Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa is joined by journalist Katia Lo Innes for a look at the stories making headlines in Montreal this month.The OQLF is planning on unleashing “secret shoppers” across Quebec but more than half of the visits will be in Montreal. The secret shoppers will report back to the OQLF on how often french is used by service staff. The operation will be carried out by a private firm at a cost estimated at up to $350,000.The mayor of Montreal, Soraya Martinez Ferrada is fulfilling one of her campaign promises of cutting 1,000 jobs over 4 years all while mainting a hiring freeze. the union representing the city’s administrative workers decry the move saying it will affect services given by the city.Cheese curds in quebec could soon receive be “protected” so as to maintain authenticity. This move lobbied by the quebec dairy industry aims to secure a geographical indication similar to that for wines from Champagne and Bordeaux. Kalden and Katia discuss the standardization of culture and the stasis it promotes.The episode also touches on a Supreme Court challenge to Quebec’s secularism law, and a recent housing tribunal decision that could make it harder for landlords to enforce no-pet clauses in leases. The two also discuss Montreal’s role in upcoming international defence bank negotiations.

In 2026, 7 women have been killed in and around Montréal.

Ruba Ghazal, co-spokesperson of Quebec Solidaire claims that the CAQ government is contributing by underfunding prevention and support systems for women in danger. During a previous femicide spike in 2021 the CAQ promised to expand shelters and funding for services but currently at the time of writing the provincial government is short 33% of its targets.

To learn more about the roots of this violence Local 514 host, Kalden Dhatsenpa, spoke to Shennel Hunte and Alham Mahmod, two representatives from Women AWARE, a survivor-led group offering peer-support for people who are and have experienced intimate partner violence.

Shennel and Alham detail the work their org is doing as well as their opinion that this rise in femicides….might not be a new trend at all, but rather a crisis that has long gone under-recognized.

To learn more tune in for the full discussion.

If this discussion resonates with you, support is available. Here are places you can reach out to for support. You are not alone.

Women AWARE

Hotline: 514-489-1110

Email: info@womenaware.ca

More resources: https://www.womenaware.ca/en/services

CAVAC (Crime Victims Assistance Centre)

Phone: 514-842-4780

Toll-free: 1-866-532-2822

Website: cavac.qc.ca/en/

SOS violence conjugale

Phone (Montreal): 514-873-9010

Toll-free: 1-800-363-9010

Text: 438-601-1211

Email: sos@sosviolenceconjugale.ca

Islamophobia has long been a recurring instrument in Québec’s political landscape. From the Parti Québécois’s proposed Charter of Values in 2013, which sought to bar public servants from wearing religious symbols, to the passage of Bill 94 in 2010, Muslim communities have repeatedly been cast as scapegoats in a broader culture war. This discourse often amplifies fears around so-called threats to laïcité, despite the tenuousness of those claims.

To better understand the current moment in this ongoing trajectory, Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with journalist Zaineb Karkachi about Bill 94 and the ways it is already reshaping the lives of Muslim people who work—or once hoped to work—in Québec’s public education system.