Lithuanians form most of Montreal�s 5 000-member Baltic community. Many chose this city because they had previously lived in France and know the language, and others felt Montreal comfortably combined elements of American and European life. Estonian, along with Finnish and Hungarian belong to an ancient group of languages. Latvian (Lettish) and Lithuanian have common roots as the last remnants of true Baltic languages.
The Baltic Federation of Montreal, 550 33rd Ave. coordinates activities among the three groups, works with government on behalf of the Baltic countries and commemorates events such as the August 23, 1939 pact between Hitler and Stalin, which placed the Baltic States within the Soviet Union.
There is also a radio program called the �Emission Lituanienne�, which runs on CFMB 1410. Locally published Latvian newspapers include Journal Letton MLB Zinotojas which has published Canadian news in Latvian for 44 years, and the Lithuanian Independent, with news from the Baltic�s and a page or so of information in French or English.
