Category: Quebec

Canadian Armed Forces Deployed in Quebec as COVID-19 Cases Rise

The Canadian Armed Forces have been dispatched to assist in Quebec’s vaccination campaign as the province reported over 15,000 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 3. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair made the announcement on Twitter on Jan. 3, saying the decision came after the province made a request for aid. “Following our approval of Quebec’s request for federal…


Provinces Debate Allowing COVID-19 Positive Health Care Workers to Remain on the Job

As daily updates resume after pausing for the holiday weekend, provinces are considering following Quebec’s lead in letting health care personnel who have tested positive for COVID-19 to continue working out of fear of eroding the ability of health care institutions to treat their patients. Quebec’s Minister of Health Christian Dube announced on Dec. 27…


Calls Mount for Feds to Challenge Quebec Secularism Law

Pressure is mounting on the Liberal government to challenge Quebec’s Bill 21 after a teacher wearing a hijab was removed from her classroom earlier this month. Fatemeh Anvari, who taught in a Chelsea elementary school, part of the Western Québec School Board, was removed from her teaching position for wearing a hijab in the classroom…


Quebec University Classrooms Are Not Safe Spaces, Says Academic Freedom Committee

MONTREAL—A committee mandated by the Quebec government to investigate academic freedom says university classrooms should not be considered safe spaces. The committee, headed by former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister Alexandre Cloutier, introduced its report today, following hearings that included testimony from university staff and students. Cloutier, the vice chancellor at Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi,…


Quebec Restores Some Government Websites Taken Down Due to Software Vulnerability

MONTREAL—Some Quebec government websites taken down Sunday due to a massive software vulnerability are back online. The websites of power utility Hydro-Quebec and the Health Department were restored today, while the education ministry and some university services remain unavailable. The Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi reported the temporary shutdown of its websites, leaving thousands of…


Massive Software Flaw With Global Reach Forces Quebec to Shut Government Websites

MONTREAL—Almost 4,000 Quebec government websites were shut down over the weekend as a preventative measure following threats of a cyberattack, the province’s minister of digital transformation said Sunday. Eric Caire made the announcement at an afternoon press conference in Quebec City, during which he said all official government websites would be taken offline until further…


What Will It Take to Bring Sanity Back to Quebec Schools?

Commentary Perhaps it will take Quebec schoolchildren imitating their counterparts of a century ago to restore sanity to adults responsible for the disgrace of a hijab-wearing teacher being removed from a classroom. Little else seems capable of lifting the veil of political obtuseness obscuring the real-world infamy of the province’s law banning the wearing of…


Quebec Board Wrong to Hire Teacher Who Wore Hijab Given Secularism Law: Legault

MONTREAL—Premier Francois Legault says a school board in western Quebec should not have hired a teacher who wore a hijab. Legault told reporters today in Quebec City the province’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been in place since June 2019 and the Western Quebec School Board should have respected it when hiring. It…


Seat Redistribution Plan Prompting Blanchet’s ‘Fires of Hell’ Rhetoric Has Popular Support

A national survey shows wide approval for proposed changes to Canada’s electoral districts that would take a House of Commons seat from Quebec and give additional seats to three other provinces. The plan, which drew derision from Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, has implications for national unity and Liberal fortunes in Quebec. The proposal by Elections…


Quebec Judge Rules Province’s Abandoned Health-Care Vaccine Mandate Is Legal

MONTREAL—A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled in favour of the province’s vaccine mandate for health−care workers, nearly two weeks after the government suspended the health order. Justice Michel Yergeau’s decision released today denies the request for an injunction brought by unvaccinated health network employees. The Quebec government announced on Nov. 3 it was abandoning…