Tag Archive for: COVID-19

No parades? No problem: Here are a few St. Patrick’s Day events going on in Quebec

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For the second year in a row, the usual St. Patrick’s Day merrymaking is being curtailed by the pandemic

Normally at this time of year, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations would be in full swing. But for the second year in a row, COVID-19 has curtailed many plans for in-person merrymaking.

We’ll have to wait at least another year for the parades to return. In the meantime, event organizers across the province have come up with a few ways for revellers to celebrate this year.

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Families launch grassroots movement to save Montreal’s Fulford Residence

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Families with loved ones living at the Fulford Residence for women were shocked to learn that the home is closing in September due to financial difficulties. Now in a race against the clock, Christopher Holcroft, whose 76-year-old mother lives at the residence on Guy Street, has started a movement to fight the reallocation.

“During a pandemic, after everything that the families have been through, it’s cruel,” Holcroft said.

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No place to go or hide: A deeper look into how vulnerable Montreal women are trying to survive

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With the pandemic entering its second year and tight restrictions still in place in Montreal, women who are experiencing poverty, homelessness and domestic violence have had to face the additional burden of a relentless public health crisis over the past 12 months.

The city, which has been hard hit by COVID-19 since last March, has been thrashed by the first and second waves of the virus — with a staggering number of infections, deaths and hospitalizations prompting lockdowns and a virtual emptying out of the once bustling downtown core.

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You’re hired! Now stay home. New recruits navigate the pandemic working world

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Feeling pressured to overperform and prove himself is something 27-year-old Jama Jama can relate to, especially after landing a temporary job in October as an administrative clerk.

He describes it as “feeling stuck, feeling that it’s never enough, like most students or people of my generation.”

He’s been working remotely during the pandemic since graduating in May 2020 from Concordia University’s political science program.

As an extrovert, he’s found it challenging.

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Pablo Rodriguez blâme les conservateurs pour les documents unilingues anglais

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(Ottawa) Si le Bureau du Conseil privé s’est contenté de produire des documents unilingues anglais au sujet de la pandémie, c’est la faute du Parti conservateur qui n’a pas spécifié dans sa motion qui a été adoptée par la Chambre des communes, l’automne dernier, que ces documents devaient être traduits en français.

C’est du moins l’argument inusité qu’a servi le lieutenant politique de Justin Trudeau au Québec, le ministre Pablo Rodriguez, en réponse aux questions du député conservateur Alain Rayes plus tôt cette semaine.

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Language, cultural barriers could fuel vaccine hesitancy, Quebec community organizers warn

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Quebecers have rarely gone a week without hearing from their premier at least twice during this pandemic. What’s allowed, what isn’t, the exceptions to the rules — instructions from the province have changed at a dizzying pace, even for experts and journalists whose job it is to keep up.

But many of those who do not understand François Legault’s predominantly French-language news conferences, or other material put out by the province, turn to community groups to get the latest information in their own language.

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Speed-dating for Montreal jobs

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(VIDEO) “For me the reality right now is a whole lot different. I’ve lowered my standards,” says an English-speaking Black Montrealer about her job search during the pandemic. Sacha Obas has more.

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Editorial: As language issues heat up, a new year’s wish

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Let’s hope our government leaders take a balanced approach, one that respects the rights and legitimate concerns of all.

It is said that a new year brings new hope. And certainly, as 2021 dawns, there is much to be hopeful about, starting with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines that promise an end to this horrible pandemic.

But for English-speaking Quebecers, this is also a time of apprehension. New provincial and federal measures to protect French are imminent. The nationalist ideologues who seem to have a particular influence on the Coalition Avenir Québec government continue to clamour for action.

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QCGN Opposes Holding School Board Elections in Red Zones

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Montreal, November 14, 2020 – The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) shares the disbelief of parents and school board officials who have just learned that English school board elections will […]

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Opinion: Anglos’ COVID-19 anxiety should be understood, not deflected

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It is more important to understand why there is a difference in reporting anxiety levels among Quebecers than to deflect, writes Jack Jedwab, President of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS). An ACS/QCGN survey reveals that some 34 per cent of Quebec anglophones know someone who has been diagnosed with the virus compared with 21 per cent of francophones.That partly explains the differences in levels of anxiety felt by anglophones and francophones, Jedwab writes. Read more