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Mike Cohen

Getting to know Businessman, Philanthropist and Community Leader Charles Bronfman

Charles Bronfman is a remarkable man. With a net worth of $2.3 billion (U.S.), according to Forbes, he is greatly admired for his philanthropy, community leadership and of course, his past ownership of the Montreal Expos. Now I am not one to read many books as I spend virtually all of my free time on the …

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Lisée’s Victory as New PQ Leader could be Bad News for Liberals

The next Quebec provincial election is fewer than two years away and the current Liberal government, led by flip-flopping Premier Philippe Couillard, must be feeling somewhat uneasy after the Parti Québécois elected the very smooth Jean-François Lisée as its new leader. There is only one reason why the Liberals still lead in the polls and …

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Did Jacques Parizeau Really Deserve to have a Park Named After Him?

As a city councillor in the mostly-Jewish Montreal municipality of Côte Saint-Luc, one of my portfolios is naming rights. When we attach a name to a park, building, street or event, a tremendous amount of thought and consideration goes into the process. Most recently we renamed a street after the legendary Rabbi Sidney Shoham, who passed away …

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Changing of the Guard: Three Montreal-area Synagogues Welcome New Rabbis

Montreal’s Jewish community is about to mark its first Rosh Hashanah in many years minus the presence of three extraordinary spiritual leaders: Rabbis Sidney Shoham, Ron Aigen and Chaim Steinmetz. Rabbi Shoham served Beth Zion Congregation in Côte Saint-Luc for 50 years. Although officially retired when he passed away suddenly on Sept. 20, 2015, he …

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Who Will Win in the PQ Leadership Race? Cloutier or Lisée?

If a provincial election were held today in Quebec, Premier Philippe Couillard’s Liberals would likely be back in office with another majority government. It’s not that the Liberals are doing so well. They only lead the polls by default since there won’t be another vote in Quebec for two years. But the opposition Parti-Québecois will …

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Despite Couillard’s Suspect Leadership Federalist Liberals Still on Top

It is great to be back writing for B’nai Brith Canada, our country’s pre-eminent human rights organization. During the 17 years I served as the former Jewish Tribune Newspaper’s Quebec bureau chief, a common topic was the Jewish community and its degree of comfort with the provincial government of the day. We have gone back and forth …

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