebecois' minority victory will mean to the province and to Canada.

The numbers suggest we also ought to be looking at the implications of the Liberals' close second-place finish and the role of the upstart Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) as the balance of power in the National Assembly.

According to CBC News, the final results give the PQ a slim edge in the legislature — 54 seats to 50 for the Liberals — which drops to three if a PQ MNA is elected Speaker.

The PQ polled just under 32 per cent of the popular vote, less than a percentage point ahead of a clapped-out, three-term Liberal party headed by an unpopular leader.

Some pundits had speculated the CAQ, headed by former Pequiste

Read More »from How will the CAQ use its balance-of-power role in Quebec’s National Assembly?

Leo Bureau-Blouin is not Quebec's youngest politician.

The 20-year-old one-time leader of Quebec's student protest movement has to concede that honour to 19-year-old Pierre-Luc Dusseault, elected to Parliament as part of late NDP leader Jack Layton's surge in the province last year.

But Bureau-Blouin, who defeated a Liberal minister to capture a Montreal-area riding for the Parti Quebecois on Tuesday, could end up giving the separatist party a needed dose of youthful vigour.

"This is the biggest honour of my life," Bureau-Blouin told supporters, according to the Montreal Gazette. "The voters in Laval-des-Rapides have spoken loud and clear and they've spoken for change."

The photogenic Bureau-Blouin, a CEGEP (junior college) student, rose to prominence this year as one of the faces of the mass protest against the Liberal government's plan to gradually raise post-secondary tuition fees.

His former colleagues in the protest movement condemned his decision to jump into politics as

Read More »from What role will former student-protest leader Leo Bureau-Blouin have in new PQ government?

Vancouver's historic Penthouse strip clubIt's lit a fire under young men in Vancouver for seven decades but the historic Penthouse strip club was smokin' hot for another reason this week. The kind of reason that brings the fire department.

Firefighters were called out to the once-notorious downtown club early Wednesday morning for a fire that apparently started in a second-floor strippers' dressing room.

But Battalion Fire Chief Randy Hebenton said the old, frequently modified structure made fighting the blaze difficult.

"It's an old building, [with] a lot of void spaces, doorways and pathways that have been shut or closed, or modified over the years," he told CBC News.

It took more than 90 minutes for crews to put out the blaze, which appeared accidental. Fire damage appeared to be contained to the changing room but caused significant smoke damage to most of the club.

Owner Danny Filippone said the fire apparently didn't reach the Penthouse's collection of celebrity memorabilia.

"All of our pictures and our photos

Read More »from Vancouver's historic Penthouse strip club promises to bounce, maybe jiggle, back from fire

Copper wire can be sold to scrap metal dealers or recyclers. British Columbia is moving to curb metal thieves with a new law the government hopes will make it harder for criminals to sell to scrap dealers.

Metal theft is a global problem, linked to high prices for commodities such as copper and the apparently insatiable demand of China's economy.

It goes from merely a nuisance to dangerous as criminals rip out sections of telecommunications cable and even live high-voltage lines.

Earlier this year, a man was found dead at a Hydro-Quebec facility near Quebec City. Police believe he was electrocuted trying to strip copper from a power pylon.

A few years ago, thieves ripped copper from the roofs, gutters and wiring of four Quebec City churches.

And last year, thieves stole a 135-kilogram bronze bell from a Shelburne, Nova Scotia memorial but a tip sent police to a Halifax scrapyard to recover it.

The problem has been particularly acute in British Columbia, where thieves have preyed on everything from memorial plaques to playground equipment. Power

Read More »from B.C. legislation aims to curb rising problem of metal theft

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu pauses for a moment as he addresses a news conference in Vancouver, B.C. Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Chief Chu was giving a update regarding the riot that happened following the Stanley Cup final. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan HaywardAlmost before the fires were out in downtown Vancouver and the tear gas had cleared after the June 15 Stanley Cup riot, politicians and law-enforcement officials were promising tough justice for the drunken vandals who embarrassed the city.

The long, painstaking police investigation drew growls of impatience from citizens who pointed to how quickly the British justice system had dealt with London rioters, laying charges within days and jailing some miscreants within weeks.

Be patient, Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said. We're being thorough so we can bring the strongest possible charges that result in the stiffest sentences.

Now, with the first batch of 163 charges laid against 60 alleged rioters, observers are warning that those high expectations may be deflated by the court system.

The first accused rioters will likely be making their initial court appearances this month, the Globe and Mail reported.

But British Columbia's already overloaded legal system may frustrate those who

Read More »from Vancouver riot charges will keep courts busy for a long time

You can call me a killjoy but I don't see the point of fireworks on Halloween.

Victoria Day, sure. Canada Day, of course. But Halloween?

I live in Vancouver, where a local tradition turns my neighbourhood into a free-fire zone for the days leading up to All Hallows Eve, when it sounds like a firefight outside. Surplus roman candles and M-80s are set off for about a week after Halloween.

Halloween fireworks aren't a widespread practice in Canada, apparently common only in B.C. and Nova Scotia. But officials (and terrified family pets) cringe at the annual ritual.

It's been estimated that about 200 Canadians are injured annually by so-called family fireworks. An older report by the Public Health Agency of Canada that looked at 175 cases involving hospital visits found the injuries peaked in the days surrounding Halloween, Victoria Day and Canada Day. The highest percentage (20 per cent) occurred at Halloween, which seems to see the most free-wheeling use of fireworks.

Firefighters think

Read More »from Halloween fireworks popular in Vancouver but dreaded by officials

A huge Halloween store selling costumes and decorations sprouted this month in a vacant space in my local shopping centre.

I'm used to Christmas stores taking over the floor space from some defunct fashion boutique in the run-up to the holiday season but I don't remember seeing such a big Halloween emporium before.

Apparently Halloween has joined the Christmas as a major business event and consumer credit-card scorcher.

Value Village, the big international thrift chain, says in its annual survey that Canadians and Americans expect to spend $300 on stuff for All Hallows Eve this year.

"While I find that number hard to believe," Peggy Mackenzie writes in the Toronto Star.  "Statistics Canada said we spent $1.15 billion for fright night in 2006. Halloween now ranks as the third most important seasonal category behind Christmas and summer backyard living for Canadian Tire.

She notes Canadians spent $322 million on candy in October of 2010, $64 million above the monthly average.

"That's a

Read More »from Halloween growing as an excuse for Canadians to open their wallets

Just how far can Canadians go to defend themselves, their family or property from an intruder?Lawrence Manzer, left, and Brian Fox confronted three prowlers in their neighbourhood in March and ended up getting arrested. (CBC)

The wrong answer to that question has landed some citizens in court after apparently dealing too harshly with would-be miscreants. The Conservative government plans to clarify the law but meanwhile the debate continues over how much force is justifiable.

The latest case involves Alberta farmer Brian Knight, who peppered would-be ATV thief Harold Groening with shotgun pellets, twice, after chasing him down in a car. The problem was Groening was running away from the now-crashed ATV when Knight fired the first time. He fired again after Groening fell, then got up and tried to continue fleeing. Knight claimed he was not aiming at Groening.

Groening pleaded guilty to theft last spring and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. But National Post columnist Lorne Gunter is outraged that after Knight pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm, he was handed a 90-day jail term this month, to

Read More »from How far can Canadians go to protect life and property?