A survey, titled “Sous ta façade” taken by almost 24,000 Quebec university students from 16 universities found a frightening figure, one in five Quebec university students have symptoms of depression that require urgent professional help.
The survey also found that close to 60 percent of university students have a heightened level of psychological distress when compared to the rest of the province. The survey also found that students are three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts compared to the general population and twice as likely to have attempted suicide. The survey also revealed that certain groups are more at risk to face mental health problems, namely those with disabilities, first-generation university students and those in the LGBTQ community.
Anti-Semitic depictions carved onto cars in Montreal, Quebec
Anti-Semitic depictions have been carved into the snow on several cars in the Plateau area of Montreal, Quebec. This incident took place on rue Jeanne Mance.
Photos of the markings appeared on Twitter, showing four cars that had the Nazi swastika marked onto the windshield and roofs of the cars alongside the Jewish Star of David.
Montreal has a thriving Jewish community with a recent census showing over 90,000 members of the community living in Quebec’s largest city. The Plateau area, in particular, was where the Jewish community first settled in the early 20th century.
Statistics by the Jewish advocacy group, B’nai Brith, have shown that anti-Semitism has been on the rise across Canada. In 2018, there were a reported 2,041 incidents of Anti-Semitism, which is a 16.5 percent increase from the previous year. Of these, 11 were deemed to have been violent.
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HYPOCRITE: Parti Quebecois leader calls Alberta Premier an incompetent liar
The leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pascal Berube, has attacked Jason Kenney and his UCP in an opinion piece in the Calgary Herald.
In the article, Berube declared that Kenney was lying to Albertans about Albertan taxes paying for Quebec’s social infrastructure. Berube claimed that Kenney’s statements were “simply not true.”
Berube also took time to rebut Kenney’s indignation over equalization payments—an issue that Kenney will put to a referendum. Berube said that equalization payments were calculated based on the province’s ability to generate tax revenue, and thus “Albertans should not complain about paying for any of Quebec’s social programs. It simply is not true.”
Berube went on to say that “Alberta is a bigger spender than its leaders would like you to believe … Alberta is not some libertarian’s dream, as some would like you to believe. The province is a perfect example of ‘big government.’”
By saying this, Berube has labeled Kenney and the UCP as hypocritical and manipulative.
What was more piercing, however, was when Berube attacked Kenney directly, suggesting that Kenney was “looking for someone or something to blame for his gigantic fiscal deficit.”
Berube went on to say that “Albertans need to realize that their leaders have let them down … he will seal his place as the proud heir of past leaders who drove Alberta to the brink of the fiscal precipice where it now finds itself.”
Berube’s attack is the latest incident in a war of words between the two provinces. Previously, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and CAQ leader Francois Legault had criticized Kenney and the Wexit movement. Blanchet, for example, has also disputed Kenney’s equalization claims, declaring that Alberta doesn’t “send a cheque to Quebec.”
Blanchet has also ridiculed the broad sentiment of alienation in the western province, stating that “the desire to do whatever they want with their oil might not be a sufficient reason to fuel a desire to become a country.”
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Montreal ‘bridge to nowhere’ costs city $800,000
A public art display in Montreal’s downtown core has drawn the ire of residents who believe the city’s spending is irresponsible.
According to Director Quebec of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Renaud Brossard, that $800,000 figure “is as much as the property taxes of 192 Montreal families.”
The bridge, which is used commonly in the summer months to sit on as it’s placed in a city square, has gotten harsh criticism from those in the Western provinces, as many feel it’s a wasteful way to spend $800,000.
This, though, isn’t confined to Montreal. Edmonton, Alberta recently coughed up a hefty $1 million towards a public art display.
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Alberta-based gas company sending propane to Quebec to show them 'Canadian values'
A Calgary-based natural resource transport company is set to ship off propane to parts of Canada in dire need of propane—namely Quebec—to display solidarity and help their “fellow Canadians.”
The pipeline operator is set to send 105 cars-worth of trains with propane sourced from Canada’s western provinces, said Pembina Pipeline in a statement late Sunday night.
“We believe the provinces can work together in the spirit of unity to secure a safe, reliable and long-term supply of energy from each other, rather than from foreign countries who do not share Canadian values,” it said in a news release. “The best question is: why would we not?” said CEO Michael Dilger.
With CN Rail currently tangled in a strike haulting 3,200 different employees from working, Quebec Premier Francois Legault pointed to the CN Railway strikes as the main reason la Belle Province was left propaneless—this led to his formal request to the federal government to take emergency back-to-work legislation, though it appears that may no longer be necessary.
Pembina’s benevolent action comes as the western province’s secession movement continues to grow, with recent polls finding 62 percent of Albertans believing Alberta “does not get its fair share from Confederation” —up from 45 percent in 1997—with 46 percent feeling “more attached to their province than to their country”
Last week Premier Kenney got into a heated verbal spar with Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchette.
Kenney responded to Blanchette’s comments that Quebec would not support Alberta’s venture into a separatist movement, one that Blanchette says he had no interest in comparing to Quebec’s previous movements, and one he has little interest in aiding.
“If they were attempting to create a green state in western Canada, I might be tempted to help them,” he said. “If they are trying to create an oil state in western Canada, they cannot expect any help from us.”
Kenney responded by telling the Bloc leader to “pick a lane”
“If you are so opposed to the energy that we produce in Alberta, then why are you so keen on taking the money generated by the oilfield workers in this province and across Western Canada?” said Kenney, the keynote speaker, to a sold-out crowd in Calgary.
“Pick a lane. Either you can say as Quebec that you’re no longer going to take the energy and equalization resources that come from Western Canada’s oil and gas industry … or you can do what we do as Canadians, coming together to support each other, especially in times of adversity,” said Kenney.
The Bloc Quebecois played an integral role in reducing the Trudeau government from the former majority to a now-minority government, as the BQ claimed more than 30 seats across the province.
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