About 600 downtown Montreal addresses were without water Wednesday night after scheduled work on the city's water network caused an unexpected surge in pressure. The spike produced several breaks and leaks that flooded streets in the Ville-Marie borough. Councillor Leslie Roberts said service on Lincoln Avenue between Fort and St-Marc streets was unlikely to return before Thursday afternoon. The City of Montreal confirmed that pressure rose higher than planned during main-network work, triggering the outages. Residents faced flooded pavement and dry taps overnight as crews worked to isolate damaged sections and restore normal pressure across the affected downtown city blocks.
A former home daycare operator in Quebec City's Beauport borough has been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 12 years, for killing a 14-month-old girl in March 2024. Guenuite Mubwaka pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder. Security footage showed she had abused the child for months before the fatal attack, after which the toddler went into cardiorespiratory arrest and died in hospital days later. Superior Court Justice François Huot accepted the joint recommendation, though he called it too lenient and said he would have chosen 18 years, to spare the grieving parents an appeal.
Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher has dismissed seven employees following internal investigations into allegations of racist and discriminatory behaviour and other degrading acts. Five worked at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord, the centre of a racism scandal since June, and two at downtown Station 21. Separate criminal investigations are continuing and remain in the hands of the Crown. Dagher apologized to those affected and acknowledged that public trust had been badly weakened, promising further changes in the coming weeks. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the firings an unprecedented step, while opposition party Projet Montréal said they were the bare minimum required.
