The new Québec Biopharmaceutical Strategy will enable Québec to consolidate its position as a Canadian leader in the life sciences sector and as an internationally recognized hub in this field. With this strategy Québec will ensure that it contends with international competition by offering companies one of North America’s most favourable business environments as regards to their future development. The Québec government will earmark $122.77 million over the next three years for the Québec biopharmaceutical industry.
In early October, Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and Parks paid official visits to Paris and Brussels in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in December. This initiative was aimed at promoting Québec’s positions on climate change and spotlighting the role of federated states and regions in implementing the decisions made in Copenhagen. Subnational governments can help meet greenhouse gas reduction targets by exercising legislative and regulatory powers within their areas of jurisdiction.
A Québec cheese called “Le Cendrillon” was voted world champion at the 2009 World Cheese Awards, held in Spain’s Canary Islands. Le Cendrillon was singled out from 2,440 cheeses from 34 countries.
Québec filmmaker Xavier Dolan’s I Killed My Mother (J’ai tué ma mère) was singled out for the “Bayard d’Or” award for best film at this year’s Festival international du film francophone de Namur (FIFF), and Anne Dorval, one of the stars of the movie, was awarded the prize for best actress. To complete the hat trick, I Killed My Mother was picked by FIFF’s Emile Cantillon Jury as best first film.
Québec’s Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, Michelle Courchesne, voiced Québec’s views during the Ministerial Round Table on Education held in Paris on October 9 and 10 as part of the 35th Session of the UNESCO General Conference. This is the first time that a Québec cabinet minister has taken the floor during a Ministerial Round Table held within the framework of a program of the General Conference, UNESCO’s main policy-setting body.
Further to the announcement made at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009, Telefilm Canada, Quebec’s Cultural Enterprise Development Corporation (SODEC), the French Community of Belgium’s Cinema and Audiovisual Centre (CCA), France’s National Centre for Cinema and Animation (CNC) and Luxembourg’s Film Fund, in partnership with Switzerland’s Federal Cultural Office (OFC), are pleased to launch a call for applicants for the Francophone Film Development Assistance Fund (FFADC).
A number of international experts are in Québec City from October 13 to 15 to discuss rural development issues and their impact on prosperity during the OECD Annual Rural Development Conference. The event was launched in the presence of Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nathalie Normandeau, Deputy Premier, Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife and Minister responsible for the Northern Plan, and Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy.
Pierre Arcand, Québec’s Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, will be undertaking an official visit to China from October 9-17. He will be accompanied by a large delegation of approximately 50 people representing Québec companies and institutions, together with environmental and IT researchers and representatives of the tourism sector and the Centre for the International Promotion of Quebec Public Expertise (CIPQPE).
Following bilateral discussions in Québec City between Premier Jean Charest and the Governor of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, Emilio González Márquez, the two governments signed a cooperation agreement to further consolidate the close ties that exist between Québec and Jalisco. The agreement will lead to the development of alliances and the implementation of cooperation activities over the short and medium term, primarily in education, culture, the economy and tourism. Encouraging the participation of young people is also a goal.
Québec’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Line Beauchamp, was in Brussels on October 6 and 7. With just two months to go before the Copenhagen Summit, the Minister’s visit was a chance for her to present Québec’s positions on climate change and emphasize the role of federated states and regions in implementing the decisions that will be made in Copenhagen. “It’s a prerequisite for achieving the objectives,” she said. Indeed, federated states and regions can help meet greenhouse gas reduction targets through legislation and regulations, and in exercising the powers within their jurisdiction.
At the close of the 2nd Governors’ Global Climate Summit co-hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles, on October 2, Québec Premier Jean Charest signed the final declaration in which participating governments reiterate the urgency of taking action to combat climate change and the importance of recognizing the fundamental contribution made by federated states in implementing solutions for reducing the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG). The joint declaration by the leaders of regions and federated states will stimulate discussions on establishing a new climate change protocol at the UN Conference on climate change that will be held next December in Copenhagen.
The Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, Mr. Pierre Arcand, salutes the appointment of Mr. John Parisella as the new Québec Delegate General in New York and that of Mr. Robert Keating as Assistant Deputy Minister of International Relations beginning November 16, 2009.
On mission to Japan, Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie Pierre Arcand met with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Koichi Takemasa. This marks Mr. Takemasa’s first meeting with a foreign diplomat since the election of the new Hatoyama government on August 30, 2009.
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