"Québec Update" est un condensé de nouvelles du Québec destiné aux lecteurs anglophones qui résident à l'extérieur du Québec.

QUÉBEC UPDATE

February 9, 1994

_______________________________________________________________________________________ A selection of news from Québec published by the Ministère des Affaires internationales, de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles.

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INCREASED COOPERATION BETWEEN QUÉBEC AND BAVARIA

Bernard Landry, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of International Affairs, Immigration and Cultural Communities and Minister responsible for relations with French-speaking communities, made an official visit to Bavaria in late January where he met with Bavaria's Minister-President, Dr. Edmund Stoiber. Québec and Bavaria, he noted, have cooperated on some 120 projects in the past five years.

Mr. Landry also held talks with Dr. Thomas Goppel, Minister of the Environment, to broaden the existing bilateral agreement on cooperation in this area. The agreement covers wildlife, the management of natural parks, mechanisms for analyzing industrial projects, hydrogen and other clean technologies linked to transportation and cross-border cooperation in environmental matters.

At a meeting with the Minister of the Economy, Transport and Technology, Dr. Otto Wieshen, Mr. Landry confirmed the creation of a joint working group on hydrogen. The aim of this group of government, private sector and university representatives from Québec and Bavaria is to generate joint industrial research projects with access to European Union financing.

Mr. Landry also addressed a group of 60 influential representatives of German industries and banks that are active in Québec.

CITIZENS HAVE THEIR SAY AT COMMISSIONS ON THE FUTURE OF QUÉBEC

The regional commissions on the future of Québec are mandated to hear what Quebecers have to say about the Draft Bill on the Sovereignty of Québec introduced in the National Assembly in December, about the feasibility of sovereignty and about any other possible future for Québec, indicated Prime Minister Jacques Parizeau in launching this "unprecedented experiment in democracy in action" on February 6.

"The future of Québec does not belong to specialists in law or economics," he said. "It belongs to those who live Québec daily, in plants, in homes, in offices, on work sites and on farms."

The 16 regional commissions and two special commissions for youth and the elderly will hold 304 public sessions - open forums at which participants may express their views freely and hearings where written briefs will be presented - in 223 locations across Québec by mid- March. Some 930 individuals and organizations had indicated their intention of presenting briefs in person as of early February. The commission secretariat expects to receive another 2500 to 3000 in writing.

Prime Minister Parizeau in an address opening the exercise said that Quebecers will become their own parliamentarians by proposing changes to the Draft Bill on the Sovereignty of Québec, which will return to the National Assembly before the amended text is put to a referendum. Mr. Parizeau described this "marriage between parliamentarianism and public participation" as a "new chapter in Québec's history."

NORTHERN QUÉBEC SITE OF NEW RAGLAN AND TROILUS MINES

Two mining companies are going to invest over half a billion dollars in Northern Québec over the next 15 years. The economic spinoff will be significant for the north, for roughly 4600 direct and indirect jobs will be created during the construction phase and 1150 permanent jobs during the exploitation phase. A certain portion will be reserved for Native people.

Falconbridge Ltd. of Toronto will invest $486 million to develop its Raglan nickel and copper deposit near Baie-Déception on the Ungava peninsula, more than 1500 kilometres north of Abitibi. The mine, whose offices will be in Rouyn-Noranda, will begin its expected 800 000- tonne annual production in 1998 and have a 15-year lifespan.

Metall Mining Corporation, also of Toronto, will invest the more modest sum of $150 million to develop the Troilus gold, copper and silver mine in the Chapais-Chibougamau region, 850 kilometres north of Montréal. The mine should remain open for 14 years beginning in 1997.

Under negotiated agreements, the Cree of Mistissini will receive $1 million over 10 years from the Troilus mine. Makivik Corp., which represents the Inuit of Northern Québec, will receive $14 million in guaranteed payments and up to $61 million more in profit-sharing over an 18- year period from the Raglan mine.

The Québec government will provide $4 million to train Native people to work in the mines, $8 million in subsidies to Falconbridge, and $4.7 million to Metall as well as underwriting infrastructure costs such as road construction in the remote areas.

COMAIR, KOREA, NORWAY: SALES FOR BOMBARDIER

Montréal-based Bombardier Inc. has announced the firm sale of five Canadair Regional Jets to the Comair division of Delta Air Lines Inc. of Atlanta for US$87 million. The airline has also secured 35 options for future purchase. Comair, a regional carrier located in Cincinnati, already has 20 of the 50-seat passenger jets in service and 10 on order. Sales of Bombardier's Regional Jet are going so well that the company announced on February 8 that it will raise production to four a month from the current three. It expects to deliver 40 of the aircraft in 1995-1996.

South Korea, for its part, has bought a US$16.7 million Canadair Challenger 601 whose interior will be outfitted with air navigation systems to check on electronic navigational signals. The aircraft will be based at the Kimpos international airport near Seoul when it is put into service early in 1996.

Bombardier's de Havilland division has sold a second Dash 8 turboprop for the same purpose to Norway. The Dash 8, to be equipped as a flying electronic laboratory, has a wide range of speed and altitude and, said a company spokesman, "is 40 percent cheaper to operate than the planes currently used."

CATHAY PACIFIC CHOOSES MARCONI ANTENNA

Canadian Marconi Co. of Montréal has sold Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. a number of sophisticated antennas that will enable passengers to telephone home from their seats, halfway across the Pacific Ocean. The Hong Kong-based airline has placed firm orders for six of the $75 000 Satcom CMA-2102 antennas, with options for another 16.

Marconi announced that in-flight tests will begin this summer and the antennas will be installed on Cathay's Airbuses beginning in July 1996.

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP WINS MAJOR CONTRACT TO BUILD WATER WELLS IN LIBYA..

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SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. of Montréal has been awarded a turnkey contract valued at US$230 million by the Libyan government. Construction of a network of 246 wells supplying two million cubic metres a day of fresh water is to begin in March and will last 26 months, the engineering company said.

The Great Man-Made River project, one of the first steps in Libya's "green revolution", will tap natural underground water reserves in the mountainous southern region of the country. Water will be carried northward by gravity in prestressed concrete pipes four metres in diameter. The bulk of the water will be used for irrigation, SNC-Lavalin said, but some will be routed to municipalites for industrial and domestic consumption.

Libya is the object of United Nations embargoes applying to arms, aviation cockpit and control tower equipment, oil drilling equipment, and the entry and exit of commercial airlines. SNC- Lavalin spokeswoman Béatrice Pepper said the company's contract is not affected by the sanctions and "has the full support of the Canadian government."

SNC-Lavalin has 5000 employees worldwide, offices in 26 countries and projects in 90 countries.

...AND WILL PROVIDE ENGINEERING FOR PAPER MILL IN MEXICO

SNC-Lavalin Group said its pulp and paper division, Cowan, has been awarded a service contract by Crisoba Industrial S.A. of Mexico for detailed engineering of a new tissue mill. The contract covers detailed design of stock preparation and a high-speed tissue machine for the mill to be built in Morelia, 240 km west of Mexico City.

Crisoba is an affiliate of Scott Paper Co. of Philadelphia. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

HYDRO-QUÉBEC DELIVERS AN ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEM SIMULATOR TO MITSUBISHI

Hydro-Québec International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, announced the delivery of an electric power system simulator based on Hydro-Québec's own simulator to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in Kobe, Japan. The contract is worth $8 million.

The system allows simulation of the behavior of a direct current (DC) power system in real time. Acquisition of this simulator enables Mitsubishi to accelerate its whole installations development cycle and to remain in the forefront of technology.

In addition to this new contract, Hydro-Québec has signed another contract with the Brazilian Research Centre for Electric Power Systems worth $1 million. These systems were commissioned in late 1994.

Hydro-Québec's research institute originally developed its simulator technology in order to study the behavior of a large and complex power system in which great distances separate the locations where electricity is generated from those where it is used. There are over 1500 km of lines, for example, between the Churchill dams and Montréal. Perfecting the simulator has enabled Hydro-Québec to ensure the stability and reliability of its power system, even under such demanding conditions.

Hydro-Québec intends to actively pursue the marketing of this product on international markets.

QUEBECOR MULTIMÉDIA INC. IN VENTURE WITH INTERACTIVE CATALOG CORP.

Quebecor Multimédia Inc. (QMM) of Montréal has signed a letter of intent with Interactive Catalog Corp. (iCAT) of Seattle, Washington, under which QMM will become the first authorized reseller of iCAT's recently developed catalog publishing module. Quebecor Inc. will be the first printer in North America to offer the iCAT software to its clients together with other multimedia products, services and expertise.

Electronic Publishing Group, a new division of Imprimeries Quebecor's Print Northwest Company L. P., will also become the first authorized iCAT service centre. This will enable Electronic Publishing Group to offer custom text and image integration services to Imprimeries Quebecor clients in North America.

Quebecor Multimédia Inc., a subsidiary of Quebecor Inc., was incorporated in November 1994 to provide interactive multimedia services and electronic publishing services to its affiliates, Impriméries Quebecor Inc. and Groupe Quebecor Inc. Imprimeries Quebecor Inc. has 80 printing facilities in Canada, the United States, France, Mexico, India and Great Britain.

MULTIMEDIA BANKING SERVER A CONSOLIDATED EFFORT

Nova Services Conseils of Montréal and SDV Plurimédia of Strasbourg, France, have signed an agreement on developing and commercializing a multimedia banking server called Médiabanque.

SDV Plurimédia, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel d'Alsace and the daily newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, helped develop telematics in France through services available on the Minitel interactive television network and implemented a home banking server for several banks in Europe and North America.

Nova Services Conseils specializes in network security, electronic payment and card technology. It has managed studies and payment and security aspects for UBI, the Canadian home electronic highway, and is currently working on UBI's security system and on developing a home banking server.

Médiabanque is based on software and tools developed by SDV Plurimédia and on Nova Services Conseils' expertise in the Canadian banking sector. The joint development project is being carried out in Montréal with the first Médiabanque prototype expected in the second quarter of 1995. SDV Plurimédia will then adapt the multi-standard product for the European market.

MACHINA SAPIENS A WINNER

The French computer magazine Univers Mac has named Montréal-based Machina Sapiens the winner of a silver Univers Mac award for the innovative nature of its French grammar and spelling Correcteur 101, version 2.0. Considered the best French correction software by many, Correcteur 101 has performed well in comparative trials in France and received several accolades, including PC Expert magazine's Nominé Prix d'excellence technique 1994.

Correcteur 101 integrates well into Microsoft Word and Novell WordPerfect word processing packages.

OVER A THOUSAND NEW BUSINESSES CREATED UNDER START-UP PROGRAM

The Québec government's start-up program has helped create 1000 new business firms in two months and will generate some 5400 jobs across Québec over the next three years, announced Daniel Paillé, Minister of Industry, Trade, Science and Technology, in early February.

The SDI (Société de développement industriel) has guaranteed $39-million in loans under the Démarrage d'entreprises au Québec program to 1013 projects representing total investments of $143 million. The program enables a fledgling business venture to borrow up to $50 000, repayable over eight years.

20.5 percent of the new businesses work in manufacturing, 31.5 percent in services, 24.5 percent in wholesale and retail trade, and 7 percent in the restaurant and accommodation sector. The projects' geographic spread reflects the economic activity in Québec's various regions.

VALUE OF ORE SHIPMENTS UP 5 PERCENT IN 1994

The value of Québec ore shipments rose by about 5 percent in 1994 to just over $2.8 billion. The amounts of ore were roughly the same as in 1993. The increase in value resulted mainly from higher metal prices. These figures appear in the Bilan et faits saillants 1994 - Perspectives 1995 de l'industrie minérale published by the Department of Natural Resources' statistics service.

Total investment in the Québec mining industry in 1994 was $800 million, up 15 percent over the previous year. Preliminary data show that exploration expenditures totalled $136 million (+ 22 percent), development expenditures $234 million (+ 14 percent), capital expenditures $168 million (+ 16 percent) and repair expenditures $261 million (+ 12 percent).

INET '96: MONTRÉAL TO HOST INTERNET SOCIETY CONVENTION

Montréal will be at the crossroads of the global information superhighway when it hosts the 5th annual world convention of the Internet Society (ISOC) from June 25-30, 1996. ISOC is an international association responsible for coordinating and developing Internet by promoting research and education. Some 2000 to 4000 people are expected to attend.

Internet links 40 000 computer networks in 90 countries, or 160 countries, if electronic mail services are included, and has a monthly growth rate of 10 percent. It had some 40 million users in December 1994, about half of them commercial firms.

Ms. Monique Lefebvre, head of CRIM (Centre de recherche informatique de Montréal), and Mr. Lionel Hurtubise, chairman of the board of Ericsson Communications, both members of the Québec board of CANARIE (the Canadian network for the advancement of research, industry and education), are co-chairs for INET '96.

Six days of intensive Internet management training for 250 invited attendees from developing nations are scheduled to be held just before the convention, organizers said. The training will be offered for the first time in French as well as English, Montréal's bilingual and multicultural reality providing an excellent opportunity to rise to the challenge of developing the network in a multicultural world.

Industrial visits before and after the convention will showcase Québec computer technologies and companies, universities and R&D centres.

LOUIS 19, GRAND PRIX AT FRENCH HUMOUR FESTIVAL

The Québec film Louis 19, le roi de ondes, renamed Reality Show in France, won the Grand Prix of the Festival international du film d'humour in Chamrousse, France.

The film starring Martin Drainville tells the story of a young man who becomes famous from the moment a TV station begins to broadcast his every gesture 24 hours a day.

Louis 19 has won numerous awards in Canada and France, among them the Canadian motion picture and television academy's Golden Reel for the Canadian film with the highest box office receipts in 1994 and the award for the most popular Canadian film at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

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Janet Pernaa Coulombe

MAIICC, Direction des communications (Québec)

Tel. (418) 649-2345

Fax (418) 649-2656