Monsoon Journal

Tea rooms have been always been a part of Montréal’s cultural history, thanks to the Brits, who brought their cherished traditions from across the pond to here. From the downtown core and radiating out, the choice of places to enjoy a cuppa in Montréal, from upper crust to cool and casual, has never been more tasteful. Hip and ready to sip La Maison du Thé Cha Guan Relatively new to the tea scene, Cha Guan (”tea house” in Chinese) on Monkland Avenue has great service and a relaxed ambiance. You can park it on chairs or relax on traditional floor cushions, order your tea with dessert (the green tea red bean cheesecake is a must) and enjoy the good stuff in your cup along with the laid-back feel. With its knowledgeable staff and reason- able prices, a repeat visit to this sweet tea salon is definitely worth it. L’Esprit du thé Not to be outdone in the tea department, trend-setting Mile End is also home to some excellent tea salons.

In fact, owners Bettina and Fabrice Perrin have given this hip- ster enclave a polished touch with L’Esprit du thé, which offers more than 200 flavourful brews to thrill your palate. They also serve tea- infused chocolates—yum!—and regularly host tea workshops. Camellia Sinensis Now a bastion of the Quartier latin, Camellia Sinensis continues to give tea aficionados reason to sit and sip. With more than 150 teas that regularly cull from China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Sri Lanka to choose from, it’s impossible not to find a tea to suit your taste buds. Pop in for a cup before or after a movie at the Cinéma Quartier Latin, right across the street, or try their workshops and tea tastings on the weekend. They also have a bou- tique kitty corner to the Jean-Talon Market. Kusmi Tea From Russia to Paris and now Montréal, the over-140-year-old Kusmi Tea house now boasts a brand-new home, the first in North America, on fashionable Saint-Denis Street. Inhale the fragrant aromas of more than 125 infusions as you linger in its bright-white boutique stacked with colourful round tins or choose a delicious blend to brew chez vous.

While the teas feature their signature Russian blends (Saint Petersburg, Prince Vladimir, Anastasia, etc.), they have excellent greens and invigorating herbals you’ll also want more of. The classics The Ritz-Carlton Montréal (closed for renovations until the end of 2010) The British upper crust might have brought the afternoon tea rit- ual to Montréal, but it’s the Ritz- Carlton, one of the city’s oldest hotels, that carries on the custom. The classy hotel on Sherbrooke Street is a perennial favourite among guests who come to enjoy a bit of England’s high tradition, which includes tea served in fine porcelain cups, tiered trays topped with cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and an assort- ment of sweets.

To be enjoyed in the sophisticated Café du Paris or the lovely Jardin du Ritz, next to its lovely duck pond on warm-weather days. Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth At the heart of downtown, the “Queen E”, as Montrealers call it, lives up to its name, serving tea in its refined and tasteful setting. Guests can sit back and enjoy this afternoon pick-me-up along with an assortment of sweet cakes and pas- tries. If your company prefers cof- fee, this prestigious hotel also keeps up the delectable Viennese tradition with a wide range of roasts to choose from. And if you can’t resist giving in to your inner gour- mand, wander over to the Beaver Club Restaurant’s Boutique Gourmandise for sweets and treats to take away.

Summer is on its way, and just as it has for the last twelve con- secutive years, with it rides in the Montréal Bike Fest. From May 30 to June 6, cycling fans will have no lack of things to do, thanks to the extensive array of event choices included in the festival’s 2010 edition. All in a spirit of good-natured fun, thousands of cyclists will par- ticipate in three main recreational activities, according to their pref- erences and endurance, through- out this seven-day festival dedi- cated to two-wheeled fun: the Metropolitan Challenge, the Tour de l’Île de Montréal and the Tour la Nuit. Operation Bike-to-Work, an initiative that encourages Montrealers to use their bicycle as a means of daily transportation, is back for its tenth year.

“Montréal is not only renowned for its prominent biking culture, but has also established an esteemed reputation through- out the world as the ‘Best Cycling City in North America’, as dubbed by the prestigious American pub- lication, Bicycling Magazine,” underlines Charles Lapointe, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “We are extremely proud of this reputation, as it pays homage to the passion and dedication exhibited by thousands of Montrealers for a healthy, eco- nomical and environmentally- friendly method of transportation as well as the city’s avant-garde nature as a forerunner for think- ing ‘green’ and establishing an extensive network of urban cycling paths,” concludes Charles Lapointe. Every year since its inception in 1985, the Tour de l’Île de Montréal has attracted thousands of cyclists from across the province of Québec who wish to mix fun, exercise and discovery while riding along a specially-ded- icated urban circuit. Following in 1999, the Tour la Nuit has become increasingly popular over the years with both young and mature riders. Finally, the Metropolitan Challenge, inaugu- rated in 2002, is comprised of a circuit that criss-crosses the Greater Montréal region, covering a distance of 75 to 150 kilome- tres.

Though Montreal’s winters have a reputation of being unreasonably cold, over the past couple years they’ve been getting increasingly mild. This, however, has not stopped Montrealers from embrac- ing the annual spring tradition of spending every last second they can outside. For this reason, there are an incredible amount of outdoor exercise opportunities to explore… One of Montreal’s strongest sell- ing points is accessibility- I’m able to get to pretty much anywhere worth going in the city by metro, bus, bike or foot. If “by foot” is your preferred means of exercising, then a walk up Mount-Royal is perfect. If you start at the statue of Athena and follow the path up, around and back down the mountain, it’s about 5 km (about 3 miles for you Americans) round-trip.

And if you happen to get one of the best views of the city while doing so, all the better. Right across from the mountain is Park Jeanne-Mance, which many Montreal residents use for the entirely less strenuous activity of BBQ’ing and people watching. The more frisky among you can also find space for some soccer or Frisbee, not to mention a game of tennis on one of their courts. But, if tennis is what you’re really after, get yourself to Stade Uniprix in Jarry Park. The home of the Rogers Cup tourna- ment, they’ve got 10 outdoor (and 12 indoor) courts open to the pub- lic. If you’re looking for a way to get there, biking is the way to go. Montreal is one of the most bike- friendly cities in the world and the super cool Bixi service makes it easy for visitors to join in on the action.

Another great way to expe- rience the city by bike is by signing up for the ever-popular Tour de L’Ile and its night-time cousin, Tour la Nuit. There are, of course, a ton of other exercise options that we’ll get into further on this blog, but why not try one of these out right away. After all, we Montrealers are already out there working on our tennis game, getting into biking shape and improving our walking – ok, you can’t really get better at walking, but you get my drift… [tourisme-montreal.org]

A cartoon in ‘Montreal Gazette’ newspaper depicting a woman in niqab, with the slit near her eyes represented by prison bars and a lock, has triggered a debate on the rights of Muslim women under Constitution of Canada. India’s PTI news agency writ- ing on the matter said: The editorial cartoon, which appeared in ‘Montreal Gazette’ recently, is based on the incident where a Muslim woman from Quebec was asked to leave a French language school after she refused to remove her niqab. The cartoonist Terry Mosher said his intention was to argue against the woman’s stance. “In the Gazette, there is actu- ally an editorial in support of the woman, and yet my cartoon is against it,” he said. “So that is part of the discussion and I think that’s a very healthy thing.”

Nama Atef Amed, a pharma- cist of Egyptian-origin, has twice been asked to leave provincially- administered French language classes after she refused to remove her niqab, that covers her head and face and leaves only the eyes exposed. “For the teacher it was more difficult to hear her, and it was more difficult for all the people to understand what she has to say,” Paul-Emile Bourque, the director of the school, said. Amed filed a complaint with the Quebec’s human rights com- mission after she was thrown out of the first class at the CEGEP de Saint-Laurent in Montreal. Montreal Premier Jean Charest defended school’s deci- sion, saying that people who expect to receive public services must show their faces.

Today, the province’s Immigration Ministry said Amed had subsequently enrolled in another French class at a publicly- funded centre in Montreal. There she was initially permitted to wear the niqab, until the province stepped in. “As we did last time, we told her that we have pedagogical objectives to meet in our French immersion courses, that they have to be taken with her face exposed,” Luc Fortin, a spokesman for the province’s immigration minister, said. “She refused to take off her niqab and she left the course.” Salim Momin, a noted lawyer, said that it was in breach of rights and freedoms. Canadian Constitution, that provides reli- gious freedom to all communities, must be respected by the govern- ment, he said. President of the Muslim Council of Montreal, Salam Elmenyawi said that he was not shocked.

“But it is a distasteful way of showing the cartoon and of showing the lock the woman is locking herself,” he said. Tarek Fatah, founder of Muslim Canadian Congress, defended the cartoon, saying “It’s quite appropriate.” In October, the congress had sought a ban on wearing of masks, niqabs and burkas in all “public dealings.” “Not only is the wearing of a face mask a security hazard and has led to a number of bank heists in Canada and overseas, the burka or niqab are political symbols of Saudi-inspired Islamic extremism,” the congress said in a statement.

“Although introduced with little fanfare in late December, Quebec’s tough new light vehicle emissions regulation has become a political hot potato in Canada after the fed- eral environment minister, Jim Prentice, denounced the rule as “counter-productive” last week in Calgary while laying out Canada’s down-graded emission targets,” writes John Lornic, in The New York Times’ environmental blog “Green Inc.”

The “Green Inc.” further said:

Quebec is the first Canadian province to adopt California-style emission rules, joining 14 American states, including Vermont, Maine and New York. They came into effect Jan. 14.

With  abundant  hydro-electric power,  about  40  percent  of  the province’s  greenhouse  gas  emissions come from the transportation sector.

The province’s voters have traditionally seen themselves as environmentally conscious and strongly support such precedent-setting policies,  notes  the  veteran  pollster Christian Bourque, senior partner at Léger  Marketing  in  Montreal.  “It’s something that would be very popular in Quebec.”

Under the terms of the regula- tion, leading automobile manufac- turers have six years to phase in emission reductions of 24 to 37 per- cent, depending on vehicle size.

A penalty of up to $5,000 fee will be added to the price of any new vehicle that exceeds the maxi- mum emissions standards laid out in the law.

The success of such measures turns on consumer support, a risk some governments aren’t prepared to take despite growing pressure to reduce emissions.

“One of the most glaring exam- ples of the folly of attempting to go it alone in an integrated North American economy is the new, and unique, vehicle regulations intro- duced by Quebec,” Mr. Prentice said in a speech in which he outlined Canada’s desire to synchronize its emission targets with those of the United States. “These ensure that consumers will basically have to leave that province to buy their vehicles.

” Quebec Premier Jean Charest said Mr. Prentice was spreading “false information” about the policy, The Montreal Gazette reported. A spokeswoman for Quebec’s ministry of sustainable development, envi- ronment and parks declined to com- ment.

Quebec’s French-language media has strongly supported the premier, according to Virginie Lambert Ferry, a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada’s Montreal office, who said the controversy has become “absolutely huge here.”

Following Canada’s much-criti- cized support for Alberta’s oil sands during the Copenhagen climate conference, other observers ques- tioned the attack.

“It is unprecedented that a fed- eral environment minister would go after a provincial partner for being too zealous in its efforts to green its economy,” wrote The Toronto Star’s national affairs columnist Chantal Hébert.

Much smaller markets than Quebec’s have adopted tough vehi- cle emission rules. Vermont’s popu- lation, for example, is only one- twelfth of Quebec’s.

Five years ago, when Vermont lawmakers were looking to adopt the California regulations, auto industry lobbyists warned state reg- ulators that the rules would “impose substantial costs on consumers” and restrict the market for new vehicles without creating meaning- ful improvements to air quality.

Since  the  rules  have  changed, however, there have been no obvious signs of consumer revolt.

Montréal’s Nature Museums are pleased to announce the 13th edi- tion of Butterflies Go Free present- ed by the Insectarium in the Main Exhibition Greenhouse at the Botanical Garden from February 18 to April 25. During this International Year of Biodiversity, Charles- Mathieu Brunelle, director of Montréal’s nature museums, invites the public to “contemplate the beauty, fragility and tremendous diversity of butterflies throughout the world in order to develop a rela- tionship with nature and learn more about it, understand it and protect it.”

Anne Charpentier, director of the Insectarium, said “On the Wings of Biodiversity” was chosen as this year’s theme because it “showcases our planet’s fascinating history and explains the life cycle of butterflies, their co-evolution with plants and their adaptation strate- gies.” Did you know that moths first appeared on earth 190 million years ago and butterflies first appeared 70 million years ago? Dinosaurs have disappeared, but butterflies are still here!

Biodiversity, an endless source of wonder

Butterflies Go Free invites you to learn more about 50 to 75 but- terfly species from around the globe. Of the some 1.8 million plant and animal species inventoried to date, two-thirds of them are insects, and close to 175,000 of that number are butterflies. And since some estimates suggest that there may be as many as half a mil- lion of them, it means that there are still thousands more species to be discovered. Given that the species extinction rate has increased a thousandfold in recent years as a result of human activities (climate change, pollution, species overex- ploitation, etc.), it is vital that we act to protect biodiversity.

Amazingly adaptable

Butterflies (or Lepidoptera) appeared on Earth back in the days of the dinosaurs. They have since developed features allowing them to adapt to a vast range of condi- tions and environments. For instance, some of them feed on nectar from orchids with very deep nectaries, while others sport wing colours and patterns that protect them from predators. Co-evolution, or the way a particular butterfly has adapted specifically to a given plant - whether it feeds on it or pollinates it - has also led to the emergence of new species. These fascinating but- terfly species are of special interest to scientists, to many cultures and to some communities which operate butterfly breeding farms as a way of protecting their often threatened habitat.

Butterflies Go Free

The event presented in the Botanical Garden’s Main Exhibition Greenhouse, with temperatures of up to 29oC, holds plenty of splendid surprises for visitors, whether you’re already a butterfly fan or simply curious. Come get a close-up look at some 1,500 butterflies and moths from England, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Indonesia and elsewhere. Montréal’s Nature Museums invite you to enjoy a unique experience combining science and emotion!

The President and Vice- Chancellor of Concordia University, Judith Woodsworth, recently returned from a most productive trade mission to India. Woodsworth was a member of the Quebec trade delegation, led by Premier Jean Charest, which has spent the past week travelling to three cities in India.

The increasing importance India has for Quebec is illustrated by the fact that Charest’s first trade mission to India, in 2006, involved 30 delegates, compared to the 130 public and private sec- tor participants on this year’s trip.

Concordia’s focus on this trip was to renew or extend educa- tional and R& D collaborations in five distinct areas of expertise: aerospace engineering, informa- tion and communication technolo- gies, life sciences, sustainability, and energy and the environment. Woodsworth is particularly proud to have signed partnership agree- ments with eight educational institutions in India, including TERI (The Resource and Energy Institute) University, the National Institute of Design, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and VIT (formerly the Vellore Institute of Technology) University.

“I am delighted to have expanded Concordia’s partner- ships with new institutions -in addition to renewing current part- nerships- where our expertise will undoubtedly play a key role in sig- nificant research findings”, says Woodsworth. “Under our agree- ment with TERI, to take just one example, our researchers will be working on climate change, biofu- els and sustainable business, all recognized areas of strength here at Concordia.”

Other agreements facilitate mutually rewarding activity for partner institutions which are now linked to experts in Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, the faculties of Fine Arts, Engineering and Computer Science, and Arts and Science, notably through its Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics.

The partner institutions are located in several states across India. This latest visit to India allowed Woodsworth the opportu- nity to meet with a number of Concordia alumni. They clearly take pride in their Concordia experience and share with Woodsworth their hopes of build- ing an association of alumni in India, along the lines of alumni chapter in locations such as Hong Kong.

A closer look at Concordia University’s faculty, students and alumni further illustrates its deep connections to India. Fully 5% of Concordia’s full-time teaching and research faculty were born in India. As well, the number of stu- dents with Indian citizenship has fluctuated between 300 and 350 for the last few years.