This is Montreal

Which party wants to cut temporary immigration by half? Which party would privatize management of some hospitals? Who wants to extend Quebec’s language laws to adult education? What about creating a provincial telehealth system? Or raising the minimum wage? CBC’s Quebec election platform tracker takes you through each party’s stance, issue by issue. Reporter Holly Cabrera gives us a behind-the-scenes look at putting the platform tracker together and highlights some promises you may have missed on the campaign trail.

It’s often repeated that Quebecers pay the highest taxes of any jurisdiction in North America. CBC reporter Ben Shingler breaks down how the tax burden on Quebecers compares to elsewhere and what we get for it. And we’ll hear why some economists are saying that any government intervention to help with the cost of living needs to be targeted to the people who need it the most.

The Quebec election campaign has only just begun but already party leaders have been running a gauntlet of complex issues: from the trade war with the US, to Quebec sovereignty, to the cost of living crisis. There are several new party leaders in the mix, the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party are trailing the Parti Québécois and polls show many voters are still undecided. So how are candidates trying to find their footing in this uncertain landscape before Quebecers go to the polls on October 5? Host Ainslie MacLellan sits down with CBC National Assembly reporter Cathy Senay and This is Quebec guest host Allison Van Rassel to break down the tumultuous start to the campaign.

The Montreal Alouettes have bid farewell to their in-house dance and cheerleading program. For the first time this season, Montreal’s football team has partnered up with the Université de Montréal Carabins stunt cheer squad instead. For some, it’s the end of an era. For others, it’s just another evolution. CBC journalist Douglas Gelevan takes us through the legacy of the Alouettes cheerleaders, from the baton-tossing Majorettes of the 50s, through the pom-pom shaking era of the 60s and 70s, to the knee-high socks of the 80s, right up to modern day. We’ll hear how the cheerleaders’ style, how they were perceived — and whether they got paid — reflected the attitudes of Montreal society throughout the decades.

At a meeting at city hall on Tuesday night, Montreal police chief Fady Dagher spoke publicly about an internal investigation into allegations of racist, violent acts by police officers at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord. While Dagher is proposing internal reforms, columnist Noémi Mercier believes we also need to examine bigger questions about the place of police in Quebec. She crunched the numbers for L’actualité magazine and found that Montreal has more police officers per capita than any other major Canadian city.