People wait to get into the downtown Société québécoise du cannabis in Montreal on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. The CAQ plans to raise the legal consumption age to 21 by March.
John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
In Case You Missed It (#ICYMI) is a daily featurehighlighting news in and around Montreal.
The new Coalition Avenir Québec government plans to tighten therules on cannabis consumption, including increasing the legal age to consume from 18 to 21, within 100 days.
Philip Authier files this report:CAQ wants to hike legal age for cannabis to 21 by March, minister says
Meanwhile, federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he has no intention of rolling back the Liberals’ legal cannabis policy should his party win the next federal election, but a Tory administration would consider adjusting some of the rules.
Read more here:A Conservative government would not re-criminalize cannabis: Scheer
And as stock markets tanked, there’s news thatshort sellers of cannabis stocks made more than $450 million on the first two days of the week, cutting nearly a third off their year-to-date losses, according to data from financial analytics firm S3 Partners.
Read more here:Cannabis short sellers rake in over $450 million in two days in pot stock slide
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North American markets fell hard Wednesday as Canada’s main stock index posted its worst day in more than three years, just two weeks after recording another large broad-based decline.
Read more here:TSX has worst trading day since September 2015 as U.S. markets fall hard
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Commuters may have to wait until the end of June before they can drive on the new Champlain Bridge.Construction on the bridge, which was supposed to be completed in time for Christmas, is virtually finished, but paving and waterproofing the structure will be impossible in the winter cold,according to a Journal de Montréal report.
Read more here:New Champlain Bridge won’t be ready on time: reports
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Quebec is failing miserably at providing Inuit children with access to quality education, according toa report released Wednesday.
Christopher Curtis files this report:Quebec ombudsman sounds the alarm on Inuit education
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Barring civil servants from wearing the chador is not a priority for the new Coalition Avenir Québec government, says Premier François Legault.
Philip Authier files this report:A ban on the chador is not a priority, says Premier Legault
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Mayor Valérie Plante’s Projet Montréal party is hoping to extend its reach in the north and east of the island in the Dec. 16byelection. Two seats in city council are up for grabs since Chantal Rouleau, borough mayor of Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles, and Frantz Benjamin, city councillor in St-Michel,were electedto the Quebec National Assembly on Oct. 1. Rouleau is the new minister for Montreal and junior transportation minister in the Coalition Avenir Québec government, while Benjamin is a Liberal MNA.
Marian Scott files this report:Byelection: Chantal Bourgeois, Nadine Raymond to run for Project Montréal
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The long arm of the law got a little longer, thanks to a construction zone.
Paul Cherry files this report:Montreal construction zone snags hit-and-run driver
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It’s Waste Reduction Week in Quebec, and boy do we need it. Quebecers produce 724 kilos of waste per inhabitant, according to Festival Zéro Déchet, the second edition of which takes place Nov. 2 to 4 at Marché Bonsecours. (Admission is free; tickets available ateventbrite.ca)
T’Cha Dunlevy files this report:Waste Reduction Week: 10 ways to reduce your household footprint
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In sports,as the Canadiens prepared to hit the road for games in Buffalo and Boston, coach Claude Julien was saying that it’s nice to be tested early in the season. Julien was talking about his surprising team as a whole, but there’s one player who will face an added challenge this weekend – rookie centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
Pat Hickey files this report:Habs’ trip will test Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s mettle against top centres
