Editorial: Summer fades, Life in Québec goes on

This editorial first appeared in the September 2016 issue of Life in Québec Magazine.

Life in Quebec Magazine is a lifestyle publication covering Quebec and is published 4 times per year.

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By Michael Bourguignon, Editor

As another summer slowly fades like a sunset, it’s time to relegate too-short vacations and long walks on the beach to memory and to the photo collections on our smartphones. We’ll share them online when we get around to it. In the meantime, for most of us, it’s time to get back to work or school, or both.

For some parents of school-age children, the lines are somewhat blurred, as you’ll read in our look at home schooling in this edition of Life in Québec Magazine. Not your typical back-to-school story, but one that rings right and true for parents like Stéphanie Marcon, who shares her family’s experience of what some call the “un-schooling” movement. It’s a topic that should arouse the interest of any parent who has ever questioned the quality and value of traditional education and dared to ponder an empowering alternative.

The fact that’s a legal – though regulated – approach to raising one’s children with minimal interference from the state is a heartening testament to the idea that parents do indeed know what’s best for their kids.

Far more contentious is the issue of assisted dying, which you will also read about in these pages. The debate is still ongoing and wide open, with strong arguments both for and against the idea that certain human beings who have reached the end of life should have the right to determine how life should end. It’s a big question for which there are no easy answers.

A milestone edition

We have also taken care to provide the usual mix of sports, book reviews and lighter reading to balance out the magazine, this edition of which is a milestone for us as it’s the first to be published in September. After just four years in printed form – the website, lifeinquebec.com, is two years older – Life in Québec Magazine is now a quarterly publication, available on newsstands or by subscription more often to a growing and ever-more discerning readership.

To mark the occasion, we have expanded our regular content to include music reviews. Why? Because we are constantly striving to offer new features that appeal to our readers’ broad range of interests. We have ideas for other additions as the magazine continues to grow, and we invite you to let us know what you think as we introduce them.

Speaking of introductions, if you’re out and about on the streets of Québec City between Oct. 30 and Nov. 4, say hello to a young entrepreneur or two. The Junior Chamber International World Congress 2016 will be held here, bringing with it some 2,500 young and young-ish entrepreneurs from 125 countries, including big contingents from Japan, India, France and Germany as well as about 120 from across Canada.

For those not in the know, the Junior Chamber International is the leading development organization for entrepreneurial youth under the age of 40 (so, yes, some are perhaps “young-ish,” but still eligible for membership). JCI’s Canadian arm takes in all Junior Chambers of Commerce from Vancouver to Halifax, and the Junior Chamber of Commerce Québec joined its ranks in 2002. In fact, with more than 500 members, JCCQ is the world’s second largest local chapter of JCI.

So it’s fitting that Québec City should be chosen to host this major international event, which has the solid backing of a variety of heavy hitters from the business community. JCI has proudly acknowledged hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations from Bell, Desjardins, iA Financial Group (formerly Industrial Alliance) and Lavery, among others.

Earlier this year, when JCI began to share details of the much-anticipated world congress, Yvon Charest, president of the Ambassador’s Club and president and CEO of iA Financial Group, called on other Québec-area businesses to follow suit. “We still have a goal of reaching $800,000 from the private sector. I invite the local business community to participate in this prestigious congress that will contribute to the influence of our region and that will afford participants the opportunity to learn and grow, and to connect to the international market,” Charest said in a JCI news release that also announced the participation of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Jean-Lesage International Airport, the Québec City Convention Centre and Québec City’s Tourism Office have also pledged their support.

For participants, the JCI World Congress 2016 provides the chance to explore and discover a world-class city between presentations and workshops. For the city, its businesses and its people, it’s an excellent opportunity to showcase the world-class qualities that make visitors want to come here in the first place.

So to the young and young-ish entrepreneurs who will visit our sites, taste our local cuisine and shop in our retail stores, both large and small, we extend a warm “Bonjour” and “Bienvenue” to one of the world’s great cities. We are thrilled to have you here!
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