Latest news with #MileEnd
CTV News
30-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
New hope for Quebec video game developers struggling to find work
When Quebecer Christopher Chancey got his start in the video game industry, things were already heating up. Since then, the industry has grown exponentially. 'I started my studio in 2014 and there was maybe 30 studios at the time,' he says. 'Now we're about at 350 studios in Quebec.' Today Chancey is the general manager of Indie Asylum, a hub of independent video game studios operating in Montreal's Mile-End neighbourhood. He says that, despite the industry's growth, it's not always easy to find work, especially since the province announced cuts to multi-media tax credits last year. 'Right now, because of the economic climate, tariffs, there's less investment in video games because everyone's a little tighter. the interest rates are up, and now this tax credit getting cut, well obviously people are not hiring,' he says. 'The tax credits that independent studios would receive are been chopped by 40 to 60 per cent, depending on the size of the studio. So that leads to more challenges to be able to make longer games or to hire more staff.' The job market is especially tough for junior developers. A few weeks ago, Indie Asylum started curating a job board for the Quebec gaming industry on the popular chat platform Discord. Chancey says staff collect all the current job offers in the field, both Quebec-based jobs, and jobs that can be done remotely. It creates a one-stop shop for those searching specifically for postings within the video game industry. So far, more than 1,800 people have joined the Discord channel. 'It's been extremely positive. Our Discord server doubled in size since we have announced this, which speaks to the issue, and we are having some testimonials now with people that are getting interviews and so on,' says Chancey. 'So it's fun to see that there's an actual impact.' Chancey says they can do this because Indie Asylum gets funding from the City of Montreal and the province. According to the Quebec Video Game Guild, there are currently 15,000 jobs in Quebec's videogame industry, and that is expected to remain steady in the coming year. 'The trend we're seeing is relative stability in headcount due to lateral movement within the workforce, despite cuts at certain studios,' says the Guild's head of communications and operations, Emilien Roscanu. 'Some production cycles are ending, which is leading to reorganizations; at the same time, several mid-sized and large studios are still actively hiring for various projects, so we expect this stability to continue this year.' The future is more uncertain for junior developers. 'The market remains competitive for more senior talent but very difficult for junior talent,' Roscanu adds. 'We have 1000 juniors coming out of universities and colleges each year in video games, but few of them can find jobs unfortunately. Economic uncertainty, tax credits cuts and lack of new funding are all contributing to this outlook.' Chancey is hopeful, noting some companies have already reached out to Indie Asylum directly with job postings. He adds that in the next phase of the project, they'll survey members of the job board to see how many people were able to secure a job offer. 'Sometimes it just takes someone to give momentum to a project and then people kind of organize themselves. So we're just supporting in the background right now and people are kind of gelling together and trying to help each other out,' he says.
The Sun
15-07-2025
- The Sun
Shock moment female gang including pregnant woman ‘shoplift £1,000s in designer perfume in brazen daylight raid'
SHOCKING footage shows the moment a female gang including a pregnant woman allegedly stole perfume worth thousands of pounds. CCTV from the shop in East London show the group appearing to swipe the expensive goods in a brazen daylight raid. 5 5 5 5 The four women, including the mum-to-be, are being sought by cops after the alleged shoplifting spree at the pharmacy in Mile End. Footage shared with The Sun appears to show the group breaking open a cabinet door. They then appear to stash dozens of Dior perfumes and premium gift sets in a Bag For Life. One of the quartet looks to have walked off swiftly as a member of staff confronted them. But the rest of the group are accused of shoving a teenage shop assistant and sprinting away. Pharmacy manager Dipak Raja, 36, claimed: 'Britain is going downhill, I couldn't believe a pregnant woman could be involved in something like this. 'I hate to think how her child will be in future - and what will she teach her kids?' The women stole about £1,800 worth of goods, Raja says, which were locked inside a strong glass cabinet. Tower Hamlets is known for having a higher crime rate than other boroughs in London. Knowing this, shops in the area, including Raja's pharmacy, have extra security and protection for their stock. But the pharmacy manger believes that the group must have planned the alleged raid before. Thief banned from every Greggs store in Britain after targeting one shop SEVEN times as cops launch crackdown He claims the group knew how to pick the lock rather than breaking the glass. Raja added: 'It's the first time I've experienced anything like this. "It was very clever the way they did it.' After a customer suspected something suspicious was going on, a member of staff confronted the gaggle. But the women insisted they weren't stealing, headed to the exit and shoved an 18-year-old store assistant who got in their way. Raja, who was busy with a customer at the time, called the police and chased after the group when he realised what had happened. However, the thieves ran ahead of him and managed to get away, he claimed. The group reportedly made their final escape after pushing through the disabled barricade at Mile End tube station. The Met Police confirmed to The Sun that no arrests have been made yet. 5
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Shocking moment 'slick' girl gang of shoplifters steal £1,800 from pharmacy and shove employee aside as they make their escape
This is the shocking moment a group of four girls stole almost £2,000 worth of perfumes from a small community pharmacy in east London. The group were caught on CCTV slipping several bottles of the expensive perfumes into their bags, and running off on Thursday afternoon. Dipak Raja, 36, who owns Forward Pharmacy in Mile End, told MailOnline the theft was 'sickening'. He added that he and his staff had been left distressed' by the incident and constantly on edge. In the clip, the girl gang can be seen appearing to browse the perfume shelves, pointing at various different products and discussing something among themselves. One of the girls then brazenly open up the cabinet and begins pulling out bottles of the expensive perfumes and piling them in to her bag. As the girls finish filling up their bags, a pharmacist comes over and confronts the girls, attempting to block the exit before being shoved aside. While two members of the shoplifting gang escape from the community pharmacy, two of the others turned around and exchanged words with members of staff before walking out. The group were then followed out of the shop by three staff members including Mr Raja. The pharmacy revealed the thieves made off with perfumes worth £1,800 and they had only just re-stocked, spending a small fortune. Mr Raja described how the group of girls came in to the pharmacy and fiddled with the lock on a secure glass cabinet he had only recently had fitted, containing expensive designer perfumes. They stole multiple gift packs worth around £100 each from brands including Paco Rabane and Dior and Mr Raja said the Dior Sauvage gift set cost at least £120. He added that one of his colleagues, Saarah, who had only started the week before, had tried to confront the girls about the theft but was shoved against the door frame. It was at this point that he and another colleague came forward to see the commotion and rang the police as they followed three of the girls to the tube station. The pharmacy owner described the operation as 'slick', explaining that while he and the other pharmacy workers had followed three of the gang to the tube station, the one with the bag of perfumes had run off in a different direction. Mr Raja said he believed they had done this before because they knew exactly what they were looking for. 'They knew what they were doing, they caused a commotion so we couldn't tell who had the perfumes and they went for all the expensive ones,' he said. The 36-year-old added that he had found the whole experience 'traumatising and really distressing' and said the pharmacy no longer felt safe. He told MailOnline: 'The community feel has gone and we're all on edge now. If there are two people in the pharmacy we just try and serve them as quickly as possible to get them out so we can watch what's going on.' He revealed he has also hired a security guard for the front of the shop to deter further thefts. He also confessed that his pharmacy is plagued by shoplifters but said he had never experienced anything on this level before. He told MailOnline: 'We get theft all the time but usually only £50 or £100 - never anything on this scale.' Mr Raja added that while he had reported the incident to the police he wasn't confident anything would be done and said: The police in East london, they just do anything about it, we get it all the time and it's really bad.'
CTV News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Montreal-set rom-com ‘Mile End Kicks' among world premieres at TIFF's 50th edition
Director Chandler Levack poses for a photograph at the Houndstooth in Toronto, ahead of the premier for her film "I Like Movies," as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. Her new film, the rom-com "Mile End Kicks," will premiere this fall at TIFF. (Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press) A rom-com about a love triangle set in Montreal's music scene is among the films making their world premieres at the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. 'Mile End Kicks,' from Toronto director Chandler Levack, stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to write a book about Alanis Morissette's album 'Jagged Little Pill.' Her plans take a turn when she falls for two members of the same fledgling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist. The film portrays the music scene in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood, which gave rise to acts including Arcade Fire, Grimes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's one of five special presentations announced by TIFF, including Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers,' about siblings who hire a forger to finish their late father's art. TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with 'John Candy: I Like Me,' a documentary on the late Canadian comic. The taste of the lineup revealed Thursday also includes Alejandro Amenábar's 'The Captive,' which tells the story of 'Don Quixote' author Miguel de Cervantes. Meanwhile, 'Hedda,' by 'The Marvels' director Nia DaCosta, is a reimagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play 'Hedda Gabler,' about the daughter of a general who is trapped in a loveless marriage. Another premiere at TIFF is 'Good News,' a drama by South Korean director Sung-hyun Byun about a covert mission to land a hijacked airplane. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that this first wave of world premieres reflects the 'innovation, heart, and global perspective' that have defined the festival for the last five decades. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
CBC
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Chandler Levack's Montreal-set rom-com among world premieres at TIFF's 50th edition
A rom-com about a love triangle set in Montreal's music scene is among the films making their world premieres at the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. Mile End Kicks, from Toronto director Chandler Levack, stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to write a book about Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill. Her plans take a turn when she falls for two members of the same fledgling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist. The film portrays the music scene in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood, which gave rise to acts including Arcade Fire, Grimes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's one of five special presentations announced by TIFF, including Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers, about siblings who hire a forger to finish their late father's art. TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with John Candy: I Like Me, a documentary on the late Canadian comic. The taste of the lineup revealed Thursday also includes Alejandro Amenabar's The Captive, which tells the story of Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes. Meanwhile, Hedda, by The Marvels director Nia DaCosta, is a reimagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler, about the daughter of a general who is trapped in a loveless marriage. Another premiere at TIFF is Good News, a drama by South Korean director Sung-hyun Byun about a covert mission to land a hijacked airplane. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that this first wave of world premieres reflects the "innovation, heart and global perspective" that have defined the festival for the last five decades.
