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Interesting to see Montreal take a leadership position in this space. http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/montreal-to-get-106-new-electric-car-charging-stations-by-june-1.2626788 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Canada.com

Are the World's Leading Financial Centers Also Its Leaders in the Arts? To what degree are the world's leading financial centers also leading centers for the arts? A new study by Monika Skórska and Robert Kloosterman of the University of Amsterdam takes an empirical look. Many have noted a possible connection between the two. While some believe leadership in arts and finance are twin characteristics of leading global cities, others, mainly economists, argue that leadership in the arts comes only after and as a byproduct of economic leadership. Despite these assertions, the study points out, there has has been little systematic empirical research of the connection between finance and arts across global cities. The study examines this possible connection in a set of large global cities, comparing the rankings to the Global Financial Centres Index and their own new measures of arts based on the frequency and scale of artistic events. The first chart below (from the study) shows the top 36 world cities on the Global Financial Centres Index. London takes first, followed by New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai. The second chart (also from the study) shows the top 36 cities on the authors' own Global Arts Centers Index. There is some overlap, but the lists are far from identical. New York takes first place, Berlin is second, and London drops to third. Tokyo takes fourth, and Paris fifth. The researchers then plotted the two rankings on a single chart (below). The connection between finance and arts seems to hold only at the very top of the urban hierarchy — in the world's largest and most economically powerful cities, such as London, New York, and Tokyo, and to a lesser extent in San Francisco, Seoul, and Frankfurt. The study concludes that: All in all, even though we recognize a certain overlap between the Global Arts Centers and Global Financial Centers, we see it as not sufficient to conclude that the world of finance shapes the world of arts. There is no straightforward relationship between being a Global Financial Center and a Global Arts Center. A 44 percent overlap and a similar geographic pattern suggests that surely there are certain factors pivotal for development of Global Financial Centers that will be important for creating a thriving arts scene, Global Arts Centers, as well. We expect some factors such as urban population or the overall economic performance to be conducive to both a thriving financial sector and a flourishing arts scene. However, we see this as not sufficient to prove that a financial activity would actually drive cities’ arts activity, especially considering that some cities with an excellent performance as a financial center– i.e. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai – are still not appearing on our radar of Global Arts Centers. And vice versa, some of the most artistically exciting cities – Berlin, Vienna and Los Angeles are apparently driven by factors not directly related to financial services. They are exploiting other sources to thrive as Global Arts Centers. The relationship between finance and arts is complex. While the two are related in the world's largest and most economically powerful cities, a number of patterns come through from this analysis. It is certainly not that artistic success simply follows from the level of development. Affluence does not in effect buy artistic success. There are quite a few cities that are financial centers but lack artistic excellence, while many of the world's leading artistic centers rank much further down on artistic success. European cities in particular seem to have higher levels of artistic excellence above and beyond their global economic and financial prowess. The study is an interesting start, but much more research needs to be done using better indicators and across a larger sample of global cities. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/10/are-worlds-leading-financial-centers-also-its-leaders-arts/3468/

Langues officielles: Fraser exige un plus grand leadership du fédéral REUTERS Louis Lafortune La Presse Canadienne Quarante ans après l'adoption de la Loi sur les langues officielles, les Canadiens ont toujours beaucoup de difficulté à se faire servir dans les deux langues, surtout les francophones hors-Québec. «L'arbre a été planté, mais seulement quelques fruits sont mûrs», a déclaré mardi matin le commissaire aux langues officielles du Canada, Graham Fraser, lors du dépôt de son rapport annuel. M. Fraser demande au gouvernement conservateur d'«exercer un plus grand leadership» afin d'assurer des services bilingues lors des Jeux olympiques d'hiver de Vancouver en 2010. M. Fraser dénonce l'appui timide du gouvernement de Stephen Harper à la dualité linguistique au Canada. Il cite la Feuille de route 2008-2013 dévoilée l'an dernier par l'ex-ministre de Patrimoine canadien, Josée Verner, qui «ne soutient pas le développement des communautés de langue officielle autant qu'il serait souhaitable». Cette feuille de route est venue remplacer le Plan d'action sur les langues officielles qui venait à échéance l'été dernier. Or, les organismes qui défendent les droits linguistiques au pays n'ont pas encore reçu les sommes promises pour leur financement. «Les sommes annoncées en juin 2008 ne suffiront pas à répondre à l'ensemble des besions des communautés pour leur permettre de faire face aux défis d'ici 2013.» Ce plan d'action du gouvernement Harper ne définit pas non plus de «cibles précises pour guider les institutions fédérales dans leurs interventions», ajoute M. Fraser. Améliorations dans la fonction publique Comme il l'a déjà fait dans ses rapports précédents, Graham Fraser note certaines améliorations au niveau de la fonction publique. Il félicite notamment les services billingues offerts à la Société du Musée canadien des civilisations, à la Commission de la capitale nationale, à la Commission canadienne du tourisme et au Centre national des Arts. Toutefois, l'appareil fédéral a encore du chemin à faire. «En plein contexte de renouvellement de la fonction publique, il faut répéter haut et fort le message que le français et l'anglais ont tous deux leur place comme langues de travail dans les insitutions fédérales et que le bilinguisme est une composante essentielle du leadership», écrit le commissaire aux langues officielles. Graham Fraser annonce qu'il entreprendra cette année une étude sur le leadership dans la fonction publique bilingue. D'autre part, il note encore une fois des lacunes dans les services offerts par le transporteur aérien Air Canada. Il demande au ministre des Transports de déposer un projet de loi qui aurait pour but «la protection et le maintien des droits linguistiques du public voyageur et du personnel d'Air Canada.»

En dépit de la somme de connaissances acquises sur le leadership, nos sociétés et nos organisations souffrent d'un manque de leaders, un problème susceptible de s'aggraver dans le futur. Pour en lire plus...

Peladeau shakes up Sun Media management The Canadian Press November 7, 2008 at 11:09 AM EST MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc. chief executive Pierre Karl Peladeau has shaken up the leadership of the company's media holdings while reporting a third-quarter profit of $45.6-million, reversing a loss of $35.2-million a year earlier. Mr. Peladeau noted “disappointing results in publishing and at Sun Media,” and personally took leadership of Sun Media Corp. and the Canoe online operation. Michael Sifton, president of Sun Media, “will be leaving the company as his position will now be undertaken by Mr. Peladeau,” Quebecor said in a release shortly after reporting its latest results. Mr. Sifton had taken the job in September 2007 after Quebecor's takeover of his Osprey Media newspaper group of small Ontario newspapers. Quebecor Inc. “The speed with which business models are required to change, combined with an uncertain economic context and more difficult advertising conditions, calls for a clearly defined strategic and operational vision,” Mr. Peladeau said in a release. “To ensure that our efforts and resources are better co-ordinated, I will now take charge the leadership of both our newspaper segment and our Web portal.” The integration of Sun Media and Canoe under one leader “will help to maximize growth opportunities and synergies, and accelerate the migration of information and contents generated by the various publications to cross-platform supports,” Quebecor stated. Added Mr. Peladeau: “Michael has played an important role, in particular by ensuring the smooth integration of two major publishers, and by preparing Sun Media Corporation's expansion in Internet and new digital technology. As such, he has contributed to the development of our vision for the future.” In a separate statement, Mr. Sifton said: “I am happy to have been given the opportunity to integrate Osprey Media in Sun Media organization. I leave behind talented people and a strong team that will no doubt successfully take on the challenges that our changing environment is bringing.” In its financial report, Quebecor said revenue increased by $73.5-million or 8.8 per cent to $908.1-million in the third quarter, with the improvement driven by the media and telecommunications group's Videotron cable subsidiary, Quebec's largest cable TV operator. Quebecor said its net income was worth 70 cents per share, compared with a year-ago loss of 55 cents per share. Income from continuing operations adjusted for one-time items edged up by $300,000 to $42.4-million, or 65 cents per share. Cable-segment operating income grew 17 per cent to $28.7-million, and Quebecor confirmed plans to spend between $800-million and $1-billion over four years to build out a wireless network. This includes $554.6-million for operating licences. “In a challenging business environment, Quebecor posted strong third-quarter 2008 results, driven by its cable segment, which continued logging substantial customer growth for all services,” Mr. Peladeau stated. He noted that Quebecor has already arranged the funding for the 17 mobile-phone network licences, and “in these times of tight credit markets, it is important to mention that future investment in this project does not rely on access to capital markets; it will be funded through cash flow generation and available credit facilities.” In early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Quebecor shares fell 90 cents to $19.75, a drop of 4.4 per cent. Quebecor Inc., with 52,000 employees is a major newspaper publisher, cable TV operator, television broadcaster and commercial printer. It also has operations in magazine and book publishing. The holding company holds a 54.7 per cent stake of Quebecor Media Inc., which owns Videotron Ltd., the largest cable operator in Quebec and a major provider of Internet and telecom services, and Sun Media, a major newspaper chain with tabloid dailies across the country and other assets. Other Quebecor Media holdings include TVA Group Inc., the largest French language TV network in Quebec, a number of specialty channels, the English language station Sun TV, and Canoe Inc., operator of a network of English- and French language Internet properties.

Un autre Bonne nouvelle pour Montréal!