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Genetic counseling is a fast-growing profession worldwide, with genetic counselors taking on increasingly comprehensive and autonomous roles in the healthcare sector. However, the absence of appropriate legal frameworks could potentially create risks of harm to the public. Legal recognition serves to protect the public from risk of harm by regulating the safe and competent practice of healthcare professionals. Genetic counseling is not legally recognized in most world jurisdictions. Examination of the legal status of genetic counseling in different jurisdictions and whether existing legal mechanisms are adequate to address potential risks of harm is therefore timely. This paper examines the different roles of genetic counselors in the Canadian province of Quebec and the state of Qatar, the authors’ respective jurisdictions. It considers the types of harms that may be created where appropriate legal mechanisms are lacking, considering the socio-political and legal differences between the two jurisdictions. Moreover, it examines the legal status of genetic counseling in Quebec and Qatar to determine whether these statuses appropriately address the identified risks of harm. The authors argue that existing legal frameworks are inadequate to address these risks and recommend that additional regulatory mechanisms be implemented to properly protect the public from risks of harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In 2018, the sale of non-medical cannabis was authorized in the province of Quebec in Canada, within a public monopoly under the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC). The objective of this study was to offer a description of the cannabis-using population regarding the sources of cannabis supply and to explore whether at-risk individuals are purchasing cannabis at SQDC. Method: We used data from a cross-sectional, representative population survey (age >18 years, n = 1799), the Enquête Québécoise sur le Cannabis, which was completed between February and June 2019. Analyses involved adjusted binary logistic regressions, incorporating population weights, to assess 7 potential indicators of harm. Results: The vulnerability profiles of SQDC consumers (47.8%) and those acquiring their cannabis elsewhere (52.2%) were similar in terms of frequency of cannabis use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.12-1.67), motivation to use (aOR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.16-2.46), concomitant consumption of other substances (aOR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.14-4.75), cannabis-impaired driving behaviours (aOR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.26-3.36), psychological distress (aOR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.26-3.79), and problematic cannabis use (aOR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.13-1.64). However, SQDC consumers were more likely to be aware of the cannabinoid content of the product purchased compared to those who acquired their cannabis from other sources (aOR = 4.12; 95% CI = 1.10-15.40). Conclusions: No association was detected between the source of cannabis supply and potential vulnerability indicators of cannabis-related harms, but SQDC consumers were more aware of the cannabinoid content of the products purchased. These results suggest that the regulated government supply in Quebec is reaching a substantial portion of those with potential high vulnerability to harm. Whether this knowledge translates into a reduction in the negative consequences related to consumption is still to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the development of aspirations among young people in residential care who are on the cusp of adulthood, and the relationship between their aspirations and their educational experience. We examine the specific aspirations of young people, what shapes those aspirations, and how they interact with their educational experience. This article is based on a qualitative study that aimed to better understand the educational experience of young people in residential care in the Canadian province of Quebec. Biographical interviews were conducted with 35 young people aged 14 to 18. Our analysis demonstrates that, while many seem quite able to project themselves into the future, some appear to see their placement situation and its accompanying uncertainty as an obstacle to doing so. It also suggests that educational and professional aspirations can transform young people's educational experiences and the meaning that they attribute to formal education, as well as influence their intention to pursue further education. Finally, our results offer a critical look at how youth construct their aspirations, and demonstrate the importance of providing conditions that allow and encourage youth in residential care to develop and pursue varied aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that many consumers believe local foods are more expensive than comparative products coming from other markets. The aim of this study was to measure the price competitiveness of products certified by the Aliments du Québec program, a well-known program in the Canadian province of Quebec. Using machine-learning, artificial intelligence and targeted data mining, the report identifies local products and comparator products, to consider whether locally certified products are more expensive than comparative products coming from outside Quebec. Uncertified products used as comparative products come from anywhere around the world, outside of the province of Quebec. For this study, a total of more than 350,000 discrete price data points were analyzed in the Winter 2022. Local product prices were examined relative to the prices of comparator products. In total, there were 48 subcategories considered. In 70.83% of the subcategories, the local product was either as expensive (similar price) or less expensive than the comparator product. Results challenge the popular belief that local food products are often more expensive. This study also provides limitation and future research paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental short amplicon sequencing, or metabarcoding, is commonly used to characterize the bacterial and fungal microbiota of cheese. Comparisons between different metabarcoding studies are complicated by the use of different gene markers. Here, we systematically compare different metabarcoding molecular targets using V3–V4 and V6–V8 regions of the bacterial 16S rDNA and fungal ITS1 and ITS2 regions. Taxonomic profiles varied depending on the molecular markers used. Based on data quality and detection capacity of the markers toward microorganisms usually associated with the dairy environment, the ribosomal regions V3–V4 and ITS2 were selected and further used to evaluate variability in the microbial ecosystem of terroir cheeses from the province of Quebec in Canada. Both fungal and bacterial ecosystem profiles were described for 32 different ready-to-eat bloomy-, washed- and natural-rind specialty cheese varieties. Among them, 15 were studied over two different production years. Using the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index as an indicator of microbial shifts, we found that most variations could be explained by either a voluntary change in starter or ripening culture composition, or by changes in the cheesemaking technology. Overall, our results suggest the persistence of the microbiota between the two years studied—these data aid understanding of cheese microbiota composition and persistence during cheese ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Inadequate pregnancy monitoring for pregnant migrant women without medical insurance (PMWMI) exposes them to severe complications during childbirth and consequences for the health of their child (e.g. preterm delivery, low birth weight, etc.). This scoping review aims to identify existing interventions globally to improve access to perinatal care for PMWMI. It will also highlight the strengths, weaknesses as well as the costs of these interventions. Materials and methods: The methodological framework developed by Arksey & O'Malley (2005) will be used. An electronic search of studies from 2000 to 2021, published in French or English, will be conducted in 12 databases. Publication in Websites of non-governmental organizations working on migrant women without medical insurance issues will be also searched. All articles related to perinatal follow-up and care of PMWMIs, regardless of design, will be included. Editorial comments will be excluded. Outcomes of interest will focus on the impacts, strengths, weaknesses, and cost of interventions. Selection of articles and data extraction will be done by two independent researchers following the Tricco et al. (2018) reporting guide. Finally, a deliberative workshop with experts will allow to identify the most promising and appropriate interventions that can facilitate access to perinatal services by PMWMIs in the Quebec province of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White chanterelles (Basidiomycota), lacking the orange pigments and apricot-like odour of typical chanterelles, were found recently in the Canadian provinces of Québec (QC) and Newfoundland & Labrador (NL). Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identification of all white chanterelles from NL and QC as Cantharellus enelensis; we name these forma acolodorus. We characterized carotenoid pigments, lipids, phenolics, and volatile compounds in these and related chanterelles. White mutants of C. enelensis lacked detectable β-carotene, confirmed to be the primary pigment of wild-type, golden-orange individuals, and could also be distinguished by their profiles of fatty acids and phenolic acids, and by the ketone and terpene composition of their volatiles. We detected single base substitutions in the phytoene desaturase (Al-1) and phytoene synthase (Al-2) genes of the white mutant, which are predicted to result in altered amino acids in their gene products and may be responsible for the loss of β-carotene synthesis in that form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents partial results of the research-creation developed by a group of universities and partner schools to discuss the possibilities of using immersion technology (360-degree video) in the development of educational and artistic projects. It has as a starting point the appreciation of the point of view of adolescents aged between 14 and 19, from different origins, enrolled in public schools in the outskirts of the state of Rio de Janeiro and the province of Quebec in Canada, to present their perspectives on their territories through the use of immersion technology. In this article, we present the various modalities of research-creation around a 360-degree video development project, which establishes a dialogue between different territories. We identified the different educational territories permeated by subjects in their cultural, political, economic, and social diversities, under the aegis of technologies and social inequalities. The purpose is to present some of the challenges of this collective production and the spaces for meetings created from new technologies, in a path that required revisiting the memory of a territory -- when it was limited by sanitary measures in the context of the COVID19 pandemic -- and the unveiling of other territories, more intimate and unique, resignifying the circulation spaces from the re(construction) of stories, values and ways of perceiving the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building from Blum and Dobrotić's conceptual framework, this paper shows that the decisions to reopen childcare centres and schools in the Canadian province of Quebec in 2020 were influenced by four goals: (1) protecting public health, (2) promoting academic success / fostering early education, (3) addressing social inequalities, and (4) helping parents to reconcile employment and care activities. Although the first three objectives were considered in the sequence of reopening, the government quickly chose to prioritize work-family reconciliation above other objectives. Quebec's tight sequence of reopening childcare centres and schools is not simply a consequence of evolving research showing lower risks associated with COVID-19 for young children, it also reflects the province's cultural norms toward mothers' employment and the high legitimacy of the state in subsidizing childcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a brief history of the oldest written rules of the first "Canadian provinces" and introduces two unpublished manuscripts on the Rules of Quebec and Lower Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After having been in power for just a little over a year and a half, the Parti Québécois government led by Pauline Marois decided to call an early election in the hope of getting the majority of seats that had evaded them the last time around. That bet was lost as the 2014 election campaign resulted in the worst showing for the PQ since 1973. The inter-election period was dominated by the debate over the PQ’s proposed Charter of Quebec Values. The Charter also influenced the debate during the campaign, as did the issue of Quebec’s sovereignty due in part to the arrival of Pierre Karl Péladeau as a star candidate for the PQ. The Liberal Party of Quebec is now back in government with a majority of seats and under the leadership of Philippe Couillard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, western societies have been confronted with immigration on a considerable scale. As a result, they have become more pluralistic, particularly as far as religion is concerned. This paper seeks to analyze the response to these developments in France, Italy, and the Canadian province of Quebec. The law on face-covering clothing was introduced in France, the privileged position of the Catholic religion was strengthened in Italy, and a debate about the proposed "Charter of secular values" took place in Quebec. Which of these approaches can best regulate a society, which will undoubtedly become even more diverse in the near future? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives: The study sought to measure the prevalence, disease burden, and determinants of mortality in geriatric adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Background: The population of ACHD is increasing and aging. The geriatric ACHD population has yet to be characterized. Methods: Population-based cohort study using the Quebec Congenital Heart Disease Database of all patients with congenital heart disease coming into contact with the Quebec healthcare system between 1983 and 2005. Subjects with specific diagnoses of congenital heart disease and age 65 years at time of entry into the cohort were followed for up to 15 years. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: The geriatric ACHD cohort consisted of 3,239 patients. From 1990 to 2005, the prevalence of ACHD in older adults remained constant from 3.8 to 3.7 per 1,000 indexed to the general population (prevalence odds ratio: 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93 to 1.03). The age-stratified population prevalence of ACHD was similar in older and younger adults. The most common types of congenital heart disease lesions in older adults were shunt lesions (60%), followed by valvular lesions (37%) and severe congenital heart lesions (3%). Type of ACHD and ACHD-related complications had a minor impact on mortality, which was predominantly driven by acquired comorbid conditions. The most powerful predictors of mortality in the Cox proportional hazards model were: dementia (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.24; 95% CI: 1.53 to 6.85), gastrointestinal bleed (HR: 2.79; 95% CI: 1.66 to 4.69), and chronic kidney disease (HR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.72 to 3.65). Conclusions: The prevalence of geriatric ACHD is substantial, although severe lesions remain uncommon. ACHD patients that live long enough acquire general medical comorbidities, which are the pre-eminent determinants of their mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the mix of private- and public-sector involvement in health care delivery is a focus of political concern. This concern in Canada takes place within the parameters of the federal Canada Health Act. Private for-profit activities in the health care sector in Canadian provinces have moderately shrunk the definition of ‘necessary medical and hospital services’ that must be provided by the public administration system under the federal Canada Health Act. In this article, we argue that the development of new technologies, pharmaceutical innovations, competing (non-health) demands on the federal dollar, and an aging population together create an environment where pressures for economic and political sustainability have led to some erosion of necessary health services in the provinces. Such pressures have, in turn, led to the growth of private commercial-sector health services. Within Canada’s federal system, provincial negotiation of the role of commercial health care organizations has developed in different ways in Ontario and Quebec. Such subnational developments are a significant focus for comparative health policy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The work of Boadway and Hayashi (2001) and Smart (2007) tends to confirm the hypothesis that provinces who are the beneficiaries of equalization payments adopt strategic behaviours that reduce their tax capacity and thus increase these payments. In this study, we analyze the impact that a new hydroelectricity royalty paid by Hydro-Quebec to the Quebec Treasury has on total equalization payments received by the province; to do this, we consider the equalization formulas used before 2004 and after 2007. This royalty, which generates approximately $600 million each year, reduces Quebec's equalization payments by just over $100 million, using either formula. Under the terms of the current equalization formula, Quebec loses 38 cents in equalization rights for each additional dollar of income received from natural resources. The new hydroelectricity royalty and the increase in the dividend rates applied to this government-owned corporation have made it possible for the Quebec government to benefit from a transfer of $1.15 billion; on the other hand it loses $437 million in equalization payments. In this study, we provide and describe an important counter example to the hypothesis concerning the strategic behaviour of provinces that benefit from an equalization scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, the village of Hérouxville attracted a significant amount of media attention after adopting a controversial code of conduct for living in this municipality. This code of conduct, commonly referred to as the Hérouxville Standards, constructed the community's collective identity in ways that were positioned against several "Others," including women, children and (most notably) immigrants. The construction of "Us" and "Them" evident in the Standards points to ongoing contestations over the definition of nationhood in Quebec. In particular, the Standards reflect a reassertion of exclusive concepts of the nation. As such, the Standards must be read, not as an isolated case, but as part of a larger debate about national identity, immigration and multiculturalism in Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this text is to present a reflection on the link between local initiatives to combat food insecurity and actions adapting to climate change. To this end, two case studies of ongoing experiments in the Canadian province of Quebec will be presented and compared. While these two cases are very different in terms of location, production and people involved, they share the objective of bringing fresh and healthy food, produced locally, to the population of their territory and of rethinking the relationship of the community to nature through food production. Despite their significant differences, each of these two cases features actions for responding to problems that have a common cause: an agro-industrial food system that, by decoupling the locations of production and consumption, in order to maximize the economic profitability of the capital invested, has compromised both the health of citizens and the ecological balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the province of Quebec (Canada), the phytocide Garlon 4®, whose active ingredient is triclopyr, is often used to prevent trees from reaching electrical conductors. The object of this paper is to assess the potential health risks in workers coming into contact with Garlon 4®. Ten workers collected their urine during the 22 h following the beginning of a work shift. Measured urinary amounts of triclopyr varied between 1 and 13 mg. The absorbed daily doses were estimated from the amounts of triclopyr in urine through the use of a kinetic model that links the rates of triclopyr elimination to absorbed doses. These estimated doses were compared with the no-observed-effect level (NOEL) observed in rats: 5 mg per kg of body weight. The upper-bound estimations of the worker's daily absorbed doses were found to be 13.3% or less of the rat NOEL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydro-Québec can provide annual storage ranging from 3 to 6 TW h for high VRE markets. • Price arbitraging with high VRE markets leads to sustainable changes for hydropower. • Hydropower maintenance flexibility will gain more value with VRE growth. • Revenues from price arbitraging with high VRE markets remain low. Northeastern North America is transitioning rapidly from fossil fuel generation to variable renewable energy (VRE) sources such as wind and solar. Their integration into electricity grids poses challenges in terms of matching supply with demand. Once VRE represent a large share of installed capacity, intermittency and variability of their production will become a major issue. Hydro-Québec, the public electric utility in the Canadian province of Québec, has a large hydropower generation fleet. Its storage capacity enables adjusting hydro production, when the system needs it, to support VRE integration. In this paper, potential impacts of VRE growth within neighbouring grids are simulated through operational production management models. The results show that Hydro-Québec has the potential to facilitate this energy transition but that the current electricity market structure does not provide incentives for an optimal contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents discussions by economists on various papers that are published in the May 1, 1953 issue of the journal "American Economic Review." The author states that economist John H. Dales paper is an application of location theory to the problem of the industrial potential of a region. It highlights certain requirements, which must be fulfilled before a region can become industrialized and which might be neglected without a location approach. The author states that Dales has constructed a macroscopic theory in which industrial structures or regions are units and not individual plants. He has, however, refrained from attempting to define the region. Much of the discussion relates to this weakness in the argument deriving from the lack of a precise unit. The author first accepts Dales premise that Central Canada can be distinguished as an economic region and comments on certain conclusions made by Dales. The author makes it clear that the low fuel-electricity consumption ratio in Quebec is attributable to the absence of heavy fuel-using industries and to the presence of industries, which consume large quantities of power. High inputs of either power or fuel are characteristic of plants in early stages of manufacturing and not in consumer goods plants. Thus, the low fuel-electricity ratio is not the result of the attractive force which cheap power has for light manufacturing plants in relation to that of cheap fuel.

During the past decade, the Canadian province of Quebec has undergone a swift and profound cultural metamorphosis in the process of defining its identity. As a result, many social, economic, and political institutions are being redefined, formally or informally, either in opposition to or in contrast with Canadian and American institutions. The evolution of a mode of community intervention in Montreal, "l'animation sociale," is a good example of this cultural differentiation in social work practice. This article focuses on the development of this form of community organization in the political context of Quebec. To identify the main elements of Quebec's ideological system, e.g. the dominant ideology and counterideologies, some important historical events that demonstrate Quebec's ideological tendencies during the last decade will be outlined. The other important counterideology developed in Quebec in the past ten years is socialism. Two important local factors have accelerated the development of the socialist ideology in Quebec. First, numerous long and crippling strikes during the mid-1960s the flagrant injustice done to the taxicab industry in Montreal, and shutdowns of many factories have demonstrated the weakness of economic planning at different levels of government. Second, provincial and national social and economic policies have failed to alleviate the problems of health, housing, employment, and the like.

The article discusses several drinking water advisories which have been issued in Canadian provinces and territories as of 2015, and it mentions how the Canadian federal government is responsible for the drinking water that is provided to the First Nation Indian reservations in the country. Advisories regarding the drinking water quality on First Nation reserves in places such as Quebec are examined, along with public trust principles, National Water Policy, and Canadian government agencies.