Cossette-Trudel drove a getaway car in the abduction of British diplomat James Cross, but later renounced violence and went on to direct a series for Télé-Québec documenting Quebec’s Quiet Revolution
The Latest: Myanmar Police Joins Protests, Constitutional Trial, 116 Year-Old COVID Survivor A staff member clears snow from a miniature replica of the U.S. Capitol in Miniwelt, a tourist attraction in Lichtenstein, eastern Germany. - Jan Woitas/dpa/ZUMA 2020-02-10
Welcome to Wednesday, where Myanmar police side with protesters, the Senate votes to continue Trump s trial and Europe s oldest person survives COVID. We also look at the reasons why the capital of Canadian humor isn t laughing so much lately.
• COVID-19 latest: Ghana parliament shuts down over outbreak that leaves 17 MPs and 151 support staff ill. The U.K. releases new quarantine guidelines that includes possible £10,000 fine or 10 years in prison for unauthorized travelers. South Africa cuts distribution of AstraZeneca after research shows its lack of efficacy on the South African variant. Healthcare workers in Bolivia go on strike to d
Montreal s #MeToo Comedy Crisis Is No Laughing Matter
Long considered the capital of Canadian humor, the Quebec city is currently facing simultaeous storms: the pandemic, #MeToo accusations and a deeper debate on the limits of comedy.
MONTREAL At the Just for Laughs festival ticket office, on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, the windows are dirty, the walls covered with graffiti and the doors are decidely closed. An old poster announces the shows from July, 10 to 28, 2019. Only a few red lanterns remain lit. The heart of humor in Quebec seems to have stopped beating.
For nearly a year, the coronavirus has frozen laughter. The curfew, in effect in the province since Jan 9, has once again forced local stars of the comedy scene like Katherine Levac, François Bellefeuille and Rachid Badouri to postpone their shows.