Latest news with #QuebecCulture
CBC
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Quebec prepares for national funeral to honour late singer Serge Fiori
Quebec will say its final goodbye at a national funeral on Tuesday to honour late singer Serge Fiori, whose passing has deeply impacted many Quebecers. The Harmonium frontman died on June 24 — Quebec's national holiday — at his home in Saint-Henri-de-Taillon, Que., after battling a long illness. Quebec Premier François Legault announced a national funeral a few weeks ago. His office said the ceremony will give the public "the opportunity to pay a final tribute to an artist and creator who profoundly marked Quebec culture and contributed to shaping our musical landscape." On Tuesday morning, the Quebec flag was at half-mast on the central tower of the Quebec's National Assembly and will remain so until dusk. The tribute, organized in collaboration with Fiori's family, will begin at 3 p.m. at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place-des-Arts in Montreal. It will take place in front of members of the public — who got free tickets — and several political figures including Legault, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet and former Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume. Born in 1952 in Montreal, Fiori founded the group Harmonium in the early 1970s with Louis Valois and Michel Normandeau. The iconic group's three folk-rock albums — Harmonium (1974), Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison (1975) and L'Heptade (1976) — revolutionized Quebec's musical identity.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Serge Fiori's national funeral schedule for July 15
Serge Fiori, founder of the rock band Harmonium speaks during an interview in Montreal, Tuesday, November 15, 2016. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) A national funeral to honour singer-songwriter Serge Fiori is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 15, according to Quebec Premier François Legault's office. 'Throughout his career, Serge Fiori gave us a body of work that united us, resembled us and touched our hearts,' said Legault. 'He helped build Quebec's musical identity, and our nation owes him a debt of gratitude. This national tribute is a way for Quebec as a whole to recognize the profound mark he leaves behind. It's our turn to say thank you.' READ MORE: Quebec music legend Serge Fiori dies at 73 The ceremony, organized with Fiori's family and in collaboration with his close friends, will allow the public to pay their last respects 'to an artist and creator who had a profound impact on Quebec culture and helped shape our musical landscape.' Passes are expected to be distributed to members of the public, with more details to be announced in the coming days. For now, a registry has been set up for anyone wanting to write a note to Fiori's family. The funeral is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts in Montreal. The Quebec flag on the central tower of the Parliament Building is expected to be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset on the day of the ceremony.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Quebec to impose French-language quotas on streaming giants
Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe is set to table a bill today that would force streaming giants to add French-language content and make it more easily accessible. The legislation has been in the works for over a year and would mark the first time that Quebec would set a "visibility quota" for French-language content on major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney and Spotify. It comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) undertakes a two-week public hearing on a new definition of Canadian content that started last Wednesday. The proceeding is part of its work to implement the Online Streaming Act — and it is bringing tensions between traditional players and large foreign streamers out in the open. In an interview with Radio-Canada, Lacombe explained that making French-language content readily available to Quebecers on digital platforms is part of the Coalition Avenir Québec government's vision for protecting French. Only 8.5 per cent of music people listen to in Quebec is in French, which is "very little," according to Lacombe. He said he wants to reverse that trend for younger generations. "Discoverability means being able to stumble across something, to discover it when you weren't actively looking for it," Lacombe said. While streaming giants are mostly from the U.S., the potential law involving penalties, would also apply to Canadian platforms such as Illico, Crave, and Lacombe said. Impact on trade relations? He noted that the bill complies with the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), but acknowledged that with the tense economic context, the Trump administration might view his initiative as a way to further disrupt trade relations. If the U.S. administration challenges the bill once it's adopted, the Quebec government plans to invoke the exception that excludes cultural property from trade agreements, Lacombe said. "We must not fear the United States' reaction and stop ourselves from taking action," he said, noting that the Biden administration was also opposed to the cultural exception. "If we do that, we would directly contradict the principle of cultural exception [in trade agreements]. What's the point if we don't use it?" Lacombe said he thinks the bill will show that Quebec can stand up to major digital players. "Initially, I think many saw me as a young, naive minister who thought he could control the giants. Since then, we have demonstrated that we have the capacity to act, and we are acting," he said.
