Montreal, ne demissione pas!

An article in today's Montreal Gazette addresses Montreal's "image problem".  Apparently Torontonians are poking fun at our fair city, largely because of the current myriad of corruption scandals as well as the student protests over the Summer.  As a result, Mario Daigle and his advertising firm Kbs+p have begun a campaign to polish our city's reputation (complete with Facebook page, where you can 'like' Montreal).  The name of the page is Montreal, ne demissionne pas (Montreal, don't quit!).  The name is a "play on the recent resignation of Mayor Gerald Tremblay".  There is no doubt that the extreme corruption, which is still being uncovered, is a tarnish on Montreal's reputation.  However, the ad firm has failed to understand the true import of of their slogan. The key point is that Tremblay resigned, indeed, was forced by the citizens to resign.  As for the protests, regardless of how you feel about tuition hikes, Montrealers took to the streets to fight an injustice (bill 78, police abuse, STM complicity).  This is not a tarnish--this is what makes Montreal a great city.  Notice, Tremblay is not the only politician Montrealers forced out of office recently (yoohoo, Charest!).  If you want Montreal to renew its reputation as the funnest city in Canada, with the best nightlife and whatnot, you've got no idea what makes a city great.