CANADIAN CURRENCY AND BANKING SERVICES
The Canadian monetary system is based on dollars and cents. Legal tender is the Canadian dollar, which is divided into 100 cents.

TAXES
• On lodging: 3.5% city tax, 5% Goods & Services Tax plus 9.975% Québec Sales Tax.
• On purchases (supplies, food & beverages, catering services and rentals): 5 % Goods & Services Tax plus 9.975% Québec Sales Tax.

LANGUAGES
Though French is the official language in the Province of Québec, most Quebecers speak fluent English and are comfortable communicating in either language. Representing the rich mix of Montréal’s 80 different cultural communities, a number of other languages are spoken as well, including Italian, Greek and Chinese.

TRANSPORTATION
Montréal is an eminently accessible city. Its subway system, called the Métro, is a network of 65 well-located stations covering the city covering most of the city and beyond... Eighteen miles (30 km) of underground pedestrian passageways—designed with Montréal’s winters in mind—link shopping centres and other institutions in the downtown core. Above ground, public buses run frequently—24 hours a day on some lines—and taxis are always available.

MEDICAL SERVICES
In case of accident or sudden illness, eight major hospitals are located in or near the downtown area, some of them affiliated with leading Montréal universities.

SEASONS AND AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
Montréal has four distinct seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring. Average monthly temperatures are as follows:
January -4ºC (23ºF)        July 26ºC (79ºF)
February -4ºC (23ºF)     August 25ºC (77ºF)
March 3ºC (37ºF)           September 20ºC (68ºF)
April 11ºC (52ºF)           October 13ºC (55ºF)
May 19ºC (66ºF)            November 5ºC (41ºF)
June 24ºC (75ºF)            December -3ºC (27ºF)

TIME ZONE
Located in the Eastern Time zone, we adopt Eastern Daylight Savings Time on the second Sunday in March and revert to Eastern Standard Time on the first Sunday in November.

ELECTRICITY
As elsewhere in North America, the standard current is 110 volts (60 cycles).

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Canada uses the metric system of weights and measures.