QUÉBEC CITY, May 20, 2008 - Residents and visitors to Québec City will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Jewish community's culture and values, as well as its contributions to the city's history, thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada.
Luc Harvey, Member of Parliament (Louis-Hébert), on behalf of the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, today announced funding for Exposition Shalom Québec. The announcement was made at the launch of the exhibition "Same Cloth; Different Thread: the History of the Jews of Québec City," one of the official festivities commemorating the 400th anniversary of Québec City.
Funding of $46,396 will enable the organization to conduct a study on the Jewish community's contribution to Québec City's development. The centrepiece of the program of activities organized by Exposition Shalom Québec will be an exhibition that traces the history of Jews in Québec City from the time of New France. Visitors will follow the progress of Jewish families who left their mark on Québec City and gain a renewed perspective of the contribution Jews have made to the region's history.
"Thanks to these activities marking the 400th anniversary of Québec City, we will be able to learn more about one another and experience our differences, while celebrating our shared Canadian identity," said Minister Verner. "I am proud to live in a country that has made the many cultures of the world its own. That is why we are determined to strengthen our pluralism and our national cohesion."
"I congratulate Exposition Shalom Québec on this initiative, which will provide visitors with the opportunity to become familiar with the history and the vitality of Québec City's Jewish community," said Mr. Harvey.
Exposition Shalom Québec is a non-profit organization devoted to researching and promoting a better understanding of the history of the Jewish community and its contribution to the heritage of Québec City. As part of Québec City's 400th anniversary celebrations, Exposition Shalom Québec is organizing an exhibition featuring various social, cultural and recreational events.
The Government of Canada has provided this funding through the Community Life Component of the Development of Official Language Communities Program. This program of the Department of Canadian Heritage aims to enable the federal government to work with partners to offer minority official-language communities access to services in their own language, as well as the infrastructure necessary to ensure their growth and development.
The 400th anniversary of Québec City, the cradle of the French language and culture in North America, is a historic event for Canada and North America, for it is from that date that we truly started to become what we are today. The Government of Canada is proud to contribute $110 million to the celebrations and to be a partner in the organization of this event, because the founding of Québec also marks the founding of Canada as a country.
For more information on Québec City's 400th anniversary, visit the Government of Canada's website on this historic event at www.quebec400.gc.ca
Information:
Dominic Gosselin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages
819 997-7788
Marie-Claude Cadorette
Regional Manager Communications
Quebec Region
Canadian Heritage
514 283-4027
