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.

• According to the 2002 Canadian UFO Survey published by Ufology Research of Manitoba, Toronto had the most 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.

Medium: Television
Program: Newswatch
Episode: UFOs
Broadcast Date: Nov. 7, 1994
Reporter: Pierre Mignault
Guest(s): Pierre Mignault
Duration: 9:53