Quebec City – Page 6

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 16, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City, tramway, Transportation

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government, under political and time pressure, has given the green light to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) to kickstart Quebec City’s paused tramway project.

The decision came after a regular cabinet meeting on Oct. 9, communicated officially via a carefully worded CDPQ Infra news release, saying the pension plan agency “today accepted a new mandate from the government of Quebec to plan the first phase of the CITÉ plan and set up the organization required to ensure the proper development of the next stages of the tramway project.”

CITÉ stands for Circuit intégré de transport express, the name CDPQ Infra gave to the three-phase project it recommended in a study, released in June, of transportation needs in the Quebec City region the CAQ government ordered last fall.

The release notes: “CDPQ Infra will soon confirm the composition of the project team, which will include all the expertise needed for the mandate to move forward.”

The first phase would be a 15-kilometre tramway line linking Cap-Rouge and Boul. Laurier in the west with Saint- Roch and Charlesbourg in the east. An expansion of the South Shore (Lévis) bus service is also in the plan.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault told reporters after the cabinet meeting that CDPQ Infra is “being given the keys to planning Phase 1 of the tramway, so this is a very important step. This is confirmation that we are moving forward and taking the next step.”

While CDPQ Infra will be in charge of building the tram- way, its actual operation will be the responsibility of the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC), which manages the city’s existing transit network.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, city executive committee member and RTC president, said in a statement, “We are pleased to see that the tramway project is progressing. … Our teams have all the experience and expertise needed to bring this crucial transportation project for Quebec City to life.”

The government mandate to CDPQ Infra contains a Dec. 15 deadline to file a final draft agreement containing more details on the roles of various players as well as the financial structure for the project.

Some political commentators see the deadline as hard to meet and a potential escape hatch for the CAQ government to delay and abandon the project with the prospect of a Conservative federal government on the horizon.

Québec Solidaire MNA Étienne Grandmont, who represents the Quebec City riding of Taschereau, said via an Oct. 9 news release, “Confirming partners is one thing, but I’m still waiting for the funding to be secured. The Dec. 15 deadline worries me; it’s the minister’s hand on the plug, and I fear she’s ready to pull the trigger.”

Limoilou Coun. and Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith said, “We must immediately get the teams back to work by resuming the work that was interrupted a year ago. We want to see the funding promised for our city translate into new infrastructure as soon as possible.”

Nora Loreto, co-founder of Québec désire son tramway, told the QCT, “We’re very happy to see movement on the tramway file and look forward to this project being managed by the RTC.”

Mayor Bruno Marchand, whose revised higher budget for the tramway triggered the CAQ’s intervention, made a brief statement applauding the project restart. “I am delighted that the Quebec government is confirming with this gesture the implementation of the CITÉ plan. This is an essential project for the Quebec City region in the context of very strong population growth. We cannot wage an effective war on congestion without investing in the development of public transportation,” he said.

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CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 16, 2024 / Lévis, Peter Black, Quebec City, third link, Transportation

CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is moving ahead with its off-again, on-again pledge to build a third link between Quebec City and the South Shore.

Transport Minister and Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault made the announcement on Oct. 11 of an “international call for interest” to parties to be considered as a partner in the development of the project.

Vowing that whatever option is decided will be “the best project at the best price,” Guilbault said if all goes according to plan a contract would be signed to build the link in early 2027.

Addressing a news conference in Complexe G following a technical briefing by transport ministry officials, Guilbault said the call for interest “marks an important step in the third link project, which will allow us to confirm the market’s interest in our project. I am convinced that we will arrive at the best solution to meet the fluidity needs of our citizens on both shores.”

The minister said the two principal objectives of the third link would be to ensure economic security for commercial transport in the event of the Pierre Laporte Bridge being closed and to reduce traffic congestion in the region.

Guilbault said the choice of which corridor the link would take would be decided by next summer, based on options identified in the report by the Caisse de depôt et placement Infra presented in June.

In a previous announcement of a third link proposal, the CAQ government had envisioned a bridge between the eastern ends of Lévis and Quebec City. A proposal prior to that envisioned a tunnel between the downtowns of the two cities.

Asked by the QCT how much influence politicians would have on the ultimate choice of a corridor, Guilbault said, “It’s too early to determine a specific corridor,” pending the submission of recommenda- tions from interested parties.

She also said having a bridge with enough clearance to allow for cruise ships to enter port in Quebec City or Lévis “would be taken into consideration.”

Transport officials and the minister did not exclude a tunnel as a preferred option, nor would they commit to the third link being used for public transit such as the tramway system.

Guilbault said in two years, after the next scheduled pro- vincial election, “we will be at a level of the evolution of the process [where] it will be irreversible.”

She said since all the op- position parties are opposed to the third link idea, the CAQ is the only one that is pursuing it. “People will realize we are actually doing it for real.”

Guilbault acknowledged the CAQ’s “credibility is at stake” with the third link project. “We have to demonstrate we are resolutely committed to the realization” of the project.

Opposition critics were quick to denounce this latest move by the CAQ. Liberal transport critic Monsef Derraji said in a statement, “It’s clear that this announcement is more about diverting attention from other issues than it is about genuinely advancing mobility in the greater Quebec City area. Should the CAQ lose power after 2026, this commitment could easily crumble. It all appears more like a campaign promise than a real solution.”

Québec Solidaire MNA for Jean-Lesage Sol Zanetti told reporters, “We will talk about it [the third link] for decades as the symbol of the promise of the electoral bauble that will never happen, that is irresponsible, that costs a lot, and that is useless.”

Parti Québécois MNA for Jean-Talon Pascal Paradis said, “There will be no project. It won’t happen. What we are being presented with today is a fabrication, a smokescreen.”

Guilbault would not commit to a price tag for the potential bridge or tunnel, saying it would be determined as the planning process proceeds. She highlighted the new collaborative approach the government is taking, saying, “[T]he government will work closely with the designer and the builder from the first stages of the project design.”

A series of calls for tenders will be launched in the spring “to obtain the professional services and support required throughout the project. A first call for tenders aimed at ob- taining consulting services in insurance and financial guarantees will be published in the coming weeks.”

The building of a third link was a CAQ promise in the 2018 election that brought the party to power. At the time, the party vowed that the project would be underway by the end of its first mandate.

CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’ Read More »

From Colombia to Quebec: Huge sailboat ships coffee for Café William

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 16, 2024 / Environment, local business, Peter Black, Quebec City

From Colombia to Quebec: Huge sailboat ships coffee for Café William

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

For a city known for sailing ships, with even a ship as its symbol, it seems fitting the world’s largest modern cargo sailing ship should make its maiden voyage to Quebec City.

Such was the case last week when the Anemos – Greek for “wind” – docked in the Old Port with a cargo of green coffee beans from Santa Marta, Colombia, in its hold, the first shipment of many in the environmental ambitions of Café William, a Quebec-based coffee roaster and retailer.

The mission, according to Serge Picard, Café William’s co-founder and head of innovation and commercial operations, is to produce the “cleanest cup of coffee in the world, the most environmentally sustainable. Café William wants to one day transport 100 per cent of our coffee with zero emissions.”

The Anemos unloaded some 20 shipping containers of green coffee beans for Café William in Quebec City, which Picard says amounts to about 40 per cent of the company’s consumption. The beans, purchased from an Indigenous co-operative in Colombia, were to be transported to the company’s huge new all-electric roasting plant in Sherbrooke in a Volvo electric truck.

Picard said coffee is the second single largest commodity shipped around the world after oil, with some 90 per cent of production exported to other countries for processing.

The Anemos has a sister ship, the Artemus, which is currently sailing from a Vietnam shipyard to France. Picard said six more of the giant cargo sailing ships are in the works. The ships are the creation of a French company called TOWT (Trans-ocean Wind Transport), which has specialized in sail-powered marine cargo transport since 2011.

Guillaume Le Grand, president and one of the founders of TOWT, said the ship’s masts, towering at 64 metres high, “are probably the tallest in the world.”

The hulls of the ship were manufactured in Romania and then towed to Concarneau on the northwest coast of France, where the final assembly was completed.

It takes a maximum crew of eight to sail the 81-metre-long steel vessels, which are highly mechanized with many automatic or programmed functions. Le Grand said the average ocean speed is about 10 knots (nautical miles per hour) and it takes two weeks to cross the Atlantic. The ship has a backup engine to navigate harbours, but when under sail, the propellers can be reversed to generate electrical power for most of the ship’s systems.

Attending the ceremony to celebrate the ship’s inaugural voyage were representatives of Fairtrade Canada and of the Colombian coffee growers co-operative, known by its Spanish acronym ANEI.

The first voyage of the Anemos followed Café Wil- liam’s first experience with sail-powered shipping when it contracted with a German sail cargo company to ship five containers of beans from Co- lombia to Quebec. A company news release said, “This first voyage confirmed our vision: transporting coffee by sailboat is viable and possible.”

Picard said the company’s big dream is to have all its coffee beans shipped by sail, including from suppliers in Africa and Asia. He said the roasted coffee that travelled by sailing ship costs about 10 cents more per pound than Café William’s other coffees. “It’s minuscule compared to all the other costs that are tacked on when you’re importing raw coffee beans, so I guess you just have to be a tad crazy enough to want to disrupt the status quo and try something different.”

Café William coffee is available in most major grocery stores in Quebec, some U.S. outlets and online.

The “William” in Café William is for the Italian William Spartivento, who invented a rotary coffee roaster. Picard said, “Nobody could really pronounce Spartivento – which we could have kept [as a name] because it would have been cool. It means ‘split the winds’ in Italian.”

From Colombia to Quebec: Huge sailboat ships coffee for Café William Read More »

Learning centres suspend new francisation enrolments

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 16, 2024 / Education, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

Learning centres suspend new francisation enrolments

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Three Quebec City-area centres offering subsidized French language classes for newcomers known as francisation have announced that they will be forced to stop accepting new students due to a funding shortfall.

The Centre Saint-Louis (CSL) in Loretteville, the Le Phénix adult learning centre in Sainte-Foy and the Cen- tre Louis-Jolliet in Limoilou, which has the largest francisation program in the region, are all expected to stop accepting new students when the new semester begins on Nov. 4, unless a funding solution can be found.

The QCT independently confirmed this information, first reported by Le Soleil, with the Centre de services scolaire (CSS) des Découvreurs, which oversees Le Phénix, and the CSS de la Capitale, which oversees the two other centres. Several similar programs in other regions of the province have also announced plans to close or suspend new student enrolments in recent weeks.

Law 14, better known as Bill 96, the reform to the Charter of the French Language which was passed by the Coalition Avenir Québec government in 2022, opened francisation classes, previously reserved for new immigrants, to newcomers from the rest of Canada and longtime Quebec residents. It also imposed a six-month deadline beyond which new immigrants would have to ac- cess most government services in French only. Demand for the courses increased after the new measures took effect.

However, as Carl Ouellet of the Association québécoise des directeurs d’école previ- ously told the QCT, the funding model used by the Ministry of Education and Higher Learn- ing (MEES) to finance the courses is based on pre-2022 student numbers.

“For reasons related to the MEES funding model, new student registration in francisation at Le Phénix has been paused since July,” CSS des Découvreurs spokesperson Marie-Ève Malouin said.

“When the MEES filed the 2024-25 budget rules, we learned that we will have to limit the number of students in francisation in order to comply with the funding granted for this sector,” said Malouin’s counterpart at the CSS de la Capitale, Jade Thibodeau. “We are currently receiving the same number of groups that we had last June. For the next session, it is impossible for us to welcome new students in order to respect the budgets granted.”

Brigitte Wellens, executive director of Voice of English-speaking Québec (VEQ), said she “almost expected” to hear that the programs would suspend enrolment. “I know there have been very significant delays for people wanting to access courses, and I can’t say I’m surprised.” Wellens said she had a co-worker who had been on a waiting list for a francisation course for a year, and three others who were expected to start courses this fall but would not. She said it was common for a newcomer to wait six, seven or eight months to enrol in a class.

“When someone has to wait for a year to learn French, it delays a whole bunch of other stuff. You can speak whatever language you like at home … but if you want to get a job, make friends, shop for groceries, you have to learn French. You can’t get by without it. That’s the first thing we tell people,” she said.

Wellens said the free classes offered at Le Phénix, Louis- Jolliet and CSL “fill a hole” for newcomers who can’t afford university courses or private lessons.

She called on the govern- ment to suspend the six-month deadline for accessing govern- ment services in French until it could make good on its initial promise of subsidized classes for all Quebec residents who need them. “With the passage of that bill, we were assured that francisation would be available for everyone for free. If we can’t make good on that, we need to remove the requirement … and to communicate that clearly with all the agencies responsible for providing services,” she said. “No one is walking around saying they don’t want to learn French.”

Malouin and Thibodeau said students already enrolled in francisation classes at the three centres would be able to continue their classes.

No one from the MEES was available to comment at press time.

Learning centres suspend new francisation enrolments Read More »

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 10, 2024 / Geneviève Guilbault, Monsef Derraji, Peter Black, Quebec City, Quebec Liberal Party, Tramway de Québec, transit

TRAM TRACKER

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Four months after the Coalition Avenir Québec government announced its approval of the first phase of Quebec City’s tramway project, a deal is yet to be signed to restart construction.

The prolonged delay has the Quebec Liberal Party transport critic and MNA for Nelligan Monsef Derraji wondering whether the CAQ government is stalling in the hopes a Conservative federal government under Pierre Poilievre will kill the project if it comes to power in the coming months.

Derraji and other opposition members grilled Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault for two hours in the National Assembly on Sept. 27 on the tramway project.

In an interview with the QCT, Derraji said the problem for the CAQ government is “they have no money.” He said the government has been cutting programs and now Guilbault “said she’s waiting for money to come in from the federal government” for the tramway project.

He said Premier François Legault had called on the Bloc Québécois to support a Conservative non-confidence motion to defeat Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. The premier “wants as soon as possible an election on the federal level.”

Poilievre has said on several occasions “he would give nothing to the tramway project,” Derraji said. The way he sees it, Legault and Guilbault “are waiting for a federal election, and after that they will say we don’t have the money for this project.”

Derraji said Guilbault had promised in June to give a mandate to the Caisse de dépôt et placement infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra) to restart work on the first phase of the $5.1-billion project.

“Why is she waiting? Next year we’ll have Pierre Poilievre.” Derraji noted that while Poilievre opposes the tramway, he has said a Conservative federal government would help finance the CAQ’s plan for a “third link” bridge across the St. Lawrence River.

Besides Derraji, opposition MNAs Étienne Grandmont of Québec Solidaire — whose riding would be home to several tramway stations if the project goes ahead — and Joël Arseneau of the Parti Québécois questioned Guilbault.

For her part, Guilbault said sending a mandate letter to CDPQ Infra is not a simple matter. “They [the opposition] just talk about the letter, but I don’t know if they understand how it works, the preparation and design of a major project. There are several things happening at the same time.”

She said meetings have been taking place between government officials and CDPQ Infra since June, when the agency submitted a report the CAQ government had requested that recommended a sweep- ing urban transit project for Quebec City and Lévis, to be called Circuit intégré de transport express or Cité.

Guilbauilt said the project transition committee last met on Sept. 24. “It’s important for people to know that the project is moving forward,” the minister told the opposition members at the National Assembly session.

As for federal funding, Guilbault said there are “certain people in the current fed- eral Liberal government who claimed in the newspapers that they were on target. That’s their usual claim: ‘We’re on target.’ But what does that mean in real life? For me, a target is money … I negotiate with them, I make my requests and I wait for the cheque, and the cheque doesn’t arrive.”

Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister of public services and procurement and MP for Québec, denied Guilbault’s claim (see separate story).

Opposition attacks CAQ for more tramway delays Read More »

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 10, 2024 / Geneviève Guilbault, Jean-Yves Duclos, Peter Black, Quebec City, Tramway de Québec, transit

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Federal minister and Liberal Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos has sharply refuted Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s claim Ottawa has yet to “send a cheque” to help finance Quebec City’s tramway project.

Duclos responded to Guilbault’s comments at a media scrum on Oct. 4 following a Quebec City announcement about loans for small busi- nesses. The minister had taken the swipe at the federal govern- ment a week earlier in front of a National Assembly session focused on the tramway project. “I wait for the cheque and the cheque doesn’t arrive,” Guilbault said, in the context of answering questions from opposition MNAs about the CAQ government’s delay in mandating the resumption of construction of the first phase of the tramway project, as promised in June.

Duclos told reporters the federal government has put “$1.5 billion and more in a bank account for the Quebec [City] region for the tramway.”

As for Guilbault’s comments, “I say this with respect, but sometimes I need to say things more clearly … I explained to her again last week what she should have understood a long time ago. I told her several times. I don’t know why it’s not getting through.”

Duclos, who recently took over as Liberal lieutenant for Quebec in the wake of Pablo Rodriguez’s decision to seek the Quebec Liberal Party leadership, said, “To claim that there is no money from the Canadian government is false, and I think everyone should admit that, including Ms. Guilbault. We have to stop diverting attention and going back over old issues that have been clarified for a long time.”

Duclos said when Guilbault sends the bill for the tramway, “we’ll send her a cheque.”

As for the threat of a future Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre, who has said he would not fund the tramway project, Duclos said the Conservative leader “wants to steal money from the tramway bank account of people in the Quebec City region. We can’t imagine that he would want to do that, but knowing Pierre Poilievre, it’s pure Pierre Poilievre.”

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’ Read More »

City bike lane network keeps growing

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 10, 2024 / Quebec City, Ruby Pratka, transit

City bike lane network keeps growing

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Quebec City cyclists now have an additional 12.7 kilometres of bike paths to enjoy. The Ville de Québec has added six new sections to its VivaCité* bike path network this summer – the Pente-Douce corridor (from Rue Marie-de-l’Incarnation to Chemin Ste-Foy) and the Ma- rie-de-l’Incarnation corridor (from Rue Guyart to Côte de la Pente-Douce) in Montcalm, the 3e Avenue Ouest/52e Rue corridor (76e Ave Ouest to 4e Ave Est) in Limoilou, the Du Pont corridor in Saint-Roch (from Rue du Prince-Édouard to Rue Saint-Vallier Est), the Quai Saint-André corridor in Petit-Champlain (Rue Saint- Pierre to Rue Dalhousie) and the Neilson corridor in Sainte-Foy (Rue de Marly to Rue André-Giroux).

Two existing bike lanes have also been spruced up with improved lane marking, additional protective barriers and traffic lights adapted for cyclists; they are the Boul. Laurier corridor near the Université Laval campus (Rue des Gouverneurs to Rue Marguerite-Bourgeoys) and the Chemin Sainte-Foy corridor in Montcalm (from Ave. de Vimy to Ave. des Érables).

Safety improvements to an additional corridor (the 4e Ave corridor in Limoilou) should be completed by mid-November, city officials said.

The additional corridors essentially triple the size of the bike lane network, modelled after Montreal’s Réseau Express Vélo, which began with six km of lanes in 2023.

Coun. Pierre-Luc Lachance, member of the executive committee responsible for mobility and road safety, estimated the cost of this year’s improvements at $4.8 million, although the exact cost won’t be known until all upgrades are com- pleted.

Lachance said the bike lanes are “part of the city’s big ten- year plan for mobility,” which includes a 150-km network serving 85 per cent of the city’s neighbourhoods by 2035.

“We are in a new dynamic to make biking a means of trans- portation and not just a way to have fun,” said Lachance, himself an avid cyclist. “Having separated bike lanes makes a huge difference in terms of safety – there are more families with kids taking their bikes to school. With every new installation, we see behaviour change; when we put in the corridor on Chemin Ste-Foy, the average speed of the cars went down by a few kilometres per hour, and that’s a big deal. If we want to encourage people to walk or take their bikes, it has to be safe.”

Over the next few months, the city is planning public consultations about the future of the bike path network. The consultation calendar is available at ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/participation-citoyenne/activites/index.aspx.

*Editor’s Note: The version of this article published in the print edition of the Oct. 9 QCT refers to the bike network by its previous name, Vélo Cité. City officials announced the new name (VivaCité) on Oct. 8 after the print edition went to press.

City bike lane network keeps growing Read More »

New book offers detailed look at wartime Quebec Conferences

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 10, 2024 / Local history, Peter Black, Quebec City

New book offers detailed look at wartime Quebec Conferences

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

According to a newly published book, the first step in the long fight to beat the Nazis and liberate Europe from their grip began in the Salon Rose of the Château Frontenac in August 1943.

The Quebec Conference, bringing together British prime minister Winston Churchill and United States president Franklin Roosevelt, committed the Allies to the invasion of Normandy the following spring, code name Overlord, which became known as D-Day.

The momentous Quebec City meeting is chronicled in fascinating detail in historian, retired naval officer and QCT contributing writer Charles André Nadeau’s new book, Churchill et Roosevelt à Québec: Grande et petite histoires des conférences de 1943 et de 1944. (It’s available only in French at the moment, pend- ing translation arrangements.)

The book launch on Sept. 12, naturally, took place in the Salon Rose, little changed from when the chiefs of staff of Great Britain and the United States met there to debate the grand strategy for the rest of the war in Europe 81 years ago. In attendance were Nadeau’s family and friends, his naval comrades, fellow historians and the man who initially proposed the book project, former Château Frontenac director general Robert Mercure, himself a history buff.

Nadeau said the book, initially imagined as a pamphlet, would help Mercure respond to one of the most-asked questions by visitors about the landmark hotel, namely what happened when Churchill and Roosevelt met in Quebec in August 1943 and again in September 1944.

Mercure, who wrote a foreword to the book, applauded Nadeau at the launch for “having succeeded in bringing alive” the events at the two conferences. He confessed to getting a “frisson” each time he enters the Salon Rose, knowing what took place there.

Nadeau said his background as a student of military strategy at the U.S. Naval War College provided the context for the book, which lays out in accessible detail how the president and prime minister approved the “grand strategy” for the reconquest of Europe.

Nadeau notes that by pure coincidence, the 1943 Quebec conference took place at a crucial turning point in the war in Europe, the Allied forces having captured Sicily on Aug. 17, with the Italian boot literally in view across the Strait of Messina.

Churchill, Nadeau said, “was a better politician than a military strategist,” preferring to launch an invasion of Europe through Italy rather than northern France from across the English Channel. Churchill’s reticence, Nadeau said, was partly due to his role as British naval minister in the disastrous and bloody invasion of Turkey in the First World War.

“He saw Normandy as a potential Gallipoli,” Nadeau said. Besides the fascinating account of the strategy for the next crucial stage of the war hammered out by military commanders in the Salon Rose, the Citadelle and other places in the city, Nadeau offers up countless colourful details of the eight-day gathering.

One that boggles the mind is that of British vice-admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, taking out his revolver in the Salon Rose and firing bullets at a block of ice and one made of a new material called pykrete, developed to clad an aircraft carrier, an experiment that got no further than a lake in Alberta.

The overall conclusion of the Quebec Conference, as Nadeau asserts in the book, is that henceforth the United States would be the dominant force in the selection of the strategy of the war in both Europe and the Pacific.

As Nadeau observes, “kilometre zero” in the long road to win the war in Europe was the Salon Rose in the Château Frontenac.

Churchill et Roosevelt à Québec is available in local bookstores and online.

New book offers detailed look at wartime Quebec Conferences Read More »

ESSC firefighter course brings home awards at gala

Local Journalism Initiative / The Equity / October 9, 2024 / K.C. Jordan, LJI reporter, Quebec City

K.C. Jordan, LJI Journalist

Emma Rochon and Talira Savard are Grade 11 students at École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge (ESSC). They’re both teenage girls, and they’re both firefighters.

Well, technically they’re not certified quite yet, but they hope to by the end of May if everything goes according to plan.

The pair are students in ESSC’s firefighter training course, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Quebec started last year which allows students to get their Firefighter 1 certification while still attending regular high school classes.

Once a week, students get together to learn firefighting skills with teacher Martin Bertand, who is also captain of the Bryson and Grand Calumet Fire Department. They run drills with local fire departments, get their first responder certification, and respond to emergencies. Students in the program are working hard in preparation for their final exam in May.

Last Thursday Rochon, Savard, and Bertrand were in Quebec City for the Forces Avenir gala, an annual event that celebrates the accomplishments of high school students and educators across the province.

The occasion? Their program had received a silver award in the “projet engagé” (dedicated projet) category, and was up for the “coup de coeur” (people’s choice) award.

After two and a half suspenseful hours, Rochon and Savard were called up on stage to accept the “coup de coeur” award.

Both girls were nervous, especially because of the interview-style format in which the gala host asked the girls questions about the project.

“I was in shock and surprised, but I was really proud of us,” Savard said.

Bertrand, too, was proud. In an interview with THE EQUITY the day after the gala he said seeing the pair on stage brought a tear to his eye. “These girls have worked hard,” he said.

Rochon and Savard represented their class in Quebec City because they were elected co-captains by their classmates — a group that consists of mostly boys.

Savard was proud they got the nod over their male counterparts. “We’re not a lot of girls and it’s really awesome that we were picked by all the guys.”

According to a 2021 nationwide survey by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, only 11 per cent of firefighters in Canada are women.

Savard said it can be tough being a girl in a male-dominated profession, and in her short time as a first responder she’s seen her fair share of prejudice.

ESSC firefighter course brings home awards at gala Read More »

Buyer wants to bring back Provisions Inc. as grocery

QCNA NEWS / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 1, 2024 / local business, Peter Black, Quebec City

Buyer wants to bring back Provisions Inc. as grocery

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Those longing for the return of the popular Provisions Inc. grocery store on Ave. Cartier may get their wish.

Although the deal is not yet signed and sealed, the would-be buyer of the building, rental property owner Jean-François Picard, is talking about his plans. He told the Journal de Québec, “We really want to revive what it was and everyone is converging towards the same thing.”

Picard said, “There were citizen surveys, merchant surveys. I did my homework and [decided] a grocery store will go there.”

Picard, who lives close to Ave. Cartier, said he was a frequent patron of the store. “It brought life; it brought a beautiful magic too because it was very family-oriented. That’s what we want to revive.”

The Drouin family ran the store until the fall of 2022, when cousins Vincent and Bruno Drouin sold it to a couple from France. Stéphanie Bouillon Guessas and Christophe Bouillon operated the store until January 2024 when it was suddenly closed. The building was put up for sale by the National Bank following the couple’s default on the mortgage. Meanwhile, the Drouins are suing the couple for some $450,000 still owing on the purchase.

The three-storey building has two apartments above the grocery. The equipment to operate the store, such as refrigerators, shelves and cashier counters, remains intact.

Picard said he is now looking for a partner to run the grocery. “It’s realistic to think that well before Christmas, we’ll be in operation,” he said. Picard also said he hopes to work with for- mer employees of the grocery to get it back up and running.

The website for his company, Picard Immobilier, describes the business as “proud to be a Quebec company that is 100 per cent manager and owner of its buildings” with “nearly 700 apartments of all styles in the Quebec region.”

Among the company’s holdings are several buildings in the Montcalm district.

The impending purchase of Provisions Inc. was raised at a meeting of the Montcalm neighbourhood council meeting last week. Attendee Paul Mackey told the QCT Picard “may attend the next neighbourhood council meeting at the end of October to discuss his plans, if the sale is formalized.”

Hugo Asselin, the real estate agent who handled the deal, said it might take a few weeks for the sale to be processed by a notary. The listed price for the building, zoned for a variety of uses, was $2 million.

The QCT was not able to contact Picard before press time.

Buyer wants to bring back Provisions Inc. as grocery Read More »

English health services available on request under new ministry directive

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 1, 2024 / Community Health and Social Services Network, health care, Jeffery Hale Community Partners, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

English health services available on request under new ministry directive

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Advocates for access to health care in English are breathing a sigh of relief after the Quebec government officially scrapped a directive that was widely seen as laying the groundwork for restrictions on the use of English and other languages in health institutions.

The initial 23-page directive, made public in July, contained a list of situations where it was acceptable for health institutions to use English or other languages, giving rise to concern that the list could be used to restrict the use of English. Minister for the French Language Jean-François Roberge repeatedly denied this was the government’s intention, and promised to replace the directive.

The new document, released Sept. 20, states that “no verification of a user’s identity is needed to access services in English or in another language.”

A language other than French “may be used when the user or their representative requests it, expresses that they do not understand or do not seem to understand French, or according to the judgment of the [professional],” the document says. Health care professionals can communicate in English or another language with a patient or their representative if they have the capacity, or work with an interpretation service if they don’t.

“This basically puts the whole issue to rest,” said Jennifer Johnson, president of the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN). “If someone wants to receive services in English, they just need to ask for it – no certificate of eligibility for English education is required.

“Everyone has the right to ask for services in the language they are most comfortable in,” she added. “If someone asks for service in Spanish, the [professional] needs to do the best they can to provide those services.”

The directive applies to the entire spectrum of health and social services programming, including emergency services; public health; services for vulnerable youth, seniors and people with disabilities; addictions services and mental health, and to both spoken and written communication. It also states that a patient who is unsatisfied with the services they have received has the right to file a complaint with the local complaints commissioner.

“The difference between this directive and the one that came out in July is very clear,” said Richard Walling, executive director of Jeffery Hale Community Partners. “This categorically states that people have the ability to receive services in English or another language in all circumstances when the health of the person requires it, which is a broad definition … and there will be no need to validate the user’s identity.”

Walling, whose organization oversees Jeffery Hale Hospital and Saint Brigid’s Home in partnership with the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, said the directive “confirms our actual practice” with regard to providing care in English.

“Language should not be a political issue in the health system – it is a fundamental tool to be able to communicate effectively to get people services when they are sick and vulnerable,” he said. “This directive recognizes that and gives the user and the [health professional] the latitude to do what is needed to get informed consent and proper treatment that can be understood and followed.”

Walling said he was not aware of anyone being unable to get care in the language of their choice at Jeffery Hale or Saint Brigid’s since the initial directive came out. “I have seen staff make a tremendous effort to be able to find a way to communicate,” he said. “These professionals are people who got into the system to help people – that attitude has to prevail, and we have to find a means of effective communication.”

Creativity needed in regions

Although English speakers in the greater Quebec City area can access a bilingual full- service hospital without leaving town, people in vast swaths of the province cannot. Jeffery Hale is the northernmost and easternmost bilingual hospital in the province. The CHSSN supports access to health care in remote regions and in cities with very small anglophone populations where bilingual staff may be hard to come by. Johnson advises people who are struggling to access service in English or another language to “be gentle and persistent” and request an interpreter if necessary – the service is free, and preferable to relying on untrained family members or only understanding half of what is said.

“This directive doesn’t mean that every service will be available in any language anywhere in Quebec,” Walling cautioned. “It does depend on the capacity of the personnel – but I believe that the system will try everything it can to communicate with a person, although they have to get creative on how to do that.”

English health services available on request under new ministry directive Read More »

Aquarium du Québec to close on weekdays until December

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / October 1, 2024 / Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

Aquarium du Québec to close on weekdays until December

Aquarium to be closed on weekends until December

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

The Aquarium du Québec will be open on weekends only until Dec. 15, the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq), which oversees the aquarium, announced late last week.

In a statement, Sépaq officials said, “The extent of the two construction sites in progress near the establish- ment” led to the decision. Work is underway on a new multilevel parking garage for the aquarium itself, and unrelated, extensive construction is ongoing along the Avenue des Hôtels in Sainte-Foy and near the entrances to the Québec and Pierre-Laporte bridges, making the aquarium difficult for drivers to access.

“Heavy vehicles and mechanical shovels are circulating extensively along the route to get from the parking lot to the reception area,” the statement said. “In order to ensure the safety of visitors, it was preferable to close the Aquarium du Québec during this busy period of construction site operations. The safety of visitors and team members remains our highest priority.”

The aquarium will remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and over the Thanksgiving holiday, when the construction sites are less active. The Sépaq statement said “expanded programming” would be offered on week- ends, although further details weren’t available at press time.

A pre-booked online ticket is required to visit the aquarium. Clients and groups who had al- ready reserved weekday tickets during the period of the closure will be reimbursed. The expiry dates of annual memberships will also be extended. No job losses are expected.

Aquarium du Québec to close on weekdays until December Read More »

Local English-speaking community comes together at Fall Fest

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Quebec City, Ruby Pratka, South Shore English Network, Voice of English-speaking Québec

Local English-speaking community comes together at Fall Fest

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Photos by Cassandra Kerwin

cassandra@qctonline.com

Several hundred members of the greater Quebec City English-speaking community and friends gathered for Fall Fest at Quebec High School on Sept. 21. The annual fair, organized by Voice of English-speaking Québec, featured dozens of kiosks where people could learn about English-language and bilingual community organizations, churches and hobby groups; a bilingual health and social services job fair in the school library hosted by the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and Jeffery Hale-Saint Brigid’s (JHSB); an arts-and-crafts market; hot dog and bake sale stands; a small farmers’ market; and a range of fun activities for kids and kids- at-heart including bouncy castles, a Lego tent and a bubble cannon.

The 78th Fraser Highlanders, the cast of the Quebec Art Company’s production of Cabaret, and talented and creative student musicians from Quebec High School and Dollard-des-Ormeaux School performed on the outdoor stage.

Representatives from JHSB, the Wellness Centre and the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale told attendees how to access health and social services in English. Although patients or their family members have the right to request service in English or request an interpreter at any health facility, JHSB is the only facility in the region expressly mandated to offer service in both languages.

Volunteers Patricia Odgers and Christy Ruggiero spoke with passersby about their rights within the health system and the importance of getting involved with the governance of their health facility. “People are aware that they have the option of [getting care] in both languages, but we are helping to educate people on how to make themselves heard if they have an issue,” Odgers said. “We’re concerned about people not knowing their rights, not raising their concerns, so they don’t filter down to the users’ committee.”

Deputy Mayor Catherine Vallières-Roland and Coun. David Weiser, member of the city executive committee responsible for immigration and vivre-ensemble, took the opportunity to meet with constituents.

“It’s really interesting to see the evolution of the English- speaking community, from families who have been here for generations to people from everywhere who have chosen to make Quebec City their home,” Weiser said. “It’s a big annual event where you get to see everybody. I’m also a Quebec High graduate, so it’s always interesting to come back here.”

Olena Peleshok moved from British Columbia to Lévis less than a year ago. At Fall Fest, she was busy running the South Shore English Network (SSEN) kiosk and meeting new people.

“My biggest challenges [after moving to Quebec] were not only learning French, but also just understanding how things worked here, things like the health system and applying for jobs. Everything in B.C. is different, even if we’re still in the same country.” Peleshok is now the SSEN community development co-ordinator, helping new arrivals find their feet on the South Shore. “As a newcomer, you’re always looking for connection, for opportunities, for ways to learn new skills and do things for other people,” she said, speaking from experience. She and her SSEN colleagues are busy helping people create those connections, with a range of activities for families, seniors and newcomers.

“Fall Fest was a huge suc- cess! We had close to 50 community groups and businesses in the gym, showcasing the amazing things they do and the services they offer,” VEQ executive director Brigitte Wellens said. “There was a wildly successful mini job fair by the CIUSSS-CN. This was a first at Fall Fest and some- thing that we hope to repeat at future editions. In terms of attendance, we estimate that 1,000 community members enjoyed the day’s activities – a record in attendance in the nine years that I’ve been at VEQ.”

For more information about upcoming activities with VEQ, visit veq.ca. For more about upcoming events on the South Shore, visit mcdc.info/en/events/events-ssen-levis.

Local English-speaking community comes together at Fall Fest Read More »

City, province differ on approach to organized crime

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Bruno Marchand, crime and justice, François Bonnardel, policing, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka, Service de Police de la Ville de Québec

City, province differ on approach to organized crime

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Mayor Bruno Marchand and Public Safety Minister François Bonnardel agree that an increased police presence is necessary to crack down on a recent uptick in gun violence in the city and surrounding areas, much of it linked to organized crime. They disagree on who should provide the personnel and how the operation should be funded.

Marchand has pressed the provincial government for greater funding for the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ). Bonnardel, for his part, has resisted calls for more money for the SPVQ but repeatedly offered to send Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers to the city as reinforcements.

Bonnardel wrote a letter to Marchand on Sept. 20, which was shared with several media outlets. “I am, like you, deeply concerned by the recent demonstrations of armed violence in the Capitale-Nationale and its surroundings. However, these events to which you refer are associated with organized crime and raise issues that not only go beyond the strict limits of your territory, but also require national-level police co-ordination in the interventions carried out to combat this phenomenon – a clearly established jurisdiction of the Sûreté du Québec,” the letter said.

The letter was sent to Marchand’s office minutes before a scheduled City Hall press conference the same day, and the mayor hadn’t received it before he met with reporters.

The day of the press conference, the SPVQ and the Service de Police de Lévis were among dozens of municipal police services working in collaboration with the SQ on a provincewide crackdown on organized crime.

“We have no problem collaborating with the SQ, on mixed units, on collaborative projects,” the mayor said. “We do that already. We help them, they help us, they do their job very well and we have a lot of respect for them. But the SPVQ doesn’t need the SQ beyond the collaboration we’re already doing. We need additional resources for the city police to do work that is ongoing, not for a week, not for a month, but sustainably. We have been attacking organized crime for a long time.”

Earlier this year, the SPVQ released statistics showing a 6.6 per cent increase in violent crime in the city from 2022 to 2023, and a 29 per cent increase in “crimes against persons” between 2020 and 2023. The Quebec Liberal Party is among those backing Marchand’s call for increased funding for the municipal police service. “I find it very surprising that [Bonnardel] is talking about calling in the SQ when they have a major personnel shortage themselves. The city needs constant support, and that’s not going to happen if [the Quebec government] sends the SQ in once,” said Liberal public security critic Jennifer Maccarone. “It isn’t fair to compare Quebec City to Montreal and Laval – it’s not the same situation at all, but you need to trust the city if they are saying they need support. The government needs to have a conversation with the mayor – not just to stand up and say no, but to listen.”

Marchand appreciated the support, telling reporters, “So much the better; [crime prevention] should be a trans-partisan issue.”

“We aren’t in the same situation as Montreal, but we don’t want to wait for the situation to get worse,” Marchand said. “We have a good police service. I believe in them and I thank them. We need more resources to help them, and I hope the provincial government will be present present for that.” As of Sept. 23, media reports suggested that despite the disagreement, the Ville de Québec intended to accept the offer of SQ assistance.

Chief Denis Turcotte of the SPVQ declined to comment. Martine Fortier, president of the city’s police union, told Radio-Canada the union sup- ported Marchand’s demands, but that the mayor “can’t hide behind the fact that he’s being refused additional funding.” She would not go into detail on the union’s demands due to ongoing negotiations.

City, province differ on approach to organized crime Read More »

DND putting Sewell House and St. Louis barracks up for sale

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

DND putting Sewell House and St. Louis barracks up for sale

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

More than four years after the Department of National Defence (DND) declared it as “operationally surplus,” the future of the historic Sewell House on Rue St. Louis is still unknown. Also declared surplus is the St. Louis Barracks building behind Sewell House, on Rue D’Auteuil.

DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku told the QCT, “DND must complete Indigenous and local community consultations and complete the priority circulation with other levels of government and Indigenous groups before making a decision on the future of these properties.”

According to a DND document, the properties were declassified on Aug. 20, which triggered “the divestment process.”

The overall size of the property is 3,934 square feet, and according to the new city evaluation role, Sewell House is valued at $3.3 million.

Both buildings have federal heritage classification, which Sadiku said, means “the new owner[s] of the properties will be responsible for maintaining and preserving their heritage value.”

The St. Louis Barracks were built in 1856 as an armoury and artillery storage space, then expanded into stables and dormitories in 1887. They were used as the offices of the Royal Canadian Engineers until 1998, when the building became vacant. The building is protected because of its history as military infrastructure and its architectural importance. Sewell House has seen a lot of history since it was built in 1804 and occupied for several years by its namesake, Jonathan Sewell, chief justice of what was then Lower Canada. Parks Canada’s description of the house notes: “The original owner, Jonathan Sewell, may have been involved in the design, which placed the home within extensive grounds he owned through inheritance from his father-in-law, the former Chief Justice of Lower Canada William Smith.”

“In 1808, he became Chief Justice and Chairman of the Executive Council. In 1854, his estate sold the house to the Crown. The buildings were then inhabited by the officers of the Quebec Garrison Club, served as offices of the lieutenant governor and the Post Office Department and also as a school.”

The two-and-a-half storey building is still used as an officer’s residence. One former resident, QCT journalist Shirley Nadeau, lived in the lower half of the building for five years. She commented, “The rooms are enormous – the kitchen measured 26 feet long – and ceilings are 14 feet high on the first two floors.”

The house was of such dimensions, according to biographies of Sewell, to accommodate the large family he had with his wife Henrietta, which numbered 16 children.

The city’s inventory of architecture describes the building as “a fine example of the development of the Upper Town of Quebec City in the early 19th century under British rule. It evokes the establishment of the wealthy administrative class that chose the Upper Town during the boom and development of the area.”

Both the barracks and Sewell House are adjacent to the Quebec Garrison Club National Historic Site.

DND spokesperson Andrée- Anne Poulin told the QCT in an email: “Through pre- circulation, early expression of interest has come up from various groups from within the community.”

She added, “It’s important to note that the analysis required for divesting a property is intensive and thorough as described in the Treasury Board’s directive on the management of real property. These projects take an average of three to five years to complete. We take this deliberate, considered approach to ensure we consider the full value of these properties and make an informed decision.”

DND putting Sewell House and St. Louis barracks up for sale Read More »

Provisions Inc. building on Ave. Cartier sold

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / local business, Peter Black, Quebec City

Provisions Inc. building on Ave. Cartier sold

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The “Vendu” sign is in the window, but people will have to wait a few weeks to know the identity of the new owner of the Provisions Inc. building on Ave. Cartier.

The “For Sale” sign went up in the three-storey building on Aug. 21, the result of a court decision to sell the building to resolve a legal roadblock. The building had become the property of the National Bank when the purchasers, a couple from France, defaulted on the mortgage after fleeing the country.

The pair, Christophe Bouillon and Stéphanie Bouillon Guessas, had acquired the grocery in 2022 from cousins Vincent and Bruno Drouin, whose family had operated the popular store since 1949.

The bailiff handling the sale mandated Remax agent Hugo Asselin to list the building, which, besides a fully equipped grocery store, has two apartments on the second and third floors.. The asking price was $2 million, and a one-week deadline was set for submission of offers.

Asselin told the QCT there were four interested purchasers and the winning bidder is currently going through the legal process with a notary to make the sale official.

When the QCT visited the building the day after the “Vendu” sign went up, two men and a woman were seen talking at the building doorway. Asked if they were the new owners, one said “possiblement” but had no further comment.

Provisions Inc. building on Ave. Cartier sold Read More »

Joan of Arc statue on Plains gets fix-up

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

Joan of Arc statue on Plains gets fix-up

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Joan of Arc is getting her armour burnished.

The famous statue of the French saint and warrior in the Plains of Abraham garden that bears her name has been barricaded with scaffolding, part of a repair and renovation plan staged over five to 10 years.

A spokesperson for the National Battlefields Commission that maintains the garden said specialists from the Centre de conservation du Québec have been working on the life-size statue and base for two weeks. The scaffolding was to be removed by Sept. 20.

The cost of the makeover is estimated at $30,000.

The statue was a donation from the American sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, Archer M. Huntington, who were enamoured with Quebec City. It commemorates the soldiers who died in the Sept. 13, 1759, Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

The statue is an exact replica of the original one of Joan of Arc on her mount in Manhattan, New York City, erected in 1915. There are three other copies, in Los Angeles; Gloucester, Massachusetts; and Blois, France.

The Quebec City statue was inaugurated in 1938 along with the garden created to surround it.

There is one other statue of a mounted Joan of Arc in the city, located on the grounds of the former Soeurs de Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc convent in Sillery, now a residential complex.

Joan of Arc statue on Plains gets fix-up Read More »

City to change ‘purple bag’ collection schedule for winter

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Environment, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

City to change ‘purple bag’ collection schedule for winter

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Most Quebec City residents participating in the city’s “purple bag” food waste program will have to adjust to a modified schedule as of the week of Oct. 7.

Starting that week, the city will shift from a weekly to a bi-weekly collection schedule for food waste. This change affects all boroughs of the city, except La Cité-Limoilou, the Montmorency sector of Beauport and Maguire Avenue in Sainte-Foy– Sillery-Cap-Rouge.

The collection of garbage and purple bags will alternate with the collection of recyclable materials. The recycling collection week remains the same.

The new schedule will be in effect until March 30; weekly pickup will resume after that and continue until fall 2025.

The city began rolling out its residential compost collection program in La Haute-Saint- Charles in November 2022 and gradually expanded it over the following year. In April 2024, after the city’s biomethanization plant was expanded to process additional food waste, the city opened the program to shops, restaurants, other businesses, public institutions and indus- trial facilities. At the time, Mayor Bruno Marchand said participation in the residential program had been “beyond our expectations.”

“Currently in winter, the majority of bins placed at the curb in the targeted sectors are not full,” Coun. Marie-Josée Asselin, member of the city executive committee responsible for waste management, said in a statement announcing the schedule change. “We can now adjust collection frequencies to real needs, which no longer justify a weekly visit by trucks in the winter period. This is good news!” Asselin did not respond to a request for further comment by press time.

In the statement, city officials said shifting purple bag collection to once every two weeks reduced noise, dust, safety risks and greenhouse gas emissions caused by truck traffic.

The city invited anyone with questions or concerns about waste collection to call 311 or consult the Info-Collecte web portal (ville.quebec.qc.ca/services/info-collecte).

City to change ‘purple bag’ collection schedule for winter Read More »

Male caregivers are welcome in the Shedquarters

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 25, 2024 / Lévis, mental health, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka, Valcartier

Male caregivers are welcome in the Shedquarters

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

English-speaking men in the Quebec City region who are caregivers will soon have access to a new Wellness Centre program aimed at creating social connections and making the experience of being a caregiver less isolating.

The Shedquarters project is inspired by the pan-Canadian Men’s Shed movement, ex- plained project co-ordinator Elise Arsenault. Men’s sheds are autonomous community initiatives that provide a safe and friendly environment where men can work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time, in the company of other men. Arsenault, a master’s student in social work at Université Laval, explained that women tend to be more at ease than men when it comes to discussing difficulties they face openly, whether with a professional or with a friend or family member. “We know there are male caregivers around who are not using existing support services. When men talk about what’s bothering them, they tend to do it shoulder to shoul- der, rather than face to face,” she explained.

Shedquarters intends to give participants the opportunity to do just that. Arsenault said she hoped participants would take ownership of the project, creating “a community of English-speaking male caregivers, by and for the participants.”

The project is open to English-speaking and bilingual men of all ages who are caregivers, the schedule is flexible and the definition of “caregiver” is not restrictive. “You could be caring for a spouse or family member, or helping out a friend or neighbour – it’s a very wide definition,” said Arsenault. Men from around the greater Quebec City, Valcartier and Lévis areas are welcome to join. Arsenault said the program has already had several expressions of interest, and activities were expected to begin later this fall.

If you would like more information about the Shedquarters program for English-speaking male caregivers, either for yourself or someone you know, contact Elise Arsenault directly by phone (418-928-8388) or email (elars18@ulaval.ca).

Male caregivers are welcome in the Shedquarters Read More »

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 17, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City, Transportation

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Vehicle owners in Quebec City will be paying $60 more when they renew their registrations, a move by the city to raise money to expand urban transit service.

Mayor Bruno Marchand announced at a Sept. 11 news conference that the hike will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, when the public transit contribution of vehicle registration will jump from $30 to $90, on top of the regular fee.

The $30 fee has been in effect since 1992; motorists in the Montreal region have been paying a special transit fee since 2011.

The measure, which the Quebec government made available to all municipalities in the province earlier this year, will affect some 300,000 vehicle owners in the Quebec City region. It is expected to raise $18.4 million in the first year, all of which, the mayor said, will be targeted to public transit improvements.

“We are waging a war on congestion,” Marchand said. “The longer we wait to develop the public transport network, the more congestion increases.”

Saying he was not happy to announce a fee increase, the mayor argued, “There is a cost associated with conges- tion. The family that has to buy a second or third car for their child who has to go to CEGEP represents an annual expense of thousands of dollars. The hours lost in traffic are time that people don’t have with their families and for themselves. Congestion has an economic cost and an impact on quality of life.”

The trade-off for the fee hike is an expansion of the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC) network with a plan rolled out over the next three years.

Each year, according to a press release, the RTC plans to add a new fast, high-frequency Metrobus-type route to serve the northern suburbs, a new peripheral sector served by Flexibus with local routes revised accordingly, extension of the àVélo bike-sharing network, and a new Parc-O- Bus lot.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, RTC president and executive committee member, said, “Year after year, the same problem arises: the RTC wants to develop and improve its services, but the funding is not there. Today, we are taking steps to remedy this and are presenting you with an ambitious development plan that meets the needs of our citizens and users.”

Opposition councillors had a variety of reactions to the fee hike, a step dozens of other municipalities have already taken, with fees higher than Quebec City’s $60. Opposition Leader and Québec d’Abord Coun. Claude Villeneuve, whose party is the successor to former mayor Régis Labeaume’s Équipe Labeaume slate, convened a press conference to show plans for RTC network expansion that the Labeaume administration had drawn up – which he said were very similar to the plan Marchand unveiled.

Villeneuve told reporters, “We clearly have a mayor who is waving this plan around with his left hand and who, with his right hand, is going into the pockets of families to get more money – money that will not deliver more mobility and fluidity.”

Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith, meanwhile, while sup- portive of the increased fee, offered other suggestions. In a news release, she proposed “the city offer the Opus card [transit pass] free of charge to residents of the neighbourhoods on the northern out- skirts of Quebec City who will pay the registration tax.

“The city is presenting us with an interesting project for what it will do with the money collected for the development of the public transit network in Quebec City, but I’m increasingly wary of these plans that are being dangled before us. As long as the CAQ is in power, I’m afraid that all mobility projects in Quebec City will remain imaginary projects,” said Smith.

To encourage drivers to try RTC services, the city plans to offer eight free bus tickets, a $30 value, upon request as of Jan. 1.

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service Read More »

City buys historic Saint-Jean-Baptiste church building

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 17, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

City buys historic Saint-Jean-Baptiste church building

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Nearly 140 years after it opened its doors to worshippers and nearly 10 years after those doors closed, Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, one of Quebec City’s most distinctive religious landmarks, may reopen soon following the city’s purchase of the building on Rue Saint-Jean.

On Sept. 9, Mayor Bruno Marchand and executive committee member and local Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc announced the acquisition, for $175,000, of the monumental church, in the square in front of the building which is often used for cultural events. Marchand said Saint-Jean- Baptiste is one of eight religious structures the city is committed to preserving, following recommendations in a 2018 study led by former Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (MNBAQ) head John Porter. He said saving the churches was among his party’s election promises.

The other churches are the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral in Old Quebec; the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, also in Old Quebec; Église de La Nativité de Notre-Dame (Beauport); Église Saint-Charles-Borromée (Charlesbourg); Église Saint- Roch, Église Saint-Sauveur and Église Saint-Charles-de-Limoilou. Saint-Jean-Baptiste is the only one of the eight churches currently unoccupied.

Coulombe-Leduc said the city is awaiting the results of a study by consultants to evaluate the investments required to convert the structure for new functions, already identified as “community, touristic and cultural.” She said, “There is enough space for the three to exist together.”

The estimate of the overall cost to repair and maintain the structure is $34 million over 15 years, Coulombe-Leduc said. The city would be the owner of the building, but the provincial and federal governments would contribute to the project. She said she already has assurances from Québec MP Jean-Yves Duclos that the federal government would be involved.

Coulombe-Leduc said she wants there to be at least temporary activity in the building “as soon as possible” while the details of a development plan are settled. “It is not a good thing for a heritage building to be unoccupied,” she said.

She said the overall structure of the building “is very good” and the windows and roof are in good condition. The parish has managed to do renovations over the years since the church ceased to be a place of worship in 2015. The building has had a heritage designation since 1991.

No one from the Saint-Jean-Baptiste parish council, which still oversees the maintenance of the church, spoke at the press conference or was immediately available to comment.

City buys historic Saint-Jean-Baptiste church building Read More »

Anglican parish program brings cello lessons to community

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 17, 2024 / music education, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

Anglican parish program brings cello lessons to community

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Sillery is starting the new school year on a bright note with a new program offering free, bilingual after-school cello lessons.

“The way we do things at St. Michael’s is we work with the gifts of people who are part of our community, and one of those people is Tomohisa Toriumi, who is a cellist with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and a cello teacher,” said Rev. Jeffrey Metcalfe, the parish priest of St. Michaels, who is also the canon theologian of the Anglican Diocese of Quebec.

Metcalfe is an amateur cel- list who has been taking lessons from Toriumi for several years. “My son, who was three [when I started playing], said ‘I want to play too,’ and we weren’t going to buy him a $1,200 instrument,” Metcalfe recalled. He himself wanted to learn cello as a child but was discouraged from it by a music teacher, not picking up the instrument until his wife bought him one years later.

“[Toriumi] and I were talk- ing about how it can be difficult to start cello, how it’s expensive and how it’s a high bar … he said he would get some cellos and see if anyone is interested in learning.” With a few loaner cellos and a willing volunteer teacher in Toriumi, Les Anges Cordistes – the working title of the cello program – was born.

Metcalfe said he and Toriumi planned to start slowly, with brief weekly after-school gatherings to learn the basics, and then potentially move for- ward with more involved projects, such as a performance ensemble.

Metcalfe said he has gotten expressions of interest from children as young as seven and from adults. He hopes the program will help build community, foster intergenerational learning and engage children and young adults with classical music.

“A few generations ago, if you wanted to listen to music, you got together with your friends and you played or sang,” he said. “There are still some people who do that in Quebec City, but it isn’t the norm. It’s important to find ways of engaging young people in music. By starting younger, kids develop a sense of ‘I can do this!’”

Metcalfe, who cofounded the Anglican diocese’s Chapeau Vert ethical technology education program two years ago, said he sees Les Anges Cordistes as continuing in a long Anglican tradition of sup- porting the arts and as bringing more people in contact with the church community, with the “beautiful space” of St. Michael’s Church and with music as a potentially spiritual practice. “The cello is such a resonant instrument, and people say it has a range similar to the human voice. It’s important for people to find space for practices that bring them joy,” he added. However, he emphasized that participants in the music program didn’t need to be Anglican parishioners or to have anything to do with the church community. “This is for everyone.”

To join, support or learn more about Les Anges Cordistes, contact Rev. Jeffrey Metcalfe directly at jmetcalfe@quebec.anglican.ca.

Anglican parish program brings cello lessons to community Read More »

Student apartment project set for Jeffery Hale clinic site

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 10, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

Student apartment project set for Jeffery Hale clinic site

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Amajor student housing project is in the works that will transform an already busy sector of Saint- Sacrement.

Construction is expected to start in January on a 234-unit building on the site of the former Jeffery Hale Medical Centre on Chemin Ste-Foy. The structure is adjacent to the building that houses the offices of organizations serving the English-speaking community and the Jeffery Hale Hospital.

The as-yet-unnamed build- ing is a project of UTILE (l’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant), a Montreal-based non-profit organization that already has 13 projects built or in development in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Rimouski, Trois- Rivières and Quebec City.

The group’s first project in the capital is called L’Ardoise, a 205-unit building on Chemin Sainte-Foy across from the Université Laval campus. Completed in 2023, the facility was an instant success, according to Maxime Pelletier, UTILE’s assistant director of public affairs.

Rents in L’Ardoise range from $618 per month for a studio to $1,600 per month for a four-bedroom apartment. When units become available, the group said, there is a flood of applications.

Pelletier said UTILE chose the site on the Jeffery Hale property because of its access to transportation and other amenities in the Saint- Sacrement district, plus its proximity to Laval.

The group bought the land for $3.45 million from the owner, Sobeys, the food and real estate giant. Pelletier said construction will begin in the new year once zoning issues are resolved with the city and financing secured for the new project.

Regarding the zoning, Pelletier said, “The main exemptions required for our projects are regarding the height of the building, which is slightly higher than what is currently permitted, as well as the parking-to-units ratio (since many students do not own a car and we want to encourage active and public transit, we have fewer parking spots in our projects).”

Pelletier said he is confident discussions with “multiple levels of government” will secure the financing for the new building. Once construction begins, he said the building should be ready to accept tenants for the 2026 fall semester.

Pelletier said the goal of UTILE is “to provide afford- able housing to students be- cause increasingly housing is the main source of financial debt and stress for students and therefore we believe that providing students with an adequate place to study that is affordable will improve their well-being as well as their capacity to concentrate on their studies.”

The group got its start as a result of the 2012 university student strike, Pelletier said, when there was a movement for a student organization to take over a corporate housing project in the works in down- town Montreal. The takeover didn’t happen, but the move- ment created UTILE, which launched its first project in 2017 in Montreal.

Pelletier said UTILE pours some of the rental income from existing buildings back into new projects but is committed to keeping rents affordable.

As for which students will be granted a lease on an apartment, Pelletier said priority goes to students in the most financial need.

The soon-to-be-demolished Jeffery Hale Medical Centre building currently has only one tenant listed, a dental clinic. The building opened in 1964, a project of five doctors, according to city records: Samuel L. Pollack, John W. Kelly, Peter E. Kozak, Denis Gendron and Ian C. Wilson.

The city inventory of buildings describes the structure as of “little heritage interest … [that] corresponds to a time of multiplication of medical clinics linked to the demographic boom.”

Student apartment project set for Jeffery Hale clinic site Read More »

Faubourg elevator to close in spring for upgrade

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 10, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

Faubourg elevator to close in spring for upgrade

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

One of the city’s more distinctive features is about to undergo a major overhaul. As of Sept. 4, work began on the exterior of the Faubourg public elevator, connecting Rue Saint-Vallier Est in the Saint-Roch district with Rue Saint-Réal in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood in Upper Town.

The exterior work will continue into December; all the while both the elevator and the restaurant will continue to function.

Come spring, though, the iconic Art Deco tower will be closed for about 10 weeks to allow for the replacement of the elevator machinery.

In a Sept. 3 news release, the city said it planned the $1.975-million elevator makeover in two phases “to limit the impacts on citizens as much as possible, in particular by keeping this important mechanical link operational during the winter period.”

Some short-term closures may be necessary during the first phase, and the city has said it will give notice when they are about to occur. Dur- ing the long-term closure in the spring, “measures will be put in place to allow citizens to travel from Upper Town to Lower Town.”

The elevator has considerable historical as well as functional value, according to the city’s architectural directory. It was designed by prominent architect Wilfrid Lacroix, who designed the Gérard-Morisset Pavilion of the Musée national des Beaux-Arts du Québec and collaborated on the design of Collège des Jésuites and the Édifice André-Laurendeau on Parliament Hill.

The structure has undergone various renovations over its 80- year lifespan; the most recent, in 1997, gave the exterior its current look of beige brick.

The city said up to 400 people use the elevator each day.

Faubourg elevator to close in spring for upgrade Read More »

City doesn’t plan to cash in on rise in property evaluations

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 10, 2024 / Peter Black, Quebec City

City doesn’t plan to cash in on rise in property evaluations

Peter Black

peter@qctonline.com

The city’s new property assessment roll for the years 2025-2027 features some major increases in the value of buildings and land. Taxpayers need not worry about a bigger tax bill, the city says, since increases in value will be offset by a decrease in the tax rate.

City officials unveiled the new roll at a media session at City Hall on Sept. 5. The highlights include an average increase of 27.4 per cent on residential properties, 25.3 per cent on multi-residential housing of six units or more, and 24.4 per cent on vacant but serviced land. The overall increase in property value is 23.5 per cent.

Mayor Bruno Marchand said at the news conference, “There is no reason to be afraid. There will be no tax shock.”

That said, given a range of cost pressures, the mayor said, “It is impossible for the city not to raise taxes next December,” although he vowed such a hike would be less than the rate of inflation, as it was in the last two budgets.

Marchand said, “Depending on the increases we are experiencing, depending on the costs that are rising – because we are also experiencing inflation – we are going to make a colossal effort this year to make difficult choices to ensure that we are below inflation in the growth of taxes.”

The new tax roll shows the average value for tax purposes of a single-family home rose from $296,205 on the previous roll to $378,964 on the new one. Buildings with up to five units rose from $382,897 to $489,082 on the new roll.

The category of buildings that saw the largest increase was non-residential (hotels, motels and tourist accommodations) which leaped by 38 per cent. The city lists 145 buildings in this category.

Office buildings, on the other hand, actually decreased in value on the city roll by 7.6 per cent.

The new roll is now available for viewing on the city’s website.

City doesn’t plan to cash in on rise in property evaluations Read More »

Pride Solidarity March celebrates freedom

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 4, 2024 / LGBTQ+, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka

Pride Solidarity March celebrates freedom

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Hundreds of people of a wide range of ages and backgrounds gathered in Place D’Youville on Sept. 1 to mark the 20th anniversary of LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations in Quebec City and call for vigilance in the fight to protect the rights of sexual and gender minorities.

The march was the marquee event of four days of Pride celebrations, which included drag performances, outdoor concerts (despite erratic weather), parties at Le Drague, Le Saint-Matthew and other queer-friendly venues, an artists’ market, a community fair and a “gender exploration” activity at the Palais Montcalm, where people could try on new clothes and appearance-altering prosthetics and get free haircuts, discounted tattoos and style advice from eager volunteers.

While the festival has undergone a rebrand in the past year, changing its name from Fête Arc-en-Ciel de Québec to Fierté de Québec and add- ing more activities for queer, non-binary and young audiences, the traditional Sunday afternoon Solidarity March has remained the same. Organizers are adamant that the march is not a parade. Although the odd political party, labour union or church banner or pin could be seen among the throng of flag- bedecked marchers streaming through Vieux-Québec, there were no organized delegations.

Participants chanted “Pride was a riot!” alluding to the first Pride celebrations in North America, which were protests against a lack of of- ficial recognition, respect and protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people. They chanted slogans in French and English in support of the rights of transgender youth, Palestin- ian sovereignty, the Black Lives Matter movement and boycotts of multinational corporations. A touching open-mic session at Place D’Youville, where people could read poetry or speak about whatever was on their minds, followed the march.

“That platform [at the Soli- darity March] is there for people in the community to express their views, and the only rule is that they do it respect- fully,” said British Columbia- born Johnson Bresnick, who celebrated his first Quebec City Pride in 2008 and recently became secretary of the Alli- ance Arc-en-Ciel, which organizes the annual celebration.

Jean-Yves Martin came from St. Lambert, near Montreal, with his partner, Pierre Poisson. The two men in their 60s, dressed in colourful butterfly outfits, drew admiring looks from the younger marchers. The admiration was mutual. “I love seeing this,” Martin said, gesturing to clusters of people in their teens and 20s with brightly coloured hair and colourful signs. “I have four kids and six grandkids and I raised them just like this, so they can be free.”

Quebec City resident Katharina Urbschat was attending her first Pride, in solidarity with gay family members and to see what it was like. “I love this–Ifeelsofree,likeIcanbe anyone I want to be,” she said. “I can finally say that I belong to this community, and I’m proud of that,” said Hortense*, a recent immigrant from Cam- eroon, where homosexuality is a criminal offence. “There are places in the world where you can’t make that choice, to live out your sexual orientation or your gender identity.”

“As a person who has had to come out a few different times … it’s important for me to have a world where our kids won’t have to come out, where they can just be themselves from the beginning,” said Alexandre Bédard, a father of two young children and Alliance Arc- en-Ciel board member who is transgender.

At the microphone, speakers emphasized the joy of coming together, but also the fragility of LGBTQ+ rights in an increasingly polarized political climate. A Quebec City resident named Dominic, who gave only his first name, stepped to the mic and drew the audience’s attention to his wedding ring. “I’ve been married for 15 years, and to get us to that point, there are people who have been through torture, who have been put in prison, who have died.” He concluded by adapting a quote from French feminist author Simone de Beauvoir: “Never forget that it will only take a political, economic or religious crisis for our rights to be called into question. These rights are never acquired. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your life.”

*last name withheld for safety reasons

Are you new in town and trying to get more involved with the LGBTQ+ community?

• Volunteer with the Alliance Arc-en-Ciel and make your mark on Pride 2025! Email info@arcencielquebec.com to learn more.

• Discover Roller Derby as a player or volunteer and let your competitive side shine through with Roller Derby Québec. “It’s a contact sport on skates with a lot of people – one of the first contact sports developed for women,” explains Élodie Drolet of Roller Derby Québec. “We have a nice bilingual community and a lot of the jargon is in English.” Although teams are only open to women, transgender people and non-binary people, cisgender men are welcome to get involved as officials or volunteers. Follow them on Facebook (Roller Derby Québec).

• Join a queer-positive, creative community with Toustes Doux, a Lower Town-based nonprofit which organizes all-ages, pay-what-you-can queer-friendly community events such as picnics and arts-and-crafts nights. Follow them on Instagram (@toustesdoux).

• Open Zoom and join the Violet Hour Book Club, a bilingual, mainly English-language hybrid book club hosted by Montreal author Christopher Di Raddo. Email him at diraddo@gmail.com to learn more.

• If you enjoy French-language poetry and performance art and want to discover some new venues in Lower Town, follow the Collectif RAMEN on social media.

Pride Solidarity March celebrates freedom Read More »

Samuel-De Champlain beach will stay open into October

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / September 4, 2024 / Environment, Peter Black, Quebec City

Samuel-De Champlain beach will stay open into October

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Samuel-De Champlain beach will stay open into October

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Promenade Samuel-De Champlain beach area, in only its second year of operation, has proved so popular it will be staying open until October.

The Commission de la Capitale-Nationale last week announced the decision to extend the season beyond its originally planned end on Sept. 3, after the Labour Day weekend.

The beach now will be open on weekends until Oct. 6, depending on weather condi- tions, those being a tempera- ture above 18 C and a forecast without heavy rain or a full day of precipitation.

If the weather co-operates, that could mean a total of five bonus weekends at the beach, which features an unheated swimming pool, a “mirror pool” with water jets and access for a dip in the river.

While the pool will be open only on weekends, the mirror pool and water jets will be open to the public throughout the week.

The CCN is betting on a repeat of last September’s weather, where the average temperature was 21.8 C, 3.9 C above the 17.9 C average. That made for 20 days above 20 C, well above the average nine for the month.

According to weather watcher David Page, “The way things are going, September is likely to mirror recent months and temperatures will be above normal. Environment Canada’s outlook for September is above normal temperatures for al- most the entire country.”

Page said, “While the temperatures are definitely rising with climate change, it will take a while to affect the averages. But it’s probably a good bet to predict averages of one or two degrees above average.”

CCN spokesperson Jean- Philippe Guay told the QCT it takes a small team to keep the beach site open. That includes the site manager, beach attendants, housekeeping attendants and lifeguards, depending on traffic and time of day. The snack shop at the pavilion will be open on weekends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Promenade Champlain beach is not the only city swimming area to have a prolonged schedule this September. The Gerard-Guay pool in Parc Saint-Charles-Garnier in Sillery will remain open until Sept. 22, depending on weather conditions.

The reason for the extension, according to the city, is the shortage of swimming pools, due to the temporary closure of most indoor pools in the city for regular maintenance. A quick survey shows the only non-institutional indoor city pool open is Bourg-Royal in Charlesbourg.

Information on opening hours for municipal indoor pools is available on the city’s website.

Samuel-De Champlain beach will stay open into October Read More »