Hydro‑Québec Rate Push, PQ Seeks Majority & Voting Rules for Unhoused — Montreal Thursday

🏛️ Government & Politics

1. PQ leader Paul St‑Pierre Plamondon is asking voters for a majority as Quebec's Oct. 5 election nears. He told CJAD and Radio‑Canada his party leads in polls and that a minority would handcuff his ability to implement policy; he argued a majority is needed to reverse eight years of CAQ governance.
2. Advocates say Quebec rules are blocking unhoused people from voting ahead of the Oct. 5 election. Quebec’s rules are stricter than federal ones even though the province’s homeless population grew to over 12,000 (up nearly 20% in four years); TAPAJ Québec estimates under 1% of people experiencing homelessness cast ballots under current rules.
3. Lawyers have asked the Quebec Superior Court to strike down Montreal’s bylaw banning insults against city employees. The Saint‑Michel legal clinic and an association of progressive jurists filed the challenge Sept. 30–Oct. 1, arguing the bylaw adopted Sept. 22 is overly broad and infringes freedom of expression; Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada had initially said it wouldn’t apply to gestures at police but later softened that comment.

💼 Economy & Business

1. Hydro‑Québec has asked the Régie de l’énergie to create a new data‑centre rate averaging about 13¢/kWh, roughly double current charges. In a Montreal hearing the utility said data centres now pay about 6.82¢/kWh and proposed the rule apply to centres requiring over 5 megawatts of capacity; Hydro‑Québec warned the era of energy surpluses is over and said higher rates would protect other customers from subsidizing data centres.
2. Driscoll’s faces a class‑action lawsuit in Quebec over alleged produce issues. The lawsuit filed in Quebec targets the multinational berry company; the proceeding was reported as a class action initiated in provincial courts.

🧾 Crime & Public Safety

1. A woman recorded a racist attack on the Montreal Metro during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Video of the incident circulated publicly on the day set aside for reconciliation (Sept. 30); the recording and its timing made the case a focus of local discussion about racism on public transit.

📰 Also Today

• PQ launches a 3,000‑km campaign blitz across Quebec in one day.
• Truck driver in fatal 2022 South Shore pileup sentenced to six years in prison.
• Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says Ottawa will work with whatever Quebec government is chosen.
• Canada Malting plant building could collapse at any moment, an engineering report warns.
• Debate over a Quebec riding’s boundary possibly encroaching on Newfoundland and Labrador continues.
• Thousands in Quebec City still wait for daycare spots as party leaders face pressure.
• Montreal’s Metro turns 60; experts warn of challenges beyond aging infrastructure.
• Group seeks law to make NHL finals free to watch again, proposing legislative change.