I am going to talk about the war between Taxis and Uber. It is maybe not the most important news of the semester but I heard a lot about it during all the semester, it affects a lot the population. 

For months there is a real war between Taxis and Uber in Quebec.Taxis and Quebec government accuse Uber of being illegal and try to stop them. The taxi industry has been claiming for months Uber leads him unfair competition, since it is not regulated. 

Taxis use many methods against uber: creation of "squads" anti-Uber; use of police to try to "seize" the Uber vehicles; permanent injunction presented by the Coalition of independent workers Steelworkers to try to declare Uberx "illegal"; calls Couillard government to intervene in the conflict, etc. This create many strikes by taxi which is very annoying for customers, the use of taxis being much more common in Canada than in France. 

The government has created legislation: the law 100, however that does not seem to satisfy neither side, negotiations are therefore still ongoing.

As I said before, Montreal is a very cosmopolite city thus we can find social rituals and symbols of a lot of countries and Quebec's ones do not really overtake them. 

However Quebec has a lot of customs and symbols, they are really present in Quebec city contrary to Montreal. 

The French culture is really anchored in Quebec's customs. But I think Quebec's culture is a real mix between French and USA ways of life. For exemple, such as in the USA, people eat dinner really early, a lot of people start to eat at 5 or 6 pm. Moreover Quebecois are really open minded and nice people who will not hesistate to help you when they see that you are lost. However Quebecois are really proud of their french roots and some of them do not accept to speak in english. 

Food is not really different than in France, it is a little greasy and people prefer to go out or to takeaway than to cook. Quebec has some typical dishes such as Poutine which is french fries with sauce and cheese, it is quite good but really fatty, it is not a good idead to eat a Poutine before going for a walk on the Mont-Royal. Other specialties are of course maple syrup which we can eat the same way as honey, on pancakes, in dishes or sauces for example; and the caribou meat... 

Quebec has a ot of symbols. Of course one of the most famous is the maple leaf which we can see on the Canadian flag. The caribou is also a important symbol of Quebec and Canada. 

Canada has a lot of celebrations, the most important are the National Aboriginal Day on June 21 that celebrates the ethnic diversity in Canada, Saint Jean Baptiste day on June 24 is a celebration day for French canadian with parade in the streets and parties. Canada day is on July 1st and it celebrates the united Canadian society. 

Canada is a federation, which means that powers are divided between a central government and 10 provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador). The political system is based on the Westminster system of the United Kingdom.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, Elisabeth II, is the head of state. The monarch is represented by a Governor General, David Johnston, which is appointed by the Queen but acts on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada and by 10 lieutenant governors, one per province.

The Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau, he is the chief of executive, therefore the chief of the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, which holds the executive power. According to the parliamentary traditon, he is the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister appoints ministers, senators, lieutenant governors of provinces and judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. He also chooses the time of the dissolution of Parliament, so the election, and the election date.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Canadian politics occurs in the framework of a parliamentary democracy and a federal system with a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions.

The two political parties that are historically dominant in Canada are the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party of Canada. However, since the 2011 election, the New Democratic Party has gained in importance.

The federal parliament has two chambers: the House of Commons (lower house), which holds the legislative power, brings together 308 elected members and the Senate (upper house) brings together 105 members appointed by the Prime Minister and representing all regions of the country.

The parliamentary tradition demands that party with the largest number of deputies forms the Government and the party that ranked second in number of deputies becomes the official opposition and its leader become the Leader of the Opposition.