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The Conservatives are refusing to release phone records of calls made during the last federal election

According to the Globe and Mail, the Conservatives feel that there is no reason to release their own records. Instead, Conservatives want the Liberals to release their records of all calls made during the 2011 federal election.

Parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister Dean Del Mastro stated that the Conservatives are not behind the calls.He believes that the Liberal party have paid millions to companies to make phone calls to households across the country.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae stated that the Tories have lost their moral compass by refusing to release the records.

31 000 complaints have been made to Elections Canada in relation to the calls that misdirected voters to the wrong polling stations.

Del Mastro later stated that the Conservatives would give any documents requested by Elections Canada for their investigation.

Read by: Aisha Samu

Stories by: Nikita Smith, Aisha Samu and Tara Brockwell

Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Schwartz's Deli has new owners.

In a report by CTV, the famous Montreal restaurant has been sold to a group which includes Celine Dion, her husband Rene Angelil, as well as the Nakis family.

While the sale price has not been disclosed, rumours put it at $10 million.

Angelil assured fans that Schwartz's would not undergo any drastic changes, and that franchising the deli is not an option. He stated that the restaurant will continue to be unique in Montreal.

Schwartz's has been open since 1928, and is known worldwide for its famous smoked meat sandwiches.

Flickr photo: Backpack Foodie

On February 22nd, Crocodiles (ex-Some Girls, ex-The Plot to Blow Up The Eiffel Tower) brought their lo-fi, noise-pop jams to Casa Del Popolo. It was the band’s second stint in Montreal.

Serving as the sole opener, Bleeding Rainbow is a four-piece Philadelphia band who kicked off the night accordingly. Their psychedelic-rock has elements of shoe-gaze and post-punk; more importantly the Sonic Youth influence is ultra heavy. The band, who previously went by the name Reading Rainbow, use two vocalists at all times, which was a little undistinguishable only because the microphones did not seem even at the beginning. The band brought a healthy dose of energy in their feedback heavy set and did a solid job of getting things going. The crowd was not overly enthusiastic but seemed to like the band; likewise, Bleeding Rainbow were not overly enthusiastic on stage but seemed to be having a little bit of fun regardless. The band played for no more than thirty minutes; shortly afterwards Crocodiles hit the stage.

Opening with “Mirrors”, San Diego’s Crocodiles took the stage shortly after 10pm and played songs from their previous albums Summer of Hate and Sleep Forever. By this time, the venue had filled up with less than a hundred people, making it an intimate and cozy club show. The band was ripping into songs such as “Stoned to Death” with no hesitation and not much crowd acknowledgement. Either way the crowd was into it and danced their way through the band’s set. Frontman Brandon Welchez was quite animated in his stage presence, having fun on the popular “I Wanna Kill.” It is extremely difficult to look past The Jesus and Mary Chain comparisons, even in Welchez presence on stage (comparing him it to Jim Reid). During the set, they played some new songs off of their upcoming album, Endless Flowers, and the crowd enjoyed what they were hearing. The band ended their set after fifty minutes, playing one encore in the form of “Hearts of Love”, capping off a cozy and sweaty show (Casa Del Popolo gets really hot, really fast). The sound was decent but at times fuzzy; it matched the band’s noisy, lo-fi approach. It is not the best venue for sound that the city has to offer but it is certainly far from the worst.

The set was extremely short but it was better that way. Crocodiles put on a good show, however it was far from a monumental one. It was a very clear-cut approach in which they came to the city, played songs and left. There was hardly any interaction between the band themselves and the audience. Fans of the band that missed the show should not feel that bad; it was not a life-changing experience. The band may not come to Montreal often but there is nothing spectacular about the band live. It was fun and short, with no real challenge musically; you know their songs and you know how they are going to play them. There was no mind-blowing moments where one questioned how the musician did that or what that sound was. It was a decent show but if you have seen Crocodiles once, it is plenty.

-Alex G