Suburban Montreal mayor pleads guilty, faces $30,000 fine after anti-Palestine posts
The mayor of a Montreal suburb pleaded guilty to a professional ethics breach and faces a $30,000 fine over comments he made about Palestine.
Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi entered his plea on Thursday after a complaint to the Quebec order of professional accountants.
The complaint accuses Levi of making comments that undermine the reputation of the profession.
The complaint cites over 20 social media posts by Levi between January 2024 and February 2025 about Palestine and pro-Palestinian activists.
The disciplinary council recommended the fine and a mandatory training.
The Town of Hampstead and Levi's lawyer both declined to comment about the ruling.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.
By Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Inspections continue on Mercier Bridge
No further emergency repair work to the Mercier Bridge is anticipated following initial inspections, according to the Quebec transport ministry (MTMD), but the ministry has not finished assessing the condition of all the bridge’s similar beams.
Last Tuesday, the left Montreal-bound lane was suddenly closed due to a crack in a steel beam that was discovered during maintenance, causing major traffic problems and renewing calls for the aging infrastructure to be replaced.
The beam was repaired over the weekend, a process that involved drilling into the crack and reinforcing the beam with steel plates.
“As a precautionary measure, a new round of inspections for steel beams similar to the one that was repaired is scheduled for the coming weeks,” said MTMD spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand in a statement to The Eastern Door, noting last week’s inspections targeted easily accessible beams.
Planned maintenance will continue no matter the findings of these inspections.
So far, it hasn’t been confirmed how the need for emergency closure arose, according to the MTMD.
“The ministry is continuing its analysis to determine the exact cause of this crack,” Bertrand said.
Grand chief objects to reaction
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo took to Facebook this week to praise Kahnawake workers and criticize regional leaders for failing to offer assistance on traffic, which is exacerbated by regional development Kahnawake opposes, and for taking stances about what should happen on Kahnawake territory without involving the community.
Diabo said Highway 132 and 138 through Kahnawake territory, and the bridge itself, must not increase their footprint under Kahnawake’s “not one more inch” policy.
“Kahnawake has our own priorities, and it does not include making it easier for our community to be a shortcut over the bridge,” he wrote. “We have never been asked how is the development affecting us, instead (we) are expected to accept it and stay silent.”
He tagged Chateauguay mayor Eric Allard, who had called for action on the bridge, including the construction of a new crossing over the Seaway. He also tagged new premier Paul St. Pierre Plamondon and member of the National Assembly Felix Rheaume, who was elected under the Liberal banner to represent the riding of Chateauguay, which includes Kahnawake.
Allard was not available for an interview, and the city of Chateauguay offered no comment.
marcus@easterndoor.com
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Copyright 2026, The Eastern Door. All rights reserved.
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door.
U.S. to drop some tariffs on Canadian exports, says Maine senator
A United States senator says nine categories of Canadian exports will be exempted from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada.
A statement released by Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, says the categories include corrugated paper, plastic boxes and several types of machinery important to her state's agricultural industries.
Collins says the tariff exemptions are for products crucial to Maine's agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple and seaweed producers.
It comes just ahead of November's midterm elections and Trump's trade war with Canada has become a ballot box issue in Collins' state.
Trump slammed an array of Canadian products with 50 per cent tariffs in August after trade talks with Ottawa broke down.
He banned imports of certain Canadian goods, including motorcycles and some dairy products, the following month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Kelly Geraldine Malone | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Cardi B Watched A Yacht Sink On Vacation & Her Video Commentary Is Hilarious
"Child, that sh*t is in Bikini Bottom!"
Cardi B might've missed her calling as an on-air sports reporter, after giving followers her live commentary on a sinking yacht outside her window.
The Bodak Yellow singer had followers cracking up over the weekend with the video on her social media, where she gives a running play-by-play of the boat as it goes down outside her luxury villa.
"What the f*ck. Oh my ... It's sinking! Y'all see that? Y'all see that?" she says in the video.
"Oh my God, they can't do nothing about it. There ain't no big boat that can save it? It's gone! It's gone! Bye bye! Bye ... Oh my God, it's gone!"
She later clarified in her Instagram stories that nobody was on the boat when it sunk, so she was only laughing at the sight of millions of dollars going under the waves.
"A whole yacht sinked in front our face. Luckily no one was in there," she said in the stories.
The artist later updated her followers with the full story, letting them know that divers were going to search for where the boat had sunk.
"Update, y'all. So, there's a search team looking for the boat. I just saw a scuba diver going down there ... child, that sh*t is in Bikini Bottom. That b*tch long gone! SpongeBob is auctioning that b*tch," she said.
People reports that Cardi's husband, rapper Offset, also posted his own version of the video on his Instagram stories. While surely his fans engaged, they probably didn't laugh as hard as Cardi's did.