By Murray Sherriffs
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Vacationing Quebecers in Puerto Vallarta are describing the chaos that they are seeing—cars on fire, explosions and dark smoke in the air—all connected to the death of Mexican cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and killed by Mexican soldiers. One woman says that she and her husband were driving to a resort when they encountered a car in flames, then a second, a third and several explosions. That’s when they abandoned their car and sprinted back to their condo. Some Quebecers were headed to bars in the area, to watch the gold medal hockey game when they saw the smoke and heard explosions. In the 3rd period, one bar manager warned the Canadian tourists of what was unfolding on the street, telling them it was probably time to look at going home. Some tourists took refuge in Costco, where they were warned to gather in the centre of the stores, not near walls. Quebec International Relations Minister Christopher Skeete admits to being concerned about what is going on, urging tourists to stay in their resorts or elsewhere and to register with the Canadian Embassy. Airlines have cancelled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta/ inbound flights had to turn to departure points. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says that Canada is, “…deeply alarmed by reports of violence” and that the federal government is “closely monitoring the serious and rapidly evolving security situation.” Global Affairs Canada has updated its travel advisory for Puerto Vallarta and other parts of the state of Jalisco to “shelter in place”. All taxi and ride-share services are suspended. Tourists are being advised to keep a low profile, monitor all media and be cautious. There’s word some tourists from the St Lazare / Hudson / Vaudreuil area are caught up in the violence in Puerto Vallarta. They were taking in the gold medal game in a bar, with several other tourists, when the manager shut off the Big screen in the 3rd period, telling everyone to be quiet because of the violence on the street. Some learned cartel members were setting fires and driving around on motorcycles, throwing fire-bombs. Some of the tourists are still holed up in their motel / hotel rooms and all stores and restaurants have been shut down. One flight departing from Trudeau airport was cancelled yesterday, while two flights arriving from Puerto Vallarta into YUL were cancelled. Air Canada is advising customers to not go to the airport unless their flight is shown as operating on its website. The airline is notifying customers of changes to their itineraries. Global Affairs Canada is warning tourists, criminal groups have set up roadblocks with burning vehicles throughout the area. There are 19,000+ Canadians in Mexico, about 5,000 in Jalisco State.
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On Esplanade Tranquille, Montrealers gathered again yesterday, to take part in the Team Canada FanFest, witnessing the gold medal hockey clash and other live broadcasts from Italy.
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The Canadian Olympic Committee has confirmed the Captain of Canada’s women’s hockey team, Marie-Philip Poulin, was told not to speak French during a press conference, after Team Canada’s gold-medal loss to the U.S and the director of communications for the Canadian Olympic Committee says that this was “unacceptable”.
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The number of artificial intelligence initiatives in Quebec’s public administration has jumped by 54 per cent in less than a year and health and higher education account for more than half of the projects.
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An Île-Perrot student, 12-year-old Zora White, has written Zora versus the Mean Girl—a book on bullying available on Amazon—and says that it is meant to inspire young people to stand up for themselves, saying that bullying is one of the most persistent challenges facing students.
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Members of the Québec Solidaire party have voted to allow a man—not only a woman or a non-binary—to run under its banner in Gouin riding.
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Lachine has a new mayor, Julie-Pascale Provost, who has reopened the debate over the future of the stretch of waterfront in her borough, preferring a place for boats, not the park constructed under the previous administration.
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Many people are experiencing new sleep patterns since the pandemic and a study from McGill University says that teleworking may be playing a role. A study has revealed inconsistencies with some people associating sleepless nights with depression, others find no real correlation. Researchers have looked at differences between the groups of night owls and early birds, analyzing brain imaging data and medical records from over 27,000 adults.
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Olympics
Hockey gold medal game
US goaltender Connor Hellebuyck 2, Canada 1
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Cloud / 0º today
Sun / -9º tomorrow