The matter, in the quantic universe, is at the same time particles and waves. Many geometric models describing the form of the universe suggest a contact point with itself (Loop) or an hourglass form. Is it possible by condensing the entire matter of the universe in a “pre- Big Bang” format, or in its origin point, that the trapped waves create a reverberation effect, generating an exponential “infinity” of particles stored up in this ultra-limited space, until its breaking point. A bit like a speaker that tears/explodes when the reverberation is held too long, or, like the greenhouse effect and the reverberation/rebound of solar rays through clouds, which increases the radiation/heat on Earth because they are trapped.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Watching a bunch of documentaries about space and the origin of the universe. Free courses and presentations online, animated by university professors about modern physics and quantic. Many questions on space-time, about the forms of the universe and their related reflections that have emerged since my youth. A desire to study in physics one day, specifically astrophysics and the origin of the universe. I do not have any experience in this field, except a will to imaginate, to confirm and to learn about subjects that are beyond me and allow me to surpass myself mentally.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Michaël, DEMERS

Wiches to keep their email confidential.

I read an article that mentioned that algorithms created for artificial intelligence were found to be sexist and racist. I would love to learn more and especially to have concrete examples from everyday life.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

As a black woman I have already been confronted with algorithms which I believe were problematic.

What region do you live in?
Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

Can a person diagnosed with anxiety following an experience of racial discrimination survive in a society which discriminates against so-called racialized people?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Yes, I have experienced psychological harassment and racial discrimination from my university studies to the workforce. After being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), I have been off work for over 2 years.

What region do you live in?
Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

I would like to understand what could motivate the employers in the performing arts to hire more people from diverse cultural backgrounds and understand why it is not commonplace. I would like to know if artists from diverse cultural backgrounds that are hired is linked to something unrelated to their cultural background. How do artists from diverse cultural backgrounds see the next ten years in the performing arts in Quebec and Canada?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am a management master’s student and I see how difficult it can be for artists from diverse cultural backgrounds to find grants despite their talent. This situation incites me to better understand the stakes they face and I would like to hear more about cultural agents from different levels of the government who receive their applications and the motivations behind their rejection or acceptations of demands from culturally diverse artists, but also from bigger producers who always recruit the same people.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Nerlande, GAETAN

wiches to keep their email confidential.

I would like to learn more about racism and its manifestations. I have worked as a childhood educator in daycare for many years and I often ask myself questions about the preparations of our school settings in relation to the reception and integration of children from diverse cultural backgrounds. I heard many negative comments regarding the ethnic differences of the parents. Be it other parents talking about workers, workers talking about other workers, all that in front of the children. I witnessed complaints, since 2008, about racism from parents regarding workers. With that said, none of these complaints were registered to the ministère de la Famille. There is an important lack of transparency on this subject. Furthermore, in the day care evaluation, there is no questions about the reception of culturally diverse people and the valorization of differences while, in the ministère de la Famille, politics are adopted on this subject. I am passionate about the sociology of racism, education and the development of children between the age of 0 and 12. These are subjects that need to be talked about in day care  so that the workers  and parents feel concerned and put tags up in order to improve  there interethnic relations for the children, even the ones that aren’t from diverse cultural backgrounds, in order to avoid the repetition of these violent behaviours. Is it possible to develop more information about this subject and work upstream with researchers to sensitize parents and workers about the learning process of racism in youth? Thanks.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Yes. I was an early childhood worker for more than 12 years. The subject of the behaviours of racism and the learning of prejudices has always been a preoccupation of mine as a daycare educator.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential.

Black populations seem very diverse, especially in Africa where we distinguish many countries with a plethora of languages and habits and customs. Although, in a relatively recent past, these populations were nomadic. Therefore, my question is to know what really is the degree of purity of these different ethnic groups in Africa on one side, but also what did the afrodescendent community might have lost of their genetic heritage because of their separation from their ancestor’s lands, but also which influence did this tearing away might have had on the inbreeding rate. Are these rates similar or more pronounced in either of the two entities?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I wasn’t made aware, it’s simply a reflection I had that tries to make these two communities aware of the real differences that might exist between them, apart from the location of their respective origin.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Noël, DOUMTSOP MBOU

caridoumtsop@Yahoo.fr

As an immigrant citizen who has lived through several episodes of racism and xenophobia insidious in Quebec, I was wondering why is Quebec’s society ( a micro-universe in western society) is so reluctant to accept the existence of radically distinctive treatments between native born citizens and those from cultural minorities, as much by the institutions as in the ordinary daily life. Which phenomenon leads people to enter these unsuccessful hermeneutic discussions (like we can observe in the comment section of Facebook’s call for applications), while avoiding the crucial fact of systemic discrimination? Is there a historical explication? Is it our education’s system responsibility? Are the so broadcasted “values” the cause of that? Why is there resistance to admit this weakness, blocking the collective development?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

As I mentioned, I am a naturalized immigrant citizen. I am part of visible and linguistic minorities. I have already endured many discriminations at work, in the healthcare system and in my ordinary daily life. The worst of these discriminations comes from its insidious character, hard to see without a sharp gaze. Discriminatory actions are hidden in apparently normal acts, but we note that our appearance and accents trigger, in some manner, these behaviours. People can change their behaviours on the phone after hearing your accent, those who divert the path in which you find yourself, those who show you the door when you show any dissatisfaction for a product, a service and even society, people who take your spot in line without explications, the cashier who greets the customer before you and ignores you on your turn. The boss who ignores your emails after overwhelming you with work, while letting your coworkers chat gently, the promotion given to a newer and less experienced employee while everybody else thought it would naturally come to you. They are several, those who minimize these behaviours and consider racists only explicitly heinous crimes.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential.

What is the impact of slave trading on the descendants of the people who have been in slavery?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

When the leaders deny systemic racism, it makes you wonder if slavery ever existed.

What region do you live in?

Lanaudiere

Fabienne, D’HAÏTI

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

My subject is to know the impact of unhired people from minorities in the public service on the Quebec population aged 18 to 65.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was made aware of this topic based on the number of key public service positions that are occupied by white people.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their surname, name and email confidential.

Aphasia is a speech disorder. It is neurological. We become aphasic; we are not born this way. Often, like for myself, it is overnight, without warning. Me, one day I was 25 years old, I was speaking like everybody else and, suddenly, I became aphasic after a stroke. Our intelligence is the same but the way we express it is altered. It is difficult to make people understand what we want to say. It takes time and patience, from the aphasic person as much as the person listening to them. It means that we mostly talk with people tha know us, or know aphasia (or at least the stroke). But much more less with others. In rehabilitation, we practice a lot our language and the situations with family and friends. But the speech therapist, from my experience, doesn’t have any idea of the people we can talk to when we leave. Not the people we WANT to talk to, but the people we NEED to talk to. I would like to know what we could do in order to integrate this subject in rehabilitation, in addition to the rest. It could have helped me to have more activities, to find work again more quickly, to live better with the consequences of my stroke. Or maybe not, but I would like if science could help me find the answer.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am aphasic. After my stroke in 2010, the speech therapists told me to speak in as many situations as possible in order to better myself, but, in the end, I mainly practiced my speech with the medical team and my entourage, because I was shy to speak  with people that didn’t know me or what a stroke was. I was told once on the phone “ I would like to talk to someone who talks right” . Still today, I mainly go around with my walking stick, but some days I take it because  I don’t have the strength to explain that no, I am not under the influence of alcohol. When I have my stick, I usually have to explain my speech less often, because people deduce that I have a problem, but also, they speak less to me, which has the same effect. At the grocery store, I now go at the automatic checkout, because I know that I won’t have to interact with anybody else. My instinct is to go where nobody will talk to me.  Alhtough I knew it limited my ability to recuperate my speech. Before, I was mainly extroverted, I liked talking to people. Now, I am introverted, I run away from people I don’t know. I took such a big space in my life, this shyness of speaking to strangers, that I found myself trying to avoid speaking to them.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their surname, name and email confidential.

The question “What are the obstacles / facilitators in accessing resources for people without status and with precarious status?” may be geographically circumscribed in Quebec City since I am aware that the offer of services and the realities of immigration vary greatly from one region to another in the province. The word resource hereby means community and institutional resources and the appellation “people with precarious status” designates a person with asylum seeker status, temporary worker, international student, visitor or a person holding a residence permit for vulnerable workers. As part of my job, where I support these people with different status, I often noted that people without status or with precarious status face additional challenges in their access to services. On a number of occasions, I have had the feeling that if the person being accompanied did not have my support, they would not have been able to benefit from access to existing services. It is to be noted here that some people, before receiving my support, had gone through the same steps and were met with a refusal. All that brought me to question myself on the obstacles these people had to face and the frustrations they generate. While I can name them, some more evident than others (access to health care, language learning, knowledge of resources, refusal of certain categories of immigrants and / or lack of knowledge of the diversity of migratory realities within organizations specializing in immigration, etc.), I would like to deepen my knowledge surrounding these obstacles in order to get out of this more intuitive understanding of things. To continue in the same direction, I would also like to develop a better understanding of the facilitating elements that would give access to the resources for these same people, in studying the best practices here and elsewhere, and working with people without status or in precarious status to see what has already facilitated their access and / or which they would like to see put in place.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

In the last 8 years, I was voluntarily involved and I worked with immigrant people with various migratory status (international students, state / private sponsored refugees, permanent residents [skilled workers], temporary workers [closed / open permits], asylum seekers and people without status). My experiences in this field are varied, in either French language teaching, job search, support in settlement procedures and social integration. I now work as a support worker in a community organization whose mission is to contribute actively to the social and economic integration of immigrants of all status and where I have the opportunity to deepen my knowledge of the issues people with precarious status or without status have to face. I see that while many of them share, with many people who followed a more “classic” migratory path, many inherent challenges of the migratory process, the people without status or with precarious status face additional challenges, including access to resources. It is clear that few specialized services exist outside the Montreal metropolitan area.

Which region do you live in?

Montreal

Arianne, LECLERC

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

Hello. I would like to know what makes some immigrants adapt better than others. The goal is to be able to use what works and improve the chances of development in the host country. Thank you !

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

My observation is that there are people, even after years in Quebec, who have difficulty finding their place in society. How to better equip them?

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Gracia Bahati

Would like to keep their email confidential.

We have an interest in research on this subject, which we do not necessarily have the time to read and which is not always presented in a format that can reach us. The partnership with researchers could allow more sustained and easier exchanges with researchers and also a “co-construction” of knowledge and development of solutions within the framework of a research project, action-research.

Thus, for our Collectif des femmes immigrantes du Québec (CFIQ) it would be interesting to identify the relative importance of personal factors (feeling of competence, fear of failure, etc.) as well as societal factors (networks, discrimination, etc. .) promoting entrepreneurship, in order to offer an alternative to the integration of the labor market to immigrant women, namely the development of an entrepreneurial project. A research project would make it possible to understand the peculiarities of the entrepreneurial process among immigrant women, both among immigrant women who consider entrepreneurship as a mode of integration or return to the labor market, and among others who have created their business. These immigrant women entrepreneurs are often very mobilized by the prospect of passing on their experience to facilitate entrepreneurship among others (for example Ms. Aoura Bizzarri is one of the founders of the collective), and groups working on female entrepreneurship are very mobilized for the group of immigrant women. The potential for mobilization appears favorable for such research, both among women’s groups, employability groups and entrepreneurship-promoting groups, as well as groups and ministries concerned with the integration of immigrants.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Yes, I have been working for the Collectif des femmes immigrantes du Québec for over 15 years in the area of ​​employability of immigrant women. I am also responsible for the Women’s Center whose mission is the empowerment, empowerment of immigrant women.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

Our school-team implemented an educative project. We observe that our goal related to the development of motivation for all students is hard to achieve. We noticed, with the pandemic and online courses, that some students have a higher absenteeism rate. Furthermore, the achievement gap between our regular classes and our special education programs is increasing. The current context confirmed that the stakes linked to our educative project are real. More than ever, we have to support the student’s commitment. The student needs to be in the heart of the educational success and, to do so, we would like to know about the means and strategies to equip them.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am an education professional and, despite my readings relating to the question, I find it really hard to support the intrinsic motivation of our student body in the current conditions.

What region do you live in?

Centre-du-Quebec

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

Since my daughter was born, I have been interested in the different educational alternatives that could allow me to respect her rhythm and free will to learn. I integrated myself into “house-school” support communities where self-directed play is greatly valued to allow the child to learn and develop his motor, intellectual and relational abilities. I would like to know what should be done in Quebec to reduce the obstacles, especially imposed by the scholar cursus, so that school-aged children can access free self-directed play. How do we respect the rights of children and youth to play freely, no matter their economic status, their neighborhood, their skin color or their ethnocultural affiliation? How to make the free self-directed play recognized as a learning method centered on innovation and creativity, essential for mental health and emotional fulfillment, for the physical, social and cognitive well-being of our children and youth?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am the mother of a 4-year-old little girl. I noticed that free self-directed play and access to nature are essential to a good mental, emotional, social and physical health in my daughter. She is currently enrolled in a “school in the forest”.  My daughter is thriving and growing well. She will soon be of age to go to school. I can clearly see the obstacles that will hinder her access to free self-directed play and nature, mainly because of some of the strategies put in place by our school service centers and municipalities. Our educational system, which values competition instead of collaboration, surveillance instead of support, authority instead of democracy, gives little importance to free self-directed play.

What region do you live in?

Estrie

Janette, MUJICA

mujica.janette@gmail.com

Domestic violence, the process of socialisation and the psychosocial development of teenagers are subjects that greatly interest me. They constitute, nowadays, problematics that do not only occupy a great place in public debates, but also participate to the (re)structuration of political, social and cultural life of Quebec. So, it seems fundamental to me to try to understand the impacts of domestic violence on socialization and the psychosocial development of young boys, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnocultural communities.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

The impact of domestic violence on the process of socialisation and psychosocial development of young teenage boys is a subject that is close to my heart as a worker for the Maison D’Haîti organisation as a part of a project named “Projet Gars” the objective of which is to support young boys through their adolescence in order to encourage them to maintain healthy relations while defending egalitarian relationships in the perspective of redefining masculine identity.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Orlando, CEIDE

cpprojetgars@mhaiti.net

Why do we insist on distinguishing the colors of the skin as the existence of human races?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Whenever someone asks for my race, I become sensitive; because I consider that there is only one race. And it’s human. Not like animals where you can distinguish their races.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Christian, BIZIMANA

christian.biziman@gmail.com

I would like to understand why Quebec is so upset by the headscarf. Why are we trying to set aside part of the population and further marginalize them and create more laws too?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am running for politics and the headscarf comes back into question. I was not told directly, but the question is there. In addition, I experience racism and gratuitous violence against myself, because I have chosen to wear a headscarf.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Nafija, RAHMAN

Would like to keep their email confidential.

The pandemic has forced us all to go virtual to access the resources we need. Unfortunately, many immigrant families, already impacted by the digital divide, have seen this gap widen, preventing them from accessing the information and resources they need. The perinatal period is marked by vulnerability for immigrant women and the lack of digital literacy has had a major impact on access to resources and therefore on their overall well-being. How can we improve the digital literacy of vulnerable future immigrant mothers and their families in order to promote equitable access to the resources necessary for their physical and psychological well-being, which is necessary in the perinatal context?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

My profession, which allows me to be in constant and privileged contact with pregnant immigrant women and their families, allowed me to see how digital literacy became crucial in access to health resources, access to resources in preparation for childbirth, empowerment tools and breaking isolation. For example, we observed that families affected by this issue did not participate in information meetings due to their inability to understand how zoom works and to get online.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Marielle, M’BANGHA

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

In this international decade for people of African descent (2015-2024), it is essential to address the issues that affect black communities, such as systemic racism and racial discrimination. The year 2020, marked by popular uprisings, following the assassination of African-Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, triggered a painful but necessary reflection on systemic and anti-black racism far beyond the United States. . This injustice has echoed here in Quebec because, for too long, systemic racism has affected the lives of black, racialized and Indigenous people. Although we have collectively decided to talk about it, we have not yet taken the time to reflect on the impact it has on the lives of those who experience it. Science can help show that racism affects and impacts the overall health of black women on the one hand. On the other hand, science may help make connections between racism and the physical, mental and emotional pain suffered by black women. I am convinced that certain pains are closely linked to the racist violence that these women suffer. Racism is a public health issue that deserves our full attention. We must ensure that current scientific approaches include the issues experienced by black women both systemically and individually. Statistics Canada informs us that “one in three black women works in the health sector in Canada, among Haitian women, it is one in two” (Julien McEvoy, Radio-Canada, published August 13, 2020)[loose traduction]. Black women invest in health care to take care of others, but who takes care of them? How does the current system provide primary care when black women experience discrimination and racism in their settings? How do we ensure that they have access to services adapted to their realities? So many questions for which science could offer answers and solutions in the short and medium term.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Following the denunciation marches in which I participated and which I co-organized, I received numerous testimonies from black women denouncing the racist and discriminatory acts as well as the gender-based violence of which they had been victims. What stood out for me in the testimonies during the talk groups I organized was the similarities with my experiences. The number of black women who say they left their jobs and different backgrounds after being victims of racist acts did not surprise me. These stories are more than anecdotes, but a systemic issue. The women mention, among other things, that they suffer from recurring body pain that has appeared following racist violence and they rarely use the services offered for fear of being discriminated against and of undergoing differentiated treatment both for the color of their skin and being women. Having experienced racial discrimination in the workplace myself, I had to take sick leave in order to regain some physical and mental health. Let us not forget that when we go to the doctor after these traumas, unfortunately there are no medications for the side effects of racism and racial discrimination.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Stephanie, GERMAIN

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

—Classification grid according to the time and monetary services to determine the attendant / child ratio (identify invisible tasks, ergonomically, skills, etc.) — How to ensure that continued training is obtained which would be recognized as an advantage (salary, leave, number of hours, etc.) How to reduce departures? How to keep employees?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

A board member of our organization is a researcher. I am also the executive director of an organization to support families of children with disabilities and a mother of an autistic child.

What region do you live in?

Monteregie

Isabelle, CORBEIL

Would like to keep their email confidential.

Given the poor results, the absenteeism and dropout rate in primary and secondary education in Quebec, can we hope for better by looking at so-called alternative methods (Montessori, Waldorf-Steiner, Decroly, etc.).  If so, would it be possible – and what would be the necessary means – to put them in place at the provincial level?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have always had an interest in sharing knowledge. I had poor academic results myself, but never stopped being curious. In addition, I have been a trainer as a carpenter for several years, and I have seen the effectiveness of some methods unlike others.

What region do you live in?

Centre-du-Quebec

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

With the climatic changes and the disappearance of ponds and swamps, see the decline in aquatic insects that are the food of many birds, mammals and fishes. By participating in a research environment and with a scientific approach to learn more about my question and the research environment.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Amateur entomologist, passionate about aquatic insects. Listening to and following webinars on aquatic insects and aquatic insect identification as a personal project.

What region do you live in?

Laurentides

Sylvain, THERIAULT

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

Quebec is a place where fresh water is abundant. Some people believe in harnessing this resource, selling water. Others believe that this wealth must remain ours. But from a macro point of view, if we take a few (millions) steps back, isn’t there a hydrological regulation, on earth, much greater than all the water that could be transported by the man ? In short, wouldn’t the water that is sold abroad come back to us naturally, after its evaporation, then precipitation? Is man as a species really powerful enough to disrupt the water cycle on a planetary scale?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Environmental groups have long opposed the sale of our blue gold. I’m certainly not against these groups, but every time I hear this topic I wonder if we can really drain our lakes by selling our water. It seems to me a lot more complex question.

What region do you live in?
Capitale-Nationale

Luc, FOURNIER
Wishes to keep their email confidential.

What is the quality of the indoor and outdoor air in Old Quebec? Is it possible to map the air quality for the entire historic district with modern, but inexpensive measuring devices? How do these affordable measurement tools compare to more sophisticated tools? How does indoor and outdoor air pollution compare? Is there a statistical correlation between living in Old Quebec and certain diseases caused by air pollution?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I bought a condo in a house dating from 1870 in Old Quebec. As the building is old, it was built at a time when building standards did not exist, especially in terms of air quality. Subsequent renovations and the transformation into a condo took place within the skeleton of the existing dwelling. There is no air circulation or kitchen exhaust system. Also, being in lower town on Saint-Paul next to a gas station, wood-burning fireplaces and near an industrial and port district, I am worried about local air pollutants.

What region do you live in?
Capitale-Nationale

Ricky, NG-ADAM
ricky@drave.dev

I would like to know which responsible behaviours (or, at least, the least damaging possible for the environment) I can adopt. I often ask myself these questions: is it better to buy local unpackaged or bio, imported or packaged? Understand or get a bird eye view of the life cycles and learn to spot the clues to help me choose.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I started renovating my house last September and every day brought its share of challenges… A friend came to help us last week and we were asking ourselves these questions.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Agathe, LEHEL

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

The birds of prey are present in a significant number along the Saint-Laurent river this year. Is it linked to the change in habits of people during the pandemic? Or an increase in their preys? Or an improvement of their habitat?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have started doing bird photography this year and I heard many comments saying that birds of prey are much more present. I am a marine biologist (without a phd) and I learn about birds for the first time and I am questioning myself on the subject of this difference in behaviours of birds of prey.

What region do you live in?

Chaudiere-Appalaches

Wishes to keep they first, last name and email confidentials.

Root irrigation by capillary action of a terracotta jar.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I fabricated terra cotta jars to irrigate my garden, which helped me save water, it made my crops more autonomous, with less weed and fungal diseases.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

*Ollas is an ancestral irrigation system, made by hand, in pottery, which looks like jars. We bury it through the plants in the garden, fill it with water and plug it. The cultivated soil is thus irrigated by capillary action of the terra cotta pot as needed.

Wishes to keep their first, last name and email confidential.

Chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from chitin, which is very sought after in many industries. Considering the abundance of wild mushrooms in Quebec, it seems interesting to evaluate the chitin concentration of the most common fungal species and evaluate the extraction potential of the chitosan within them.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been interested for many years in wild mushrooms and it recently extended itself to chitin in particular, found in the cell wall of fungi. Many people reported discomfort, intolerance to fungi and fairly persistent gastrointestinal discomfort. I asked myself why some people could become sick after consuming mushrooms renowned as edible while others eat them without problems. My readings led me to believe that chitin is possibly the cause in many cases. Human beings do not assimilate naturally chitin. The body needs to produce enzymes in order to destroy them. This enzyme’s production can sometimes severely deficient, which can inconvenience the consumer. My readings about chitin made me question chitosan and the possibility of producing them in Quebec from wild mushrooms. A great part of chitosan actually produced uses the shell of crustaceans, a resource much more vulnerable and renewable to a much lesser degree than mushrooms. It is a very interesting alternative that needs to be explored more.

What region do you live in?

Abitibi-Temiscamingue

Jonathan, JENSEN-LYNCH

jensenlynch@hotmail.com

More precisely: can the mixture of certain so-called “natural” ingredients generate toxic fumes, a danger to the skin and to children if the cleanser was not stored safely, etc.? With the proliferation of recipes and social media posts, I wonder if there are some homemade cleaning recipes that are better than others. In terms of disinfection, safety, the environment, etc.?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Today, the numerous social media posts, combined with our grandmothers’ recipes are often made with vinegar, baking soda, borax, citrus peels, etc. I would like to know, on the one hand, if these recipes can really replace commercial products. On the other hand, I would like to understand the basics of a cleanser. Because I used to make a cleanser with vinegar and orange peels and it works well for washing hands. However, since it does not foam then, I wonder if it’s really effective as a disinfectant.

What region do you live in?

Northern Quebec

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

How to determine which species of mosquitoes are present near places frequented by humans (homes, parks, etc.) in order to be able to know the pathogens to which humans may be exposed (Nile virus, etc.)?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Growing up in Brazil, I have always been aware of the health risks mosquitoes carry with them, such as by transmitting the virus that causes Zika. I am aware that the scientific community already knows that transmitted pathogens are often associated with a single species of mosquito.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Would like to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

We all have unconscious cognitive biases, inconsistencies or some sort of mismatch between what we know about social and environmental issues and the actions we take on a daily basis. No one can claim to be perfect when it comes to eco-responsible behavior. Sometimes our cognitive biases act as a brake on our behavioral changes. For example, we feel comforted by some popular thoughts or studies that validate our choices in terms of consumption, food or transportation, and we avoid making deeper changes in our lives. On the other hand, sometimes we have realizations and realize that some of our behaviors are not consistent with our values. We can then act and change some of our habits. What interests me in particular is whether becoming aware of our biases and inconsistencies in environmental protection can really lead us to surpass ourselves, to go further in our individual actions for transition. Also, can these individual awakenings act as a lever in a collective transition process? In my opinion, there are elements in these questions that could be interesting to deepen and explore with the help of research. There is a wide variety of issues where our cognitive biases have an influence. For example, following the recent highlighting of concrete and overwhelming events, many realized that their beliefs about Aboriginal realities and the history of our territory were in fact our biases. How can these realizations help us to act differently and to go further? Above all, what if we look more specifically into the challenges of socio-ecological transition? Can our individual awareness, little by little, create a collective movement? Should we use our personal experiences to positively influence others and, if so, what are the best ways to do this? Is it better to go through action or rather through discussion and awareness? I think part of the answer has to come in a culture that values ​​humility more than guilt over behavior change. I also have the impression that we must enhance and improve the visibility of the individual initiatives undertaken in order to make them grow.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I had transportation habits that ended up creating a disconnect between my values ​​and my behavior. On an airplane trip for work, I saw myself carrying my reusable mug around and found that ridiculous, compared to the environmental impact of my mug versus the GHGs emitted by the airplane. I then proceeded to detect the many inconsistencies in my own life and it created a strong dissonance in me. This shift acted as a driver of change, but it also remained a reflection: do the people around me have similar realizations? How can this unpleasant dissonance be used to influence others positively, without falling into the sermon or the lesson? Can this experience be of use to something greater than me? My professional experiences are centered on international and local development projects. I am also involved in my neighborhood and in the Grand dialogue pour la transition in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean. I believe in these kinds of projects that make it possible to move things forward, together. I give great importance to certain values, such as belonging to the community and civic engagement. It is part of my identity and acts as a catalyst for my curiosity as a citizen researcher.

What region do you live in?

Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

Being an architectural technologist, I still wonder from what threshold one can consider a construction as being “ecological”. It seems to me that in order to be able to claim being ecological, it would be necessary to be able to know whether a project respects the limits of ecosystems. We lack a scale to be able to allocate a “resource budget” to each one in order to assess whether our home, for example, respects these limits. I imagine a budget tool inspired by the concept of ecological footprint, developed by the Global Footprint Network, which assesses the share of resources available to each in bioproductive hectares, making it possible to assess the relative impact of certain important decisions, such as choice in construction and land use planning, to one of a common unit and a threshold / “budget” available per person. The interest would be to 1. Have a ± objective instrument to underweight everyone’s ecological claims and 2. To raise awareness of the notion of absolute limits in ecological questions.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been sensitive to environmental issues since childhood. It remains an unresolved question for me, what would be an ecological way of life. I turned to building with the desire to contribute to green construction. However, whether it was during my training or now in my practice, the question remains unresolved. Everyone has their environmental claims, but there is a lack of means to assess one option against another, let alone a project as a whole.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Sean Olivier, PARENT

osoleilbleu@gmail.com

There are documents (articles, reports) that show that bacterial species can reduce the presence of cyanobacteria in lakes and reduce some of the harmful effects of eutrophication. What is the impact of these bacterial treatments on the nutrients and the ecology (flora and fauna) of a lake, in the short term, but also in the long term?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I live by a small lake. There are cyanobacteria. The municipal retention basins are treated with certain bacteria.

What region do you live in?

Eastern Townships

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

I would like to know why the researchers or engineers have not yet realized that 2 oxygen concentrators used in a residential home can make so much noise and that no one has thought of putting silencers on their machines that the patient must use 24/24. This noise is hellish!
How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?My partner has pulmonary fibroma. He must use 2 concentrators for his survival. The whole family has to endure this noise to keep it at home!

What region do you live in?
Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential.

With the impressive variety of materials available on the market, it can be difficult to make a choice during a construction or renovation project. Composite woods and fiber cement are materials of interest in exterior structures for their durability and their flame retardant and water repellent properties to be mold resistant. I recently read articles on the phosphorylation treatment of wood, which would allow it to have flame retardant properties. I was wondering if phosphorylated wood could be an innovative construction product capable of competing with products already on the market. To make an informed choice, it would be interesting to compare these materials according to the cost of production, their ecological aspect and their quality.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am currently in the construction / renovation field and I am interested in innovative and ecological materials. I myself have a great deal of interest in favoring materials made from by-products or recycled material. I would like to learn more about this subject in order to advise homeowners in the choice of materials to use, but also to make them aware of the environmental impact of these.

What region do you live in?

Mauricie

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

We see many companies that offer various qualities and models of knives for particular applications. From chef’s knives to fillet knives, kitchen blades are my daily tools as a chef. So, I would like to understand the relationship between the process of making kitchen knives and what it takes to achieve a property like foldability.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

By my profession, I use kitchen knives on a daily basis. I have had the chance to try and use many blades made by hand by artisans from here and elsewhere. So, I am naturally curious about the manufacturing process.

What region do you live in?

Estrie

Caroline, MC CANN

info@carolinemccann.ca

Indeed, according to my understanding, carotenoids, used in industry in particular for their coloring properties, are currently produced chemically. However, consumer demand for pigments of biological origin is starting to grow. However, biotechnological production of carotenoids is not competitive with chemical synthesis, due to costs. With my question, I would like to know how to replace this chemical production by biotechnological production of carotenoids, in an efficient and sustainable way.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was sensibilized by reading articles and reviews; I have no experience related to the subject of biotechnology.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Arina, IONEL

arinaionel@gmail.com

In Quebec, the polar aurora phenomena are recurrent, especially in Nunavik. These extravagant colored curtains illuminate the landscape in the north of the province with exceptional frequency. These optical spectacles appear in the upper atmosphere and are caused by particles from the sun that interact with the earth’s magnetic field. From what I understand, these “radiating” locations are commonly referred to as “plasmas” and represent the “fourth state of matter” after solids, liquids and gases. In this context, I ask myself the following question: do the particles and energetic radiations involved in these plasma phenomena represent an important source of energy? Could they be retrieved and stored? Could the polar lights be an “alternative” energy source to supply electricity to indigenous communities living in these regions far from urban areas?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

As far back as I can remember, I have always been interested in what’s going on above our heads. Amateur astronomer for several years, I enjoy observing and photographing different celestial spectacles. The optical phenomena of the polar lights have always captivated me and I have already spent several nights photographing them. As the beauty of nature should not be reserved only for the privileged few, I am involved in an astronomy club and I like to popularize and share my best pictures on my website or in my book “Les yeux tournés vers le Ciel”. During these long nightly waits, I was able to read and listen to explanations describing the phenomenon of creation of these extraordinary colors in our sky. Today, similar to photovoltaic panels, I wonder if we could recover this natural energy and store it somewhere for potential users in the far north of Quebec. However, I have no experience in the field of physics or electricity and these celestial spectacles remain, to me, still very mysterious. A collaboration with a specialized researcher would be a perfect opportunity to understand a little more these phenomena so dear to my heart.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Wishes to keep their first and last names confidential.

vegacrqc@hotmail.com

Sometimes, I think about the evolution of the living and I tell myself that, everything we are (as a species), is the result of natural selection. Thus, our behaviours, also, are the result of thousands years of evolution. For example, when a caterpillar camouflages itself to look like a snake, it does not choose the most venomous snake to scare its predators. The predator sees a snake and flees, no matter which kind of snake it is. In short, how did our stereotypes contribute to the human kind hegemony? From a philosophical naturalist perspective, man is an animal and acts like one.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I often read Hobbes, Shopenhauer, Neitzshe and Machiavel. They are mostly naturalists, they often talk about human behaviours.

What region do you live in?

Outaouais

Samuel, CANTAVE

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

This legal question would require a scientific response through meta-analysis and the gathering of opinions from experts, ministers, politicians and legal researchers. The answer to this question will clear up a legal vagueness.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been made aware because I have a business project that would require such a clause and my lawyer is unable to certify that this is possible or impossible for the debtor of a contract of guarantee couldn’t be defined generically. Personal example: “real estate buyers”.

Which region do you live in?

Estrie

Monteregie

Éric, BOUCHER

bouchereric0000@hotmail.com

Depending on the major issue of climate change, our societies will increasingly have to face various crises that will require more collaborative work to integrate a diversity of perspectives. As several stakeholders will be involved and each stakeholder has a vision and a way of working, we can say that we will have to manage to work in complexity. However, integrating the notions of uncertainty, non-linearity, letting go and transdisciplinarity will not be easy. How then to integrate a complex management mode when most managers are not trained in this approach? How to develop simple and non-simplifying tools that will allow a contribution from the different actors involved, and rely on the collective intelligence of the group? To meet such a challenge, we believe in the power of popularization and creativity to develop a series of conceptual and visual means that allow us to better navigate the complexity.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Six months ago, I began my research on the notion of complexity only to find that there were few practical tools, particularly in French. After developing practical guides on the topics of impact and co-creation, I decided to tackle the concept of complexity to make a Quebec contribution. I did my master on the subject of complexity in the early 2000s and for 20 years. The reflection has progressed, but few people have dared to approach this in a concrete way.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

What are the impacts of fiction on physical and mental well-being (all types of fiction combined like theater, series, novels, films, tales, improvisations, short stories, etc.) on the individuals who consume it vs. those who do not consume it? ? Can being told stories forge the personality, the values ​​of an individual, develop our way of perceiving the world, our general well-being? Does the consumption of cultural products release hormones in our brains? Are these impacts quantifiable? Does it depend on individual tastes? Do all genres (comedy vs tragedy) have the same effect?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am a director, author and cultural mediator. I am a fan of fiction. I am convinced of the benefits of culture for everyone. I would like to base this “faith” on proven, scientific facts. It may already exist …

What region do you live in?

Chaudière-Appalaches

Andréanne, BÉLAND

Wishes to keep their email address confidential.

The debate between the different theories of privilege and the classic idea of ​​capitalism seem to contradict each other on which factors influence the improvement of a person’s economic situation. However, data on such research is lacking in Quebec. The aim of this research would be to determine in the first place whether the economic situation of a rich person improves at the same speed, faster or slower than for the rest of society. The second part seeks to know if a person with a good financial situation sees his situation improving faster, slower or at the same speed as a person with greater financial difficulties in the same neighbourhood and then someone with a similar situation in another neighbourhood.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?
I was made aware of this when I heard about the Redlining policy in the United States, which was primarily a racial practice. After some research, I saw only two articles that talk about the situation in Canada, including only one that talks about it in Quebec. These studies show the presence of this policy, but at a very low level, in connection more with the financial situation of individuals than their racial situation.

What region do you live in?
Monteregie

Jean-Claude, MUGABA
mugaba.jeanclaude@outlook.com

Public participation is often examined on how it can have an impact on society in general and on the relationship between government and the population. I wonder if such studies are carried out with a view to understanding how public participation processes have an impact at the individual level, either on the mental (and / or global) health of the person, on his sense of self-fulfillment, integration into the community, security in relation to its direct and indirect environment.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was made aware of this subject by the current tendency for governments to put in place mechanisms for public participation. We often talk about how these are positive for society, but less at the individual level. During my internship in public administration I became interested in stakeholder management and social acceptability, which I studied at the administrative and sociopolitical level, but never at the psychological level as in the context of this question.

What region do you live in?
Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

Applying the game theory (Nash equilibrium) with a situation in which every player (managing a municipal or provincial worker pension plan) correctly predicts others’ choices and every player maximizes their gains while considering the predictability thanks to one manager who maximizes economy of scale. Making a comparative study of a municipal pension plan managed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec compared to a municipal pension plan independently managed like in the City of Montreal. Estimate the potential gains if the totality of the pension plans from public and parapublic services as well as provincial and municipal state workers were managed by one institution  that is the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I discovered that when pension plans for employees of a public transport company is in a deficit, the municipality proceeds to a loan-by-law in order to replenish the pension plans in liquidity while the interest fees linked to this loan are payed by the taxpayers. I find that incomprehensible that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec manages the totality of the municipal state worker’s plans like the one in Quebec City, but not the totality of the pension plans of municipal state workers in all of Quebec. In Ontario, from the beginning of the ‘60s, the provincial government created an institution (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System or OMERS) which must include all the pension plans from municipal and provincial state workers without exception in order to maximize the economy of scale, why doesn’t this practice exist in Quebec?

What region do you live in?

Monteregie

Pierre, SÉNÉCAL

pierresenecal@hotmail.com

What are the phenomenon/events that made it rather transparent? Which one made it more or less transparent? What should or should not be done to made it more transparent, as much on the provincial as the municipal scale? Transparency, respect of environmental norms, socioeconomic inequities, marketing strategies, the participation of a legal person in the financial market, the investments of moral agents in cryptocurrency, the tax evasion, workers rights, the lobbyists, the stake holders, the bureaucratic practices, the syndicates groups, the collective actions, all these subjects can be linked to the aforementioned question.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I looked into the question during my synthesis activity in Human Sciences (not completed), focusing on urban planning among the City of Quebec.

Which region do you live in?

Chaudiere-Appalaches

Wishes to keep their surname, name and email confidential.

Question: How does participating in research and training projects build on the strengths of citizens and recognize their life experience? I want to understand how building on the strengths of people in different projects recognizes their value. I also want to understand the impact of their involvement in their lives, in their recovery and their reintegration into society. By better understanding this subject, it will be possible to find ways to stimulate citizens’ participation and involve them at different levels and in different projects.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

By an acquaintance. In fact, I have been involved in projects and committees that aim to facilitate the participation of users (people who have received or are receiving health or social services) in research or training projects. I have never been part of a research team in the development and execution of a project. The scholarship is an opportunity for me to develop a research project and better understand the impacts of the involvement of people in the projects in which they participate. I would find that very motivating. I strongly believe in the participation of citizens in different projects. I am personally involved in different projects and each year I measure the impacts in my life.

What region do you live in?

Estrie

Nicolas, AUBÉ-LANCTÔT

info@foulosophe.com

Considering the terrace closing at 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends, why stop the cadets and various patrols at 11 p.m.?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I observe that incivility often starts from this time on.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first and last names and emails confidential.

I am interested in knowing which action, which gesture, which lifestyle choice, which youthful escapade or traumatic event reduces the lifespan of a typical person the most. The answer to this question is very socially useful, considering that it might be possible to eliminate one of the most damaging events in the health of a typical person, adding years of life at the societal level. For example, if we discover that the fact of smoking a joint while being young, even if it is only once, decreases the life expectancy of approximately 1 year on average, enormous temporal gains can be made by the general population. I think this question is complex, but has a multiplicity of important implications.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I wondered, thinking about my plan to live a long life, what would be the one and only event in my life that I could avoid in order to maximize my time on Earth.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Montreal

Louis-Philippe, BATEMAN

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

What is the current and past contribution of historical societies and associations of citizens to Quebec’s memory, history and heritage?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was a member of various historical societies over the years, former vice-president of the Fédération Histoire Québec.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

The guaranteed minimum income (GMI) is not a new concept. From one end of the political spectrum to the other, there is almost unanimity. However, few places in the world are moving forward. It is generally recognized that the GMI is an effective tool in the fight against poverty. However, more and more voices are being raised that other members of society could benefit from it. Among others, artists, farmers, single-parent families, especially women, people wishing to make a transition between two jobs or change careers, would see their lives simplified and improved. The impacts of GMI on health are also an important element that should be better understood. Even the world of research could benefit from a GMI allowing a healthy distance between research and funders. The pandemic has shown us what a GMI looks like with the CERB. As with many topics related to the pandemic, all kinds of information have been conveyed about it from which it is difficult to extract the right from the wrong. Since the GMI is similar to the CERB, information about the CERB has an impact on how people perceive the GMI. The more popular the subject of GMI becomes, the more this complexity increases. Even in politics, on both the more conservative and liberal sides, they agree that some form of GMI could be beneficial to the economy, the concept faces several obstacles in the public. Quebec always sings that the best way to kill a man is to pay him for doing nothing. It therefore seems important to me to try to organize our thinking on the subject. What interests me is the dynamics of decision-making when political bodies have to position themselves on such a deeply touching subject. I would like to understand how government decision-making works. To be able to schematize it, to “see” it concretely in order to better articulate a discourse presenting a project as broad as the GMI and whose impacts are potentially very significant. When we read about the history of universal health insurance in Canada, from the CCF proposal in 1944 to its acceptance by all the provinces and territories in 1972, we realize that, despite the unifying vision of a fairer and more humane society from Tommy Douglas (the “father” of Medicare), several decades have passed. Is it possible to understand the inner workings of collective decision-making at the country level? And if so, how to articulate a proposal so that it is as clearly understood as possible by the organizations in place?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I discovered GMI through citizens in the Eastern Regions (GÎM / BSL) that I was invited to test for a year. However, no methodology was used to collect the results. Without research experience, I could only collect impressions of my experience, without analysis. Despite the benefits of this year on the GMI, I have a bitter memory of its use to advance research on the subject, or simply to help a concrete GMI project to see the light of day. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that I have found myself in this situation. Instigator of a complementary currency and a place of self-managed socialization, despite some steps to ensure that a scientific follow-up be done in each case, it was impossible. Therefore, we have two projects that have been around for six years, one of which continues to perform strangely well, without any data collection being done. These projects could serve as examples to inspire others, but without data and analysis, the exercise becomes free and potentially futile improvisation. Having access to a researcher would allow me to learn to better organize my thinking in order to facilitate data collection so that I can possibly move on to potentially socially useful projects.

What region do you live in?

Bas-Saint-Laurent

Gaspésie – Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Martin, ZIBEAU

Would like to keep their email confidential.

In 2012, I was a student: my weeks were punctuated by GA strikes, manifestations, picketing sessions. Ten years later, I realize the significance of this unprecedented historic event. In the meantime, some of these student associations have been dissolved. I have often wondered what remains of the artistic and institutional productions developed during the student movement. Think of the École de la montagne rouge in Montreal or the thousands of minutes from student associations across Quebec. In the absence of archivists, can non-institutional archives like those of the 2012 strike, scattered across Quebe,c be assembled? Are there researchers to collect and study them?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

My professional journey has taken me to work for two female religious communities where I have seen how well their archives are preserved. These archives (account books, annals, correspondence, inventories) preserve the memory of the institution and their conservation is well dictated in the constitutions of the religious community. It was after having worked with the archives of religious communities that I became concerned about the fate of less “official” archives.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

As I became interested in leadership, and how to improve this skill at home, I have come to pay more attention to people who demonstrate leadership, as well as to those who lead or advance projects. I then became interested in how projects can be carried out. There are certainly technical, time and logistical constraints in all projects, but I have noticed that whoever leads the project, or who is responsible for it, greatly affects the chances of success. The methodology and the framework in which the project operates therefore have a significant impact on the outcome of the project. The subject that interests me is the duality between the two approaches of project development and work organization, especially in the context of developing collective and citizen projects. The co-construction approach seems more focused on collaboration between stakeholders, which intuitively seems to be a more suitable choice for a collective project. The top-down approach seems more hierarchical and linear in the progression of the work. It is also more widely used. I want to deepen my understanding of these two approaches to better work on civic projects that are close to my heart. Sub-questions around this subject would also be very interesting to explore. For example: does the concept of co-construction equal that of rotating leadership? Or again: Can there be a leader, or a project leader, in a co-construction process? With a better understanding of the topics surrounding my question, I will be able to make a better choice of work methodology for my projects already in progress on the one hand. On the other hand, I could better select an approach when I want to put in place the conditions to bring about meaningful projects in the citizen space.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Having always been sympathetic to environmental causes. Over the course of my involvement, I realized that collaborative work that had a more partnership-oriented aim suited me better than a context that was more part of confrontation. Over the course of my reading, mainly around social and environmental sciences, I have come to understand the importance of citizen issues. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to participate in the Grand Dialogue pour la transition socioécologique in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, I immediately showed my interest in participating. The project is carried on by engaged citizens, it is a citizens’ initiative for social transformation and self-determination. Evolving in a context of sociocracy with collaborative work circles, I experienced the co-construction of the framework and the methodology in which the work was carried out towards the drafting of a roadmap to achieve the socioecological objectives of the region. I found that it seemed more difficult, or less fluid, to achieve our work goals using the top-down approach, perhaps because the current framework fits in with the co-construction. Therefore, that is where my questioning of work organization approaches was born.

What region do you live in?

Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean

Jean-Benoit, ROUSSEL

jeanbenoit23@hotmail.com

Considering my experience in massage therapy-physiotherapy, I wonder if scientifically, movement, in its amplitude and strength, is demonstrated as a source of well-being.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been a massage physiotherapist for twenty years, several clients with very complex problems have regained their well-being through the recovery of amplitude and strength, even if this was not necessarily related to movement.

What region do you live in?
Capitale-Nationale

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

As some countries have succeeded in building effective or even efficient health and social services systems, how can we identify and draw on best practices at the global level in order to adapt and integrate them into our health and social services system. It may need to be completely transformed, metamorphosed so that it is better suited to the needs of the population. Should we start from the blank page, rethink it and make changes to fill in the gaps and deficiencies? I know that many studies, analyzes, files have looked into this question, but the actions and results are still not there. Science is finding answers to much more complex questions; how come we can’t find effective solutions to our problems, a mystery!

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?
The problems encountered in the health system are numerous and well known to the Quebec population, particularly in terms of the shortage of resources and personnel in healthcare settings, CHSLDs, emergency waiting times, for get appointments with a specialist, find a family doctor, for a surgical intervention or an appointment with a psychologist, problems with communication between specialist and omni doctors, slowness of communications (fax transmission, paper files), etc., regardless of the pandemic which complicated matters.
What region do you live in?
Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last name and email confidential

I would like to study desmoids tumors and try to better differentiate them from malignant tumors to better determine the procedure to be followed for patients who have it and contribute to the field of oncology.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

In 2019, I had my right breast removed, because of a tumor of 5 centimeters in diameter. Doctors and oncologists were not able to determine if it was cancerous or not, even with a biopsy. Had we known that the tumor was benign, maybe we could have prevented the removal. I would like to study desmoids tumors and try to better differentiate them from malignant tumors.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Monteregie

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

Glutamate has been used for a while in human food. Noticeably with the arrival of transformed and ultra transformed food. We occasionally see it in exhaustive ingredients lists of supermarket food, but used in restaurants, it is sometimes hard to escape it or know where it is present. We are told it is a flavor enhancer, but enhancing flavor would mean that food doesn’t have a lot of flavor and that glutamate plays on neurones? How does monosodium glutamate contribute to enhance flavor of food and what are the dangers of using it on short, medium and long term? What are its impacts on the brain, namely cognition and concentration after consuming dishes that contain it? Can it be a disease vector? And, if that’s the case, why do we keep using it in food products?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been interested in food additives for a while and I eliminated transformed food products from my life as to only consume raw products that I prepare myself. I have observed a constancy in people who consume many transformed products, without caring about what they consume, where they experience attitude and concentration problems. It is not normal that, in a school class, 4 people out of 15 are diagnosed TDAH in our time. There certainly exist many factors, maybe other additives, maybe other elements. But I have noticed that the more the food is unhealthy, the more there are risks that it will contain glutamate.

What region do you live?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first, last names and email confidential

Ideally the list of medication that induces or aggravates the syndrome.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I got the syndrome.

What region do you live in?

Mauricie

Wishes to keep their first and last name confidential.

steph2801@outlook.com

On one side, We know that the aging of “healthy” people is accompanied by a degradation of physical and cognitive capacities and that several programs exist to support the active and healthy aging of these people. On the other side, we know that people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury suffer from permanent sequels and that they have fewer opportunities to participate socially. It seems logical to suppose that these people will feel like they age more rapidly and that they need support to enforce healthy aging. Now, how do we support these people living with sequels from a craniocerebral trauma for a healthy and active aging?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was recently recruited to head an association’s family caregiver assistance program, which helps people living with sequels of a craniocerebral trauma and their relatives. I was rapidly confronted with questions and concerns from relatives for which I did not have answers. While questioning my colleagues and doing some internet research, I quickly realized that the aging process specific to people living with the sequel of a craniocerebral trauma is very little studied. The principal information that I could find is that this population ages prematurely. However, I did not find any interventions strategies nor tools to give to relatives. Suffering from a craniocerebral trauma changes life and cannot be cured. Our members are all inevitably called to age and we do not have any programs to support them through this process.

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Geneviève, CARON

g.caron@tcc2rives.qc.ca

Eye disorders after vaccination against Covid-19

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Vaccinated at the end of March (Pfizer), operated at Lasik MD end of April and complications follow one another (doubling, blurred vision, vision loss in shaded areas, swollen eyelids [red or purplish], headache, lens in 1.5 left eye 2 months post-op, although I was not having presbyopia before surgery and I have only 35, etc.) https://www.brudirect.com/news.php?id=118349

What region do you live in?

Capitale-Nationale

Wishes to keep their surname, name and email confidential.

The  of physical transformation during hormone treatments differs from person to person and therefore their needs and desires for gender affirming surgeries vary as well. There is no study, to my knowledge, has stopped to assess these needs in order to give a realistic picture, and this, with a good sampling. It is paramount to know the real needs of the people in the transgender community. The research on transgender people need to implicate them directly. I ask myself about the importance that transgender people give to medical treatments and surgical interventions and the priority they give themselves in regard of these interventions and gender reassignments. Studies show that hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgeries are effective to diminish the dysphoria in transgender people reducing risks of depression, of ideation and acting on suicidal thoughts. For transgender people, a medical transition’s objective is to align their appearance with their gender identity. But, aligning’s one self does not require only one intervention on the anatomical sex. In my case, face epilation was of great importance, because the first thing that people see in another person is the face and when there is a few hours’ beard on this face, under make-up, the stares start becoming interrogative. Are they a man or a woman? That is what I felt and that would provoke a bigger dysphoria than my crotch ever could. For me, that is how it is and it changes from one person to another. Being correctly gendered increases our well-being and our confidence while diminishing considerably the dysphoria and the discomfort. Some surgeries like the surgical intervention of the voice, the reduction of the Adam apple or the facial and body feminisation for transfeminine people or masculinizing surgical interventions are as important as the vaginoplasty and phalloplasty in the eyes of the interested. These transformations allow them to be recognized by society in the social gender that aligns with their identity (passing). To have an acceptable “passing” and be yourself often saves the life of transitioning people, protects them against harassment, aggressions and heinous crimes. Hence the importance of knowing the reel needs of transgender people in Quebec in terms of surgical interventions to affirm their gender identity.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Being myself a woman who has lived a trans journey and having read many articles and watched many conferences on medical transitioning, no study seemed to me to look at the priority needs and the real desires of surgical interventions of people going through a transition. Meeting many people and trans community groups from everywhere in Quebec, I realize that the needs are different from one person to another, for various very personal reasons. Going by the studies and conferences of specialist on the matter, genre reassignment surgeries, on short term, diminish considerably suicidal thoughts, but are these interventions a priority and are they enough to solve the trans population’s problems, on medium and long term?

Which region do you live in?

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean

Claude Amiot

claudeamiot@outlook.com

Several alternatives to chemotherapy are named without being thought of as being a replacement for this treatment, or otherwise, alternative treatments (antibiotics and Vitamin C, among others) act on a limited number of types of cancer. Considering that many people refuse chemotherapy treatment so as not to have to face the side effects and therefore choose death instead, in which research sector should Quebec invest resources in order to set up a real alternative to chemotherapy? What proportion of people choose to die (medical assistance in dying) rather than taking the chemotherapy alternative?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

My own mother, along with other relatives, friends and acquaintances, suffered from cancer and refused chemotherapy treatment. Some of them preferred medical assistance in dying. In 2021, where are we in research on alternatives to chemotherapy? Several complementary treatments exist, but this is far from sufficient for the side effects of chemotherapy.

What region do you live in?

Mauricie

Josianne, GRAVEL

Wishes to keep their email confidential.

Following an accident, I have been suffering from chronic pain for three years now. I was hospitalized and given morphine to reduce the pain. Subsequently, physiatrists believed that by receiving injections (caudal and foraminal epidurals), the pain would go away over time. The medication offers very good relief. On the other hand, it sometimes causes undesirable side effects. The medically recommended doses are strong and potent and I wonder if, in the long term, this will not cause me other problems than what I am experiencing now. I have turned to the practice of meditation and mindfulness, which brings me immediate relief and allows me to focus on more than my pain. I do a small part of my Qigong yoga routine in order to learn to breathe better, to focus, and to focus my attention away from the painful parts of my body. In my search for solutions to reduce my pain, I began to practice hypnosis. I wonder what the long-term effects of this practice may be on pain management or control. What regions of the brain are involved in this practice? Can this practice make lasting and permanent changes in the center of pain control at the brain level? Can this change the paradigm of pain with visualizing or suggesting good times? To what extent can this practice restore a semblance of normal life and reduce the consumption of drugs or medical cannabis?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Through my visits to the HMR Pain Management Clinic, I consult in psychology. The psychologist offered me the practice of hypnosis in order to learn to control my breathing, to fix my attention on a pleasant and positive moment in my life, to cut myself off from the outside world in order to reach a state of letting go. For me, it is a mental gymnastics to tame. I am curious how these suggestions and this deep relaxation can allow me to focus on something other than my painful bodily perceptions.

What region do you live in?

Lanaudiere

Maryse, AUBIN

Would like to keep their email confidential.

The family experience and the health system concern us all. Everyone will go through this at one point or another in their life. Considering the width, accessibility and necessity of our health system in our society, we would like our needs to be heard and addressed. We would like to have confidence in the institution dedicated to helping us with our mental health and that of our loved ones. However, there are many issues that arise when navigating our health care system as a loved one with a loved one with a mental health disorder. For those around you, there is often a lack of knowledge of mental health problems, of available resources, of the realities of the public environment, etc. And if we add to that the rights of the person with a mental health disorder, the issues of confidentiality, the constant change of structures and departments in the mental health system and the ‘turnover’ of employees who also end up requiring sick leave due to their work environment, how are we supposed to trust our mental health system and entrust our loved one to it? A system dedicated to treating mental health disorders which serves to promote and develop a better lifestyle for those who use it, but often gives us the impression that we are going in the opposite direction.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I have been working in the mental health field for a decade, so I have had the opportunity to work directly with people who have mental health issues in community organizations and in the private sector as a volunteer, intern and employee. Now, I am developing a project in the public sector, but from a community position, to offer support to family members who support their loved one with a mental health disorder. Not only do I have professional experience, but I also lived it being myself a caregiver with several members of my entourage having a mental health disorder. Objective and subjective experience is not the same. My job and my background have submerged me in the world of health, which is so precious but so complex, and which makes me see and realize that the family experience does not get the attention it deserves and could benefit from being studied and better understood given that mental health affects us all and our health should be a priority as well as the system that holds it.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Natalie, BOILEAU

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

It is difficult to say when the role of caregiver “officially” begins. I have noticed that the majority of these get involved in the beginning without questioning too much. They feel useful to give concrete help every now and then and to be there for someone close to them who is at home. With the progression of the disease or the loss of autonomy, caregivers become aware of it. Many of them experience stress and frustration. Too often, they feel so disheartened that the only possible outcome is accommodation or death of the person being cared for. The person being cared for may experience the guilt of seeing the caregiver having difficulty in reconciling all of his tasks or, conversely, have unrealistic expectations regarding the availability or commitment intentions of the caregiver. What seems to me to be a common point among the people that I have accompanied over time is that the helping and helper dyad had never or very little communicated with each other such as their wishes, their preferences in care and services and who should provide them. We can then think that more delicate subjects, such as privacy, security, the caregiver’s strengths and limitations as well as the duration of the assistance or what is not acceptable to both sides (eg. a caregiver giving her father a bath) are hardly discussed, although they will happen one day or another. It seems to me that frank and open communication would prevent situations of burnout, interpersonal and family conflicts, a negative experience or hasty decision making when it is too late. In particular, when the caregiver is exhausted or must be hospitalized. Dialogue seems simple. However, I realize that people do not know how to go about initiating this delicate conversation. Being a respite companion with family caregivers, I see that we lack the tools to guide them in this conversation and to better prepare them for this experience. We are often caught between helping and helper, in the unspoken, in their distress, their conflicts and what makes them uncomfortable. We do not wish to take sides, but rather to accompany them and provide them with our support within the limits of our mandate. Our society is far-sighted. At least, it tries to be. There are still marriage preparation meetings today, prenatal classes, workshops for parents to support their children during the different stages of their life, support services to prepare for retirement, etc. But what about the preparation of individuals and the planning of the role of caregiver knowing that in 2021 the population of Quebec is increasingly older? Currently, one in five people is 65 years of age or older, while one in four fulfills the role of caregiver. What if becoming a caregiver (almost inevitable) could be planned? What if we could live this experience in a positive way and, at the same time, strengthen, or even create, the link between caregivers and those receiving help.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

While writing this letter, I realized that at the age of 14 I had my first experience as a caregiver. At that time, I was not aware of the implication this role requires or the impact it would have on me. Then years later, I helped my mother with cancer. At the time I was in a position of great responsibility, my daughter was struggling through adolescence, and my sister was unable to get involved with my mother. I had no idea that I was going to leave my health there and that my family relationship would suffer. Today, my mother having moved close to me, I find myself again a caregiver, but with a certain fragility. Professionally, being a respite guide at La Maison aidante helping caregivers, I see the shortness of breath and the dismay of family caregivers every day. When they use our services, most of the time, it is too late. The caregiver is already exhausted and their relationship with their loved one(s) is often very affected. I would like to participate in a project that allows caregivers to better prepare for this role. In this way, the caregivers and those receiving help could prepare themselves to live this experience better by communicating their preferences, values ​​and limits in their daily lives earlier in the process.

Finally, some statistics largely support my question. According to the RANQ and the ROMAN 61% of caregivers say not having had the choice to take on caring responsibilities. One in six caregivers has thought about suicide and one-fifth is at risk of doing so.

What region do you live in?

Eastern Townships

Monteregie

Sylvie, HAMON

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

Living with a rare or orphan disease (ROD) involves physical, psychological, social and financial difficulties. We, the patients, face several obstacles in obtaining a diagnosis and treatment. The lack of support and the few people with whom to share these experiences creates isolation. In order to break this isolation and seek support, many patients and families organize themselves by starting support groups and non-profit organizations. With the advent of social media, many of these groups continued online, especially on Facebook. Facebook groups exist for virtually every rare disease. Patient requests on these groups are sometimes psychologically demanding while group administrators are not necessarily trained in support relationships to respond adequatly. In addition, the virtual format of the exchanges is conducive to misunderstandings, which can sometimes be a source of conflict. I am the administrator of a group and I have many questions about my role in addition to the challenges of my own management of my disease. What is our responsibility, what are the best ways to lead these groups without exhausting ourselves, how to meet the needs of the members, how to deal with the distress of the members, how to deal with difficult people, how to decide who to accept as members or not, how to manage exchanges with members, what codes of conduct to adopt, how to manage conflicts between members of the group? Other Facebook administrators I know share these questions; through my participation in the Facebook group Connect MRO (la suite). We cannot find answers in existing guides or in Facebook’s rules of administration. Our experiences and problems are too little understood and studied. We therefore need researchers to assist us in building a guide for volunteer / patient administrators of support groups.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I had no support so I started my support group, first face to face and then on Facebook. I am now the administrator of a 628 member Lupus patients Facebook group and everyone has a complicated personal story. With the expansion of the group, we now have two volunteer moderators, but we do not have the resources to train and support us in our team coordination. Living with an MRO is done day by day, you never know in what state of health you will be tomorrow. I am wondering about succession if I have to be absent or stop administering the group. I understand how people feel. I can give them support, but I need it too. I cannot ask too much of the members. Managing this group consumes my energy and I need it for myself. I have to make choices in the things I accomplish in my day. I cannot do everything and I can improve the things I put in place as an administrator to help me fulfill my role better without draining my energy. I want to make the best decisions for the group and for myself.

What region do you live in?

Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

It is well known that navigating the mental health care system is not easy. This is not easy for a person who is in good health so one can easily imagine how difficult it can be to do this in times of crisis for a person with a disease and for their family. Often time, people (patients and families) report that they are on their own and have difficulty understanding where to turn for help, services and information. Also, we see that the way to access care is a problem and most (patients and families) do not know where to go. Whether by referral via the family doctor, GASMA or emergency, the way of accessing care varies. To navigate the health care system more easily, especially in times of crisis, can the addition of a family peer support worker help make this navigation in mental health care more effective and efficient?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was personally sensitized by having to learn to navigate the mental health care system by accompanying my loved one who was diagnosed with a mental health disorder at a very young age, 13 years old. I have had the experience of navigating the health care system through child psychiatry services for 5 years, where the family is at the heart of care and decisions. However, the approach, the role and the place occupied by the family are very different whether we are in child psychiatry or in adult psychiatry. After 18 years, the patient is at the heart of care and decisions, the family remains important, but support for the latter is greatly reduced and learning is difficult, especially if we add the issues of confidentiality and access to services. After a few years of going to hospitals or clinics on a daily basis, talking with many mental health care professionals, I decided to use all my experiential knowledge and contribute in my own way to smooth the journey of families. Today, I work as a family support pair and can see that there are many families who find it difficult to navigate the health care system.

What region do you live in?

Lanaudiere

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

The maze of the health system, in mental health: how to navigate for loved ones who want to help a person in need of care?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

My daughter went through a psychotic episode. It was very difficult to access health care. It is very well documented that untreated psychosis does more damage to the brain than psychosis treated early on. These young adults have the right to a better perspective by having access to appropriate care. Families and loved ones can participate by having better knowledge of the services offered.

What region do you live in?

Monteregie

Celine, MYRE

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

I realize that in the face of COVID-19, we are not all equal. That is, COVID-19 impacts us all in different ways. I am therefore interested in health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic: are there any links between an individual’s physical health, their mental health, a positive diagnosis of COVID-19? , and complications related to the COVID-19 disease? Also, I am interested in whether physical health issues interfere with recovery in mental health (or vice versa, if mental health issues interfere with recovery in physical health) for those who have contracted COVID-19. These types of questions will help identify who was most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, so that we can better prepare, as a society, for other potential health crises. I would also like to better understand what happened to the offer of physical and mental health services for these populations most at risk during the pandemic: what services were still available, what types of adaptations were necessary, how these adaptations received from patients? This is why I am proposing a question on what we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in relation to its impact on populations at risk (those with physical and mental health problems, and how these have influenced contracting COVID-19 and recovery) as well as the provision of services to these at-risk populations. This information is essential to better prepare our society, including our health system, in order to protect the most vulnerable populations in the face of possible other pandemics and / or crises.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am studying part-time (Criminology and Psychology) where I learn that our social experiences shape our perceptions / societal structures. I never would have thought that stereotypes were so deeply ingrained in our society, a factor that has influenced my interests in exploring how these “labels” that we assign to people with physical and mental health conditions can influence their quality of life. health restoration, and social conditions. I participate in a twelve-step program, and this experience during the pandemic has shown me how personal support services have transitioned to online services, which has an impact on the motivation of participants. I am involved through the program in a correctional committee, where I saw the limited psychosocial services offered in the detention centers and the difficulty of their accommodation in online modalities. My research question / results will come in handy as I work and plan to continue collaborating with community organizations that serve populations at risk. The project will allow me to work with researchers in order to familiarize myself with research in partnership, as well as to develop future collaborations.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

Peer support has proven itself. I would like to understand why, in police organizations, it is slow to establish peer-helper police officers, with all the violence and horrible scenes that we see on a daily basis, post-traumatic shock, stress, etc. Why not use the police to help others? Why does this mode of recovery work for many fraternities, that several hospitals have peer helpers and that in the police force, for more than 10 years we have been several police officers wanting to have peer helpers, but that does not lead to it? Is there a lack of study on this?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I am a member of several peer-helper communities, including the national peer helper community of practice in Quebec, and one of the members told us about this project. I care about people’s health and believe employee assistance programs should be improved.

What region do you live in?

Monteregie

Geneviève, LESSARD

camallie778@gmail.com

Physical arrangements (and road signaling) to allow safe and shared use of a pedestrianized public thoroughfare between pedestrians and cyclists.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

As a pedestrian / cyclist on a pedestrianized public road and during public discussion meetings on this subject.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Martin, SEGUIN

Would like to keep their email address confidential.

In the Zone lenteur pilot project set up by the Plateau area as part of the pedestrianization of Avenue du Mont-Royal, two-wheeled or rolling non-motorized vehicles (bicycles, scooters, skate or rollerblades ) are allowed to drive, but at the pace of the right-of-way pedestrians. I would like to know what it means to “go slowly at the pace of the pedestrians”. Unfortunately, in any case, cyclists and other two-wheeled users cannot know the speed at which they are authorized to ride on the pedestrian avenue of Mont-Royal.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I participated in the public information session in the spring on the Mont-Royal Avenue pedestrianization project and I have the safety of all road users, in particular pedestrians and disabled users, at heart.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.

How to successfully measure the environmental impacts of the reuse of existing buildings easily, with indicators to be determined and linked to the subsidies associated with the circular economy and the reduction of greenhouse gases?

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have any experience related to this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

I was made aware of this element in the course of my work, because our primary mission is the reuse and revitalization of existing buildings and although it is precisely a matter of circular economy and sustainable development, it is very difficult to quickly extract the data in order to subsidize this type of intervention in full alignment with the objectives of reducing greenhouse gases and climate impacts that municipalities and provincial and federal governments want to reduce.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Marie-Josée, VAILLANCOURT

Would like to keep their email confidential.

On the one hand, it is important to clearly trace the outlines of Chinatown’s history, from its past to its present as well as its possible future. We know that Montreal’s Chinatown was founded at the end of the nineteenth century and is today one of the most important in North America. It is also known that, initially, the majority of Chinese immigrants came from Canton: also, the cessation of Hong Kong to China created a second wave of Chinese immigrants, while another wave of Vietnamese immigrants, caused by the devastation of the Vietnam War, found Chinatown a suitable place to settle in Quebec, thereby changing the nature of the place. Over time, the integration of the Chinese community into Quebec’s social fabric made the need to live in this neighborhood less important, thus weakening the community bond that united the neighborhood. This situation, combined with real estate speculation, raises in turn the question of the future of this emblematic place. What I am interested to understand is which reasons prompted the Chinese community to settle in this particular corner of the city, and which obstacles it has supposedly encountered. How has the identity of the neighborhood changed according to the evolution of the community as well as local and global historical events? And how is the Chinese community mobilizing itself to preserve this historic place? On the other hand, it would be to examine how the creation of the neighborhood allowed the spread of Chinese culture as well as the emergence of a sense of local identity. While institutions like the Chinese Hospital and family associations are important in creating a network serving the community, others like the Chinese School of Montreal or the many restaurants that have taken place in this district are, among others, agents of promotion of the Chinese language and culinary culture. Even more, with its distinctive sites and architectural elements, Chinatown stands out visually in Montreal. In this sense, in what ways was the development of this district, different in visual terms or in relation to the institutions located there, perceived? Furthermore, how have some of the elements mentioned above been received and discussed at the municipal and provincial levels? Through the two aspects of the research question, it becomes obvious that it also wishes to pursue a broader dialogue on interculturality as well as notions of – plural – Quebec identities.

How were you made aware of this subject? Do you have related experience on this subject, whether in your professional or personal activities?

Younger, my family and I often left the Laurentides to go to Montreal, among other things to try restaurants, find flavors less present in our region —  I am thinking of the Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines of Chinatown, in particular. I enthusiastically discovered this place, its sense of welcoming and sharing, discovery and friendliness. It is therefore with dismay that I became aware of the decline in the number of visitors to Chinatown, of course, but also, and at the same time, of the marked increase in racism and anti-Asian crimes during the COVID pandemic. -19. These trends are compounded by strong pressure from some real estate developers, which translates into a possible change of the face of the neighborhood, the threat of erasing its past. It is in such a context that I developed my research question, which therefore tries to put forward the importance of this neighborhood, as well as the contributions and participation of the Chinese community in cultural life and social development of Montreal and Quebec, which it underpins.

What region do you live in?

Montreal

Laurentides

Wishes to keep their first name, last name and email confidential.