Monday, May 21, Montreal United Artists got together early in the morning at Lafontaine Park to produce "Notre Home" videoclip. The song, which aims to unify young Quebecers whatever their language, was commissioned by the QCGN and first heard at the Community Priority Setting Conference that took place in Montreal in March. The song will be released in a few weeks. Stay tuned for the official launch of the song! (Photos: Courtesy of HSC Collective Inc.)

Sunday March 25, 2012 – More than 180 members of the English-speaking Community of Quebec from across the province took part in a community priority setting conference this weekend. The Conference concluded with the signing of a declaration that identifies priorities to ensure a vital and sustainable future. They are: Access to services in English; Community Building; Economic Prosperity; Identity and Renewal; Leadership and Representation; as well as Strong Institutions.

Hosted by Rob Lurie of CTV News, the third edition of the Goldbloom Award Ceremony took place on October 22 at Montreal's St. James Club. The QCGN would like to congratulate this year's laureates that include Joan Ivory, Gemma Raeburn-Baynes and Aline Visser. Thanks to our generous sponsors and avertisers, this edition of the Goldbloom Awards was a success.

On September 30th and October 1st, leaders from Quebec's community development sector gathered at the QCGN's Seniors Conference. It was National Seniors Day, and these seniors marked the occasion by coming together to share their wealth of experience in moving the long talked-about idea of a provincial network for English-speaking seniors into concrete reality. As part of a larger process, this step was a significant one - a small group of committed seniors left the conference with the mandate of starting to implement key actions identified and agreed upon at the conference. Their first challenge will be expanding and diversifying the working group to include better representation of Quebec's different regions and cultures. Ruth Pelletier of the QCGN will be working in partnership with them as they move forward.

During the three-day meeting that wrapped up Saturday with the 17th Annual General Meeting, members explored avenues of collaboration with Federal Official Language coordinators; discussed the deep diversity of the English-speaking Quebec in a panel discussion moderated by Graham Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages; introduce a research initiative on the vitality of our English institutions; and held a consultation on membership recruitment and retention policy. The QCGN took advantage of the presence of members and stakeholders to launch the call for nominations for the QCGN Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award.

The QCGN 2011 Members Convention begin a day early with a joint initiative of QCGN and Canadian Heritage that aimed to foster interdepartmental communication, pursue dialogue and identify avenues of collaboration with the English-speaking community. Results of the day will draw the path for better inter-departmental collaboration and enhance partnership with Federal departments and agencies with the English-speaking Communities of Quebec.

Last March, the English-Language Arts Network (ELAN) completed the first phase of the Recognizing Artists: Enfin Visibles! project by producing 150 print profiles of artists. This year, ELAN completes RAEV by adding video clips, interactive maps and never-before-told stories about how Quebec's English-speaking cultural scene has exploded with creative talent over the past 25 years. The timing is propitious, hot on the heels of Arcade Fire's Grammy victory, which stirred Quebec's Assemblée Nationale to applaud 'the contribution of our francophone and anglophone artists in spreading Quebec culture on the international stage.' There has never been so much curiosity about what anglophone artists are doing. The vernissage also included the launch of the redesigned RAEV.ca site. ELAN also invites the public to visit the site to discover RAEV's interactive tools for English-speaking Artists.

Montreal – March 18, 2011 – More than five dozen seniors and representatives from institutions and community groups from across Quebec gathered today to take the first important steps towards the creation of a provincial network for English-speaking seniors. The establishment of such a network was the main recommendation set out in a QCGN report published last spring entitled Blazing a Trail for Active and Healthy Aging -- An Action Plan for Quebec’s English-speaking Seniors - and the top recommendation of almost 300 repondents in a survey of active seniors and caregivers in our community.

The 2010 laureates were lawyer and longtime community volunteer Alex K. Paterson, theatre icon Elsa Bolam and health care activist and community advocate Richard Walling. The Ceremony took place at the Sacred Heart School of Montreal, October 22, 2010.

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), which gathered in Quebec City on June 11 and 12, honoured the founding fathers of the organization, Hugh Maynard and Martin Murphy, and elected its first woman president, literary festival organizer Linda Leith, founder of Blue Metropolis Foundation. The weekend also allowed reps from the Language Rights Support Program (LRSP) to come and raise awareness about the Program among community stakeholders. Dr. Victor Goldbloom was also on hand for the official launch of the call for nominations for the 2010 Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award.

2009 marked the 15th anniversary of the QCGN and the first edition of the Goldbloom Awards, which took place in Gatineau on September 11, 2009, during the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act. Winners of the first edition were lawyer and longtime promoter of equality and English rights Casper Bloom, Eastern Townships-based healthcare advocate Marjorie Goodfellow, and researcher Jack Jedwab, who has contributed immensely to our knowledge and understanding of English-speaking Quebec.

September 2009 - During its 2009 Annual General Meeting in Gatineau, the Quebec Community Groups Network elected a new board and ratified a new ambitious Strategic Plan that sets a new vision for English-speaking Quebec and an ambitious mission for the Network. The AGM took place as the QCGN launched its 15th anniversary celebrations in the National Capital Region as part of festivities surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act.