A Second Chance through the Arts

10/11/2024 Colin McGregor 0

By Colin McGregor The stage is lit up by spotlights. In the lobby just outside the theatre, artists present their works – painting, sculpture, poetry. Inside the theatre musicians ply their trade, thrilling the crowd. It’s a diversified show in every sense. The Cabaret de […] See more

A Letter to Lady Justice

05/18/2020 Raymond Viger 0

Dear Lady Justice: I want to believe that you exist. By Raymond Viger  I dream that you will one day appear and become a part of our customs and habits; that you could become standard by which we live our lives. How come there are […] See more

Justice, Can You Hear Me?

02/18/2020 Raymond Viger 0

Ever since I was a small child, I have always been interested in seeing a safe and just society. By Raymond Viger  And I was convinced that I would have a role to play in achieving that goal. I wanted to see a society where […] See more

How to Write from Prison (Part IV)

06/28/2019 Colin McGregor 0

“You want to be a journalist, my son?” said my late father, himself a journalist on the now-defunct Montreal Star, when I announced at a very young age my intentions to follow in his footsteps. By Colin McGregor “To write, he said, “You have to […] See more

How to Write from Prison (Part I)

03/18/2019 Colin McGregor 0

“You want to be a journalist, my son?” said my late father, himself a journalist on the now-defunct Montreal Star, when I announced at a very young age my intentions to follow in his footsteps. By Colin McGregor “To write, he said, “You have to […] See more

Supervised Injection Sites: Why Bother?

02/18/2019 Raymond Viger 0

Montreal has set up its first two supervised injection sites (SIS) for intravenous drug users. But some people ask, “Why bother?” By Raymond Viger  After all, we’re talking junkies here. If they want to kill themselves with drugs and pass their infections on to other […] See more

Community Service: Does it Work?

10/09/2018 Delphine Caubet 0

The Oxford English Dictionary defines community service as: “Unpaid work, intended to be of social use, that an offender is required to do instead of going to prison.” At the Café Graffiti, no less than 50 people per year of all ages and trades come […] See more

Broken Windows

05/13/2016 Colin McGregor 0

In 2012, a shy, quiet teacher and political philosopher named James Wilson died. An expert in Chicago’s black neighborhoods, he was best known as the man who came up with the “Broken Windows” Theory. It says that if one window of a building is broken […] See more