Vol 44
Issue 03
Campus News
QUEBEC ELECTIONS:
Tabling at the Hall Building mezzanine has been banned
IT’S TIME TO
VOTE
page 3
e r r e r e i r P e i t P S t l S u l a u P a n P o n d o n d o n m o a PPllam
City News
Higher education, immigration and housing policy breakdowns
bécois
ué Parti Q
page 4–5
e n e i t n i s t i r s i h r C h C e t e t t e t h e c h é c r é FFr
Music
No Diploma Records: Montreal’s independent record label making waves
uébec
ir Q n Aven oalitio
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page 7
s e s l e r l a r Chha C d r d a r i l a Miillli M
Pages Francos
Achalandage monstre à la station du REM ÉdouardMontpetit
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page 8
c i r c É i r É e m e i a m h i a u h D u D
Sports
Being her in the boys’ club
ec
f Queb
yo e Part v i t a v r Conse
Ruba l a z a h G c Québe
ire
solida
page 10
Opinions
Is the Online News Act ruining the elections? page 12
Election Day is Oct. 5; advance voting at Concordia starts Sept. 25
Arts & Culture
“The love of the game is really musical theatre” page 14
Photos by Aidan Raynor, Kira Minall, Maxime Rioux // QLP, PCQ, Hannah Nobile @theconcordianmtl @theconcordian.bsky.social @theconcordian theconcordian.com
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Volume 44, Issue 03
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Campus News
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | campus@theconcordian.com
The new 500 MHz spectrometer will join a recently donated 400 MHz spectrometer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility. By Sabina Bellisario-Giglio Campus News Editor @_sabbell_
The contract, which The Concordian found through the Quebec government’s electronic tendering system, was awarded to Bruker Ltd, a scientific equipment supplier in Ontario, on Sept. 2 for $1.4 million. The purchase will replace an aging 500 MHz spectrometer that is currently housed in the facility. Julie Fortier, deputy spokesperson for Concordia, told The Concordian that “purchases of major research equipment, such as this one, are supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a federal agency that funds research infrastructure, together with matching support from the government
of Quebec, and a smaller contribution from dedicated university research funds.” The CFI has helped and continues to help fund many projects at Concordia. In May, CFI invested part of its John R. Evans Leaders Fund into Concordia’s research on green hydrogen production. In December 2025, Concordia received a $5 million investment from the CFI to upgrade its genome foundry and bioprocessing, with funds matched by Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education (MES). A spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to study the structure and behaviour of molecules by looking at how they interact with radio waves. This purchase comes amid Concordia University’s efforts to cut its operating budget deficit, with a 2026-27 operating budget deficit of $20.7 million. In its plan to reduce the deficit, the university proposed a six per cent “reduction to sector budgets, representing $34.8 million in budget adjustments across the university.” The 500 MHz spectrometer, expected to be delivered “in several months,” will join a 400 MHz spectrometer donated to the university’s NMR facility in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The university received the spectrometer earlier this month, as a donation
Concordia’s reuse program gathers enough signatures to apply for new fee levy Reaching the 1000-signature quota gets the program one step closer to proposing a 23-cent-per-credit fee levy.
tainability specialist with the Office of Sustainability, that kind of structure makes it difficult to know what resources will be available from year to year.
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“By adding this to stable student By Saima Mazumder funding, it means Assistant Campus News Editor @ _saimamazumder that there are basic services that The fee levy would help the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR), Fripe Concordia and the cannot be touched,” Dish Project secure a steady stream of said Timm-Bottos. funding, ensuring services can continue running. Over the years, the reuse program has relied on funding from several sources including Concordia’s Office of Sustainability, the university administration and the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA). Additionally, ASFA students already pay a 4-cent-per-credit fee levy to CUCCR. However, according to Anna Timm-Bottos, reuse program and sus-
Corrections:
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What would this fee levy change?
Beyond just maintaining the existing programs and paying employees, Timm-Bottos also explained her desire to expand the Used Material Depot to the Loyola campus. “There’s very little reuse programming that happens at Loyola right now. And that’s just such a missed opportunity,” she said.
from CDN Isotopes, a brand of LGC Standards. Researchers and students in the department will use the equipment. “Both pieces of equipment are essential research infrastructure, supporting the work of multiple researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,” Fortier explained.
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“The newlypurchased 500 MHz spectrometer will be used for research in nanomaterials, organic and medicinal chemistry, and biomolecular sciences,” Fortier added.
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What is an open tender?
An open tender is when an organization publicly advertises a contract and suppliers and contractors can submit bids. Under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, public bodies must provide “open, transparent, and non-discrimi-
Graphic by Zelda Dover // Graphics Editor // @xeirilia
Concordia acquires $1.4 million 500 MHz spectrometer
natory access to covered procurement by its procuring entities.” In Quebec, any business can view and bid on public contracts that are published through Quebec’s système électronique d’appel d’offres (SEAO). While documents such as bids and contracts are not available to the public, anyone can view open tenders and award contracts by any organization through the SEAO’s webpage. In order to comply with the trade agreement, Concordia is required to publish tenders to the SEAO for contracts that are “$139,000 or greater for goods or services, excluding construction; or $347,400 or greater for construction.” The Autorité des marchés publics, an independent agency funded by the Quebec government that oversees these public procurements, recently flagged irregularities in how Concordia awarded a $1.95 million contract to rebuild the Stinger Dome. The Concordian covered this story in its first issue, published on Sept. 8.
What would these fees be funding? hoping to gather 1000 by Sept. 21, to If passed, the proposed fee levy would help fund three programs under the reuse program: the CUCCR, Fripe Concordia and the Dish Project. The CUCCR is a depot that offers a wide variety of materials and items, including office supplies, wood, fabric and all kinds of household items from across campus. The community can then access these materials for free. It is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. “The point is really about keeping good things from ending up in the landfill and preventing new purchases as much as possible,” explained Timm-Bottos. Fripe Concordia is a second-hand store that sells clothes, electronics and household items. They are open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. According to Fripe Concordia’s webpage, “to support Concordia’s Zero Waste plan, merchandise comes primarily from the university community.” Additionally, all the profits from the Fripe are redistributed to the student employees who work across these three programs. The Dish Project allows students to rent reusable dishware, cutlery and various other supplies to host events, which can be reserved through their online portal. Although a deposit may also be required, it is fully reimbursed once the items are returned. The reuse program collected signatures for about a week and a half,
bring the proposed fee to a referendum. As of Sept. 21 at 10:30 a.m., CUCCR told The Concordian it had successfully collected and would submit 1117 signatures. However, securing those 1000 signatures still does not guarantee the group ballot access in the Concordia Student Union (CSU)’s fall by-election. As Zoe Erika-Okoye, the CSU sustainability coordinator, explained to The Concordian, creating a new fee levy is a multistep process: 1. Verifying eligibility and creating a referendum question 2. Review by Concordia Student Accounts Departments 3. Application submission and review by the CSU’s Fee Levy Review Committee 4. Campaigning and elections 5. Approval from Concordia’s board of governors Now that CUCCR has met its 1,000-signature quota, the application will be submitted to the CSU. If approved by the CSU’s Fee Levy Review Committee, undergraduate students will be able to vote on the new fee levy through a referendum later this fall. Timm-Bottos remains hopeful after seeing all the support from the student body. “We’re really in a strong place. Like the university is supporting and now the students can show up and support too,” she said.
The Concordian is issuing the following corrections about it’s article titled “What’s being done about Concordia’s deteriorating infrastructure?” published in Vol. 44, Issue 1: It stated that “the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has slashed over 60 per cent of its allocated budget to Concordia University since the 2024–25 fiscal year, according to the university.” It only concerns the budget allocated for infrastructure projects. It also implied the entire FG Building would be closed for two years. It is only the three basement classroom floors that will be. The Concordian apologizes for these mistakes.
Campus News
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | campus@theconcordian.com
Tabling at the Hall Building mezzanine has been banned
The mezzanine is no longer a bookable space for university-related or student-run events or tabling due to “space management.” By Sabina Bellisario-Giglio Campus News Editor @_sabbell_
In an email to The Concordian, Concordia Student Union (CSU) Campaigns cited the university’s decision to ban tabling as due to “traffic flow” issues and “congestion.” Concordia University deputy spokesperson Julie Fortier told The Concordian that the decision to ban any tabling events in the mezzanine was a “space management decision, not one related to any specific event.” The university’s webpage describes the Henry F. Hall Building as a prominent “academic and social hub” on the Sir George Williams campus. It is home to many academic departments and many places frequented by students, such as Reggie’s, the Hive Café and student associations like the CSU. Saraluz Barton-Gomez, the external affairs and mobilization coordinator at the CSU, said the CSU has spoken with the Provost about the tabling ban.
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“It was mostly about trying to just convey how genuinely angry students are about this decision, not only about the decision itself, but about the lack of consultation in the decision,” Barton-Gomez said.
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While the CSU acknowledged the administration’s concerns, Emma Doyle, student life coordinator at the CSU, said that the CSU is still looking for a compromise. “There has been no willingness to find a middle ground [...] to have a safe solution that works best for both sides,” she said. “We want to be solutions-oriented about it rather than getting rid of another space that then reshuffles the already short amount of space that is on campus for students,” Doyle added. Many student and university-led tabling events that were booked for the space have since been cancelled and reassigned to other spaces around campus. Notably, the CSU Clubs Fair happening on Sept. 23 has since been moved to the EV Building, despite having taken place at the mezzanine in years prior. Fortier also stated that there are a “multitude of other locations that student groups can book across campus in areas visible to students,” citing the kiosks in each of the Atriums (LB, MB and EV) or in SP at the Loyola campus, conference rooms, classrooms and the
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7th floor lounge in the Hall Building. Barton-Gomez said that the university offered these spaces as alternatives to the mezzanine, but “to us [the CSU], these spaces have absolutely no comparison to the magnitude of students that the mezzanine is able to reach.” Fortier told The Concordian that “the space is not being reassigned to anyone but it will continue to have chairs and areas to lounge.” The CSU has started a petition to restore access to the mezzanine for tabling, demanding the “recognition of the CSU as the sole authority over mezzanine bookings” and “consent from the CSU, affected clubs and campus services before any future changes to shared campus space are implemented.” The goal of the petition is to inform students about the ban and how it affects them. “Eventually, we can hopefully use these numbers to show the administration how many students are being impacted by this unilateral decision,” said Barton-Gomez. At the time of publication, the CSU told The Concordian that the petition had received 223 signatures.
The CSU, while it previously managed the tabling event bookings at the Hall mezzanine, does not own the space.
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“It is the university’s space and the university has changed the designated use of the space,” Fortier told The Concordian.
” Nightlife safety at Concordia’s
The mezzanine in the Henry F. Hall Building on the Sir George Williams campus. Photo by Hannah Nobile // Co-Photo Editor // @hannahnobile
on-campus bar Reggie’s As Reggie’s opens for the school year, how does the campus bar balance nightlife with safety? By Brandy Mitchell Contributor @brandymitchellxo
A recent Canadian Post Secondary Education and Alcohol Student Survey (CPADS) found that nearly every student who drank alcohol in the past 30 days at a Canadian University experienced at least one alcohol related harm incident. Minor consequences ranged from embarrassment and fatigue to more serious consequences such as injury, police intervention or alcohol poisoning. The most reported harm experienced by post-secondary students was hangovers. Alex Rona, the general manager of Reggie’s, emphasized safety as being the bar’s top priority. “I think it’s extremely vital, because when you’re [operating] in a university,” he said. “There’s an extra level of care that I think you have to take and an extra level of responsibility and duty versus a bar on the street.” After every reported incident, Reg-
gie’s management and staff meet to improve their safety policies. “It’s a lot of analyzing specific situations that happened,” said Rona. “What we could do in the future, could we have handled it differently, did we do the things properly, or do we need to modify our existing procedures in order to prevent certain things from happening again.” Last year, there were reports of outside alcohol being brought into Reggie’s. The solution? Implementing a bag search policy on the bar’s busiest nights.
Reggie’s hosts a variety of events and specialized nights, such as improv and trivia nights. Their busiest nights are on Thursdays, when the bar holds its weekly “Thirsty Thursdays,” when alcoholic drinks are sold at a discounted price. Morgane Le Séguillon, a student at Concordia, described Reggie’s as an overall positive experience and a staple of campus life. “I’d never considered that Reggie’s could be unsafe, because it’s such a student-centred space,” she said. “There’s never been any doubt about [safety].”
“If you don’t have control on your premises of what people are drinking, it’s harder to judge the level of intoxication, what exactly they’re drinking and other things that are in there besides just alcohol,” Rona said.
Inside of Reggie’s bar, located inside the Henry F. Hall building at Concordia University. Photo by Hannah Nobile // Co-Photo Editor // @hannahnobile
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Penelope Cure, another Concordia student, expressed that the security presence at Reggie’s contributed to her feeling safe. “I’ve seen [...] security walking around before, you can see them and you know where they are at almost all times.” While students generally feel safe at Reggie’s, busier nights such as Thirsty Thursdays bring in larger crowds, highlighting the challenges staff face in maintaining a safe nightlife on campus.
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Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | city@theconcordian.com
Quebec universities are struggling to maintain infrastructure as parties avoid the issue The chair of the Quebec interuniversity bureau says universities in Quebec are already struggling, but parties have not presented comprehensive solutions for the sector. By Aidan Raynor City News Editor
On Sept. 9, the second day of Concordia’s fall term, the Henry F. Hall Building closed for nearly 24 hours due to “an unexpected water interruption,” according to Concordia’s facilities management department. These kinds of issues are becoming increasingly commonplace at universities across the province as the funding for infrastructure repair and maintenance is limited, according to the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI), Christian Blanchette. “Universities in Quebec are underfunded by close to $1 billion a year,” said Blanchette on Sept. 10, referring to an April 2026 study conducted by the BCI.
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“It is actually quite difficult to envision that Quebec universities will maintain their status within the university system in Canada if we constantly miss $1 billion a year.”
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He said the underfunding has been going on for about 20 years. Though Quebec has “good universities” that are well distributed around the province, he noted they are underfunded compared to other parts of the country. “The policies on international students have greatly affected universities in Quebec, like they have across Canada, but when you look at that funding initiative to reduce the number of international students; that’s been difficult financially for universities,” Blanchette said. He also highlighted another critical budget constraint: repairing and maintaining aging infrastructure. “One of the demands that universities have expressed to governments, through the parties, is that we have a shortage in investments in building and renovations,” he said. Blanchette said
universities, like his own of Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) where he is rector, are now shifting their focus to maintaining old buildings rather than investing in new ones. According to the latest provincial budget, the total asset maintenance deficit of Quebec universities — the amount of money that would need to be invested to bring all buildings to a “satisfactory or better” condition — is $1.4 billion. In March 2019, for the Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) first budget, that number was $980.8 million. That number has also exploded for CEGEPs, rising 462.2 per cent from $124.6 million to $700.5 million over the same period. “Usually you prioritize new buildings; now the critical state of some of our buildings implies that we are actually creeping up on the budget request for renovations,” he said. “It’s unheard of.”
What’s on offer for universities in this election? Not a whole lot. “Currently in the campaign, universities are not an issue that is being discussed,” Blanchette said. He added that no party has offered a comprehensive university strategy in this election, despite all major parties having met with the BCI to discuss its demands for the sector. But Quebec universities, through the BCI, have expressed four demands to the parties: • Consider universities partners in strategic development; • Reinvest in universities to increase the capacity to innovate and increase productivity; • Recognize that Quebec’s universities are competing for talent on the world stage; • Recognize the expertise held at universities in the province to help advance public policy. “I think the political parties are missing an opportunity to recognize that universities are basically levers of economic, social and cultural development of Quebec and that if they tap in the universities and if they make them true partners in their development plans for Quebec and their visions for Quebec, then Quebec will grow much faster than it did in the past.”
What have parties said?
The Parti Québécois (PQ) intends to change the way universities are funded but has not offered specifics on how. “We’ll reform the way the tuition system works,” said PQ Leader Paul StPierre Plamondon at a campaign stop in Saint-Jérome on Sept. 2, in response to a question from The Concordian about whether the party would continue the increased tuition for out-of-province and international students. “We’re going to get back to a system where universities are funded based on what they actually need to deliver quality services and not on the amount of
people they attract from abroad.” Plamondon said “of course they are important” when asked if the party believes Anglophone universities are important to the province’s higher education system. But he diverted, saying he hopes to improve the system as a whole rather than one langauge or the other. The PQ did not respond to The Concordian’s request for comment regarding the specifics of its plan for higher education. CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette defended the party’s tuition increase at a press conference in Saint-Eustache on Sept. 4 to The Concordian. “It’s justified and legitimate for students who aren’t from Quebec to pay a higher tuition fee precisely because they haven’t paid that contribution through taxes,” said Fréchette. “It is normal that we offer a better price to Quebecers.” After it announced the tuition hikes in 2024, the CAQ never reduced tuition for students from Quebec, who already paid significantly lower rates than those from out of province. Later she acknowledged the financial strain the policy put on the university system. “I know that universities have gotten reduced revenues because of the lower number of foreign students and I think we have to respect our welcoming capacity because we have many foreign students in universities during the last years and it was important to reduce that,” said Fréchette later to The Concordian on Sept. 10. “It does impact the revenues of the universities,” said Fréchette. She then continued to say she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney will outline new policies for international students and that she would respect them when they come. Blanchette said the financial constraints in the university sector began under Jean Charest’s QLP, which was in power from 2003 to 2012. “The Liberal government in its first mandate actually increased budgets in universities significantly which basically was able to give a little bit of air to universities and in the second mandate the tendency was reversed,” he said. The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) candidate in the Montreal riding of Bourassa-Sauvé, Madwa-Nika Cadet, said the austerity imposed by the former Charest QLP government would not be an issue if the current party were to form government because of its proposed financial plan that increases funding to higher education by five per cent its current amount. In an interview with The Concordian on Sept. 21 Cadet, the former opposition critic for education, said the party would reverse the CAQ tuition increases for out-of-province students if elected. Cadet, if the QLP form government, the party would launch a sweeping review of the education system in Quebec, kindergarten all the way through to universities, to identify where the province needs to improve in the sector.
City News Where voters are at: Parti Québécois — 28% Quebec Liberal Party — 22% Coalition Avenir Québec — 22% Conservative Party of Quebec — 16%
Québec solidaire — 11% Sept. 19 Pallas Data poll conducted with 1,122 respondeds on Sept. 19
Public infrastructure — like universities — in the province is funded through the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (QIP) and Cadet said the party would increase its forecast from 10 to 20 years to allow the province to budget in the longer term. The QLP is also proposing to increase the QIP from $167 billion to $195 billion, with the majority dedicated to repairs.
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“Until 80 per cent of our public infrastructures are in satisfactory state, we want to make sure that 75 per cent of what we plan in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan is dedicated to repairing and fixing.”
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Outside of financial transfers to the universities themselves, for students, she said the party is also committed to reforming how financial aid works in the province and compensate internships in the public sector. “We know that there are a lot of students who have to work two jobs to make ends meet while trying to pursue mandatory internships in education for example [...] and most of the people following these programs are women who want to make sure they get the same start as their counterpart[s] in the private sector.” Québec solidaire (QS) has proposed to reduce tuition for students from Quebec by 50 per cent in its first term if elected, though the current rates for students outside the province would remain. The party still aspires to achieve free tuition for all one day, but said that would have to wait until its second mandate. “Right now what we’re going to do is to give back to Quebec students who have parents and who are paying taxes themselves [in Quebec],” said QS candidate Gabriel Laurence-Brook, in response to a question from The Concordian at the party’s press conference on Sept. 11 in Jacques-Cartier outlining its financial plan. The party said that all funds not going to the university under this policy would be reimbursed dollar-for-dollar. The Quebec Conservative Party has not made announcements regarding the university sector in Quebec and did not reply to The Concordian’s request for comment on the issue. With files from Kira Minall and Félix-Antoine Beauchemin.
City News
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | city@theconcordian.com
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Quebec election policy breakdown: Immigration
Housing
Parties propose competing approaches to immigration related to international students and temporary workers. Concerns for international students building a life in Quebec have lingered since the province axed, then reinstated, the traditional pathway for temporary immigrants to gain permanent status in the province. The Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), a pathway designed for Quebec graduates and temporary foreign workers seeking permanent residency status, was abolished by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government in 2025. After heavy criticism, the program was temporarily reinstated in July 2026 and will remain in use until July 2028. But the program was reinstated with significant restrictions, as applications are only being accepted from July 2 to Oct. 31, 2026 and eligibility is limited to people who meet specific criteria as of Nov. 19, 2025. The government has also indicated online that future application periods will depend on the number of applications received. For students who moved to Quebec from another country, that uncertainty can affect decisions about where to study and work. With the provincial election on Oct. 5, the future of the PEQ and Quebec’s broader approach to immigration have become central issues.
By: Anthony Maruca
By Léo Vallet David
Managing Editor @_maruca27
City news assistant @leov.david
Parti Québécois (PQ) · Reduce temporary immigration by
· Cut the Quebec sales tax for first-
at least half by the end of a four-
time home owners
year term
· Increase the tax credit for first-
· Cap new permanent residents at a
time home owners by $1,600
proximately 35,000 per year
· Harmonize the Quebec
· Select permanent residents from
construction code
a limited pool of skilled temporary immigrants
Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) · Advocate to the federal
· A $7,000 tax credit for first-time
government for more provincial
homeowners
control of immigration
· Reduce paperwork
· Regionalization of immigration
· Increase supply to reduce prices
based on economic needs · Immigrant integration, with an emphasis on francization
This begs the question: what would make a good immigration platform? For Chedly Belkhodja, a professor at Concordia University’s School of Community and Public Affairs, the central issue is whether temporary immigration provides people with a realistic longterm project in Quebec. Belkhodja says a system that facilitates long-term integration along with addressing regional needs outside Montreal would be fruitful. “[Temporary immigration] is based on short-term objectives,” he said. “A policy that is only based on temporary status is fragile.” For international students, long-term uncertainty can influence where they choose to study in the first place. “It’s an international market [...] if they see that there [isn’t ] the possibility [...] of obtaining a status after graduation, they choose another destination,” Belkhodja said. If permanent residency appears increasingly difficult or unpredictable, Quebec risks becoming less attractive as a destination for students who could otherwise remain and work in the province. Another issue is regionalization: while Montreal-based universities have felt the effects of declining international enrollment, universities and employers in Quebec’s regions still view international students as a potential source of population and labour. But simply creating a regional immigration stream may not be enough, Belkhodja said. “If you facilitate the right to stay, you need also to have this architecture of services and integration,” he said, pointing to settlement services that help newcomers establish themselves.
Here are the major promises and proposals from each of Quebec’s five political parties on the housing crisis.
Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) · Set yearly permanent immigration
· Build 100,000 housing units
threshold between 45,000 &
annually
70,000
· Create 40,000 affordable housing
· Open dialogue with regions to
units in the next five years
determine capacity for immigration
· Refund 36 per cent of the QST for
· Improve immigrant integration
new condos, up to $10,000, with a
and francization
maximum home value of $500,000
Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) · Maintain PEQ until 2028, but will subject all permanent residents to more thorough selection process · Establish regional immigration roundtables for Quebec’s administrative regions · Reduce the number of temporary immigrants in programs other than those for work permit holders
· Deregulate the construction market · Exclude specific homes from the Tribunal Administratif du Logement (TAL) · Paperwork reduction and reviewing of Quebec’s Construction Code
Québec solidaire (QS) · Set an annual permanent
· Limit rent increases to the inflation
immigration target of 70,000
rate for a year
· Restore the PEQ and regionalize
· Tax 100 per cent of capital gain
immigration; creation of the
· Increase fines against “abusive
PEQ-Régions
owners” by $10,000
· Implement a workplace Frenchlanguage policy with paid classes held during working hours
For full in-depth policy comparisons see theconcordian.com/section/news
Housing affordability is the third most important issue for Quebecers when deciding who to vote for, according to a Léger survey published on Aug. 11. For all ages, 28 per cent of respondents chose housing affordability as their most important issue. This was only surpassed by cost of living and purchasing power in second with 42 per cent and health and social services in the top spot with 48 per cent. But for 18–34-year-olds, 34 per cent of voters chose affordable housing as their top issue. Montreal ranks fifth-highest amongst Quebec’s 17 administrative regions in terms of rent prices, sitting at a $1,241.80 average, exceeding the provincial average of $1,169.50, according to a July 2026 Léger poll for Carrefour Vivre en Ville (CVV). Across Quebec, rent prices have increased by 26 per cent since 2023 and by 70 per cent in Montreal since 2016, according to a report by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). It explains that Montreal “faces a larger supply gap because future housing construction is expected to fall short of the amount needed to restore affordability.” However, Statistics Canada data published on Sept. 9 shows that the average asking rent price for a one-bedroom apartment in Montreal has dropped below $1,500 to $1,480, for the first time since Q3 2023.
What experts say is missing from the proposed policies at the moment?
The issue of housing is widespread, but it may be even more concerning to those who are part of the “20 per cent who can’t pay market rent,” said Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission and member of the National Housing Council of Canada (NHC). He said homelessness among youth has gone up in the last couple of years “and it comes back to the affordability question. It depends if you got system support, for example, parents.” Watts explains this phenomenon, correlating “the cost of a one-bedroom apartment virtually in a city with the rate of homelessness in that city. So where the cost is high, the rate of homelessness is also high.” However, for Cécile Barbeau, executive director of Dans la rue, an organization helping homeless and at-risk youth, the issue of “youth homelessness... [has] very complex factors that sometimes go back very far away in their childhood... and usually they never had housing before with parents or guardians.” As Oct. 5 approaches, political parties are still trying to convince the public they have the best approach to issues such as housing. Both Watts and Barbeau agree on one thing: the homelessness and housing crises amongst youth are very present. For Watts, the solution is “to start upstream. We need to help people stay in the housing they already have.”
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City News
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | city@theconcordian.com
Questions about Montréal-Nord dominate and get dismissed at SPVM’s public annual review
Concerns over police brutality in the borough and questions about the SPVM’s use of AI surveillance tools were among the topics most raised by the public on Sept. 16. By Chloe Rose Stuart-Ulin Assistant City News Editor @roseradio
Just hours before the violent police crackdown on protesters and press outside the Palais des Congrès last week, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)’s top leadership was sitting quietly in a conference room at Montreal City Hall. Police Chief Fady Dagher and his deputies were giving a presentation on the SPVM’s 2025 annual report, an event open for the public to ask questions and share feedback. Supposedly. The SPVM’s leadership did not show up alone. Members of the public who wanted to attend the meeting (called a “public consultation” by the city) had to walk past 10 police cars and four special intervention trucks lined up in front of City Hall, two uniformed police officers stationed at the building’s entrance and another 13 officers hanging around the small lobby. A glass wall separates the lobby from the meeting room, so the uniformed police officers, who took no active role in the meeting, could be seen at all times by those inside. The Concordian counted 24 members of the public in attendance. The consultation is meant to give the public an opportunity to voice their concerns directly to police leadership, including Dagher. In reality, however, members of Montreal’s Public Security Commission, which hosts and moderates the meeting, decide which questions will receive a response. On Sept. 16, the commission dismissed nearly all questions, entirely or in part, leaving little opportunity for dialogue with the police.
Questions about Montréal-Nord are dismissed
The majority of the questions dismissed by the commission centred around the Montréal-Nord scandal and systemic police brutality in the city. In June, an internal investigation into allegations of racist and abusive conduct in the 16-member Montréal-Nord patrol unit was made public. The misconduct, according to sources inside the SPVM who spoke with Radio-Canada, included officers cutting the hair of racialized people and keeping them as trophies. Tickets were also allegedly issued to citizens based solely on their ethnicity. Thus far, three officers have been suspended and the unit has been disbanded. The revelations spurred a large public outcry: the internal investigation began after several other police officers denounced the behaviour, but citizens of Montréal-Nord and other advocates have been speaking out against police brutality in the area for decades, including at public events. At the consultation on Sept. 16, Alba Stella Zuniga Ramos, president of the Public Safety Commission, deemed public comments and questions on this subject off-topic. She did not require the police to respond and did not read out questions submitted online about Montréal-Nord, though she said there were many. “The objective tonight is really to analyze the report,” Zuniga Ramos said in French. “It’s not that we don’t want to take questions from the public on other subjects, but we want to give people a chance to really express themselves on the presentation that took place tonight.” Concordia professor Ted Rutland was in attendance at the consultation and attempted to show the police leadership a video showing police brutality in Montréal-Nord on his computer, but was denied by the commission. His follow-up questions about the situation in Montréal-Nord were also dismissed with no response from the police.
The public consultation of the SPVM’s annual report on Sept. 16 took place in the Salle des Armoiries at Montreal City Hall. Photo by Chloe Rose Stuart Ulin // Assistant City News Editor
AI and surveillance another area of concern
Several questions focused on the SPVM’s use of AI tools, particularly the video analysis software used to automatically review surveillance footage from the city’s network of urban security cameras. In response to a question about the police’s use of facial recognition, Deputy Director David Bertrand said the SPVM has an image recognition tool that recognizes images when they tell it what to look for. “It’s a software that is in a closed circuit, so not connected to an image bank and not connected to an active camera circuit,” he said in French. “At no time do we use facial recognition,” he said. The Concordian revealed in February that the specific AI tool used by the SPVM, iMotion ROC, specializes in biometrics, including the ability to tag and search for individuals by “age estimation, ethnicity, gender, expression/ emotion [and] facial hair,” according to product documents. Another question was asked about the police’s use of Cellebrite spyware, which was reported for the first time in The Concordian’s Sept. 8 issue. Records
show the SPVM has spent over $3.4 million on Cellebrite and other phone hacking tools since 2013. During the public consultation, Police Chief Fady Dagher said that he wasn’t aware of the spyware. “I can’t provide an opinion about it as I don’t know about it,” he said in French. “I will inform myself.”
Police priorities include mental health, homelessness and youth
Dagher identified the three major priorities for the SPVM in 2026 as mental health, homelessness and youth. In particular, he described homelessness in Montreal as a humanitarian crisis. “These realities have concrete repercussions on the most vulnerable people, communities and all the actors who intervene on the ground,” he said in French. “This is probably why the feeling of insecurity, despite a very positive [police] record, persists in Montreal.” Two hours later, police officers in full riot gear were subduing the crowds at the Palais des Congrès. They used batons to beat people, launched tear gas into groups of retreating protesters, and pepper-sprayed individuals directly in the face, including members of the press.
The SPVM used tear gas, pepper spray and other means to violently disperse protesters outside the Palais de Congrès just hours after the public consultation Sept 16. released Sept. In a publiconstatement Courtesy photos by William Wilson // @williamwilsonphotography
Music
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | artsculture@theconcordian.com
No Diploma Records: the home-grown independent record label making waves in Montreal Founder Benoit Brûlé and DJ/producer Teo2K speak to The Concordian about the origins of No Diploma, their Piknic Elektronik debut, and their goals for the future. By Aidan Flanagan
Assistant Music Editor @__flanny__
Montreal certainly has no shortage of music-based entertainment, from events to DJs and collectives. But few can curate and create as intentionally as No Diploma Records. What began in 2018 as a clothing brand has since become so much more. The ways to categorize No Diploma are endless: collective, independent record label and event series, to name a few. After their Piknic Élektronik debut on Sept. 7, founder Benoit Brûlé and DJ/producer Teo2K are looking back on how far the No Diploma universe has come. They hope to maintain their fun and curative approach as they enter their new phase as an independent record label. Brûlé founded No Diploma as a clothing brand after dropping out of a fashion-focused university program, No Diploma Records at their Piknic Électronik debut on September 7, 2026. Photo courtesy hence the origin of their name. of No Diploma Records. Teo, one of his first loyal supporters, Inspired by these new events and always showed up during the brand’s live events,” added Brûlé. Through these music-based events, DJ-driven ventures, the two sought early days. “Every time we would have a drop, they came up with the idea of releas- to combine Brûlé’s musical taste and Teo’s name would be right there first on ing merchandise — a black T-shirt with Teo’s connections in the DJing world the list. We kept seeing him at our pop- “No Diploma Records: The Unofficial to rebrand Campus Radio as a monthly livestream series that ran all throughout ups and, after a while, he started just Label” printed across it. “Music has always been part of the 2025 with three to four sets from Monhelping out; simple stuff like packaging orders, writing labels,” Brûlé said. “He No Diploma universe. Let’s imagine treal’s wide range of local DJs each epiwhat a No Diploma Record label could sode. Campus Radio was crucial to No became part of the team.” Diploma’s taste-making approach. Teo2K hasn’t always been a DJ who look like,” Brûlé emphasized. The text on the shirt became reality “I was getting tired of seeing the same headlines Piknic’s Banque Nationale when Montreal-based independent art- names on every single club and event stage. Teo always used fashion, music and ist Burgundy stepped into the picture lineup. We wanted to run our own shit competitive dance as creative outlets. after Teo presented his music to the rest where we could put on who we believed in,” Teo said. “The only barrier for enA goofy moment at a house party back of the team. “His music was so dope, but he need- try was if we knew you were capable in 2019 helped shape him into the DJ ed help with worldbuilding — and of producing a quality mix; this was an he is today. “I saw that the music was coming that’s one of the things we do best,” said outlet to shed light on incredible talent that would go unnoticed because they from a really basic audio console that Brûlé. No Diploma’s brand identity is noth- weren’t playjust had two faders and an EQ. We started having a blast cutting the music and ing if not consistent. Their yellow and bringing another song in on beat,” Teo black colour scheme, combined with recalled. “After that, I started watching the school and faux-academia aesthetic DJ’ing content on YouTube for about a creates an intentional and unified vision week straight and was able to practice that gives them a unique identity among Montreal’s sea of event collectives. constantly once COVID started.” Following their first EP release toSoon enough, he found a place to keep practicing at No Diploma’s original stu- gether last year, Achieving Indigo, Burdio HQ, aptly nicknamed The Campus. gundy recently released two singles off “That was where No Diploma be- his upcoming EP titled “Asterisk” a few came a creative hub,” Brûlé said. “It months after its release, which have alwas a platform of free will.” Teo mixed ready reached 200,000 streams on Spoat The Campus frequently, which gave tify. Collaborations with outdoor Monhim and Brûlé the idea to start livestreaming DJ sets via Twitch on what treal event spaces also began to crop up for the collective around this time. they called Campus Radio. “It didn’t last too long because we No Diploma Records began to appear kept getting noise complaints from our on lineups at Aire Commune, Villageneighbours. We had to pivot from the du-Pied-du-Courant and even IglooFest studio and started to throw our own 2025.
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ing the corporate game.” Teo was a frequent part of the Campus Radio livestreams, and most recently, headlined No Diploma’s Piknic Élektronik placement. For Teo2K, this has been a goal since the beginning of his DJ career. “I saw KAYTRANADA play at one of the first editions of Piknic early on in my career. Since then, it’s been the goal. We found out we’d be doing it in February and my set was ready by April,” he said. The set was lively, energetic and full of bass-heavy music that Teo loved so much in his time as a dancer. “I always loved music that had a lot of bass and ear candy because it always made for the best choreography,” Teo recalled. “I have the same approach with DJ’ing, and it’s all based on discovering new music.” Looking back on No Diploma’s history, the main themes are clearly fun and flexibility, which Teo definitely embodied when he stepped up to the decks at Piknic. “I remember just thinking, ‘Let’s have fun’,” he said. Teo2K has also just begun releasing official music under the label. He has a fully self-produced tape on the way featuring a whole host of local Montreal rap & hip-hop artists. “At the end of the day, my goal is to live off this shit — I want to live in a world where creative minds can just create to create,” said the DJ/producer. Post Piknic, these two visionaries have their eyes on the future. “The biggest goal for me is a No Diploma festival,” said Brûlé. “Multiple stages, all with that school-related theme. Artists, DJs, everything.” No Diploma is a universe — one that exists to share their love for tasteful music, nurture emerging artists and push the boundaries in all genres. Quality, curation and taste are at the heart of everything they produce in Montreal and, hopefully soon, around the world.
Graphic courtesy of NoDiploma Records
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Pages Francos
Mardi 22 septembre 2026 | pagesfrancos@theconcordian.com
En partenariat avec et financé par L’Organe
Opinion L’inspiration, l’essence de la vie Je me sens la plus vivante lorsque je suis entourée de choses qui m’inspirent et il n’y a rien de mieux que de se sentir vivante. Par Imane Annemer
Cheffe de pupitre, opinions
Avec l’hiver qui approche grandement et la hausse de la dépression saisonnière, je tenais à partager les artistes et les médias francophones qui m’inspirent le plus et m’emplissent de vie.
Ino Casablanca
Ino Casablanca est un auteur-compositeur-interprète français d’origine marocaine, âgé de 26 ans. Il produit de la musique en mélangeant des sons issus de différentes cultures. Dans sa chanson KITLÉ, il s’inspire fortement du konpa. Dans sa chanson BISSAP DU 20ÈME, on peut retrouver une grande inspiration de musique nord-africaine, du rai notamment, mais tout en apportant de la nouveauté. Il dénonce également le racisme et l’islamophobie au travers de ces chansons; ce n’est pas de la musique de dénonciation, mais c’est plutôt le reflet du quotidien d’un groupe qui se voit toujours dans la mire d’un gouvernement de moins en moins tolérant. On n’a pas l’impression que ce soit une copie des chansons originales, au contraire, on ressent au travers de sa musique le mélange des différentes cultures avec lesquelles il a grandi. Je trouve le mélange tellement harmonieux et le tout se marie parfaitement. Si je devais recommander uniquement cinq chansons ce seraient celles-ci : KITLÉ, BISSAP DU 20ÈME, PARAMOUR, ALBUFEIRA, MAYET Ps : son concert était INCROYABLE!
Enzo Reads
Ayant récemment entamé une carrière d’humoriste, l’influenceur et youtubeur Enzo (@enzoreads) est notamment connu pour deux types de contenu; le premier s’appelle « Ça m’a soulé ». C’est une vidéo qu’il sort tous les lundis dans laquelle il parle de toutes les choses qui l’ont énervé lors de la semaine précédente. Malgré la nature négative de ce format, le contenu reste très léger et teinté de beaucoup d’humour. Il aborde divers sujets, comme des situations personnelles qui l’ont agacé, mais aussi des sujets d’actualité, politiques, littéraires ou d’autres choses qu’il trouve aberrantes. Il fait également un format beaucoup plus long, intitulé « Livres Laugh Love » avec son amie Luna (@lunalitquoi sur Instagram) où ils abordent différents thèmes littéraires, produisent des critiques de divers livres et ont une discussion en profondeur sur leurs lectures. Je ne pourrais vous recommander qu’une seule vidéo car elles sont toutes excellentes, vous devez absolument toutes les écouter!
Couverture de l’album EXTASIA // Courtoisie de Spotify
Tchubi
Tchubi est un jeune rappeur marocain. Bon, pour celui-là je triche un peu puisqu’il n’est pas complètement francophone; il mélange le darija (dialecte arabe), le français et aussi l’anglais. Ces chansons traitent généralement de ses expériences de vie, que ce soit des conflits avec ses amis ou des problèmes de cœur. Très honnêtement, l’album qui me touche le plus s’intitule DIARY OF A DEAD MAN. Dans cet album, il s’exprime plus particulièrement sur une relation amoureuse qu’il a brisée. Je trouve qu’il met les mots parfaits sur ces maux de cœur. Ma chanson préférée c’est TILL WE MEET AGAIN. Je pense que si ça m’a autant marqué, c’est à cause de la similarité de ses paroles avec une histoire personnelle. Audelà des paroles, le mariage du rythme, des différents instruments utilisés et du mélange de langues est si beau que ça donne une impression de guérison. Ma partie préférée est en darija, donc je vous fais l’honneur de la traduire : Et j’t’enverrai jamais de messages, kanbghik machi medloul Kandour bo7di f’drouba ngoul wach s7abek li bedlouk Wela kan fik hadchi men lwel, ghir ana li macheftouch Wach ghanb9a dima f touche l7el9a l9adima mestoura Ma kantsnach l’message lwel, 3arfek maghatredayech Ymken mazal kanbghik, 7it mab9itich ka tbghini w matsertatech Yeah, rah ma 3emrek 7ebiti sata la mastatekch Et j’t’enverrai jamais de message, je t’aime je ne suis pas sans dignité, Je tourne seul dans les rues et je me demande si ce sont tes amis qui t’ont influencé Ou si tu étais comme ça depuis toujours et que je ne l’ai jamais vu Je me demande si je vais toujours rester en attente, le prochain épisode est couvert Je n’attends pas le premier message, je sais que tu as ta fierté Peut-être que je t’aime encore car tu ne m’aimes plus et la pilule ne passe pas.
Couverture d’album DIARY OF A DEAD MAN (ALIVE SESSION) // Courtoisie de Spotify
Je vous conseille fortement d’écouter la version en direct de l’album, car elle est plus dynamique. Cette chanson hante mes pensées sans cesse et a l’effet d’un pincement au cœur à chaque fois. Elle termine avec TILL WE MEET AGAIN, un signe d’espoir d’une éventuelle rencontre. En espérant que cette petite sélection vous plaise et vous inspire à votre tour aussi. Je vous souhaite une excellente écoute!
FITRABYOTMANE
Pour terminer sur une note locale, je vous présente Otmane Mouhajer, connu en ligne sous le pseudonyme fitrabyotmane. Il a fait des études en philosophie, en sciences politiques ainsi qu’en histoire. Ces dernières années, il a commencé à produire du contenu politique sur les réseaux sociaux dans le but de remettre en question le statu quo. Dans ses vidéos, il s’exprime sur le racisme systémique, les violences policières et plusieurs autres enjeux sociaux qui touchent le quotidien de plusieurs Québécois. La présence de ce type de contenu sur les réseaux sociaux est importante, car on y trouve des opinions et analyses alternatives sur divers sujets que l’on trouve rarement sur les plateformes médiatiques traditionnelles. D’autant plus que les plus jeunes générations sont plus souvent présentes sur les réseaux sociaux. Il est très éloquent; il vulgarise des sujets complexes de sorte à les rendre accessibles à tous. Il filme souvent à l’extérieur et cela rajoute un calme et une sérénité à ses vidéos. Je vous recommande fortement de visionner ses vidéos, ça reste du contenu assez léger et facile d’accès pour tous. Je trouve qu’il mérite tellement plus de reconnaissance sur les réseaux sociaux.
Avec une victoire et deux nuls en cinq rencontres, les Stingers sont actuellement en sixième place du classement du RSEQ. Photo d’archives d’Ines Talis // Cheffe de pupitre adjointe, vidéos // @tls.ines
Logo de l’influenceur FITRABYOTMANE. Photo tirée d’Instagram // @fitrabyotmane
L’influenceur Enzo Reads. Photo tirée d’Instagram // @Enzoreads
Pages Francos
Mardi 22 septembre 2026 | pagesfrancos@theconcordian.com
En partenariat avec et financé par L’Organe
Achalandage monstre à la station du REM ÉdouardMontpetit
Depuis le début de la rentrée scolaire, la foule s’accumule les matins à la station ÉdouardMontpetit rendant l’arrivée aux cours difficile, selon plusieurs étudiants. Par Nathalie Bucur Rédactrice attitrée
Le Réseau express métropolitain (REM), la nouvelle installation de transport urbain dans l’agglomération de Montréal, fait face à une nouvelle polémique concernant la station souterraine d’Édouard-Montpetit. Lors du trajet du matin, plusieurs utilisateurs du REM témoignent d’avoir été coincés dans une foule en direction des ascenseurs, qui sont les seuls moyens de pouvoir sortir de la station. Plusieurs ont partagé leurs frustrations face à cet achalandage sur les réseaux sociaux. Ces vidéos ont ensuite circulé dans les médias, dont celle de Cara Casati, une utilisatrice du REM qui s’est tournée vers les réseaux sociaux pour témoigner de son expérience. Sa vidéo, qui a atteint plus de 630 000
vues sur son compte Instagram, montre la forte concentration de personnes en attente d’ascenseurs. « Je trouvais ça absurde », a déclaré Casati au Concordian. Elle explique qu’elle avait tourné la vidéo en attendant les ascenseurs à la sortie de la station. « Je ne m’attendais jamais à avoir autant de vues. J’ai eu beaucoup de réponses sur cette vidéo, et je [ne m’y] attendais pas non plus », a-t-elle ajouté. À près de 70 mètres de profondeur, la station Édouard-Montpetit est l’une des stations de transport en commun les plus souterraines au monde. En conséquence, tous les utilisateurs de la station, tels que les étudiants de l’Université de Montréal (UdeM), n’ont d’autre choix que de sortir par les 5 ascenseurs de la station. « Il y avait vraiment une foule [à la station], c’était ridicule », explique Louis Adélaide, étudiant à l’École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) de Montréal. « À partir de 7 h 45 jusqu’à 8 h 45, il y a de l’achalandage. »
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« Il était impossible d’arriver à l’heure pour mes cours de 8 h 30, a noté Adélaide. »
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Soccer féminin : un match nul au goût amer pour les Stingers Les Stingers ont dominé face à Sherbrooke, mais n’ont pas réussi à décrocher la victoire après avoir encaissé un but en fin de match. Par Anthony Tapia Ancinez Chef de pupitre adjoint, sports @_anthonytapia
Le 18 septembre, les Stingers de Concordia ont livré une performance remarquable face au Vert & Or de l’Université de Sherbrooke, mais ont laissé filer une victoire qui semblait à leur portée. Plusieurs occasions ratées ont empêché l’équipe de creuser l’écart, permettant finalement à Sherbrooke d’arracher un match nul de 2-2 en toute fin de rencontre. « Si tu ne marques pas ces buts, ils vont te rattraper après, et c’est exactement ça qui s’est passé », a résumé l’entraîneur-chef de l’équipe féminine de soccer, Wilfred Monthe. Ce verdict nul frustrant a également été marqué par plusieurs décisions arbitrales controversées, contestées par Monthe. Plusieurs attaques des Stingers ont été signalées hors-jeu, tandis qu’un renvoi aux six mètres a été accordé à Sherbrooke sur une séquence où Concordia réclamait un coup de pied de coin. Le temps additionnel s’est aussi étiré jusqu’à six minutes, alors que deux minutes avaient initialement été annoncées. « Aujourd’hui il y a eu des actions arbitrales qui étaient douteuses. Alors, c’est difficile parce que ça influence le jeu. Il y a des moments où ils vont prendre des décisions qui vont tout changer », a déclaré Monthe. Malgré le résultat, les Stingers ont offert une prestation convaincante. Leur
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Philippe Fangang, un autre utilisateur du REM, décrit cette situation comme « systématique » depuis le début de la rentrée scolaire. « À chaque fois que tu y vas, il y a une chance que tu sois coincé à cause de tous les étudiants La station du REM Édouard-Montpetit n’est accessible que par ascenseurs, ce qui génère des embouteillages en heure de pointe le qui veulent aller à l’université », a-t-il matin. Photo de Hannah Nobile // Co-cheffe de pupitre, photos // @ hannahnobile souligné. Maryssah Yi, un étudiant de l’UdeM, Entre autres, Pulsar a ajouté du persouligne que ce problème est concentré sonnel dans la station, à l’intérieur et à à l’heure de pointe matinale, n’ayant l’extérieur des ascenseurs, ainsi que des pas de problèmes avec la sortie lorsqu’il gestionnaires au service à la clientèle. vient un peu plus tard le matin. « Ça De plus, la compagnie a ajouté des corme prend cinq minutes pour sortir de la dons de foule pour gérer les entrées et station », dit-il. les sorties de la station et a numéroté Pulsar, la compagnie qui s’occupe les ascenseurs. Des messages de sensibildes fonctions opérationnelles du REM, isation ont été diffusés dans la station dit qu’elle a été avisée de la situation, et dans les trains, incitant les usagers à qu’elle surnomme une « heure d’hyper- planifier leurs trajets à l’avance. pointe ». Selon Pulsar, le temps de sortie serait réduit de 10 à 6 minutes. L’une de leurs recommandations aux usagers fut de planifier leurs trajets afin d’arriver plus tôt à la station. Cependant, plusieurs usagers qui se sont organisés pour arriver plus tôt disent que cela n’a fait que créer un nouvel achalandage. « Même si je le prends en avance, il y a un achalandage », a dit Louis Adélaide.
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« En tant qu’opérateurs, nous avons posé des actions qui ont donné rapidement des résultats », a déclaré Jean Nicolas Aubé, porte-parole de Pulsar.
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jeu, rythmé, reposait principalement sur des passes courtes et des combinaisons rapides. Concordia a également su varier son approche en effectuant des passes longues vers les ailes pour les montées de ses défenseurs latéraux. « On perdait 1-0 à la mi-temps, on a fait des ajustements pour la deuxième mi-temps et le but est arrivé, elles ont appliqué le plan du jeu et on a marqué deux buts, permettant seulement le dernier. J’apprécie beaucoup l’intensité », a déclaré Monthe. Menées 1-0 en deuxième demie, les Stingers ont notamment modifié leur système, passant d’un 4-3-3 à un 4-1-4-1. Devon Vermaire s’est installée devant la défense, tandis que les autres milieux ont obtenu davantage de liberté pour se projeter vers l’avant et exploiter les espaces. L’ajustement a rapidement porté ses fruits. Concordia s’est créé plusieurs occasions grâce à des passes en profondeur qui ont transpercé la défense sherbrookoise. Sur l’une d’elles, Rachel Vermaire s’est retrouvée face à la gardienne adverse. Plutôt que de tenter sa chance, elle a remis le ballon à Juliana Faustini, qui a complété la séquence d’un ballon piqué. Faustini a été l’une des joueuses les plus influentes du match. En plus de son but, elle a récupéré plusieurs ballons et contribué à l’équilibre du milieu de terrain. Sa performance lui a valu d’être nommée joueuse du match chez les Stingers pour une deuxième fois cette saison. En deuxième demie, Rachel Vermaire a également joué un rôle important sans ballon, attirant les défenseures adverses et libérant ainsi des espaces pour les
milieux de terrain. Cela a permis à ses coéquipières de s’infiltrer plus facilement dans la surface pour tirer, bien que ces occasions n’aient pas été concrétisées. Entrée en cours de match, Maya Yigit a finalement donné les devants à Concordia grâce à une frappe de longue distance, plaçant les Stingers en avance pour la première fois de la rencontre. La victoire leur a toutefois échappé dans les derniers instants. Sur un coup de pied de coin du Vert & Or, le ballon a trouvé Myriam Courtemanche, qui a marqué le but égalisateur et permis à Sherbrooke de repartir avec un point. « Tout était bien et propre jusqu’à la fin, du bon jeu collectif en se battant pour le résultat, et après (le but) était malheureux », a expliqué la défenseure Anna Maria Di Primio. Malgré cette fin cruelle, la défense des Stingers s’est montrée solide pendant une grande partie du match tout en contribuant à l’attaque. Le résultat laissera certainement un goût amer à Concordia. Mais la capacité des Stingers à s’ajuster tactiquement, à créer des occasions et à réagir après avoir tiré de l’arrière constitue un signe encourageant pour la suite. Les Stingers se sont par la suite inclinées 3-0 le 20 septembre face à l’Université de Montréal, qui a remporté cet été le Championnat des Amériques de la FISU 2026.
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Sports
Tuesday, Sept. 22 2026 | sports@theconcordian.com
Andrée-Anne Barbeau, Geneviève Tardif and Katherine HarveyPinard share what it takes to find your place, build credibility and make a name for yourself as a woman in sports journalism. By Florence Hamel Sports Editor @florencehamell
Many, if not most, current female sports journalists’ inspiration is Chantal Machabée. She broke barriers when she joined RDS in 1989, opening doors for future generations of women who dream of working in sports media. Now, 37 years later, aspiring sports journalists have more women to look up to. Andrée-Anne Barbeau is making history this season as the studio host of the highly watched Le Hockey des Canadiens on RDS, becoming the first woman in the network’s history to hold the position on a permanent basis. Geneviève Tardif, who covered both the Paris and Milano-Cortina Olympic Games, is a sports contributor at 98.5 FM and is taking on a new role this season as an NFL host for RDS. Katherine Harvey-Pinard is a sports journalist at La Presse, where she covers two of Montreal’s biggest teams: the Canadiens and the Victoire. Although their paths in the sports media world are different, they have one thing in common: they know how to establish themselves in an industry dominated by men.
Being her in the boys’ club Finding your place
For Barbeau, her story begins when the former television channel TQS needed someone to cover the Saguenéens in the QMJHL.
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“I raised my hand and thought, ‘I do not know everything about hockey, but I love hockey.’ Everything grew from there,” she told The Concordian.
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“I never told myself, ‘I want to become a sports journalist,’ or ‘I am going to be the next so-and-so,’” Barbeau said. “I did not think that way. Even during my first few years in the profession, I did not think it would last. I certainly did not think it would last 20 years.” What Barbeau did not necessarily see as a long-term career at the time, Harvey-Pinard once saw as a world that seemed almost impossible to enter. “I was about 20 and had just started working as a regional reporter,” she recounted. “I went to a game with classmates, and our seats were in the very last row at the top of the Bell Centre.” “I remember looking over at the press gallery and seeing Chantal Machabée walking through it,” she added. “I
Geneviève Tardif hosting Radio-Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic Games broadcast. Photo courtesy of Geneviève Tardif
Andrée-Anne Barbeau interviews the Canadiens’ Alexandre Carrier following a game at the Bell Centre. Photo courtesy of Andrée-Anne Barbeau
thought, ‘My goodness, I will never set foot in that press gallery.’” “The first time I entered the press gallery as a journalist, I looked back at the section where I had been sitting and thought, ‘I am here. I could see this place from over there, and now I am actually in it,’” Harvey-Pinard said.
Harvey-Pinard, the experience is similar. “The place where I am most conscious of being a woman is simply the group dynamic,” she said. “Men may have a particular dynamic together, just as women do.”
What mistakes should young Earning your place journalists avoid as they try to Even once you’ve made your way into build their own careers? the sports world, it is not uncommon to feel like you still need to prove yourself. Geneviève Tardif recalls how she felt walking into her first press conference while covering a Montreal Alouettes game. “I was the only woman waiting to enter the locker room,” she told The Concordian. “You think, ‘My goodness, I am the only woman. Am I going to ask a good question? Are people going to judge me?’ I asked myself all of those questions even while covering several Grey Cups.” For all three women, building credibility meant knowing the sport and being willing to put in the work to understand it, especially without professional playing experience. “I often had coffee in the coaches’ office,” Andrée-Anne Barbeau recalls of her time covering the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. “Sometimes I even watched video[s] with coaches who were willing to explain things to me. They would show me their power plays, how a particular play worked and why their team did something a certain way. The coaches were always extremely generous with me.” In a new era where female sports journalists are taking up more space, the growth of professional women’s sports has also created new opportunities. But for Harvey-Pinard, covering women’s sports was never something she wanted to do simply because she was a woman. “When the Victoire was created, I went to my boss and said, ‘I do not want to cover the team simply because I am the only woman. I wanted men to cover the Victoire too,’” she shared. Harvey-Pinard eventually decided she wanted to take on the Victoire beat, a job she described as wanting not simply because the players are women, but because she loved the product on the ice. Yet none of the three described their experience in sports journalism simply as one of exclusion. Barbeau and Tardif agreed that they have generally felt welcomed and “part of the boys.” For
For Barbeau, it starts with understanding the realities of the job. “Do not think it will be easy. It will not be easy. Sports journalism is not a nine-to-five job,” she explained. “We work evenings and weekends. It is a wonderful field, but it is not an easy one. Do not assume everything will happen by itself or that your career will follow a straight line.” For Tardif, the lesson was learning not to change herself simply to fit in. “At the beginning, I may have tried too hard to play a role,” she said. “I was not entirely myself because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be part of the team, ask good questions and be respected. The moment I decided to show who I was, everything changed. You have to ask yourself what makes you unique. There are so many people in this field that if you are playing a role, others will notice immediately. They can tell when you are not being yourself.” For Harvey-Pinard, it came down to finding the balance between confidence and curiosity. “I would say you should avoid both extremes: having too much confidence and having none at all,” she said. “Having too much confidence can mean thinking you know everything and refusing to ask questions. In my opinion, that may be worse than lacking confidence,” Harvey-Pinard added. “The essential thing is to remain curious. Do not think you know everything because it is impossible to know everything.” For the next generation of women hoping to build a career in sports journalism, the path may be more visible than it once was, but the message from those already walking it is clear: stay curious, put in the work and, most importantly, stay true to who you are. The doors that pioneers like Chantal Machabée helped open are wider today and women like Barbeau, Tardif and Harvey-Pinard are helping ensure they stay open for those who come next.
Katherine Harvey-Pinard interviewing Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. Photo courtesy of Dominick Gravel // La Presse
Sports
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | sports@theconcordian.com
A Concordian’s guide for the cycling world championships
Movements around Montreal will be more complex during the world championships. By Léo Vallet David
Assistant City News Editor @leov.david
For the first time in just over 50 years, Montreal will host the UCI Road World Championships. Between Sept. 20–27, around 1,000 of the world’s best cyclists will race on Montreal’s streets. Many roads will be closed; some will significantly affect day-to-day drivers. Notably, bridges like Samuel-De Champlain and de la Concorde will be closed at certain points in the week; roads like Du Parc Ave. and Notre-Dame St will also be inaccessible. These closures will significantly affect drivers entering and exiting Montreal. In addition to roads, the STM announced that the championships “could affect up to 30 bus routes, depending on the day.” Lines 11, 12, 14, 24, 29, 31, 35, 36, 50, 55, 57, 63, 66, 74, 80, 90, 97, 101, 104, 107, 108, 125, 129, 138, 144, 150, 155, 165, 166, 168, 176,
211, 292, 410, 430, 445, 480, 496, 711, 747, 777 and 872 will be impacted. Given the event is only taking place at certain times, consult the STM’s website for more information. The City of Montreal said commuters should plan their trips around rail services like the STM or the REM that will not be impacted by the events and use transportation apps with the most up-to-date information. “To plan their travel before the event, they can consult the dynamic maps on the event’s official website. During the event, the best tools to use will be Google Maps and Waze, as both have been updated with information regarding traffic disruptions,” said Hugo Bourgoin, the city’s interim media relations spokesperson, in a written statement to The Concordian. Google Maps may be considered a “good tool,” although it has had its own challenges. On Aug. 23 of this year, the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge was marked as “closed” in both directions according to its GPS software. However, the lanes in direction of Montreal were completely open, as only the southbound lanes were under repair for
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One hour after the start of the race, the pack comes back for another round.
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, held on Sept. 13, offered fans a preview of the world championships. Photos by Jade-S. Vachon-Côté // Contributor // @arts_by_jadesvcote
repavement. This was later confirmed by Le Journal de Montréal. Google Maps’s error caused a serious jam on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, while the Samuel-De Champlain bridge was completely empty.
Google Maps did not reply to The Concordian’s request for comment on the matter and what caused the issue.
Stingers’ growing pains show in Shaughnessy Cup The Stingers football team struggled in defeat against rival McGill Redbirds. By Veronica Rebuli
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor @veronicaareb
The Shaughnessy Cup returned to McGill on Sept. 19, as the Concordia Stingers fell 29–8 to the Redbirds in the 57th edition of the rivalry game. McGill wasted little time taking control, scoring 18 unanswered points in the opening quarter and putting the Stingers on their heels early. The Redbirds dominated on the ground, accumulating 257 rushing yards, compared to just 60 for Concordia. The ground game helped the Redbirds control the pace and kept the Stingers chasing the game. The Stingers coaching staff chose to start rookie quarterback Charles Boulianne, continuing Concordia’s adjustment to a new face under centre. Boulianne finished 20-of-31 for 206 yards, one touchdown and one interception. For head coach Paul-Eddy Saint-Vilien, some growing pains are part of the process, especially for a rookie quar-
terback thrown into the intensity of a rivalry game. “I need to be patient with a new quarterback,” Saint-Vilien said. “Charles Boulianne is a rookie, so he’s learning the game.” After a tough opening quarter, the Stingers tightened up defensively and kept the Redbirds scoreless in the second. But the Stingers couldn’t capitalize offensively and headed into halftime down 18–0. For Saint-Vilien, the Stingers didn’t need a new game plan. They needed to execute the one they had. “I think the communication was good,” said Saint-Vilien. “I just think that the problem was the execution.” The Redbirds stretched their lead to 26–0 in the third quarter before Concordia finally found a spark. Stingers wide receiver Cécrick Laurent found the end zone with a 44-yard touchdown, giving the home team its first points of the afternoon and some hope heading into the final quarter. For Laurent, the touchdown was a positive moment in an otherwise frustrating afternoon. “I’m happy. Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted for the game, we’re going to keep working on it,” he said after the game. With the Stingers still finding their
The Stingers are now 0–3 this season after losing 29–8 against McGill. Photo by Ines Talis // Assistant Video Editor // @tls.ines
footing offensively, Laurent expressed the importance of staying patient and composed as the offence adjusts to its new quarterback.
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“We have to stick together, not blame anyone, stay united, and we’ll win,” Laurent said. “We have a new QB, so we’re trying to find our rhythm on offence too, and we’ll get it.”
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That touchdown would be the Stingers’ only trip to the end zone. The Redbirds shut down any hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, securing a 29–8 victory and reclaiming the Shaughnessy Cup. Despite the loss, Saint-Vilien pointed to his team’s willingness to compete until the final whistle as something Concordia can carry into its next matchup against Bishop’s. “The guys work for four quarters,” shared Saint-Vilien. “As long as they work, we have a chance.” For the Stingers, the challenge now is turning that effort into execution. With a rookie quarterback still finding his footing and the offence searching for its rhythm, Concordia will look to build on the game’s struggles, as it still aims for a playoff spot despite starting the season 0–3.
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Opinions
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | opinions@theconcordian.com
Finding comfort in uncertainty Growth comes from stepping outside the comfort zone. By Rita Kamel
Assistant Opinions Editor
Sometimes I feel very lucky to live in the 21st century. We have so many luxuries that weren’t accessible to generations before us. If I am hungry, I can order myself food and I don’t even have to move from my couch. I have access to streaming services and I can watch whatever I want when I’m bored. If I want to buy something, I can just order it online and it will arrive at my front door.
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But not every luxury benefits us. Although they are comfortable and feel nice, sometimes experiencing discomfort is better.
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I know that it sounds crazy to say that discomfort is good for us, so let me give you an example. Remember the first time that you set foot in a gym? It didn’t feel good at first. Your body was aching and you were sweating, but you kept going and because of this you are much healthier. Research by Kaitlin Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach, published in Psychological Science, showed that discomfort can lead to personal growth and can be a source of motivation. If we try to avoid discomfort, we will find ourselves stuck and unable to move forward. Psychologist Abraham Maslow, who theorized about humanity’s “hierarchy of needs,” writes that “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step backward into safety.” Nowadays, we are very fortunate to have so many tools that make our lives easier, but the price we pay for convenience could mean staying in our comfort zone and not learning anything new. The increased popularity of AI is the best example of this. Instead of taking time to find the answers we want
ourselves, we just ask ChatGPT, which does gives us quick answers, although they can be far from perfect. Our brains are muscles that need to be trained. If we keep taking shortcuts, we will get too comfortable and it will be harder to function independently without our luxuries. We need to not only tolerate uncertainty but be comfortable with it, since this feeling of unease is where the magic of growth occurs. We cannot let our fear of failure stop us from trying new things. When we sit with our discomfort enough, we get
used to it. What was once a fearsome unknown becomes our new comfort zone. It is such a gratifying feeling to look back and see how much you struggled with a task that you now master. If we take the easy way out, we lose this opportunity to take pride in and taste the fruits of our labour. It takes great discipline to choose to be uncomfortable, but it is a rewarding decision. Discomfort is a stepping stone to success.
Graphic by Adrien Foula // Contributor // @adrienfoula
Is the Online News Act ruining the elections? Wars are won by teachers, but elections are won by influencers. By Anabel Blanchette-Glaude Contributor
For the past three years, social media users have been unable to access news stories on Meta’s platforms. Try searching for The New York Times or Radio-Canada Info on Instagram, and you will be faced with a message declaring that “people in Canada can’t see this content.” This is a direct result of the Online News Act (Bill C-18), which created “a bargaining framework to ensure that platforms compensate news businesses fairly.” Google has chosen to contribute 100 million dollars to the Canadian Journalism Collective to be exempted from Bill C-18, while Meta has opted to comply and block all news content from its apps. Discussions of the Online News Act’s impacts are all the more relevant with the upcoming provincial elections. From my perspective, this law will have tremendous consequences on Quebec’s electoral process. A lot of young people get their news from social media, whose algorithms do not necessarily promote high-quality, fact-checked informational content. So, how will they stay in-
formed? How will they determine who best represents their interests? This is particularly alarming, given that nearly 80 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 34 treat social media as their main source of news. Without readily available news, voters become easily malleable. They might turn to biased influencers and content creators, who do not necessarily fact-check information before sharing it online. After all, posting videos online does not require much; all it takes is a phone and a strong conviction in your own political opinions. Its accessibility may be attractive by nature, but that is no reason to use it as a replacement for ethically bound news organizations. Elections should not be determined by how well a party panders to algorithms. It is scary to think that many young, first-time voters will head to the polls without ever consulting the parties’ platforms. Many of them will cast their vote based on street interviews and podcast appearances, interpreting complex policies through thirty-second clips. We cannot entirely blame young people for their shift away from reliable news media. I do not want to be perceived as an angry boomer who constantly punches down on the younger generations — my generation. I do recognize that staying informed is hard and time-consuming. However, tradi-
tional news outlets have been going out of style for the past decade, so it is no surprise people are no longer turning to cable TV or newspapers, even after the introduction of the
Online News Act. The Online News Act is actively ruining the elections and will continue to do so until it is abolished. It will not only affect the results on Oct. 5,
but all following elections. It is imperative that Ottawa reviews the legitimacy and importance of this law; is monetary compensation truly worth the de-education of a nation?
Graphic by Anabel B. Glaude // Contributor //
Opinions
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | opinions@theconcordian.com
Can students with disabilities be lawyers too?
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A deep dive into one of the most prestigious Canadian law schools may provide the answer.
By Alexandra Montenegro Nodarse Staff Writer
Are you a Concordia student with good marks and a competitive CV? Would you like to attend one of the most prestigious legal programs in the province and even in the world? Then think no more! Located downtown, up on a hill, McGill’s prestigious Law School is the only one of its kind in the world. With its BCL/JD program, it offers students a transsystemic, bilingual approach to law. Graduates study in both English and French and earn both a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Juris Doctor, two degrees combined in one program, a powerful duo for law practitioners in Western jurisdictions.
Beyond the acceptance letter
To study law at McGill, candidates must go through a rigorous and holistic selection process. The admission criteria seek students unique in every way. Everyone, from CEGEP students to mature students, is encouraged to apply, as long as they show cultural awareness, intellectual curiosity, leadership, community values, open-mindedness and qualities that can help the next generation of successful lawyers lead social change. McGill Law is looking for indicators of students who will engage in meaningful, transformative legal work within and outside the faculty. To make the law more inclusive, equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives aim to admit students from diverse backgrounds, including Black, Brown and Indigenous applicants; first-generation and low-income students; women; queer and trans people; and people with disabilities. These initiatives are a good start, but there is always room for improvement. For example, according to Fanta Ly, former national mentorship representative for the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada and co-president of the McGill Black Law Students’ Association, “McGill has a track record of treating Black students so poorly that they leave the institution.” Equity, diversity and inclusion committees seem to address inequality by admitting people from equity-deserving groups. But once admitted, how do students from said disadvantaged groups receive support? What does it mean if the resources to accommodate or support students from equity-deserving groups do not exist or are underfunded? Shouldn’t those resources be implemented in the first place? Students with disabilities often experience physical realities that require more than an admissions letter to feel truly included. Accepting disabled students requires tangible and structural accommodations to be put in place. For example, imagine a student with a disability who uses a wheelchair. What would their experience be like trying to go to class if it’s up the hill? It says a lot about our society when students with disabilities are admitted, but schools remain physically inaccessible, with steep stairs and few elevators. Why is this contradiction present in the academic environment, which should feel welcoming to all, including those
Wheelchair accessible entrance of Chancellor Day Hall McGill University Faculty of Law. Photo by Hannah Nobile // Co-Photo Editor //
with disabilities? When disability and social status interact, it becomes even harder. Not all disabled students have access to the same resources, including physical and mental healthcare, private cars, mobility and hearing aids or devices, medications, insurance, tax deductions and savings plans, income, etc.
The Didier Chelin’s case
An example of these barriers appears in Didier Chelin’s case. This blind law student says he suffered discrimination from within the Office of Students with Disabilities (now Student Accessibility and Achievement). According to him, the school and appropriate access services failed to accommodate and redirect him to the appropriate governmental services. Moreover, the relevant academic institutions did not contact his professors to discuss how to better accommodate him. Chelin said that the school provided him with adapted reading materials last minute, leaving him to do his readings the night before, which added stress from the lack of sleep to his already deteriorating mental state. He reports that the situation had lasting effects on his health, leading to his hospitalization after failing his classes in his second year. “This raises not only the issue of equal access to university education with people with disabilities, but also the issue of access to the legal profession,” Chelin concluded. According to the information on the McGill Law FAQ website, “the program is designed to be done on a fulltime, in-person basis. Many classes are focused on discussion and participation is mandatory.”
Accommodation is not synonymous with equal opportunities
This statement may put people with chronic illnesses and dynamic disabilities at a disadvantage. Granted, they
can still go to law school and be admitted, but they would have to rely on being healthy and in remission to complete the program. Should success in law school for the chronically ill be framed as an individual responsibility or as a social and collective effort? These students could follow the program part-time, but the underlying assumption is that disability equals needing more time. If classes were physically accessible in the first place, people with disabilities or chronic illness could attend them on equal grounds with able-bodied people. Furthermore, a part-time program delays access to the legal profession and could hinder job opportunities, while also being more expensive in the long run; law school entrance scholarships mostly target full-time students. Basic part-time access is not always adapted to the diverse realities of disabled folks. Disabled people aren’t meant only to survive; like any other human being, they are meant to thrive. Institutions, social structures, and services need to work with this concept in mind. It would be interesting to see law school curricula designed for people with disabilities. It seems as though the disabled community doesn’t even exist, neither within the law nor the legal profession. This translates into laws and policies that further marginalize, impoverish and oppress those with disabilities, making them dependent on family caregivers and state assistance, which in turn reinforces dominant negative views of laziness, moral failure and public burdens assigned to disabled bodies, and the cycle continues. How can our community better foster equal opportunities for students with mobility issues or physical disabilities that may have trouble making it into class? How can we help these students during flares, long-term health issues and periods of mobility loss? How can
we work together to ensure the door isn’t closed from the start? Each staff member and professor is trying to do the best they can to accommodate, to be humane and to include equity-deserving students within an ableist structure of oppression that refuses to acknowledge their existence. But this denial has lasted far too long. “Legal education still sends the message that disabled people are not supposed to be lawyers. Ableism is built into the foundation of the profession,” said Matthew Cortland, esquire and senior resident fellow at Data for Progress. “It is reinforced every time a student’s request for accommodations is met with hostility, a disabled bar applicant is left in dangerous testing conditions during the pandemic and a disabled junior associate is pretextually terminated. But as more and more people insist that they need to be lawyers, as those students build community and power inside of law schools, perhaps the architecture of ableism will finally crumble,” said Matthew Cortland, esquire and senior resident fellow at Data for Progress. One solution is to create an Access category to include students with disabilities and allow them to explain their unique experiences and challenges in accessing a legal education. This category could also include students from low-income or first-generation backgrounds. This would ensure that class-based and ableist discrimination does notdon’t fall through the cracks of the admission process or the inclusive system it could work towards creating.Because reforming admission categories is only nominal inclusion, we must ensure transparent physical and institutional access through personalized, caring, accessible and humane academic curricula and accommodations that actively listen to and take into account the rich and diverse experiences of disabled students so that they thrive in otherwise out-of-reach institutions.
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Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | artsculture@theconcordian.com
“The love of the game is really musical theatre” Concordia student and theatre actress Courtney Crawford is on a roll, stepping onto the stage in the shoes of one character after another. By Julia Imee Silva Arts & Culture Editor @liaa.imee
The moment Courtney Crawford steps onto the stage, nothing else matters besides the new life she gets to play. “There’s just a magical sensation when you’re on a stage,” she said. “You can’t get it anywhere else, and you really wouldn’t know it until you’ve experienced it.” Crawford has lived countless lives through the enchantment of theatre. From playing Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Maureen in Rent during high school to playing Texas, one of the KitKat girls in Cabaret through Montreal’s Contact Theatre. “I like playing these oddball characters,” she emphasized. “It feels like I’m really putting on a show, and you get to step into their shoes and see what a different life is like and show audiences something so different from yourself.” Among the myriad of characters she has taken on, Crawford developed an adoration for Ride the Cyclone’s Jane Doe, her most recent role. She goes between her sweet persona and the sorrow of having no trace of who she once was. Jane Doe doesn’t talk much, which made her more challenging to act and embody. Raised in a small town in British Columbia, Crawford has been immersed in the world of music, dance and theatre for as long as she can remember. After several school productions and one earnest conversation with her music teacher, Crawford let the wind take her to the Canadian College of Performing Arts, where she earned two performing arts diplomas from its conservatory-style program. Then in 2022, she moved to Montreal.
In four years, she had already done six productions in the local theatre scene. “Strangely, I just love performing in Montreal so much,” said Crawford. “The theatre community here is just like everything to me.” Lately, she auditions three to four times a year; maybe less — a stark contrast to younger Courtney, who felt lost if she was outside the confines of the theatre for too long. “I’m feeling so fulfilled in it that now, I feel like I’m in a place where I can be a little bit more picky,” said Crawford, explaining that if the script and music don’t resonate, she does not audition. Pursuing theatre and making money in it is far from easy, between finding opportunities and gaining recognition. For Crawford, the industry’s most pervasive challenge is the shame of not making it. “But now, being on the other side of it and deciding not to pursue theatre professionally, I’m finally able to shake that shame,” Crawford acknowledged. “It’s very normal to want to pursue a life where you can have a stable career and make money; and I don’t think we should shame people for wanting to do that.” Now in her fourth and final year at Concordia, Crawford is pursuing a degree in exercise science, combining her passion for movement with her curiosity about the science behind it. In 2025, she co-founded the MTL Dance Ensemble with two of her friends. At the dance collective, they teach a variety of dance styles, including contemporary, hip-hop, heels and jazz. Crawford specializes in musical theatre-style dance, something that is rarely accessible to actors in Montreal’s independent theatre community. “I love all musicals; I really love Golden Age style and your classic Broadway,” Crawford said. “But the things that touch me the most are shows that are very off the beaten path.” Soon, she will be stepping into her seventh Montreal production as one of the Phantoms in Mainline Theatre’s production of The Rocky Horror Show this October. “Right now, I feel like I’m on just a little bit of a roll,” Crawford said.
Courtney Crawford as Texas, one of the KitKat girls in Contact Theatre’s production of Cabaret in 2025. Photo courtesy of Matt Sandoval // @sandoval_snaps
Arts & Culture
Courtney Crawford as Jane Doe in Not Sale for Magic Production’ Ride the Cyclone. Photo Courtesy of by Matt Sandoval // @sandoval_snaps
Courtney Crawford. Photo by Max Paster // Co-Photo Editor // @mpaster.photos
Courtney Crawford mainly teaches musical theatre-style dance at the MTL Dance Ensemble, a dance collective she co-founded with friends. Photo courtesy of Casey Marie Ecker // @caseymarieecker
Arts & Culture
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 | artsculture@theconcordian.com
That’s a wrap for Montreal’s firstever climate week
Two Concordia alumni hosted a citywide festival for climate action featuring 125 events By Rahul Balasundaram Contributor @rahulbala_
With climate weeks already emerging in Toronto and Calgary, why did Montreal not have its own edition? This was the question Juliette Champoux-Pellegrin and Gabriela Lopes, the two co-founders of the first-ever Montreal Climate Week, asked themselves when they came up with their own idea to host a festival dedicated to climate action. After months of planning and assembling an entirely volunteer-led team, the two Concordia University alumni hosted a week-long festival from Sept. 8 to Sept. 13, featuring over 125 events organized by local communities, researchers, businesses and institutions in Montreal. “We have been incredibly successful in actually getting people to show up at a time when it is hard to get people to
show up, which is very exciting,” said Champoux-Pellegrin, the executive director and co-founder, reflecting on the week. Unlike a top-down model in which the organizers would set the agenda, the festival aimed to elevate and amplify climate action already being taken by Indigenous and grassroots communities across the city. Lopes, for instance, emphasized the importance of this decentralized model, saying climate action requires systemic solutions rooted in Indigenous sovereignty and communities. “If that depth of transformation is going to happen in a democratic, free and inspired way, it has to come from the bottom up,” said the co-founder and board member of Montreal Climate Week. Lopes is also the general coordinator of the Concordia Food Coalition, which organizes weekly farmers’ markets every Tuesday at the downtown campus in September and October and the Loyola campus in July and August. It is one example of local climate action taken in Montreal. In addition to mitigating the carbon footprint of global food supply chains, Jijii Buck, the market coordinator, underlined that such initiatives help con-
Gabriela Lopes (left) and Juliette Champoux-Pellegrin (right), co-founders of the Montreal Climate Week. Photo by Rahul Balasundaram // Contributor
nect people with local ecological systems. “I think it’s really important in empowering folks and becoming grounded and connected with the land that we inhabit here to know where food comes from, and growing is a huge part of that,” they said. Looking ahead, Montreal Climate Week is moving toward becoming its own organization. Champoux-Pellegrin and Lopes said they plan to reflect on their learnings from the week to see how they can best add value and create momentum for climate action throughout the coming year. “We identify as a movement that’s anchored by a festival. The festival is an incredible part of what we’re doing, but there has to be a connecting thread throughout the year,” said Champoux-Pellegrin.
Yesterday’s movies are becoming today’s discoveries Not every new film discovery is a new film. Sometimes, the movies finding their audience today have been waiting decades to be seen. By Veronica Rebuli
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor @veronicaareb
Movies that once belonged to another era suddenly find themselves back in the spotlight with a younger audience. Whether by watching familiar scenes or working through an actor’s filmography, the ways in which we discover movies have changed. With the rise of online film communities in the 2010s, film discovery has become increasingly social. Letterboxd, in particular, has turned watching movies into something that can be tracked, shared and discussed between people online. Using the platform, viewers can log, rate and review films, build lists and meet other people with different tastes. For cinephile and journalism student Justin Leyser, the platform has created a new way of participating in film culture. Letterboxd makes gathering information about older films much easier. “It’s almost like a game to a degree, to log a new movie, to have it in your diary,” Leyser said. “I think all of this has made it kind of fun. It adds an aura of fun to being a film buff now.”
This shift in access has also changed how audiences approach older films. “As access to old films has increased, our ideas about the kinds of movies we like to watch have changed,” says Haidee Wasson, PhD, the associate dean of Research, Graduate Studies and Faculty Development in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia. She explained that Letterboxd provides better tools for engaging critically with movies, thus “fostering interest in older and unusual films.” But Letterboxd isn’t the only place where younger audiences can see into the past. “I usually discover movies that were made before my time through social media,” Leyser explained. “Specifically, I find interviews with celebrities or directors. Oftentimes, they do interviews and discuss the older movies that might have given them — the directors or the writers — inspiration for their performances.” In other cases, Hollywood itself revives older movies through legacy sequels that push younger audiences to seek out decades-old films. Movies like Practical Magic 2 (2026), Gladiator II (2024) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) bring audiences back to stories that already had their moment. For younger viewers, that return may be a first encounter with the original. For film production studios, this sense of familiarity is part of the appeal. “Legacy properties already have a following; their content isn’t entirely unknown,” explained Martin Lefebvre, PhD, chair of Concordia’s Mel Hoppen-
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heim School of Cinema. “If the original content is liked or already has a fanbase, then the hope is that the product will tap into that fan base, as well as into a new demographic of viewers.” But a film’s return to popularity does not necessarily mean pop culture is returning to the past. As it moves between generations, platforms and contexts, the experience of watching an older movie can evolve. “I like to think of films as always
Lopes called Montreal “a living lab” to test what an alternative, interdisciplinary system could look like, based on the festival’s six pillars: arts and culture, politics and democracy, health and well-being, science, technology, and business, food systems and urban planning. “We want to be a facilitator of interdisciplinary conversations and build projects that will tangibly create a model that can be replicated in other cities,” she said, emphasizing that an alternative model should be localized based on people’s experiences in those spaces. The next edition of the Montreal Climate Week is scheduled from May 31 to June 6, 2027, coinciding with the Sustainable Finance Summit and the Montreal Climate Summit.
changing as they move through different modes of distribution and display,” said Wasson. “The screen is different, but so is the context. This significantly changes how one experiences a movie.” Old may describe when a movie was released, not when it is experienced. As films from the past continue to impact young audiences, they can take on different meanings and make something old feel entirely new.
Graphic by Veronica Rebuli // Assistant Arts & Culture Editor // @veronicaareb
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Horoscopes
Take a rest, take a load off; if you don’t and you fail the sun will not have your back. Gemini (May 21 – June 21) It’s your time. This is your season. The sun joins Mercury in the peak of your chart’s power. Take a risk, make that leap of faith, you have everything on your side and nothing to lose.
Libra (September 23 – October 22)
Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
The gift of patience will be generous upon you, you waited until the sun was on your side. Make your move while it lasts, this opportunity for grace in failure only lasts so long.
Your friend’s advice may feel as though it was cast down in judgment, but if they are a true friend, it’ll only be because they love you. Placate and do what you will, though keep them near and dear because they clearly don’t want to see you fail.
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
goals will be disguised.
Your friends may be the authors of their own misfortunes, but never relish in their failure, you may be next.
Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
The sun has passed your sign. Did you use it wisely? Don’t be foolish now, your missteps will never be forgotten.
You will waste many hours of distracted longing in class if you don’t introduce yourself to the person you’ve been enamored with since week 2, the days are growing shorter faster than you would like. You’ve got nothing to lose but time.
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) You passed the DNE deadline, you’re in it for the long haul now. Your indecision has cost you dearly, just hope it won’t be the end of you. Pisces (February 19 – March 20) What are you even doing? This has not been YOUR start of the semester; but none of this matters. You forge your own path. Assignment instructions? What are those? Just wing it.
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