Tag Archives: December 13 2023

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Fury over CBC cuts; tramway pause not all bad

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Fury over CBC cuts; tramway pause not all bad

Dear Editor: 

I am furious upon hearing that the government will cut some 600 jobs at CBC and Radio-Canada, the two radio and television networks whose mandate is to provide Canadians with accurate news throughout the country and sustain the national identity and culture.

It transpires that most English Canadians shun CBC television and to some extent its radio. CBC receives only six per cent of listeners and about two-thirds of the $1.2 billion annual budget (the rest of the subsidy for public communication goes to Radio-Canada). The preference is to tune in to Global TV or more likely American networks and the prominent social network giants.   

Radio-Canada is watched or listened to by 29 per cent of all watchers/listeners in French. It shows a revenue from advertising of $149.1 million, compared to CBC at $139.5 million. The other French-speaking networks account for the remaining listeners. Most of them also privilege Canadian content.

Catherine Tait, the president of CBC/Radio-Canada, will cut half of the jobs at CBC and half at Radio-Canada. CBC receives the greater part of subsidies but is less effective than Radio-Canada. Tait’s decisions are very questionable and I believe she is likely overstaying her mandate as the head of the organization.

Radio-Canada, despite compressions, is doing its job for the benefit of French-speaking Canadians in all the provinces and is evidently the more creative and profitable of the two networks. 

Britain, France, Switzerland and other advanced countries have national broadcasters that are both efficient and popular and are of significant cultural and social importance. They bind the citizens to the whole. The yearly cost per person in Canada of our national network is reported by Radio-Canada as $33, whereas the average per-citizen cost of such public networks in other countries averages $88, with “Aunty” (BBC) costing each citizen $105 and the Swiss network almost $180 per person. 

A physically vast country like Canada with many isolated regions needs –  even more so than the aforementioned compact nations –  a national broadcaster that is a close part of the everyday lives of its citizens, to maintain our identity, coherence, culture and democracy. Clearly, the transition to parallel vehicles of communication by CBC-Radio Canada will need increased strategy and funding.

How do we bring many Canadians to CBC who are more connected to a neighbouring country and other culture, and who mostly shun Canadian talent and character? 

Maybe the image of CBC needs renewed charisma. Do we need a new Peter Mansbridge or a new role for educationists to make a change? 

As a Quebecer, I am proud of my regional identity. However, I sense that Canada is more a sentiment of place here than it is in the rest of a country that prefers foreign cultures to its own.  

 A paradox?  

Arthur James Plumpton*

Île D’Orléans

*The writer is a one-time student public radio producer and a longtime listener and admirer of CBC and Radio-Canada. 

Dear Editor, 

Further to “Could tramway pause be beneficial?” (Nov. 22 and Dec. 5) : The tram platform has many disadvantages.  By limiting the travel way for vehicles to one lane in each direction and by not allowing vehicles to cross the platform in case of need, the platform causes a host of problems with respect to access of neighbouring land uses  – garbage removal, deliveries, moving vans, para-transit (STAC) and  taxi service, street cleaning and so on,. as well as creating difficulties for police, ambulance and fire department access.  One can see in the accompanying photo (from Bordeaux, France)  that a tram line does not require a platform.

Questions have been raised, without obtaining a satisfactory public answer:

At the Cartier station, the project office  provided an ambiguous picture of its proposal that did not make clear that Boul. René-Lévesque would become a one-way shared street eastbound. Furthermore, the office placed a delivery truck in the corridor reserved for people with reduced mobility, and placed a station dock so as to block the access to a pharmacy. Would it be possible to analyze an option where trams and other vehicles share the space at different times – such as is proposed for the area between the cemeteries near Ave. Myrand – and the Cartier westbound dock is moved east of Ave. de Salaberry?

The bus stop near the La Champenoise seniors’ residence will disappear, to be replaced by a station at Maguire Avenue.  There are a large number of senior citizens at this residence for whom it will be practically impossible to travel.

The tram project also includes the creation of a new road link along Rue Mendel.  This aspect has never been justified in terms of transit service. 

Paul Mackey*

Quebec City

*The writer is an urban mobility consultant and former city councillor.

In Bordeaux, the tram line in the city centre functions well without a platform. Photo by Paul Mackey
Volunteer Susan Doucet (seen here during the 2022 campaign) makes sure there is enough of everything to fill the hundreds of boxes of groceries that will be delivered before Christmas. Other helpers in this photo are Andrew Ayre (left) and Jean- Sébastien Jolin-Gignac (in the background). (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS HAMPER CAMPAIGN: Delivery Day countdown begins

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS HAMPER CAMPAIGN: Delivery Day countdown begins

Submitted by Shirley Nadeau, organizing committee chairperson, Quebec Community Christmas Hamper Campaign

It is wonderful to see how community members come together each year to help those who struggle to put a meal on the table, especially during the holidays. The Community Christmas Hamper Campaign, now in its 28th year, is like a well-oiled machine, and barring snowstorms and pandemics, this organization is ready to roll for another D-Day (delivery day).  

All the fresh food has been ordered from a local grocery store, sufficient volunteers are on standby to sort the donated food and pack the hundreds of boxes; and volunteer drivers are ready to roll to deliver the hampers (boxes) to recipients’ homes on Dec. 16. Members of the organizing committee have double-checked their lists to be sure they haven’t missed anyone  during this season of giving. 

Fundraising to purchase the food to fill the boxes is going very well, with more than 67 per cent of our $50,000 goal attained as of Dec. 10. We extend a huge Thank You! to everyone who has made a financial or in-kind donation thus far. We also thank all those who have donated dry goods and organized fundraising events.  

If you have not yet contributed to this worthy cause to help members of the English-speaking community enjoy a festive meal during the holidays, it’s not too late. For information on how to help, visit the CCHC website at qchampers.ca

Volunteer Susan Doucet (seen here during the 2022 campaign) makes sure there is enough of everything to fill the hundreds of boxes of groceries that will be delivered before Christmas. Other helpers in this photo are Andrew Ayre (left) and Jean- Sébastien Jolin-Gignac (in the background). (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)
Director Clemens Schuldt, members of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and students of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the Faculté de musique de l’Université Laval were applauded loud and long by appreciative members of the audience at the Grand Théâtre at the end of Mahler’s First Symphony on Nov. 29. (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

REVIEW: Clemens Schuldt directs Mahler’s grandiose First Symphony

REVIEW: Clemens Schuldt directs Mahler’s grandiose First Symphony  Shirley Nadeau shirley@qctonline.com Clemens Schuldt, artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec (OSQ), presented a fabulous program of music on Nov….

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“This is something I do out of a sense of civic duty,” said Farnell Morisset, a Quebecer who makes informative content on TikTok. His videos earned him a place on the La Presse 2023 “real influencers of the year” list. (Photo provided by Farnell Morisset)

Lawyer with Quebec City roots making his mark on TikTok

Lawyer with Quebec City roots making his mark on TikTok Alphonsine Sefu On TikTok, Farnell Morisset explains current events, espe- cially those related to the National Assembly, with a critical…

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Université Laval journalism student Alphonsine Sefu is the QCT’s newest writer. (Photo courtesy of Alphonsine Sefu)

Meet the QCT’s newest writer, Alphonsine Sefu

Meet the QCT’s newest writer, Alphonsine Sefu Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter editor@qctonline.com Alphonsine Sefu is a student in the international journalism master’s degree program at Université Laval, currently…

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An accordionist and an angel accompanied St. Nicholas in distributing treats to good children, while the Krampus, barely visible in the background, gave out potatoes to naughty children. (Photo by Cassandra Kerwin)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Photos by Cassandra Kerwin cassandra@qctonline.com…

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Quebec City Women’s Club congratulates 2023 bursary winners

Quebec City Women’s Club congratulates 2023 bursary winners

Submitted by Marie Coyea, bursary chairperson, Quebec City Women’s Club

The Quebec City Women’s Club awards bursaries to outstanding women from the Quebec City region. This year, the Quebec City Women’s Club Bursary Committee is pleased to announce two deserving bursary winners, namely Wan-Li Sun and Marie de la Sablonnière. These two women demonstrated their academic excellence, their sense of vision and their community involvement.

Wan-Li Sun is a first-year medical student at McGill University who completed a bachelor of science in neuroscience in May 2023 from the same institution. In 2022, she was selected to work with MUHC neonatologist Dr. Pia Wintermark, supported by the Leduc, Davis, Brun & De Rito Undergraduate Award for Global Health, to help implement a clinical trial aimed at finding solutions to thrive after birth asphyxia in Uganda. She was involved with the McGill Students’ Cancer Society (MSCS), throughout her time at McGill and served as co-president last year. She contributed to a team effort that raised over $50,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. Wan-Li communicates fluently in three languages, English, French and Mandarin. She is a graduate of Ste-Foy Elementary and CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence. She contributes a few hours a week to bioethics research and volunteers with SOS Grossesse. In any remaining spare time, she maintains her mental and physical health by swimming, reading, cooking and hiking.

Marie de la Sablonnière is a dedicated occupational therapy student at Université de Montréal with a passion for learning and serving her community. She began her university studies in the cognitive science program at McGill University, during which time she started working as a camp counsellor with autistic children. This oriented her in the direction of occupational therapy, where she is today. She is active in the Viser Ergo student club, developing a program for adaptive sports, including wheelchair basketball, and creating a podcast about rehabilitation. She has won numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Academic Medal at Cégep de Sainte-Foy. Marie grew up in the Quebec City region, developing her excellent English language skills throughout elementary school, secondary school and CEGEP. She main- tains several hobbies including sports, reading and cooking.

Congratulations to Ms. Sun and Ms. de la Sablonnière!

For those who are inter- ested, the advertising and posting of the 2024 applications will begin next spring. The deadline for the 2024 applications will be in September. Please note that to qualify, applicants must show proof that they are originally from the Greater Quebec City region or have been residing at a local residential address for the last three years. Be sure to stay posted through the Citadel Foundation website. In the meantime, if you have questions concerning the bursaries, please feel free to contact Marie Coyea at marie.coyea@videotron.ca.

Wan-Li Sun, a first-year medical student at McGill University, is one of two recipients of bursaries from the Quebec City Women’s Club. (Photo provided by Wan-Li Sun)
Marie de la Sablonnière, an occupational therapy student at Université de Montréal, received a Quebec City Women’s Club bursary. (Photo by Camille Laurendeau courtesy of Marie de la Sablonnière)
The president of the National Assembly, Nathalie Roy, honoured the Montreal Alouettes on Dec. 5 in the Salon Rouge. From left to right are team owner Pierre-Karl Péladeau; general manager Danny Maciocia; interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay; Nathalie Roy, president of the National Assembly; Marc-Antoine Dequoy of the Alouettes; Premier François Legault; Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson and parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau- Dubois; and Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. (Photo by Luc Lang)

National Assembly welcomes Grey Cup champions Alouettes

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Quebec City native and former Université Laval Rouge et Or kicker David Côté took to the ice with the Grey Cup won by his team, the Montreal Alouettes, before the Remparts game on Dec. 6. (Photo courtesy of the Quebec Remparts/Jonathan L’Heureux)

Remparts have scoreless weekend against Moncton, Rimouski

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