Christopher Curtis

Montreal

Founder and Editor at The Rover

Freelance Contributor at Radio-Canada

Hello! I co-founded The Rover, an award-winning journalism project. We tell stories that slip through the cracks. DMs open. [email protected] He/Him/Woke

Articles

City Workers Walk Off the Job over “Mandatory Barbecue” – The Rover

3 weeks ago | therover.ca | Christopher Curtis

Thousands of garbage bags sat in the beating sun for six hours on Thursday morning, going uncollected by workers who organized a sit-in at Montreal’s Sud Ouest borough. Some 50 union members refused to leave the garage as of 6 a.m. after management threatened to dock a half day’s pay if they didn’t attend an “employee appreciation barbecue” next week. Sources in the union say the threat was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” amid budget cuts and worsening labour conditions.
« Postes de police chinois » : quand la couverture médiatique blesse une communauté – The Rover

1 month ago | therover.ca | Diamond Yao |Christopher Curtis

Situé au cœur du Quartier chinois de Montréal, le Service à la famille chinoise du Grand Montréal (SFCGM) offre depuis 1976 des services à la communauté chinoise montréalaise. Ce centre communautaire et un centre similaire situé à Brossard — le Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS) — sont parmi les seuls qui offrent des services en mandarin et en cantonais pour les membres de la diaspora chinoise de la région montréalaise qui parlent uniquement ces langues.
Opinion: Arcade Fire’s Rotten Legacy – The Rover

1 month ago | therover.ca | Yara El-Soueidi |Christopher Curtis

When I wrote my last piece about Arcade Fire, I thought it would be the last we’d hear from them for at least 10 years. Win Butler was accused of serious misconduct. Artists were pulling out of their tour. CBC Music stopped playing their songs. Everyone in Montreal and the indie scene seemed bent on not wanting to hear about them or anyone accused of sexual misconduct anymore. We had gone through a reckoning of sorts. Our cultural scene had facilitated abuse for years; it was time to change.
Editor’s Note: Covering the Federal Elections at The Rover – The Rover

1 month ago | therover.ca | Savannah Stewart |Christopher Curtis

In case you didn’t notice, The Rover went pretty hard this election. It was the second federal election that The Rover’s covered since its founding, but back then “The Rover” equalled “Chris in his kitchen,” not “Chris and Savannah in Chris’ basement supported by a rag-tag group of the city’s finest young journalists.” Naturally, we got a lot more done this time, and I hope you appreciated the work we put into it.
Toxic Secrets: A Dirty Deal in Blainville – The Rover

1 month ago | therover.ca | Eanna MacKey |Christopher Curtis

As the mid-April spring breathes life into the thawing permafrost, a lone goose returns home after another brutal Quebec winter. But where it once found shelter in a lush forest, it now sees only ruin — millennia of habitat shredded by the woodcutter’s blade, splinters flying like shrapnel, as the scent of sap hangs in the air. It lets out a haunting cry — a lonely wail for its vanished flock, echoing across the scarred landscape. Something sinister is unfolding in Blainville.
A Private Monopoly on Gender-Affirming Surgeries Raises Concerns – The Rover

1 month ago | therover.ca | Ophélie Dénommée-Marchand |Christopher Curtis

The only clinic offering gender-affirming surgeries in Quebec, GrS Montreal, has a special agreement with the Ministry of Health, which provides patient coverage but does not fully integrate care into the public system: care is entrusted exclusively to the private company.
First Nation Leads Fight Against Nuclear Dump – The Rover

2 months ago | therover.ca | Christopher Curtis |Isaac Peltz

KEBAOWEK, QC — “You don’t build a nuclear waste dump 1.1 kilometres away from your drinking source.”Chief Lance Haymond could make any number of arguments against the $26 billion project to store nuclear waste at Chalk River. He could tell you about the three bear dens and eastern wolf habitat that would be destroyed to make way for a mountain of radioactive materials.
There's no Influx: Canada sees drop in asylum seekers, many turned away sent to ICE – The Rover

2 months ago | therover.ca | Neha Chollangi |Christopher Curtis

Illustration: Chris CurtisWhen President Donald Trump announced his plan for mass deportations of people in the United States, specifically those under the Temporary Protection Status (TPS), Canadians assumed that those under attack would flee north. At a campaign in British Columbia earlier this month, Liberal Leader Mark Carney said that the influx of migrants coming into Quebec from the U.S. is “unacceptable” and that the U.S. cannot be sending all their asylum seekers to Canada.
Where Do Parties Stand on the Toxic Drug Crisis? – The Rover

2 months ago | therover.ca | Iness Rifay |Christopher Curtis

In 2024, an average of 21 people died every single day in Canada from opioid toxicity. This amounts to over 50,000 deaths since the count began in 2016. Quebec is also seeing a sharp increase in overdose poisonings, with 33 per cent more deaths in 2024 than the year before. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec foresees 2024 being the worst year on record for the province in regards to the crisis.
What Social Programs Are the Parties Promising? – The Rover

2 months ago | therover.ca | Savannah Stewart |Christopher Curtis

Millions of Canadians already cast their ballots during advance voting over the weekend, even without seeing the Conservative Party’s costed platform, which came out Tuesday of this week. For those who want all the facts before they make their final choice, here are the three main parties’ social programs promises, stacked up and ready for you to compare.