Focus Montreal: January 13

Focus Montreal introduces Montrealers to people who are shaping our community by bringing their stories into focus.

It airs Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and midnight.

Take a look at who we’re meeting this week on Focus Montreal:

8:08 Focus Montreal: Sexual misconduct allegations at Concordia

Sexual misconduct allegations at Concordia University

Concordia University is on the defensive, following allegations of sexual misconduct, involving members of its creative writing program.

In a blog post, a former student says he witnessed professors degrading students who rejected their sexual advances.

READ MORE: Concordia University reacts to sexual misconduct allegations

Concordia’s president Alan Shepard announced the university is launching an investigation into the the creative writing department and an assessment will be done on the current culture across the university.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Concordia student-run association says classes reassigned following sexual misconduct allegations

Shepard insists he knew nothing about the allegations before Monday.

Award-winning novelist and former Concordia student Heather O’Neill went public with her own story of sexual harassment in the creative writing department when she was a graduate student there in the 1990s.

O’Neill joined senior anchor Jamie Orchard earlier this week to share her story.

READ MORE: ‘And then a man said it’: Concordia grad says read between the lines of sexual misconduct allegations

Concordia University is urging students to report instances of inappropriate conduct to the university’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities.

6:55 Focus Montreal: ‘Fire and Fury’

‘Fire and Fury’

Quebec author Louise Penny is weighing in on the controversy surrounding the now infamous book about Donald Trump: Fire and Fury.

The internationally-acclaimed mystery writer posted on Facebook that her books are published by the same company that released the White House tell-all — saying in part, “now is not the time for silence, I could not be prouder to stand with Macmillan. This is an issue that crosses borders and affects all of us.”

Global News reached Louise Penny via Facetime earlier this week.

6:36 Focus Montreal: Sizzling real estate market

Montreal’s sizzling hot real estate market

Montreal had the hottest real estate market in the country in 2017, spurred by record-low unemployment and Quebec’s strong economy.

Residential sales in the Greater Montreal were up 8 per cent last year, with condo sales up a whopping 17 per cent.

Home prices increased as well.

The average price of a home on the island is now more than $460,000 — a six per cent hike over 2016.

Paul Cardinal, a member of Quebec’s Federation of Real Estate Boards dropped by Focus Montreal to talk about the city’s red-hot market.