Category: Quebec

Quebec Finance Minister to Table Budget Today That Is Expected to Address Inflation

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard will table a budget today for the 2022-23 fiscal year, just over six months ahead of the provincial election. The budget comes as the Quebec government is facing pressure to help residents cope with inflation and the rising cost of living as it continues to chart a course toward pandemic…


Quebec Introduced New Plan to Support the French Language Across Other Provinces

Quebec is proposing setting aside one day every year to celebrate the Canadian Francophonie as part of a three-year plan to reinforce French language across the country. Treasury Board Chair Sonia LeBel says she will push for the adoption of March 22 as an official day at the National Assembly, and an occasion for Quebecers…


Quebec Seniors Home Investigated for Alleged Mistreatment of Workers From Africa

Quebec’s labour minister says an investigation is underway into allegations that a private seniors residence in Lévis, Que., paid workers from Africa just $70 a week to work as orderlies for several months. The allegations were reported in an investigative report in Le Devoir published on Thursday, prompting Labour Minister Jean Boulet to ask the…


Lewis Calls Bill 21 ‘Religious Discrimination,’ Poilievre Hopes Quebec Repeals Law

Conservative leadership contender and rookie MP Leslyn Lewis on Monday called a Quebec law restricting public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols at work “explicit religious discrimination.” Lewis, who is running for the leadership a second time after placing third in the party’s 2020 race, says Conservatives must make decisions “based on…


Quebec’s ‘Punitive’ Pandemic Response Did Not Effectively Curb COVID-19 Spread, Study Finds

The Quebec government has issued tens of thousands of fines to residents who did not comply with its pandemic restrictions, but a new study finds that this “punitive” approach does not necessarily slow down the spread of COVID-19. Released on March 10, the study, conducted by four researchers from the University of Montreal’s Profiling Observatory…


Quebec’s ‘Punitive’ Pandemic Response Did Not Effectively Curb COVID-19 Spread, Report Finds

The Quebec government has issued tens of thousands of fines to residents who did not comply with its pandemic restrictions, but a new report finds that this “punitive” approach does not necessarily slow the spread of COVID-19. “Québec chose to turn the public health crisis into a public safety crisis, managed with 46,563 police interventions,”…


Canada Sends Quebec Man to United States to Face Ransomware Charges

A Quebec man has been extradited to the United States to face charges in Florida arising from alleged participation in an elaborate ransomware operation. Following a request from U.S. authorities, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins was arrested in Gatineau, Que., in January of last year. Police executed a search warrant at his home, seizing 719 Bitcoin valued at…


Quebec Public Health Solicited Help to Justify Second Curfew Just Hours Before Announcement, Emails Show

A series of emails obtained by Radio-Canada revealed that Quebec’s former public health director was looking for scientific explanations to justify imposing a curfew mere hours before the province announced on Dec. 30, 2021, that it would enforce the measure on New Year’s Eve. It was the second curfew in Quebec since the pandemic began….


Charest to Be in Ottawa to Meet With Conservatives MPs to Discuss Party Leadership

OTTAWA—While the race to lead the Conservative Party of Canada may still only have one contender, its members of Parliament are being invited to meet with a potential second. Former Quebec premier Jean Charest will be in Ottawa this week to discuss the party’s leadership with Conservative MPs at an event hosted by two who…


Quebec Police Investigating Deaths of Two Couples in Separate Incidents

MONTREAL—Police in Laval, Que., are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman in their 70s. Police in the Montreal suburb say the couple’s son called 911 shortly after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, after finding the bodies of his parents in their home. Police spokeswoman Const. Stephanie Beshara says police believe the deaths may have…