mont royal

I don’t understand the assumption that newcomers to Quebec have no ´attachement particulier’ for Québec. They actually come here by choice, unlike those born here. Nor should we presume that their choice is entirely predicated upon how much money they take home after taxes. Perhaps you underrate the attraction of the Quebec lifestyle, the relative lack of social and economic disparity, the open hospitality of Quebecers or the strong sense of community...just to mention a few of the reasons why they choose Quebec as their new home.

No problem. I understand that it is to be donated to the Museum of Fine Arts.

Yes, we complain about the disgusting roads...and then we complain even more when they are being fixed.

Silly conversation, but no, I opened your posting expecting some real news.

Agree with the problem of false expectations...but so did your posting...as will this one, I suppose

Good choice of expression! To be ‘ floored’ is very appropriate for this forum. Of course, everyone will want to know ‘ How many floors?’

Chinatown is a bit of an anachronism. It was founded by the first wave of immigrants, who were impoverished, poorly educated, and severely exploited labourers. Since those early days, most Chinese immigrants are highly educated. So they are not interested in investing in Chinatown restaurants per se. The quartier retains a certain cultural importance but it’s health and survival are not central to new immigrants, nor to the offspring of the previous generations, who are much more Quebecois than Chinese.

Great news! It’s about time. Can you imagine all those thousands of tourists coming all the way to see this architectural wonder only to realize that we knowingly tore it down. It is no exaggeration to say that that building is the heart and soul of our city. Thank you Bureau en Gros.

I agree totally.

There is no ‘Toronto card’ . Toronto remains our main competitor and they basically control the national English media and much of the national financing resources. That works to their competitive advantage. As to their envy of Montreal, how could that possibly exist? They are fully aware that they live in the centre of the universe.

Very encouraging!!!

In our enthusiasm for our beloved city and the growing conviction that Montreal is becoming a global centre for AI, we need to include a critical eye as well. I have had concerns about Element AI for a while. The hype was exciting; yes, they attracted an important cadre of expertise, but there was very little income and questionable output. I tended to distrust the Toronto-based critiques. We should never underestimate their competitive feelings towards Montreal and they will do what they can to discredit our city. They zeroed in on Element AI, and even went so far as to describe it as a Ponsi scheme. I wanted to see this as envy. The Globe and Mail described this sale as the demise of Element AI. Unfortunately, some of their criticisms appear to be valid. Production and revenue are low and even Legault does not seem to be too concerned about this sale. But, there are reasons for optimism. It is not likely that investors will shell out hundreds of millions of dollars just to expedite a demise. They must see economic potential and, hopefully they will reorient the management towards a more profitable future. Hopefully most of the recruited talent will stay integrated within the Montreal AI community. Also in the past several days we have seen highly impressive expansion plans and actions by a number of Montreal based companies: Lightspeed, Garda, WSP, Nuvei, Lion. Much of this expansion is directly related to AI opportunities. So, irrespective of how Element AI plays out, we seem to be on the cusp of a major economic boom in Montreal. Covid has obscured that dynamism for the past few months...but it is alive and well...and very exciting.

A more healthier model than other recent total takeovers.

This possibility was discussed here last August, and perhaps there are some hard lessons to learn from yet another sad example of Quebec innovative brilliance being bought out and being converted to a branch office culture. Creative technical brilliance does not equate with marketing brilliance, nor with financing brilliance. Quebec constantly is at the forefront of technical innovation. Meanwhile the outside money people are watching to see how these innovative ideas translate into marketable goods. if it looks viable, they either kill it (Boeing killing 220 sales in the US) or they buy it. After buying it , usually highlighting how many jobs will be created or how they now have greater access to capital and international markets, they begin to emasculate it, slowly moving decision making out of Quebec. Sometimes I think that Cartesian training runs counter to good marketing, wHere logic and the truth are often counterproductive to efforts to generate sales...or raise capital. In short, to assume that a technical genius will be able to successfully launch a company, or even an industry, is almost certainly a recipe for disaster.

Yes, the market dictates; but that is only a polite way of saying that greed and short-term vision dictates the long-term health and beauty of our community. Not good enough.

I am really excited about AI development in Montreal, really, but I do have concerns. Having the C Series being sold to European interests, in order for it to become an Airbus commercial success is not an ideal scenario in my view. So I am not impressed thatSilicon Valley heavyweights are putting up offices here if their main objective is to steal our unique creativity and divert any eventual big returns to their head offices. we have seen the failure of the branch plant automobile sector inOntario. Plenty of jobs byGM, Ford and Chrysler etc., but in over 50 years, not one car produced that reflected Canadian innovation or policy control. When, and if, I see true and flourishing. Quebec-born entrepreneurship on the production side of our AI sector, I will happily raise my glass. And let’s not be naive; already the Toronto media is putting out statistics that make Montreal AI production look weak. Our federal government will never be allowed to show favouritism to Montreal in AI...even if we are obviously ahead of the pack. Look at how the Feds jump in to help the steel industry or auto industry..but do little for the aluminum or aerospace industries. We still have our work cut out for us.

I agree with the process to date and I largely share your optimism. Also, I am proud of the ethical approach the AI Montreal community is following. I do hope however that there some indicators in place for the financial future of AI in Montreal. We will not succeed if the only revenues come for research or from financial angels. So, for those who know more about it than I do, is there some evidence of serious commercial potential?

Nice to receive such a helpful historical overview. My follow up question would be; is this going to be another Arrow or Bombardier 220? We have been great on the innovative end in both cases and could not get either to market. So, is our AI knowledge really going to help the Quebec economy or is someone else going to seize the market potential?

Good thinking! We should start with a huge demonstration against huge demonstrations.

I remember a few years back when a local newspaper interviewed foreign students who had spent 4 years or so in Montreal. Each one of them was asked to be photographed in front of their favourite building here. i was struck by the fact that not one of them chose a modern example; in fact most buildings, if not all, were well over 100 years old. Why? Certainly not nostalgia. They were all young adults. Héritage? All were from overseas; they had no pride of heritage here. Aesthetics? That seemed to be the case. Sense of beauty trumps functionality. Do we want to live out our lives in a functional sterile environment , or do we want to be surrounded by beauty? The choice is ours.

Very encouraging news. It will effectively become the global head office.

It looks as if the clairvoyant who rented this office didn’t see this coming!

I have worked closely with MI and I agree with you. I have much respect for them. That being said, I have some misgivings about this type of reporting which is really more of a PR job. In fact, I am concerned that they are leaving themselves vulnerable to anyone in authority who might have an ideological opposition to their quasi-governmental status.

In general, I support the work of MI. However, these annual reports often give me the impression that it is more about justifying their own existence, than it is about the growing internationalization of Montreal. How many of these new arrivals would have come to Montreal even if MI didn’t exist? I have no idea what the answer to that question would be, but I would appreciate a more objective analysis of the added value that MI has actually contributed to the decisions of these companies and organizations to come to Montreal.

All of your assumptions above, (and they are, in my view, rather simplistic stereotyping assumptions) can be discussed openly. Your assumptions do not give you the privilege of questioning the honesty of those who disagree with you..That is Trumpism. I actually know more about what I think than you do, and that is true of everybody on this forum. My problem is simple, and you refuse to answer it. You assume dishonesty on the part of other contributors. Not acceptable here!