Happy Kebec day! Today is like Canada Day but for seperatists! Have you heard that Gilles Duceppe is seriously threatening referendum again, to 1000 of his international cohorts no less? I have to say I have felt the anglo-franco tensions peaking a bit lately, although it’s never as strong in Montreal as it is in Quebec City. (By the way my homie Roxane Hudon documents her journey to the homeland on her Ballz Montreal site. Her main purpose was to speak English and hug politicians). Seriously though.
There’s a mass exodus going on here, among my anglo friends. Having paid taxes, school fees and proudly calling it home for years, many are packing it in and taking it West, or worst—Toronto. We just can’t find jobs here… unless you’re in the health sciences or something but fuck that right we’re all artists/writers/cultural producers. A lot of us have found that working contracts and then doing EI is good if you can make ends meet. But it gets old. Being poor is getting pretty real and pretty annoying. So i’ve been thinking of making the move too. But it pulls at me daily, it yanks and pleads its case for this ol’ towne.
There is really nothing like Montreal Roller Derby, nothing like Mile-End, nothing like Cagibi’s caramelized onion grilled cheese. Nothing quite as fancy as having the best sandwich in Montreal at Aux Vivres and saying hey to one of the Tegans/Saras at the table over. Or getting sweaty at a Meow Mix. Or fuckit, seeing all of them melted makeup fancy drag queens on St-Catherine’s.
So Kebec, make it for me a reason to stay? Because this city is melting, and waning, and courting me daily. And it’s getting hard to resist.
Why you can trust Xtra
