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Topic spans: 1962 - 2000
Close Encounters of the Canadian Kind
It can border on the outrageous, the credible and even the entrepreneurial. For centuries people claimed to have boarded UFOs, encountered aliens and even sipped on Crop Circle Beer. Skeptics may dismiss believers as nerds and nutters but there's no doubting the increasing popularity of the paranormal in the mainstream. Canada has one of the highest rates of UFO sightings per capita and, for many Canadians, life beyond earth is a definite reality.
12 television clips
6 radio clips
An aerial phenomenon over Montreal
Broadcast Date: Nov. 7, 1994
On Nov. 7, 1990, a woman spots something in the sky while swimming in the rooftop pool of her downtown Montreal hotel. She sees a round, metallic object projecting a series of brilliant light beams. Her sighting sets off a chain reaction. She tells the lifeguard who calls the hotel security guard, who contacts the police and a journalist from La Presse newspaper. The RCMP, the military and even NASA are called in.The aerial phenomenon lasts almost three hours from 7:20 p.m. to 10:10 p.m. The incident sparks sensation due to the excellent documentation and the large number of very reliable witnesses. Some theorize it is nothing more than the result of northern lights, dismissing the possibility of a UFO sighting. The event catches the attention of Bernard Guénette, a UFO researcher in Montreal.
In 1992, Guénette and Dr. Richard Haines, a former NASA scientist, publish a 25-page report on the sighting. The report concludes that the "evidence for the existence of a highly unusual, hovering, silent large object is indisputable." It suggests some sort of huge physical object, about 540 metres wide, caused the lights but fails to identify its origin.
An aerial phenomenon over Montreal
• According to the 2002 Canadian UFO Survey published by Ufology Research of Manitoba, Toronto had the largest number of sightings with 34, followed by Vancouver with 31 and Terrace, B.C. with 25 reports.• In 2002, a typical UFO sighting lasted approximately 15 minutes.
• The federal government currently (2003) directs all UFO sightings to Chris Rutkowski of Ufology Research of Manitoba.
An aerial phenomenon over Montreal
Medium: Television
Program: Newswatch
Broadcast Date: Nov. 7, 1994
Guest(s): Bernard Guenette
Reporter: Pierre Mignault
Duration: 9:53
Last updated:
Feb. 27, 2007
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18 clips in this topic . page
I remember this...we lived on the south shore in Chateauguay at the time and my husband was out walking our dog. When he got home, he told me about these strange lights he'd seen in Montreal around Place Bonaventure. He described it as hovering over the building with lights pointed down over it. He said he'd never seen anything like it. He stayed there watching it for the longest time and couldn't figure it out. The next morning it was all over the news. We'll never forget it.
Submitted by: Nancy Landrigan-Gagnon
I saw the same exact phenomenon, I called the airport to find out if there is a blimp or something hovering over the area. I live at the corner of De l'Eglise and Bannantyne in Verdun. I saw it from the window in my bedroom it faces down towards the city, I have a nice view of the skyline. Not only did it last hours, but several nights in a row.
There is a difference though, my sighting was around the year 2000.
Submitted by: Ivana Kalas