After enduring a long, cold winter, which buried Quebec City residents up to their necks in snow, this spring’s unseasonably cold weather has not been very promising. As we approach the June 21 summer solstice, David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment Canada, says the recent wet and cold weather should not dampen hopes for a gloriously warm summer.

Photo: courtesy of city of Quebec

There will be a new buzz in the Old City this summer; the neighbourhood, however, is about to get a whole lot quieter. A fleet of eight small electric RTC buses will roll off the line on June 14 to accommodate both residents and tourists, free of charge. The launch of the two-year Écolobus pilot program is the second phase of the city of Quebec’s new transit strategy in the Old City.

Photo: Scott French

It’s time to look more closely at Canada’s past ties to slavery, argued Montreal writer Dorothy Williams during her talk at the Morrin Centre last Friday. Canada’s progressive role in the abolition of the American slave trade is touted in history classes, but, as Williams reminded attendees, Canada and Quebec have slavery in their past as well.

Every now and then one comes across a book that moves you to talk and even to write about it. I finally read The Kite Runner while on vacation last week: I loved it. Laced with pathos and irony this first work by physician-author Khaled Hosseini reminded me of an old favourite: Marcel Pagnol’s L’Eau des collines, once or twice put to screen as Jean de Fleurette and Manon des Sources.

Congratulations to Aurian Haller (pictured), winner of the 2008 National Magazine Award for Best Poem. Haller’s long work Song of the Taxidermist, which appeared in the literary journal Malahat Review, was chosen by the judges as the finest piece of verse to have been published in a Canadian magazine in 2007.

From Michigan, Private First Class Paul Markham, US Navy

Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser tabled his yearly report last Thursday in the House of Commons. Fraser blasted the Harper government’s failure to devise a follow-up to the Action Plan for Official Languages, which expired in March. Fraser was also critical of the use of official languages in some federal institutions.

A new, free referral service is now offered in Quebec City. 211 will help residents get information about community and government organizations and services in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. By dialling 2-1-1, residents will be put in touch with bilingual operators ready to answer questions about everything from large garbage collection to church service hours.

Photo: courtesy of CQSB

One activity, among all the celebrations that are taking place for Québec city’s 400th anniversary, is the celebration of Europe Day. On this occasion, representatives of member countries of the European Union gathered in Quebec City last month.