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http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/montreal/Number+Quebecers+leaving+province+rise/9360879/story.html BY MARIAN SCOTT, THE GAZETTE JANUARY 7, 2014 8:05 PM A total of 28,439 people moved from Quebec to another province from January to September 2013. In most cases, Quebec’s loss was Ontario’s gain, with two out of three ex-Quebecers moving to Ontario. Photograph by: Peter Redman , National Post MONTREAL - The number of Quebecers heading down the 401 is on the rise, partial statistics for 2013 suggest. Departures from Quebec to other provinces rose to their highest level this century in the first nine months of 2013, according to the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration. Statistics are not available yet for the final three months of the year. A total of 28,439 people moved from Quebec to another province from January to September 2013 — the highest number of departures for that period in any year since 2000. In most cases, Quebec’s loss was Ontario’s gain, with two out of three ex-Quebecers moving to Ontario, one in four to Alberta and just under one in ten to British Columbia, according to quarterly demographic estimates released by Statistics Canada in December. Quebec had a net loss of 11,887 residents due to interprovincial migration (departures minus arrivals) in the 12 months from October 2012 to September 2013, compared to a loss of 7,700 people in the corresponding period of 2011-12 and a loss of 4,394 in 2010-11. The rise in departures corresponds with the election of the Parti Québécois in September 2012 — but there is no evidence the political situation is a contributing factor, said Jack Jedwab, the institute’s executive vice-president.“It’s too early to say,” he said. “I would argue it’s more about our economy,” Jedwab said. “These numbers have a very recessionary look to them, at a time when we’re not in a recession.” Jedwab said the loss of residents sounds a warning signal. “Significant population losses have a negative effect on our economy,” he said. The rise in out-migration is not related to the divisive debate over the PQ government’s proposed charter of values, Jedwab said, since the departures occurred before the charter was unveiled. A National Assembly committee will commence hearings on the charter Jan. 14. But Jedwab said if the trend continues, the hypothesis that political angst is spurring departures would deserve a second look. “If it persists into the next quarter, we’ve got to start thinking non-economic considerations are at work here,” he said. The PQ government’s focus on identity issues has decreased the comfort level of some members of cultural minorities, particularly the values charter, which proposes to bar all public sector workers from wearing religious garb like the Muslim head scarf, Jewish skullcap or Sikh turban. In September, an Ontario hospital published recruitment ads aimed to capitalize on the controversy. A photo of a female health worker wearing a hijab (head scarf) bore the caption: “We don’t care what’s on your head. We care what’s in it.” Aaron Lazarus, director of communications at Lakeridge Health in Bowmanville, Ont., east of Toronto, said the hospital received several job applications from doctors, nurses and other health professionals from Quebec in response to the ads. But Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Montreal Board of Trade, warned against jumping to the conclusion that the current political climate could be causing people to leave Quebec. “What is worrisome is that we have a net loss of residents every year,” Leblanc said. “People have a tendency to migrate not only to places with better weather, but also to places where the economy is performing better,” he said. Leblanc said that while the recent increase in departures is cause for concern, it is much smaller than the massive exodus of anglophones from Quebec in the 1970s and ’80s. He called on the government to improve the integration of immigrants into the workforce and to lower taxation to retain residents. Statistics Canada’s quarterly demographic estimates showed Alberta — with a population of 4,060,700 in October 2013 — continues to lead the provinces in population growth, adding 137,703 new residents from October 2012 to September 2013, of whom 49,031 moved there from elsewhere in Canada. Ontario (population 13,585,900) had slower population growth, gaining 128,442 new residents from October 2012 to September 2013. Quebec, numbering 8,174,500 residents, added 67,385 new residents from October 2012 to September 2013, with immigration and the natural increase of the population compensating for out-migration. Previous studies have shown that about two-thirds of Quebec residents who move to other provinces are allophones — people whose first language is neither French nor English. mascot@montrealgazette.com

Je crois que cette discussion est approprié avec L'application possible de cette "charte des maleurs" et Barbara Kay dit tout haut ce que plusieurs Montrealais pense tout bas: Je suis a priori Montrealais dans une province qui n'est pas la mienne....pourquoi pas crée notre propre "cité-province"? http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/09/18/barbara-kay-the-case-for-the-city-state-of-montreal/ Barbara Kay: The case for the City-State of Montreal A few months ago, I appeared on a French language talk show as part of a diverse panel of politicians, aesthetes and chattering-class types to give our two-cents’ worth on Quebec political issues (Bill 14 was the hot topic then). Even though everyone else was a sovereigntist, I was warmly received; francophone media people truly appreciate anglo participation in such discussions. Dialogue proceeded in amiable fashion until I was asked if I considered myself a québécoise. “Non“, I unequivocally responded, “I consider myself a “montréalaise,” adding that Montreal was a distinct society within Quebec just as Quebec is a distinct society within Canada. Silence. The temperature of the room seemed instantly to go down 30 degrees. Every face around the table turned to stone. Stating the truth about Montreal to Quebec nationalists — that its character, needs and interests have little in common with those of the rest of Quebec (ROQ) and that, by implication, Montreal deserves special status — is simply a taboo. Related Kelly McParland: Quebec charter reflects values of small-minded separatists Barbara Kay: Accommodation of a different order Full Pundit: The Charter of Quebec Values — ‘Kafka, meet Monty Python’ Taboo no longer. Today there will be a press conference at a downtown Montreal hotel. There strategic consultant Michel David will make his long-researched case for Montreal as a city-state, a place in which counter-productive “values” charters and language laws would not apply, and where conditions favouring entrepreneurship, economic investment and skills recruitment would. David has been brooding over Montreal’s decline for decades. According to David’s just-released report, Montreal: City-State, Re-Inventing Our Governance, Montreal is the poorest city in North America with two million or more population (22nd of 22). It ranks 59th out of 60 jurisdictions for liberty, with the highest taxes and lowest level of entrepreneurship in Canada (50% of the Canadian average). Governance is authoritarian and disrespects individual rights. If Montreal is to regain its former glory, it will not happen under any of Quebec’s parties, all of them in numeric thrall to regional, ethnically homogeneous voters with no direct stake in Montreal’s fortunes. David concludes that only the political and economic autonomy conferred by special administrative status (SAS) — for which there is a precedent: the Cree of northern Quebec have self-governed their territories in collaboration with Quebec City for decades — can restore and surpass this once great city’s former entrepreneurial glory. A recently completed IPSOS survey surveyed 1,250 respondents on the island of Montreal (50%), the greater Montreal area (25%) and ROQ (25%) on Montreal’s current position and prospects and what should be done to improve the future of the city. It found that the idea of Montreal as a city state has wide appeal in the Montreal area. And even somewhat wide appeal in ROQ. Language laws were recognized as an impediment to Montreal’s prosperity, and 75% of Montrealers think ‘guaranteeing full bilingual status’ would help Across the board, close to 80% of respondents agreed that “Montreal has lost its prestige over the last few decades.” Only 54% across the board “would recommend Montreal as a place to start a business.” Only 46% of the ROQ felt that Montreal “should have more autonomy to make its own decisions for its future,” but 81% of Montrealers agreed they should. Yet 88% of ROQ and 92% of Montrealers agreed that “Montreal needs to be bold if it wants to move forward and prosper.” What to do? Language laws were recognized as an impediment to Montreal’s prosperity, and 75% of Montrealers think “guaranteeing full bilingual status” would help. “Streamlining and improving Montreal’s city governance” found favour with 97% of all the respondents, and almost as many think “recognizing entrepreneurs who are creating jobs in the city” is important. Premier Marois, take note: A full 94% of Montrealers and encouraging 80% of ROQ believe in “promoting Montreal’s multicultural aspects.” It’s not remarkable that “making a clear and long term commitment to the Canadian Federation” drew agreement from 80% of Montrealers, but that 66% of ROQ felt the same way will probably come as an unpleasant surprise to the PQ government. The key points of overwhelming agreement to take away from Montreal residents’ numbers are: Montreal is a distinct society within Quebec (90%); to stop its decline, Montreal needs to take drastic steps to improve the way it does things (91%); and Montreal deserves special status within Quebec because it is a world-class, cosmopolitan city (74%). The PQ government’s attempt to pass anglophobic Bill 14 offered proof yet again, if it were needed, that language supremacy is more important to sovereigntists than Montreal’s health and prosperity. The proposed Quebec Values Charter makes it crystal clear that Montreal’s strengths of multiculturalism and openness to the world are actually hateful to them. They would rather see Montreal on its knees, reduced to a plodding, unilingual provincial backwater, than take pride in what could be one of the world’s greatest cities. Montreal as a city-state is an idea whose time has come. All Canadians should support it. What is good for Montreal’s prosperity and growth is good for Quebec, for Canada and the world. National Post bkay@videotron.ca

A quick word for English Language dispute. Quebec parents challenge French Language Charter ELIZABETH THOMPSON, The Gazette Published: 6 hours ago Quebec parents challenging the constitutionality of a Quebec law that blocks some children who attend English private schools from transferring into English public schools will get their day before Canada's top court in December. The Supreme Court of Canada has set aside Dec. 15 to hear two cases that pit the Canadian Charter of Rights against Bill 104, leading some to hope that a final decision in the dispute could now be rendered in time for the start of the 2009 school year. "It appears the court is doing everything it can to hear the case as quickly as possible," said Brent Tyler, lawyer for the parents. The cases centre on Bill 104, adopted by the Parti Québécois government in 2002. Prior to Bill 104, children who were otherwise ineligible to attend English school under the terms of the French Language Charter, Bill 101, could become eligible to attend English public schools after spending at least a year in an unsubsidized English-language private school. Attending English school under a special authorization, such as for a temporary work permit or for humanitarian reasons, could also make a child and their siblings eligible for English education. At the heart of the case is the issue of which takes precedence - the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which provides that children who have attended English schools, and their siblings, have the right to attend English schools in Quebec, or Quebec's language charter. Although the parents in both cases lost at the lower court level, they won at the Quebec Court of Appeal which struck down Bill 104, saying the law was inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights. Tyler said the parents got more good news recently when they learned that the federal court challenges program, which was cut then partially restored by the Conservative government, has agreed to provide $70,000 in funding to fight the two cases before the Supreme Court. Tyler says the outcome of the cases could have a significant impact on English schools in Quebec - particularly in the Montreal area. Tyler said there has been a steady stream of English school closures in the Montreal area since Bill 104 was introduced and the phenomenon is more pronounced in areas of town that had been receiving students who became eligible for education in English school by attending a private school. The English Montreal School Board has estimated it has lost about 450 students a year since Bill 104 was adopted. The stakes are high for many private schools as well, said Tyler. Many English private schools in Montreal accept government money at the high school level, but not at the primary level, meaning they can accept students ineligible under Bill 101 in elementary school but not in high school. "On average, 30 per cent of the children enrolled in the primary programs of these schools now will not be able to continue in the same schools if Bill 104 is upheld by the Supreme Court," said Tyler. The challenge to Bill 104 is just one of several cases the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear this fall - many of them from Quebec. The first case to be heard, on Oct. 7, will be a challenge by a group of Hutterites to an Alberta law obliging everyone to have their photo on their driver's licences. The Hutterites argue the law violates their religious freedom because their religion believes that the second commandment prohibits them from having their photograph taken willingly. ethompson@thegazette.canwest.com

La compagnie aérienne a fait l'achat de Servair Private Charter SA et servira de plate-forme d'exploitation pour le parc aérien de Lufthansa Private Jet. Pour en lire plus...

:eek: :eek: Montreal gets geotourism designation The Gazette Published: 7 hours ago Montreal can expect a substantial boost in tourism as a result of becoming the first city to be awarded a geotourism charter by the Washington-based National Geographic Society. On his first visit here, John Francis, National Geographic's vice-president for research, conservation and exploration, said it was not hard for the multi-media publisher to select Montreal from other unnamed applicants. "This metropolitan city has and natural assets that appeal to visitors," he said before a signing National Geographic's "geotourism charter" with Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and other officials today. Montreal, he said, can "stand as a guiding light for protecting cherished resources around the world." The city's "holistic approach to tourism" is a continuing process. Guatemala, Honduras, Norway, Rumania, Arizona, Rhode Island also have been singled by National Geographic out as global destinations. It recognizes the importance of urban centres to global tourism and rewards those who safeguard the "uniqueness of integrity" of special places. Special attention is given to architecture, cuisine, neighbourhoods, neighbourhoods, entertainment districts, green spaces, historical, cultural, and urban landscapes. After his first visit this morning, Francis said he could see Montreal is doing a good job of preserving its heritage and is "worthy of visiting." National Geographic, through its flagship magazine and other publications, TV channel, and other platforms, is said to reach some 300 million people each month. About 7.5 million visitors came to Montreal last year, pouring $2.5 billion into the economy