Friday, April 29, 2011

'STEAL' or Steel at the Heart of Turcot Troubles ? ---lol

        The construction industry again shwoing how long it has been corrupt. That even in the 60's when the push was on to build Montreal's hiways & expressways,the construction people deliberatly left out & shortcut building procedures ,so they could make more money........and noone said a word.

MONTREAL - Cracks on a Turcot Interchange ramp causing traffic headaches that will go on for months were caused by a problem involving crucial reinforcement steel, Transport Quebec said Thursday.

But a spokesperson would not confirm a report in La Presse that said some required steel was left out of a section of the interchange.

When it was built in the mid-1960s,“the steel bars were not placed according to the blueprints, but that didn’t interfere with safety” over the years, said Mario St-Pierre of Transport Quebec.

Cracks were detected during a routine inspection, prompting Transport Quebec to reduce the load on the interchange by shutting one of two lanes on a one-kilometre ramp linking the westbound Ville Marie Expressway to Highway 20.

When the problem was discovered April 15, Transport Quebec referred only to cracks. The steel deficiency emerged as the cause when La Presse reported it. St-Pierre said all the facts were not disclosed April 15 because inspections were continuing at the time.

St-Pierre said Transport Quebec has decided not to divulge whether the steel was installed incorrectly or was left out. “I can’t get into that kind of detail,” he said.

The affected area is “a few metres long.” An evaluation of the ramp continues, but St-Pierre said he did not know if inspections will involve checking other sections of the ramp to determine whether the steel flaw affects a bigger area.

Until the extent of the problem is determined, Transport Quebec won’t know how long it will take to fix the ramp. But St-Pierre said it’s clear the lane will have to remain closed for months.

Bad construction was common during Montreal’s highway building spree in the 1960s.

The Johnson Commission into the 2006 de la Concorde overpass collapse found almost every aspect of the Laval’s viaduct’s construction was faulty. Design, workmanship, concrete and supervision were all of poor quality on the overpass, built in 1969.

St-Pierre said the Turcot cannot be compared to the de le Concorde overpass since “we can thoroughly inspect (Turcot), and it’s not so thick. It’s available for us to see from the top, the bottom, the side.”

He said the steel problem was not detected earlier because the ramp “was performing to expectations.”

The inspections that uncovered the crack that led to the discovery of the steel situation are part of regular surveillance of the Turcot. “This is the most closely watched infrastructure in the whole of Quebec,” St-Pierre said.

The ramp is used by 37,000 cars daily. The lane closing is causing major traffic jams, sometimes several kilometres long on the Ville Marie.

It’s a key route for West Island commuters and for people travelling between downtown and Trudeau Airport. No extra buses or commuter trains have been put in place during the lane closure.

Transport Quebec suggests users take the Bonaventure Autoroute or St. Patrick St. as a detour to reach Highway 20.

ariga@montrealgazette.com

.I doubt more evidence is needed to prove just how corrupt the construction industry in Quebec really is,they have been at the forefront in the last year or so of court revelations of just how much payola was done to acquire Big Govt' contracts....and guess what is it really any surprise ,we've all known for years that if you want things done...Pay Someone......& then make it up on shortcuts in the building process..lol

                              Cheers !! HF&RV

Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Royal Love Story

While you are waiting to watch the wedding of Kate and William you can get a taste of Royalty with the courtship of William's Grandmother and Grandfather Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Monday, April 25, 2011

(ZENN) Zero Emmision No Noise----Well What Happened To Them ?

Zenn Zutomobiles made in Canada headquarters in Toronto ,were building ,(maybe they still are )  Little electric cars ,which would be great commuter type vehicles which use No Fuel.straight electric power only.....How Come We Can't Have them here ? Apparently they are legal here in BC ,but why not the rest of Canada ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So Where Is It" ????????                                  Cheers !! HF&RV

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Remember the Old Laura Secord Easter Eggs...........(tonnage in a box) -lol

          Remember these (instant cavity & tonnage) Easter Eggs ,they were the sweetest of them all,and they were always a 'good find' on Easter Sunday. (they were the expensive ones too) ......How did our parents afford buying all those treats for each of us kids.?

Have a good easter everyone,although I doubt I even see a chocolate egg these days,kids all grown up & all that.But you guys with young kids or grand kids will be indulging won't you? lol--Right Winston ?.............hahahahaha

 

 

Friday, April 22, 2011

Here's the Deal If you Don't Vote (you can't chuck $h&t at the Polticians)

          Today for our Canadian Members ,the Advance Polls have opened ,so instead of standing in a line on May the 2nd. You might want to get it done this weekend. Guess what ? seeing that I on occasion comment or critique the politicians that be it is only right that I was down there right at the crack o Noon to Make my X.............lol , So regardless of who wins on the 2nd of May,.I can oficially critique all I like......hahahaha

      

MONTREAL - Canadians who can't vote on May 2 can cast their ballots starting today. Advance polls are open from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday. Check your voter information card to find the address of the advance poll nearest you. Or find the address at www.elections.ca or by calling Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868.

To cast a ballot at an advance poll, voters must be registered to vote and able to prove their identity and address. It is not too late to register, but to do that, voters must fill out an Elections Canada form certifying that they are Canadian citizens and at least 18 years of age by May 2.

For information about the form, call Elections Canada or go to the website.

             ...Ok, Now that we've got that out of the way,.here is my newest critique,You know those Voter Registration cards that they send you in the mail--Well they (at the Polls) offer to recycle your card for you when they take it at the poll going in.......Guess how they recycle it.............give up ? Well it seems they collect all these voter registration cards from all the polls & they are 'shipped off to Ottawa,..yup Ottawa to be shredded...................hahahahaha  Now there is a waste of money seeing everyone of us now has that familiar blue box at home to do exactly that......Yikes !!! Stupidity by Govt, even when we don't have one in power .......lol

 Anyway get out & vote.....or don't ,Your Choice.

update- Obit in todays Montreal Gazette: for Michael Sarrazin (he lived on Paris St.in Point St Charles)

     
Michael Sarrazin
SARRAZIN, Michael (Jacques Michel Andre) Passed away peacefully after a brief illness, surrounded by family, on April 17, 2011. He is survived by his daughters, Michelle and Catherine, his sister Enid, brother Pierre (Suzette Couture), niece Cybelle, and sister-in-law Marguerite Hall Sarrazin, nephews Jacques (Suzanne) Marc (Annemarie) and niece Anne Marie. Service to be held at St. Patrick's Basilica, on April 26, 2011, at 10:30 a.m., 460 Rene Levesque Blvd., W. Thank you to Dr. Sadikot, Dr. Panet-Raymond, Dr. Kopek, and Dr. Borod, special thanks to Rob Hack, Susan Schwartz, Paramedics Hugo and his co-worker, Marie-Claude Mainville and her team from NOVA as well as Andree Nicole in the Palliative Care Unit of the Montreal General Hospital. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to NOVA, 310 Victoria Ave., Suite 403, Westmount, QC H3Z 2M9 (514) 866-6801

.................You can read the obit here in the Gazette ,along with it's guest book if you like.                 http://www.legacy.com/can-montreal/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=150453049

 

 Regardless of fame or fortune We all end up as a memory .............HF&RV

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Story of a former Verdunite Family

I recently posted a preliminary article on this site on the subject but more details where supplied by William Higgins wich he agreed to share with us.

This is the family history (biography) of the Higgins family. It is the story of a typical working class family that immigraded from Glasgow at the beginning of the 20th century and choose the Pte St Charles/Verdun area to live and raise a family. It all started with William sharing his photos and in particlar the hockey photo of his father wich resulted with the following article wich I translated in french to appear in the Verdun Messager wich hopefully will be published in the days to come.

http///www.messagerverdun.com - Section: Société/Souvenir de Verdun

Guy

 

VERDUN 500 CLUB

The goalkeeper in this excellent 1924 photo is named John Halden Higgins who lived at number 107, 3rd Avenue, Verdun in the 20s. His son, William presently lives in Mississauga Ont. and he e-mailed this photo to me recently as well as his genealogy. We can see that the young players have posed proudly with the trophy that the team recently won.

This photo is one of the oldest photo of a sporting event in Verdun in our possession wich will enrich our archives (SHGV). We can notice the number 500 on the sweaters wich indicates that the team is part of the Verdun 500 Club wich I described in my previous article wich appeared in the Verdun Messager (http://www.messagerverdun.com/ Section Société/Souvenir de Verdun).

Here is the background of the Higgins family:

ALFRED DYKES HIGGINS

Alfred Dykes Higgins

was born in 1878 and his wife Mary Halden was born in 1881 and emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland in 1911 with their son George and their daughter Mary. Alfred was an electrician with the railway in Glasgow and participated in the Boer war in the Lovat Scouts Regiment. They established themselves in Pointe St Charles at 348 Charron Street. Afterwards, the family moved to 107, 3rd Avenue in Verdun in 1920 where Mary Halden died in 1925. Alfred worked as an electrician for the Grand Trunk Railway Company and the CN Railway. Both are buried at the Mount Royal cemetary.

JOHN HALDEN HIGGINS

JOHN HALDEN HIGGINS

, the son of Alfred and the father of William was born in 1913 at 348 Charron Street in Pt St Charles and was baptised at the St Mathews Presbytarian Church at 588 Bourgeoys Street . The family then moved in 1920 to Verdun at 107, 3rd Avenue where Mary Halden died in 1925. John worked for the Northern Electric Cable Company in Montreal then moved at age18 in 1931 to Cooksville Ontario wich changed its name to Mississauga in the 1960s and wich is part of and west of the City of Toronto. John married Geraldine Laver in 1934 and died in 2001 and Geraldine died in 2002, both in Mississauga Ont.

WILLIAM HIGGINS

William Higgins

, the son of John Halden Higgins and of Geraldine Laver was born in 1935 at Mississauga Ont. and married Barbara Marina Clarke and where married at Port Credit Ont. in 1960. They have 2 children, a boy Anthony Higgins and a daughter Jennifer Ann Higgins and where born in Mississauga.

I suggested to William that he visit Montreal and Verdun to retrace the steps of his ancesters and I invited him to visit our society (SHGV) and he plans to make the trip with his wife later this year to visit Montreal, Verdun and no doubt the Mount Royal cemetary where is grand parents are buried.

This is the story amongst so many others of a family that lived in Verdun.

Guy Billard

Société d'Histoire et de Généalogie de Verdun

Source: William Higgins

Multiply Verdun Connections

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Faittes Votre Priere or You Paid Your Money Now You Takes Your Chances lol

             Now were into Scare Tactics(albeit tongue in cheek),whether it be Turcot,Ville Marie,Elevated Metropilitain,or our most recent favourite target Champlain Bridge:.................you are now being urged to 'say a prayer' as you cross the Champlain Bridge......Wow ,the bridge may very well be in old shape ,as are the other major arteries made of concrete,but Really have they not been maintained 'At All' then that would put evry governtment party that has ruled Montreal over the years liable ............I wonder how much of the Scare Tactics are really that.......a Scam to elicit major $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Do-Re-Mi,from all the Gov't powers (that's Code for MILK the TAXPAYERS)  I would wonder who really paid for this sign & who do they really represent ?????  Construction Company's & close friends of the present day Gov't.afterall they have been known to be the Most Corrupt Bunch for Decades in Quebec ( and plenty of other places) ...that's the way the game is played,If you can't get the fund easily through your friends because no one belives you,..then scare te shit out of the people & Voila You Will Magically Find the Funds........especially convienent during a Federal Election,so we can lay the Blame Game ....................You gotta love thievery played out at it;s finest by the politicians of every era.............Remember the Big OWE.........just got paid off after more than 35 years...............hahahahaha

MONTREAL – A freshly installed billboard is catching the eye of southbound motorists heading for the rapidly deteriorating Champlain Bridge.

“Say your prayer,” the French-language billboard instructs those about to embark on their potentially perilous passage over Canada’s busiest bridge.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal is bankrolling the ad, as it launches its annual fundraising drive.

It called the placement and timing of its message “just a little humour to catch people’s attention.”

The billboard comes into view as motorists approach the St. Lawrence River, to head to the South Shore.

It will be up for a week and bears the Archdiocese name and logo, including a small cross.

It has also been designed “to help them think of God, even if it’s just for a second,” added Lucie Martineau, communications director for the diocese.

Opened in 1962, the Champlain is crossed by 164,000 vehicles daily, as well as 40,000 bus passengers.

Engineering firm Delcan has given the bridge a disturbing and scary report card:

“The possibility (of) a partial or complete collapse of one span ... cannot be ruled out,” according to Delcan’s analysis:

“In its current condition, this bridge can be expected to collapse partially or altogether in a significant seismic event.”

Its unusual structure was never designed to handle road salt. Planners had counted on using coal ash to provide traction.

But, for years, road salt has been steadily eating away at the Champlain.

Full drainage was added only during the 1990s – after much damage was done.

At this stage, in fact, according to Delcan, “the deterioration of the bridge is progressing at an exponential rate and therefore the risks to the bridge” – and those using it – “are increasing as time passes by.”

Posters for the Archdiocese campaign went up around the city Monday.

Collections will take place in parishes May 1 through 15.

Martineau said the hope is that donations will match or exceed last year’s $1.6 million.



Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Sign+near+Champlain+Bridge+urges+drivers+prayer/4643199/story.html#ixzz1K2Oh139U

Grateful Actor Appreciates Montreal Doctors

From property in the Laurentians to Montreal doctors ,it seems Michael Douglas appreciates both,,,,,,,,,,,,more so the latter.He is very grateful and wants to give back a bit to help with cancer research: by way of a fundraiser.

        It was his idea.

Michael Douglas was so grateful for the swift diagnosis of throat cancer he got in Montreal last August he offered to be the guest of honour at a fundraiser for throat and neck cancers.

On May 3, he will mingle with folks at Le Windsor, pose for pictures and offer up two foursomes of golf, one with him and one with the missus, Catherine Zeta Jones, at auction.

“He plays his way around the course, he’s about a 10 or a 12 handicap,” said golf pro Christopher Bradburn, who has had occasion to hit the links with Douglas at Le Maître, a private club at Mont Tremblant.

The Montreal medical connection for the Oscar winner all boils down to place and time.

Douglas owns a stupendous country home on Lac Desmarais, close to Tremblant. He spends weeks at a time in his Laurentian hideaway, with his family, where no one bothers him when he goes out to dinner at Milly’s Restaurant or plays golf at the local courses.

Last summer while up north he was complaining of recurring throat and ear pain. His physician in New York contacted a colleague at the Jewish General Hospital and suggested Douglas go see him

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cheers !! HF&RV<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

               read the whole Gazette story here if you like:

                              http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Grateful+actor+star+cancer+fundraiser/4639105/story.html

Monday, April 18, 2011

"They Shoot Horse Don't They" Montreal Actor Dead @ 70

                    MONTREAL - Michael Sarrazin, the understated star of films like They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and The Flim-Flam Man, died Sunday, April 17 in Montreal after a brief, quiet battle with cancer, surrounded by his family. He was 70 years old.

Sarrazin was born Jacques Michel André Sarrazin in Quebec City in 1940. The family moved to Montreal, first to Frontenac St. in the east end, and then to Notre Dame de Grâce, where Sarrazin attended Loyola High School.

“He wasn’t a particularly good student,” his brother Pierre Sarrazin recalled, “but he was a great actor, and the Jesuits and fellow students loved him. His first high school role was in The Bishop’s Candlestick, and he was very upset when he came offstage and everyone in the crowd was laughing. He thought they were laughing at him. They were laughing with him.”

As tributes poured in, love was a word often repeated. “I loved my brother dearly,” said Pierre, a producer and writer for television and film who worked with Michael on the 1993 George Mihalka hit comedy La Florida. “We were an ordinary family that happened to have a star in it. We knew it from an early age.”

“He was the greatest, most wonderful soul," said Daniaile Jarry, who was a dialogue and singing coach to Sarrazin on La Florida, and was shocked to hear of his passing. “He had a great passion for life. We had so much fun on the set. It was a coup for us. He was working with his brother, whom he loved, and was working in French, something he hadn’t done in years.”

       The veteran director Mihalka, still absorbing the news, said, “I have had the honour of not only working with Michael but being a friend for almost 20 years. This is truly a sad time for all of us in the Canadian film community.

“Michael was one of the most talented, generous and committed actors I have ever worked with. He never stopped surprising me with his wit, charm, and, above all, his humility and simple decency. Montreal and the world have lost a truly outstanding man. Rest well, my dear friend, you have enriched the lives of all of us.”

Sarrazin’s longtime agent Michael Oscars said in a statement from Toronto: “Michael was an actor of great sensitivity and unparalleled grace. He was also an impeccable raconteur, valued client and a great friend. It is a very great loss.

Sarrazin was one of the last actors to come up through the old studio system, signing with Universal in 1965. After an indifferent start in television and TV movies of the week, his true talent as a soulful reflection of the tumultuous 1960s was revealed opposite singer-actor Bobby Darin in the post-Civil War drama Gunfight in Abilene, in 1967, and as the reluctant apprentice to grifter George C. Scott in The Flim-Flam Man, that same year.

Work came fast and furious. He played a tenderfoot Confederate soldier in 1968’s Journey to Shiloh with fellow Hollywood rookie Harrison Ford, and was nominated for a Golden Globe as a slacker surfer in The Sweet Ride (1968) opposite Jacqueline Bisset. They began a relationship that lasted 14 years.

Sarrazin’s career peaked the next year as he provided quiet, essential support for partner Jane Fonda in the harrowing dancing marathon They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? The film was nominated for nine Oscars, but only Gig Young won for best supporting actor.

His critical run continued when he played Paul Newman’s misunderstood half-brother in Sometimes a Great Notion, Newman’s criminally underseen 1970 adaptation of novelist Ken Kesey’s great logging yarn. Henry Fonda and Lee Remick co-starred. Sarrazin worked more or less continuously thereafter, in films as varied as The Life and Times of George Roy Bean (1972), The Gumball Rally (1976), Joshua Then and Now (1985), Bullet to Beijing (1995), and 2008’s The Christmas Choir.

Claude Chamberlan, co-founder and chief programmer of Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma, wrote in an email: “Funny, only three days ago, I was talking to friends about the very discreet Michael Sarrazin, the only Hollywood film star living around Boulevard Saint-Laurent. I saw him many times strolling the Main and always respected his incognito.

“I will always remember him in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, a film we showed at the end of our 250-hour film marathon in 1992, celebrating the 100th birthday of cinema.”

In the beginning of the 21st century, Sarrazin relocated from the West Coast to Montreal to be closer to his beloved daughters Catherine and Michelle, organizational pillars of the editorial department of the Gazette for many years.

“We had a 3,000-mile relationship with him for so long, it was great to be able to rediscover him,” said Michelle bravely, shortly after his passing. “He was a great, loving dad. He really loved us, and we really loved him. We’re so glad we had these years together.”

A service will be held in Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’s Basilica, 454 Rene Levesque Blvd.W, on April 26 at 10:30 a.m.

johngriffin@bell.net

A select list of Michael Sarrazin's films:

The Christmas Choir (2008)

Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree Mystery (2005)

FeardotCom (2002)

Nikita (2000)

The City (1999-2000)

The Peacekeeper (1997)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1996)

Murder She Wrote (1985-1991)

Street Legal (1990)

Malarek (1989)

Joshua Then and Now (1985)

The Gumball Rally (1976)

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

Sometimes a Great Notion (1970)

The Pursuit of Happiness (1971

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They (1969)

Blast From the Past ( CTV's line not mine)

        From the grand opening of CFCF 12 to some of our famous faces that you’ve welcomed into your home. Click the video player to the right to watch these short clips from yesteryear. CFCF went on the air in 1961, with a song and dance, next up was the first of many news magazine shows, Carte Blanche, featuring an interview with Mayor Jean Drapeau. During the 1960s we brought you lots of live programming geared towards children and young adults with famous hosts like Magic Tom and Johnny Jellybean. One man who personified CFCF 12 was Don McGowan, who did everything from hosting talk shows and game shows to predicting the weather and travelling around the world. Bill Haugland was our main news anchor from 1977 to 2006 and he offers a brief retrospective on growing up English in Montreal.

 

CFCF-12 Celebrates 50 years / 50 ans de la chaîne CFCF-12

CFCF-12, formerly of 405 Ogilvy, reviews their 50 years of broadcasting with old clips and staff interviews on Thursday, January 20th, 6 - 7 pm, repeated Friday January 21, 12 - 1 pm. You can also view footage from their very first show on the "Blast from the Past" section of their website, and enjoy vintage episodes of locally-produced classics (such as "Surprise Party" with Magic Tom, McGowan's World, It's Your Move and others) on the "Flashback" section of their site.

                         


La station CFCF-12, anciennement situé au 405 Ogilvy, diffusera une rétrospective de leurs 50 ans jeudi, le 20 janvier de 18h à 19h et ensuite vendredi, le 21 janvier de midi à 13h. Vous pouvez visionner leur toute première épisode dans la section "Blast from the Past" de leur site web, ainsi que des émissions produits localement (tels que "Surprise Party" with Magic Tom, McGowan's World, It's Your Move et autres) dans la section "Flashback".

Blast From the Past Growing up in Montreal 1960's

    From the grand opening of CFCF 12 to some of our famous faces that you’ve welcomed into your home. Click the video player to the right to watch these short clips from yesteryear.

CFCF went on the air in 1961, with a song and dance, next up was the first of many news magazine shows, Carte Blanche, featuring an interview with Mayor Jean Drapeau.

During the 1960s we brought you lots of live programming geared towards children and young adults with famous hosts like Magic Tom and Johnny Jellybean.

One man who personified CFCF 12 was Don McGowan, who did everything from hosting talk shows and game shows to predicting the weather and travelling around the world.

Bill Haugland was our main news anchor from 1977 to 2006 and he offers a brief retrospective on growing up English in Montreal

 

 
 
 
 
 

Blast From the Past Growing up in Montreal 1960's

    From the grand opening of CFCF 12 to some of our famous faces that you’ve welcomed into your home. Click the video player to the right to watch these short clips from yesteryear.

CFCF went on the air in 1961, with a song and dance, next up was the first of many news magazine shows, Carte Blanche, featuring an interview with Mayor Jean Drapeau.

During the 1960s we brought you lots of live programming geared towards children and young adults with famous hosts like Magic Tom and Johnny Jellybean.

One man who personified CFCF 12 was Don McGowan, who did everything from hosting talk shows and game shows to predicting the weather and travelling around the world.

Bill Haugland was our main news anchor from 1977 to 2006 and he offers a brief retrospective on growing up English in Montreal

 

 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Corner Gordon & Bannantyne

I am reposting these photos of the Corner of Gordon & Bannantyne as my first post earlier got buried.

Guy

 

 

"Will there be 'Fly's' With That ?"

           How's this for stupidity, Our illustrious leaders in spending $35 BILLION (with a B) an already low estimate of the true cost (our Gov't likes to lie to us----don't they all) ...Now it seems if you want engines in those 'Planes' it will be extra.......hahahahah

The multi-million dollar F-35 stealth fighter that the Conservatives want to purchase comes with all the accoutrements of a high-tech aircraft — everything, that is, except an engine.

The government will be required to provide engines for the 65 planes to be delivered by U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin, according to newly released Defence Department documents.

The proposed F-35 purchase, estimated to cost between $14 billion and $29 billion depending on what figures are used, has been controversial. Opposition parties are calling for a review or cancellation of the program, while the Tories have made it a key part of their defence policy.

The DND documents, which outline answers to questions about the F-35, also note that the stealth fighter could be used in a secondary role for search-and-rescue.

The records, obtained through the Access to Information law by peace activist Tamara Lorincz, are from a series of meetings last fall when defence bureaucrats and military officers toured the country to promote the F-35 deal.

“Engines are provided as gov’t furnished equipment,” noted the documents.

The term “government furnished equipment” signifies that the engines are being provided separately by Canada.

It is unclear how much extra the engines will cost or whether there would be additional costs for installing the power plants into the fighters.

In an e-mail late Friday, DND stated that Canada is purchasing the least costly variant of the F-35.

But DND did not provide an explanation about why the government is required to provide the engines.

It also did not provide any details on the price tag of the engines or the cost to install them.

But the e-mail suggested the cost of the engines is included in the overall price.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has labelled the F-35 as a good deal for Canada and notes that the aircraft will cost around $75 million per plane.

The Conservatives say the entire purchase will cost around $14 billion but a report from Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page puts the number at $29 billion.

The Government Accountability Office, the U.S government’s equivalent of the auditor general, has also warned about serious ongoing problems with the aircraft and rising costs. Mike Sullivan, a senior official with the Government Accountability Office, estimates that the F-35 model that Canada is buying will cost between $110 to $115 million.

U.S. defence specialist Winslow Wheeler, who has also raised concerns about the F-35, has warned that the extra cost of an engine could boost the price of an aircraft for Canada to around $148 million.

“If Canada’s government can get an F-35 for the mid-70 million dollars per airplane, well they should sign a contract right now and get it delivered,” said Wheeler, an analyst with the Center for Defense Information in Washington. “Because I can promise you nobody on this earth will ever get a flying F-35 for $75 million per copy. It’s pure fantasy.”

But former chief of the defence staff, retired Gen. Paul Manson, a strong supporter of the F-35 and a former chairman of Lockheed Martin Canada, has challenged Wheeler’s viewpoints in a letter to the Citizen. According to Manson, the F-35 project is progressing well and the plane is the right one for Canada. He said Wheeler lacks credibility because he is associated with a “left-wing” organization in Washington.

Wheeler, who was asked to testify last year before a Commons committee, has spent the last 30 years working on defence issues for Republican and Democratic politicians. He was an analyst for nine years with the Government Accountability Office, working on studies concerning defence procurement and military aircraft.

The DND records highlight the F-35’s capabilities, pointing out that it will be easy to fly and the purchase will provide contracts for Canadian aerospace companies.

During the tour, the issue of whether the F-35 could contribute to search and rescue (SAR) missions also came up. “Fighter aircraft (are) not a primary SAR asset, but can play a secondary role — and would,” the documents state.

But Steve Staples, a vocal critic of the F-35 purchase, calls that claim ludicrous.

He said the billions of dollars earmarked for the fighter jets have helped delay other more important projects such as the air force’s much-delayed plan to buy fixed wing search and rescue planes.

“The concern here is that the F-35 eats everybody’s else’s lunch and there will be no money left,” said Staples, president of the Rideau Institute. “The search and rescue aircraft are a casualty, so instead we’ll get some supersonic stealth fighter trying to find hikers lost in the woods.”

According to the DND presentations from the documents, the first F-35 will be delivered to Canada in 2016. The final delivery will take place in 2022.

_________________________________________Cheers !!  HF&RV__________________
  Is it any wonder ,we figure Politicians are full of Crap,everytime they open their mouth  lol
but Hey it's not their money (well until the enveloppes start showing up under their doors) it isn't.      

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Growing Up in Verdun / Montreal

A great recollection story of growing up in Montreal by a fellow named 'saddlerider' an ex Montrealer now living somewhere in the prairies. but his retelling of his memory of times gone by are really well done, This story could quite easily be told by any one of us, & that being said is what links us all together with the common thread (denominator) of growing up in Verdun/Montreal.From sitting on the gallery or people watching from our windows ,to playing in the street when the 'water truck came rolling down the avenues'..always an adventure:Read his story if you like>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HF&RV>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Memories Of montreal from the '50s & '60sHow many of us have similar memories of growing up in our towns and cities? When I was just a boy growing up in Montreal, I lived in some interesting areas of the city. This picture of a boy crossing the street could have been me, this is the exact way the flats and streets looked in my time growing up in Point St Charles. We used to play kick the can, street hockey, hide and seek, buck-buck how many fingers up, throwing a ball against the brick exteriors and bouncing it to see how high we could make it go. The girls would have colored chalk and they would draw hopscotch patterns and skip on the sidewalks.

Then there was the water truck that would come by spraying and using their huge circular electric brushes to clean the dirty streets. We would all run alongside the truck and try to jump over the spray without getting our feet and legs wet. But on hot summer days, that spray felt so good. We played street hockey all year round and the girls would join in as well. Many of us would ask our moms to sew a number 9 on the back of our sweaters so that we could pretend we were the late great Maurice 'the Rocket' Richard.

Another fun thing we did was in the winter, when we had a heavy snowfall, we would build tunnels through the banks and play inside them. It could be dangerous , if we heard the loud rolling noise of the snow truck coming down our street we would run for cover because we didn't want to be sucked into those snow shoots with the sharp blades that choped up the snow and dumped into the truck that was alongside. There were a few horrific stories of kids losing their lives to this monster.

It was fun to watch the street when the sun went down.The people would open their windows, stick a pillow out to rest their elbows on, smoke cigarettes and talk and yell to each other from their flats. Sometimes the conversations would go on for hours. We never locked our doors at night and had no fear of being vandalized. Everyone knew each other and watched each others' backs.

The picture of the back lanes of the Point today are still exactly the way they looked years ago - a mess of telephone and electrical wires crisscrossing the alleyway. Clothes out on the lines. Garbage piled up along the fences waiting for the garbage man to pick up. Apart from cats and dogs running loose, we also had rats the size of some cats darting here and there. Tenants put out poison mixed in strawberry jam on small squares of white bread, hoping to attract the rats and kill them. I had a few encounters with those ugly vermin when I was a boy but never got bitten, thank goodness.

We had to call in the local rat catcher sometimes because once in awhile, when I brought in an empty garbage can, there may have been one hiding at the bottom and would jump out in the flat and scare the daylights out of us. It didn't happen too often, thank goodness. My chores back then were to empty the ashes from our coal burning stove, take out the garbage, shovel the coal into our coal bin when it was poured down a chute by the coalman and to put the ice in our icebox when the iceman dropped it at the top of our stairs. Damn, it was cold! Many a time we would distract the iceman and run to the back of his icetruck and chip off some ice to suck on. I bet not too many of you ever broke off pieces of slightly hardened black tar and chewed on it? I did, they say it helped keep our teeth white.

This photo of Mount Royal was taken from an apartment on Guy Street. My friends and I used to hop on a bus from the Point and take it up Guy Street and get off at the corner of Sherbrooke and Cote des Neiges and walk the rest of the way to the mount. It may have been a half hour walk from the last bus stop. Once we were on Mount Royal, our play commenced. We would pretend to be explorers and mountain climbers. We would try to find a steep side of the mountain and work our way up to the top. The things I did back then I couldn't even imagine today. There were stables of riding horses available and we would pool our money to rent one horse for all of us to ride for half an hour. We would get a share of the ride for ten or 15 minutes each. Afterwards, we would scoot on over to Beaver Lake and walk barefoot in the shallow parts and chase the ducks. Being boys, we would find as much mischief to get into as we could so we could tempt the officials to scold us or chase us off the mount.

Montreal was a great city to grow up in. I had too many experiences and fun to write in one blog, I hope to share more of them with my readers as time goes by.

Read More about my journey's of growing up in Montreal:

This is my life story in my own words. It will be a lasting heritage for my four children.

The ending of part one was a description of the type of flat we lived in.

I left part two with the answer as follows:

"Yes my sisters and I did a lot of crying together with mom.

I had a very fortunate distraction in 67 with the

the excitement building up to the opening day at Expo67

My 57 Chevy was one of my prize possessions

Chrome and leather days riding my 65 Super Flame BSA motorcycle.

Finding my very first job after school in Montreal

My discovery of an angel at the top of the hill and the mentoring from a wise man.

Montreal has the smoked meat sandwich and it's the talk of the town.


I hope you enjoyed the adventures of my growing up in Montreal.The first 23 years of my life were definitely challenges that with help and guidance I managed to survive.and keep my spirit in tact

Found on the Net About Growing Up in Montreal

Memories of Montreal in the 50's & 60's    
 How many of us have similar memories of growing up in our towns and cities? When I was just a boy growing up in Montreal, I lived in some interesting areas of the city. This picture of a boy crossing the street could have been me, this is the exact way the flats and streets looked in my time growing up in Point St Charles. We used to play kick the can, street hockey, hide and seek, buck-buck how many fingers up, throwing a ball against the brick exteriors and bouncing it to see how high we could make it go. The girls would have colored chalk and they would draw hopscotch patterns and skip on the sidewalks.

Then there was the water truck that would come by spraying and using their huge circular electric brushes to clean the dirty streets. We would all run alongside the truck and try to jump over the spray without getting our feet and legs wet. But on hot summer days, that spray felt so good. We played street hockey all year round and the girls would join in as well. Many of us would ask our moms to sew a number 9 on the back of our sweaters so that we could pretend we were the late great Maurice 'the Rocket' Richard.

Another fun thing we did was in the winter, when we had a heavy snowfall, we would build tunnels through the banks and play inside them. It could be dangerous , if we heard the loud rolling noise of the snow truck coming down our street we would run for cover because we didn't want to be sucked into those snow shoots with the sharp blades that choped up the snow and dumped into the truck that was alongside. There were a few horrific stories of kids losing their lives to this monster.

It was fun to watch the street when the sun went down.The people would open their windows, stick a pillow out to rest their elbows on, smoke cigarettes and talk and yell to each other from their flats. Sometimes the conversations would go on for hours. We never locked our doors at night and had no fear of being vandalized. Everyone knew each other and watched each others' backs.

The picture of the back lanes of the Point today are still exactly the way they looked years ago - a mess of telephone and electrical wires crisscrossing the alleyway. Clothes out on the lines. Garbage piled up along the fences waiting for the garbage man to pick up. Apart from cats and dogs running loose, we also had rats the size of some cats darting here and there. Tenants put out poison mixed in strawberry jam on small squares of white bread, hoping to attract the rats and kill them. I had a few encounters with those ugly vermin when I was a boy but never got bitten, thank goodness.

We had to call in the local rat catcher sometimes because once in awhile, when I brought in an empty garbage can, there may have been one hiding at the bottom and would jump out in the flat and scare the daylights out of us. It didn't happen too often, thank goodness. My chores back then were to empty the ashes from our coal burning stove, take out the garbage, shovel the coal into our coal bin when it was poured down a chute by the coalman and to put the ice in our icebox when the iceman dropped it at the top of our stairs. Damn, it was cold! Many a time we would distract the iceman and run to the back of his icetruck and chip off some ice to suck on. I bet not too many of you ever broke off pieces of slightly hardened black tar and chewed on it? I did, they say it helped keep our teeth white.

This photo of Mount Royal was taken from an apartment on Guy Street. My friends and I used to hop on a bus from the Point and take it up Guy Street and get off at the corner of Sherbrooke and Cote des Neiges and walk the rest of the way to the mount. It may have been a half hour walk from the last bus stop. Once we were on Mount Royal, our play commenced. We would pretend to be explorers and mountain climbers. We would try to find a steep side of the mountain and work our way up to the top. The things I did back then I couldn't even imagine today. There were stables of riding horses available and we would pool our money to rent one horse for all of us to ride for half an hour. We would get a share of the ride for ten or 15 minutes each. Afterwards, we would scoot on over to Beaver Lake and walk barefoot in the shallow parts and chase the ducks. Being boys, we would find as much mischief to get into as we could so we could tempt the officials to scold us or chase us off the mount.

Montreal was a great city to grow up in. I had too many experiences and fun to write in one blog, I hope to share more of them with my readers as time goes by.

Read More about my journey's of growing up in Montreal:

This is my life story in my own words. It will be a lasting heritage for my four children.

The ending of part one was a description of the type of flat we lived in.

I left part two with the answer as follows:

"Yes my sisters and I did a lot of crying together with mom.

I had a very fortunate distraction in 67 with the

the excitement building up to the opening day at Expo67

My 57 Chevy was one of my prize possessions

Chrome and leather days riding my 65 Super Flame BSA motorcycle.

Finding my very first job after school in Montreal

My discovery of an angel at the top of the hill and the mentoring from a wise man.

Montreal has the smoked meat sandwich and it's the talk of the town.


I hope you enjoyed the adventures of my growing up in Montreal.The first 23 years of my life were definitely challenges that with help and guidance I managed to survive.and keep my spirit in tact

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cheers !!  HF&RV<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Found on the Net About Growing Up in Montreal

Memories of Montreal in the 50's & 60's    
 How many of us have similar memories of growing up in our towns and cities? When I was just a boy growing up in Montreal, I lived in some interesting areas of the city. This picture of a boy crossing the street could have been me, this is the exact way the flats and streets looked in my time growing up in Point St Charles. We used to play kick the can, street hockey, hide and seek, buck-buck how many fingers up, throwing a ball against the brick exteriors and bouncing it to see how high we could make it go. The girls would have colored chalk and they would draw hopscotch patterns and skip on the sidewalks.

Then there was the water truck that would come by spraying and using their huge circular electric brushes to clean the dirty streets. We would all run alongside the truck and try to jump over the spray without getting our feet and legs wet. But on hot summer days, that spray felt so good. We played street hockey all year round and the girls would join in as well. Many of us would ask our moms to sew a number 9 on the back of our sweaters so that we could pretend we were the late great Maurice 'the Rocket' Richard.

Another fun thing we did was in the winter, when we had a heavy snowfall, we would build tunnels through the banks and play inside them. It could be dangerous , if we heard the loud rolling noise of the snow truck coming down our street we would run for cover because we didn't want to be sucked into those snow shoots with the sharp blades that choped up the snow and dumped into the truck that was alongside. There were a few horrific stories of kids losing their lives to this monster.

It was fun to watch the street when the sun went down.The people would open their windows, stick a pillow out to rest their elbows on, smoke cigarettes and talk and yell to each other from their flats. Sometimes the conversations would go on for hours. We never locked our doors at night and had no fear of being vandalized. Everyone knew each other and watched each others' backs.

The picture of the back lanes of the Point today are still exactly the way they looked years ago - a mess of telephone and electrical wires crisscrossing the alleyway. Clothes out on the lines. Garbage piled up along the fences waiting for the garbage man to pick up. Apart from cats and dogs running loose, we also had rats the size of some cats darting here and there. Tenants put out poison mixed in strawberry jam on small squares of white bread, hoping to attract the rats and kill them. I had a few encounters with those ugly vermin when I was a boy but never got bitten, thank goodness.

We had to call in the local rat catcher sometimes because once in awhile, when I brought in an empty garbage can, there may have been one hiding at the bottom and would jump out in the flat and scare the daylights out of us. It didn't happen too often, thank goodness. My chores back then were to empty the ashes from our coal burning stove, take out the garbage, shovel the coal into our coal bin when it was poured down a chute by the coalman and to put the ice in our icebox when the iceman dropped it at the top of our stairs. Damn, it was cold! Many a time we would distract the iceman and run to the back of his icetruck and chip off some ice to suck on. I bet not too many of you ever broke off pieces of slightly hardened black tar and chewed on it? I did, they say it helped keep our teeth white.

This photo of Mount Royal was taken from an apartment on Guy Street. My friends and I used to hop on a bus from the Point and take it up Guy Street and get off at the corner of Sherbrooke and Cote des Neiges and walk the rest of the way to the mount. It may have been a half hour walk from the last bus stop. Once we were on Mount Royal, our play commenced. We would pretend to be explorers and mountain climbers. We would try to find a steep side of the mountain and work our way up to the top. The things I did back then I couldn't even imagine today. There were stables of riding horses available and we would pool our money to rent one horse for all of us to ride for half an hour. We would get a share of the ride for ten or 15 minutes each. Afterwards, we would scoot on over to Beaver Lake and walk barefoot in the shallow parts and chase the ducks. Being boys, we would find as much mischief to get into as we could so we could tempt the officials to scold us or chase us off the mount.

Montreal was a great city to grow up in. I had too many experiences and fun to write in one blog, I hope to share more of them with my readers as time goes by.

Read More about my journey's of growing up in Montreal:

This is my life story in my own words. It will be a lasting heritage for my four children.

The ending of part one was a description of the type of flat we lived in.

I left part two with the answer as follows:

"Yes my sisters and I did a lot of crying together with mom.

I had a very fortunate distraction in 67 with the

the excitement building up to the opening day at Expo67

My 57 Chevy was one of my prize possessions

Chrome and leather days riding my 65 Super Flame BSA motorcycle.

Finding my very first job after school in Montreal

My discovery of an angel at the top of the hill and the mentoring from a wise man.

Montreal has the smoked meat sandwich and it's the talk of the town.


I hope you enjoyed the adventures of my growing up in Montreal.The first 23 years of my life were definitely challenges that with help and guidance I managed to survive.and keep my spirit in tact

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cheers !!  HF&RV<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Memories of summer evenings in Verdun

Verdun and Montreal Photos

A Compilation of Verdun and Montreal photographs,mostly colour,a couple of B&W.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Medical Technique Breakthrough by Quebec Brain Surgeon

      Pretty cool stuff ,when you think about it, I am sure we all know or knew someone who was diagnosed with brain cancer ,rarely do they survive,(almost never)Well maybe this will help in the future:

QUEBEC — In a Canadian first, a Quebec neurosurgeon recently managed to completely remove a brain tumour from a patient using a robotic arm and 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The groundbreaking surgery was performed last fall by Dr. David Fortin at Sherbrooke's University Hospital (CHUS). Fortin said Monday he waited until now to make the surgery public to make sure the patient had fully recovered.

He has operated since on four other patients with the robotic surgical arm, known as Rosa and produced by the French company Medtech.

"This acts as a third arm, a very precise and reliable one, for the neurosurgeon," said Fortin in a telephone interview from Sherbrooke.

The robotic arm helps ensure the safety of prolonged movements during the surgery, thus making it more efficient than a human arm that suffers from fatigue, Fortin noted. He added the robotic arm is easy to use and is also less invasive for the patient.

"Technologies like the robotic arm help improve the quantity of tumour we can extract while preserving the patient's quality of life after the surgery," Fortin said.

Fortin used the robotic arm last fall along with tri-dimensional MRI that generates images showing the detailed circuitry of the brain. This allowed the surgeon to have real-time information about the brain.

Fortin also added the patient was woken up at one point during the surgery to stimulate the brain.

"It's the combination of those three techniques that allowed us to completely remove the tumour and made the surgery unique," he said, noting a "classic" surgery would have only allowed the surgeon to remove half of the tumour for that first patient.

Fortin said this technology is part of a new tailored therapy approach and will allow surgeons to get to tumours that previously were believed to be inoperable.

Sherbrooke is the second hospital in North America to use the Rosa technology, after a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Fortin said he is testing the robotic arm, worth $600,000, and will conduct a series of 15 operations with it before next fall. Depending on the results, Fortin and the hospital will decide whether it the facility buys the new technology.

Fortin heads the neuro-oncology clinic at Sherbrooke's CHUS and holds the Canadian Chair for the Treatment of Brain Cancer. His research aims to prolong the lives of people with this type of incurable cancer.

He has developed a unique technique to administer cancer-fighting medications that are able to reach the brain tumour in sufficient quantities to be effective.

Each year, some 2,500 Canadians are diagnosed with brain cancer, a highly aggressive form of cancer.

.....Wild stuff,& any breakthrough in beating cancer is more than welcome,as it claims lots of people each day of the year.Maybe a brighter future is coming in taming the cancer beast in our lifetime ?