Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain

This street is named in honour of Joseph Vézina (1848-1924), a conductor, composer, organist and music professor who was born in Quebec City. His first music teacher was his father, François Vézina, a house painter and amateur musician, who taught him to play the piano.

Photo: Mbaï-Hadji Mbaïrewaye

On Dec. 14, the Groupe d'action contre le racisme (GACR), a committee of MNAs assigned by the Legault government in June to address racism in various aspects of Quebec society, presented its final report. The 54-page document contained 25 recommendations for future government policies aimed at reducing the impact of racism and improving living conditions for Indigenous people.

The Quebec government wants to ring in 2021 by tightening language laws to shore up the perceived erosion of French usage. Instead of auld lang syne it will be, with apologies for flippancy, an old language whine, so to speak.

Photo: Samson Learn Photography, courtesy of Nora Loreto

As of Dec. 21, Canada had recorded 14,228 known deaths from COVID-19. At least 11,041 of those deaths (77.6 per cent) were among people living in long-term care facilities. That number doesn’t come from a federal government source, but from records manually compiled by Quebec City writer and podcaster Nora Loreto.

Photo: Gaspé Speaks Podcast Series via Facebook

Expatriate Gaspesians stuck far from the peninsula this holiday season will be able to have a bit of home in their headphones, thanks to a new podcast series launched by New Richmond-based historian Tom Eden in partnership with Vision Gaspé-Percé Now and Canadian Heritage.