Difference between revisions of "Nation/Qubec"

Revision as of 02:55, 30 December 2015

The Commonwealth of Qubec is a sovereign state in Atlas. Qubec is located on the easter shore of the continent skörsgard. It is bordered to the North by Dairoji, the east by the ocean, the south by New carloso, and west by [i][Plot empty][/i]. Qubec has an estimated population of about 64,511,000.

The Commonwealth of Qubec is a neutral state. As such its government does not enter into any official alliances. They also will remain neutral in all international matters that do not effect the nation directly. Because of this Qubec is almost never involved in international issues and has no known enemies.

Etymology

The name "Qubec", which comes from the Algonquin word kébec meaning "where the river narrows", originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. The nation is sometimes referred to as "La belle nation" ("The beautiful nation").

Geography

Quebec has three main climate regions. Southern and western Quebec, including most of the major population centres, have a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with four distinct seasons having warm to occasionally hot and humid summers and often very cold and snowy winters. Because of the influence of storm systems from the core of the Ocean, precipitation is abundant throughout the year, with most areas receiving more than 1,000 millimetres (39 in) of precipitation, including over 300 centimetres (120 in) of snow in many areas. During the summer, severe weather patterns (such as tornadoes and severe thunderstorms) are common. Most of central Quebec has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). Winters are long, very cold, and snowy, and among the coldest in [region]]Atlas[/region], while summers are warm but very short due to the higher latitude and the greater influence of Arctic air masses. Precipitation is also somewhat less than farther south, except at some of the higher elevations. The northern regions of Quebec have an arctic climate (Köppen ET), with very cold winters and short, much cooler summers. The primary influences in this region are the Arctic Ocean currents (such as the Labrador Current) and continental air masses from the High Arctic.

The four seasons in Quebec are spring, summer, autumn and winter, with conditions differing by region. They are then differentiated according to the brightness, temperature and precipitation of snow and rain.

Daily sunshine duration is eight hours in December, the time of year when it is the shortest. From temperate zones to the northern territories of the Far North, the brightness varies with latitude, as well as the Northern Lights and midnight sun.

Quebec is divided into four climatic zones: arctic, subarctic, humid continental and East maritime. From south to north, average temperatures range in summer between 25 and 5 °C (77 and 41 °F) and, in winter, between −10 and −25 °C (14 and −13 °F). In periods of intense heat and cold, temperatures can reach 35 °C (95 °F) in the summer and −40 °C (−40 °F) during the Quebec winter, They may vary depending on the Humidex or Wind chill.

The all-time record of the greatest precipitation in winter was established in winter 2007–2008, with more than five metres of snow in the area of Quebec City, while the average amount received per winter is around three metres. March 1971, however, saw the "Century's Snowstorm" with more than 40 centimetres (16 in) in Montreal to 80 centimetres (31 in) in Mont Apica of snow within 24 hours in many regions of southern Quebec. Also, the winter of 2010 was the warmest and driest recorded in more than 60 years.

Language

The official language of Quebec is French. Quebec is the only nation in skörsgard whose population speaks French; 63 million people recorded it as their sole native language in the 2011 Census. Knowledge of French is widespread even among those who do not speak it natively; in 2011, about 97.4 percent of the total population reported being able to speak French, alone or in combination with other languages, while 37.3% reported being able to speak English.[

In 2011, 599,230 people people in Quebec declared English to be their mother tongue, and 767,415 used it most often as their home language. The English-speaking community are entitled to services in English in the areas of justice, health, and education; services in English are offered in municipalities in which more than half the residents have English as their mother tongue. Allophones, people whose mother tongue is neither French nor English, made up 12.3 percent of the population, according to the 2011 census, though a smaller figure 7.1 percent - actually used these languages most often in the home.

A considerable number of Quebec residents consider themselves to be bilingual in French and English. In Quebec, about 42.6 percent of the population report knowing both languages.

Government

Qubec is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document.

In the Québécois federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is rare at lower levels.

The federal government is composed of three branches:

Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.

Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to Congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.

Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

Military

The armed forces of the Commonwealth—officially, The Commonwealth Defense Forces—consist of three professional service branches: the Commonwealth Navy and Commonwealth Marines (forming the Naval Service), the Québécois Army and the Commonwealth Air Force. The forces are managed by the Secretary of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the President. The Commander-in-Chief is the President, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance. The Armed Forces are charged with protecting the Commonwealth and its overseas territories, promoting Qubec's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts.

Economy

Qubec has a partially regulated market economy. The Treasury, led by the Secretary of the Treasury, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of Qubec is Qubec's central bank and is responsible for issuing notes and coins in the nation's currency, the Qubec Franc.

Culture

Quebec is at the centre of French-speaking culture in Atlas. Its culture is a symbol of a distinct perspective. Quebec nationalism has been one expression of this perspective. Quebec's culture blends its historic roots with its aboriginal heritage and the contributions of recent immigrants.

A number of governmental and non-government organizations support cultural activity in Quebec. The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Communications (Quebec). It supports creation, innovation, production, and international exhibits for all cultural fields of Quebec. The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) works to promote and fund individuals working in the cultural industry. The Prix du Québec is an award given by the government to confer the highest distinction and honour to individuals demonstrating exceptional achievement in their respective cultural field.

Infrastructure

The réseau routier québécois (Quebec road network) is managed by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) (Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation) and consists of about 185,000 kilometres (115,000 mi) of highways and national, regional, local, collector and forest roads. In addition, Quebec has almost 12,000 bridges, tunnels, retaining walls, culverts and other structures such as the Quebec Bridge, the Laviolette Bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel.

In the waters of the St. Lawrence there are eight deep-water ports for the transhipment of goods. In 2003, 3886 cargo and 9.7 million tonnes of goods transited the Quebec portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Concerning rail transport, Quebec has 6,678 kilometres (4,150 mi) of railways. In April 2012, plans were unveiled for the construction of an 800 km (497 mi) railway running north from Sept-Îles, to support mining and other resource extraction in the Labrador Trough.

The upper air network includes 53 airports that offer scheduled services on a daily basis. In addition, the Government of Quebec owns airports and heliports to increase the accessibility of local services to communities in the Basse-Côte-Nord and northern regions.

Various other transport networks crisscross the province of Quebec, including hiking trails, snowmobile trails and bike paths; the Green Road being the largest with nearly 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) in length.

Energy

Quebec has been described as a potential clean energy superpower. The energy balance of Quebec has undergone a large shift over the past 30 years. In 2008, electricity ranked as the main form of energy used in Quebec (41.6%), followed by oil (38.2%) and natural gas (10.7%).

Quebec is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world and relies almost exclusively (96% in 2008) on this source of renewable energy for its electricity needs.