Manneken Pis in his 24th of June 2009 suit! The little Julien is faithful to us.

future actualité à venir

Québec Premier Jean Charest and the Manitoba Premier Gary Doer will be in Brussels from Friday, June 26 until Monday, June 29 A short description of several activities :

Hélène Dorion receives Charles-Vildrac prize Poet Hélène Dorion has been awarded the Charles-Vildrac prize for her collection of poems Le hublot des heures, published by Éditions La Différence. She is the first Quebecer to be singled out for this honour by the Société des gens de lettres de France (SGDLF).

Minister Arcand gives the economy and the environment top priority in his forthcoming U.S. strategy On June 18 and 19, the Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, is carrying out a mission to Washington, D.C. to meet with high-level political figures for further consultation in devising a new U.S. strategy. This marks Minister Arcand’s fifth visit to the United States and his second to the U.S. capital.

Cultural diversity: Québec welcomes Canada’s re-election to the Intergovernmental Committee The second session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions concluded in Paris on June 16. The meeting was aimed primarily at approving operational guidelines facilitating the implementation of the Convention and electing new members to the Intergovernmental Committee. In this regard, Québec welcomes Canada’s resounding re-election to a second consecutive term. Building on the UNESCO agreement between the Québec and Canadian governments, Québec will continue to play an active role in the Committee’s initiatives and negotiations.

Olyfran Competition Award of excellence: a chance to study French in Québec

Sonaca wins major Bombardier contract This week at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, Belgian-based aerospace company Sonaca signed a major contract with Bombardier, worth $1 to 2 billion, covering the design, manufacturing and supply of fixed and mobile leading edges, including de-icing systems (its specialty), for the wings of the North American company’s new CSeries aircraft.

Forty-two Québec firms attend the largest international aerospace event The Minister of International Relations and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, is leading a trade mission with representatives from 42 Québec firms to the Paris Air Show Le Bourget from June 15 to 21. This year’s event celebrates its one hundredth anniversary. Some 2,000 exhibitors and around 400,000 visitors are expected to attend.

Québec’s National Day in Brussels City halls of Mons, Charleroi and Liège to fly Québec flag. Manneken-Pis to don Québec costume on June 24. All Quebecers and their Belgian friends will celebrate on June 28.

Conference of Montréal: “Adapting to a New World Order” Several internationally renowned figures from the world’s economic, political and social circles participated in the 15th Conference of Montréal held from June 8 to 11. The conference theme was “Adapting to a New World Order.” Premier Jean Charest presided over the opening luncheon attended by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick, among others.

Québec/Wallonia-Brussels youth literature prizes: Dominique Demers and Jean-Marie Defossez singled out for honours Brussels, June 17, 2009 ― The 2009 Québec/Wallonia-Brussels youth literature prizes have been awarded to Quebecer Dominique Demers for her novel L’Élu : la grande quête de Jacob Jobin, published by Québec Amérique, and Belgium’s Jean-Marie Defossez for Envol pour le paradis, published by Bayard Jeunesse. The Québec and Belgian authors will be officially presented with their prizes at the Salon du livre de Montréal (Montréal book fair) in November 2009 and the Foire du livre de Bruxelles (Brussels book fair) in March 2010. This year’s awards were reserved for authors of novels for young readers aged 12 to 15.

Shandong gives Québec statue of Confucius On June 11, Premier Jean Charest participated in the unveiling of a statue of Confucius presented to Québec by the Province of Shandong, represented for the occasion by Vice Governor Suilian Wang and the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Lijun Lan. The statue is a token of the lasting friendship between Québec and Shandong, the Chinese province where the famous philosopher was born.

Québec-France agreement adopted by the National Assembly Québec’s National Assembly adopted a bill on June 9 implementing the Québec-France agreement on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, as well as other agreements of the same nature. The legislation reflects the commitments made in October 2008 by Premier Charest and President Sarkozy aimed at facilitating and expediting the granting of permits to practice a regulated profession or trade on both sides of the Atlantic.

Haiti: ENAP-OAS cooperation agreement During a ceremony held in Montréal on June 8, José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and Marcel Proulx, Director General of Québec’s National School of Public Administration (ENAP), signed a cooperation agreement concerning the modernization and integration of Haiti’s civil status records. Also attending were Yolande James, Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, Pierre-Richard Casimir, Consul General of Haiti, and Graeme Clark, Canada’s Ambassador to the OAS.

MHD has delivered the first shipset of KC-135 landing gear MHD has delivered the first shipset of KC-135 landing gear (nose gear and two main gear) for end use by the French Air Force. France operates 14 Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers for mid-air refuelling operations. Under a long term agreement, MHD provides logistics support to Sabena Technics via management of the overhaul of the aircraft landing gear. MHD is specialized in supporting legacy aircraft platforms including the KC-135, where spare parts availability is a challenge.

Russia: a promising market for Québec investors After visiting Moscow, the Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, Pierre Arcand, concluded his mission to Russia on June 7 by participating in the 13th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). This Russian “Davos” is a gathering place for the world’s political and economic elite as well as for the Russian Federation’s most influential figures, including President Medvedev.

Leaders’ Summit: strengthening North American cooperation Participating heads of government from Mexico, the US and Canada pledged to strengthen their cooperation and make North America more competitive at the conclusion of the fifth Leaders’ Summit on North American Relations, chaired by Premier Jean Charest in Québec City on June 3.

Québec hydroelectricity: a long-term contribution to solving environmental challenges in the Northeastern US At a time when New York State is developing a new energy strategy, Québec's Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife Claude Béchard went to Albany on June 1 to promote hydroelectricity. Québec’s contribution in meeting the state’s goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and potential increase in exports of clean and renewable electricity were at the centre of the discussions.

Seattle visits Montréal At the end of May, the City of Montréal welcomed a delegation from Seattle, led by Mayor Gregory Nickels, made up of about 70 representatives of the region’s economic, educational, cultural and institutional sectors. The purpose of the mission was to find out more about Montréal’s practices with respect to public transit, the cultural and entertainment industries and development of the information technology and aerospace sectors.