Paramedics union reaches tentative agreement with government
After more than three years without a collective agreement, the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN), which represents 3,500 ambulance technicians and emergency staff, announced a tentative collective agreement with the Quebec government on Saturday night, Radio-Canada reported.
The union stated that the agreement followed several days of intensive negotiations from July 20 to 25. The union will present the terms of the agreement to its members shortly, and did not offer further details.
The office of Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau said that the agreement would improve working conditions, but did not offer further information.
The union has been using various pressure tactics over the course of the negotiations, including announcing that they would refuse voluntary overtime shifts in several regions.
Under pressure, Quebec relaunches renovation program for people with disabilities
After suspending the Programme d’adaptation au domicile (PAD) program which subsidizes accessibility renovations for people with disabilities, the government announced its reinstatement starting in August, Radio-Canada reported.
In 2023, the government increased the grant available through the program from $16,000 to $50,000 which caused a spike in applications, despite there being no increase to the program’s budget. Quebec announced the temporary suspension of the program in Nov. 2024, and fully stopped accepting applications in Apr. 2025, due to lack of funding.
Facing public pressure, Premier Christine Fréchette announced in July that they would restart the program, allocating $88 million for 2025 and 2026.
Walter Zelaya, the head of a provincial advocacy group for people with disabilities, said that two thirds of that announced sum have already been allocated, and said that there should have been more invested in the program.
“If finding accommodation is difficult for the average person, imagine how difficult it is for a person with a disability who needs adapted housing!” he said.
Two tornados touched down July 21
Researchers recorded two small tornados touching down in Quebec during the storm last Tuesday, CBC News reported.
The first was recorded in Harrington, just south of Mont Tremblant, and was rated an EF1, with an estimated max wind speed of 175 km/h, “snapping power poles and trees and causing some damage to structures,” according to the Northern Tornados Project report. The report added that it could be upgraded to a EF2 depending on a more detailed tree damage report. Tornados are rated on a 0-5 scale of severity.
The second tornado was caused by the same storm and occurred roughly 50 km northeast of the first in the community of Saint-Donat. It was rated an EF0, with max wind speeds estimated at 115 km/h, causing some tree damage.
