Immigration: a France-Québec task force is created A joint declaration announcing the creation of a France-Québec migration movement and integration working group was signed in Paris on September 14 by the French Minister of Immigration and Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development, Éric Besson, and the Québec Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, Yolande James.

Québec embarks on developing new green energy sources A green energy technology development assistance program, funded by a budget of $8M over two years, was recently established by the Québec government. The program is intended to stimulate research and innovation, foster an increase in the number of demonstrated new green energy technologies, and contribute to company growth and job creation.

OIF appoints Clément Duhaime’s to another term of office The Premier of Québec, Jean Charest, and his Minister of International Relations and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, are pleased by the decision to renew Clément Duhaime’s term of office as Administrator of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). On September 4 in Paris, OIF Secretary General Abdou Diouf announced that he trusts Duhaime’s competence and vision and has chosen him to serve a second four-year term as OIF Administrator.

Video games: Funcom to launch operations in Québec Norway-based Funcom, one of Europe’s leading video game companies, is set to open a new studio in Montréal devoted to massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) development and publishing, providing further confirmation of the video game industry’s strategic role in Québec’s largest city.

Life sciences: $90 million investment at GlaxoSmithKline’s Québec City plant GlaxoSmithKline’s Québec City plant, which produces all of Canada’s flu vaccine, will benefit from a $90 million modernization. The project involves replacing the sterile filling and packaging line with a new larger-capacity line, which is scheduled for completion in 2012. The investment will enable GSK to boost its pandemic vaccine production capacity and to reduce delivery times in the event that the World Health Organization declares another pandemic.

Montreal International Game Summit The sixth edition of the Montréal International Game Summit (SIJM), a must-attend event for creative professionals and decision makers in the video game industry, will be held on November 16-17.

Minister Arcand completes a successful trip to Spain Pierre Arcand, Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, delivered a positive report on his official visit to Spain (September 7-11), which included meetings with some 15 high-level political figures and visits to a variety of industrial and cultural centres. He also announced four new cooperation projects during his trip.

Québec celebrates 10 years of presence in Berlin This year, the Québec Government Office in Berlin is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In fact, it was a Cultural Agency that the Québec government first opened in the German capital in 1999. This Agency later became an Office reporting to the Québec Government Office in Munich. Since then, Québec’s representation in Berlin has continued to promote Québec in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Hola Québec at the Festival Internacional Cervantino The details of Québec’s presence at the 37th Festival internacional Cervantino, where it will be the guest of honour in October, were revealed recently in Montréal.

Samuel de Champlain Promenade receives the Chicago Athenaeum’s International Architecture Award The prestigious Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, in association with the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press, recently presented an International Architecture Award to the Daoust Lestage architectural and design firm for its work on the Samuel de Champlain Promenade project in Québec City.

Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers expressed support for a greener economy Premiers and governors attending the 33rd Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (CNEG/ECP) renewed their commitment to a greener, more environmentally friendly economy. Premier Jean Charest was in Saint John, New Brunswick to participate in the meeting, whose theme was “Close Collaboration – Stronger Economies.”

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Video Games: turning on the charm in Japan During his official mission to Japan from September 22 to October 1, the Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, will attend the Tokyo Game Show to support Québec’s video game development industry in its prospecting efforts among the world’s foremost players in the field.

The Québec government announces a $60 million investment in the GSK infrastructure modernization project Brussels, September 11, 2009 – As part of a three-way joint project, the Québec and Canadian governments and GlaxoSmithKline inc. (GSK) have announced that $60 million in non-refundable funding, spread over three years, will be awarded to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

New technological cooperation agreement between Belgium and Canada St-Hyacinthe, Québec: September 3, 2009, CTT GROUP (Centre for Textile and Geosynthetic Technologies, recognized as a centre of excellence) in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada and CENTEXBEL (Scientific and Technical Research Centre of the Belgian Textile Industry) in Brussels, Belgium, have signed a new technological cooperation agreement. Jan Laperre, Director General of Centexbel, and Jacek Mlynarek, CEO of CTT Group, signed the agreement in the presence of Québec Government Representative in Brussels Christos Sirros.

Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers: in support of a green economy Premiers and governors attending the 33rd Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (CNEG/ECP) renewed their commitment to a greener, more environmentally friendly economy. Premier Jean Charest was in Saint John, New Brunswick to participate in the meeting, whose theme was “Close Collaboration – Stronger Economies.”

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Pierre Arcand completes a successful trip to Spain Pierre Arcand, Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, delivered a positive report on his official visit to Spain (September 7-11), which included meetings with some 15 high-level political figures and visits to a variety of industrial and cultural centres. He also announced four new cooperation projects during his trip.

Québec’s Government Office in Barcelona celebrates its 10th anniversary and announces four innovative new projects with Catalonia Pierre Arcand, Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, celebrated the 10th anniversary of Québec’s Government Office in Barcelona at a reception held during his official visit to Spain. The event was attended by a number of political figures from Catalonia and Québec, including Yvon Vallières, Speaker of the National Assembly, who headed a delegation of Québec lawmakers.

Québec City hosts francophone ombudsman convention Mediators and ombudsmen from 25 francophone countries converged on Québec City from September 7 to 9. Some 75 officials took part in the sixth convention of the Association des ombudsman et médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF), held around the theme “Mediators, politics and justice: Toward equitable access to rights.”