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Une des forces de Montréal est sa diversité. Et une des raisons pourquoi j'adore cette ville est bien évidemment la diversité que l'on peut décliner de plusieurs façons différentes. La diversité s'exprime par une diversité de climats/saisons, une diversité de restaurants/gastronomies etc. Mais une facette de la diversité de Montréal est son coté multiethnique, religieuse et/ou linguistique. En voici un bel exemple dans cet article provenant du New jersey et faisant part du dynamisme de la communauté juive qui s'exprime dans les nombreux commerces, lieux de cultes et quartiers ayant une forte concentration de gens de cette communauté. http://www.jewishlinknj.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8716:vacationing-in-montreal&catid=165:travel&Itemid=577 Merci à Montréal city weblog pour avoir posté cet article. C'est là que je l'ai vu et j'en profite pour le partager avec la communauté de mtlurb.com

(Courtesy of CNN)

Montreal seen from just across the border, in upstate New York.

Smart licences now available for border-hopping Quebecers Last Updated: Monday, March 16, 2009 | 6:04 PM ET CBC News New driver's licence will be accepted instead of passport at land crossings. Quebec Premier Jean Charest showed off his "smart" driver's licence near the Canada-U.S. border on Monday as his province became the first in the country to issue the new border-friendly licences. Quebec Premier Jean Charest holds up his new, high-tech driver's licence near the Lacolle border crossing on Monday.Quebec Premier Jean Charest holds up his new, high-tech driver's licence near the Lacolle border crossing on Monday. (CBC) Quebecers who sign up for the enhanced licences will be able to use them instead of their passports at land and water crossings when the U.S. government brings in more strict security measures in June. "It doesn't solve all of the problems, but it goes a long way in making the lives of a number of our citizens simpler," said Charest at a news conference near the Lacolle border crossing south of Montreal. Charest said he wanted to set the example by becoming the first Quebecer to get the new licence, known as PC Plus. He said the licence will be especially handy for people who cross the border often. "Not everybody carries a passport with them everyday of their lives," said the premier. He also hopes the new licences, which are also being developed by states such as New York, will make it easier for Americans to travel to Quebec. "If there are five people, five kids and two parents, if they had to all pay for a passport it would be an expensive requirement for them to come here," said Charest. Charest aware of privacy concerns The new licence contains an electronic chip that when scanned gives border guards a special code. The guard can then punch the code into a computer to search a database for information about the cardholder. The information will include the same details contained on a passport such as address, birth date and name. Charest said the fact the card contains a code, instead of personal details, will help protect the privacy of individuals who sign up for the licence. The database will also be located on the Canadian side of the border. "[Privacy] is a serious issue. We believe we need to do what has to be done to protect the privacy of individuals," said Charest. The card will cost $40 on top of the standard government licence fees. It will be good for four years. A passport will still be required for air travel. Five Canadian provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are already testing the technology or have licences in development. Saskatchewan has temporarily put its project on hold pending a review of potential privacy issues.

Pay what you want in this Montreal restaurant PETER MCCABE FOR THE TORONTO STAR Crescent St. tavern hard hit by drop in business tries something new Feb 25, 2009 04:30 AM Andrew Chung QUEBEC BUREAU CHIEF MONTREAL – Already stung by a slide in American tourists and a deepening financial mess that's keeping business customers away, the Taverne Crescent, situated on one of Montreal's historic party streets, decided to implement a new policy: Pay what you can. So yesterday, lunch-hour customers were given the choice of an appetizer, plus either tagliatelle bolognese, salmon or braised beef, and coffee or tea, for whatever they wanted to pay. For a dollar even. Or nothing. "Some people might pay nothing," said owner George Pappas, "but maybe when they have more money in three or six months, they'll come back and pay more." Desperate times call for desperate measures, it seems. Pappas's actions, though gimmicky, illustrate the darkening picture for all those attached to the tourism industry in the province. Despite the proximity of major Canadian cities like Montreal to the border, the number of American tourists coming into Canada by car – still the vast majority compared to other means of transport – reached a record low last year, data from Statistics Canada show. There were nearly 10 million of those trips in 2001. Last year, just 7.4 million. It wasn't even that bad during the last two recessions, including the oil shock of the 1970s. Meanwhile, Americans are taking 1.3 million fewer trips to Quebec compared to 2001. That number, which includes same-day trips, is off by nearly half Canada-wide. "It's astounding," said Statistics Canada analyst Paul Durk, "these are very big drops." There are a number of reasons why the Americans are staying away. New border security requirements, the perception of long border wait times, and even cross-border shopping may be less attractive for aging baby boomers, Durk suggested. Overall, there is a growing fear for the coming year, particularly since the recession has gone global. Already, there has been a sharp decrease in tourism from Britain and soon the rest of Europe will follow. "It will affect big cities the most," said Pierre Bellerose, vice-president of Tourism Montreal. "The cities get more international clients." In the last few years, the American malaise has been offset by increases in tourism from Europe and Mexico. And Montreal's hotels were saved last year by a strong convention calendar. But this year will be different. Bellerose said they're expecting the tourism sector to decline 2 to 3 per cent overall. Quebec's government has stepped in. On Sunday, Tourism Minister Nicole Ménard announced she's giving $4.2 million in financial help to certain businesses and groups, such as Aventure Écotourisme Québec, to try to pump up the tourist volume, and, a spokesperson said, to get past the economic crisis. It won't be easy. The horizon is bleak. Last year, there were 336 restaurant bankruptcies, the Association des restaurateurs du Québec reports – a 20 per cent increase from the year prior. Pappas, who also owns a nightclub in Montreal, describes having to cut staff in response to the American tourist decline. And until his bright idea to "pay what you can," his Taverne Crescent was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays because it was losing money. With no Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal this summer, he said, "It's going to be worse!" http://www.thestar.com/article/592677#Comments

amNY.com Extreme Commuter: From Montreal to Queens By Justin Rocket Silverman, amNewYork Staff Writer jsilverman@am-ny.com January 28, 2008 [/url] This Extreme Commuter rides a plane the way most of us ride the subway. Professor Adnan Turkey lives in Montreal but teaches computer science at DeVry Institute of Technology in Long Island City. He's been making that commute once a week for nine years, 45 weeks a year. Although the flight itself is only about 75 minutes long, getting to and from the airport makes it impractical to make the ride daily. Price is a factor, too. Flying directly from Montreal is too expensive even once a week, so for half the ticket price he drives across the border to fly out of Burlington, Vt. So every Monday at noon he leaves his house in Canada and makes that 2-hour trip to Vermont. He puts the car in long-term parking ($6 a day) and flies to New York, where he will sleep in a small rented apartment and teach until Thursday afternoon. Then he takes the flight and drives back home. Door-to-door it's about seven hours each way. "After working many years in Canada, I thought, 'why not come to New York City?'" he asks. "It's just next door and it's the capital of the world." Adnan knows of no other commuters on the Montreal/New York City run, and says many of the border guards laugh in amazement when he states his business in the U.S. Although the weekly $150-round trip JetBlue ticket, and the monthly rent in New York takes a bit out of his income (he won't say how much), Adnan says he has no plans to ask his wife, also a university teacher, and two college-age daughters to move to New York. Besides, money has never been his primary interest. "Education is a noble mission, so salary is not the No. 1 concern, at least for me," he says. "When I see the next generation of students learning and becoming skilled, that's my job satisfaction." Know an Extreme Commuter? Transit reporter Marlene Naanes wants to hear the story. Email her at mnaanes@am-ny.com Copyright © 2008, AM New York http://www.amny.com/sports/football/giants/am-commuter0128,0,4574142,print.story