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Quebec is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay, and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the US states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada (with Ontario). Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada, after Ontario.[10] It is the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, including the Island of Montreal. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, Eastern Townships, and Gaspé regions. The Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples.[11]

Initiatives by topic

Cycling activism

Bixi Montreal - Vélo Québec, non-profit organization, which encourages the use of bicycles - whether for recreation, tourism or as a clean, active mode of transportation - in order to improve the environment, health and wellbeing of citizens.

Food activism

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Le Potager enchanté, organic vegetable farm on a human scale

Collectif de Minuit in Québec City

The Collectif de Minuit, based at Université Laval in Québec City, operates with a similar ethos to the G-Spot — providing healthy, vegan, home-cooked meals on a pay-what-you-can basis to harassed and cash-strapped students.

The main difference is where the food is sourced — much of it comes from the dumpsters outside Québec City's Marché du Vieux-Port farmers' market and the dumpsters of other grocery stores, where vegetables and herbs that are left unsold or that don't meet quality standards are often thrown. The vegetables are thoroughly washed with vinegar and often boiled into stews before finding their way onto the plates of hungry students every Wednesday morning. [1] Collectif de Minuit on facebook

Le Frigo Communautaire in Québec City

For more than a century, the vast Catholic church in the heart of Québec City's St-Roch neighborhood has been a gathering place for the neighborhood's residents, many of them poor, elderly, or at risk of homelessness. Every summer, a self-service "food fridge" makes its appearance on the church steps, stocked by volunteers and community members who stop by and drop off leftovers. The fridge was established by four university students.

"At first, I wondered what it was doing there," one local resident told the daily newspaper Le Soleil, in 2016. "It's great. You find meat, fruit and vegetables." The man, who began stopping by regularly for food when money was tight, has since become a volunteer with the project. Local restaurant and grocery store owners have also pitched in, dropping off unsold surplus food at the end of the day. [2]

Lauberivière Rooftop Garden in Québec City

A unique food-sharing initiative has sprouted on the roof of the Maison de Lauberivière, Québec City's largest homeless shelter. Urbainculteurs, a volunteer collective dedicated to the promotion of urban gardening, started the rooftop garden in 2009. The cabbage, carrots, beans, seasonal fruits, and herbs— more than a ton of production each year — find their way downstairs, into the hands of the chefs who cook three meals a day for hundreds of homeless men and women. The garden is maintained by a group of volunteers including shelter residents, college students, retirees and the occasional school group. Excess plants and seeds are sold to local gardeners on occasional "open roof days."

"They [the Urbainculteurs] saw an empty roof, and our cooks saw a need for fresh vegetables," says Frédéric Lapointe, clinical services co-ordinator at the shelter. "The garden is something that's dear to our hearts." After eight years above the shelter, the garden is currently seeking a new home due to renovations at Lauberivière. Urbainculteurs members also run a free summer garden in front of Quebec’s National Assembly. [3] Lauberivière urbainculteurs.org

Open spaces

Les Amis du Champ des Possibles, Montreal

Sharing

La Remise, Montreal

Towards sustainable economies

Worker-owned forestry enterprises in the North, paramedic coops and the sheer number of worker-owners place Québec in the company of other coop strongholds like the Basque region of Spain and Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. In fact, there are over 7,000 coops and nonprofit businesses in Quebec employing over 150,000 people and generating over $17 billion in sales. [4]

Chantier de l'économie sociale

The definition of Social Economy used by the Chantier de l'économie sociale in Quebec follows: The Social Economy is made up of association-based economic activities founded on values of:

  • Service to members or the community rather than only generating profits and seeking financial returns;
  • Autonomous management (not government controlled);
  • Democratic decision making;
  • Primacy of persons and work over capital;
  • Based on principles of participation, empowerment and individual and collective responsibility.

The Social Economy includes:

  • social assets (housing, childcare centres, etc.) of community organizations;
  • social enterprises including co- operatives and revenue-generating programs of non profit groups;
  • credit unions and social financing organizations like community loan funds;
  • training and skills development enterprises; and
  • sectoral and regional organizations e.g. renewal energy associations. W

News and comment

2017

Meet Montréal’s New Wave of Activist Developers, May 30 [5]

What Quebec Can Teach Us About Creating a More Equitable Economy, Apr 11 [6]

Quebec's Vacant Church Buildings Resurrected as Community Spaces, Mar 14 [7]

2015

Montréal's Blooming Social Economy Confronts Fiscal Pruning, September 21 [8]

People power: the secret to Montreal's success as a bike-friendly city, June 17 [9]

Resources

Community resources

Interwiki links

Wikipedia: Quebec, Quebec, Energy, Quebec, Environmental and energy policy

External links


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