Reeves named a grand officer of the Ordre national du Québec

Photo Charles Lecavalier
Reeves has been honoured at a ceremony held in Paris in the presence of Philippe Couillard.

Charles Lecavalier

Friday, 9 march 2018 10:14

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Friday, 9 march 2018 19:34

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PARIS | The astrophysicist and environmentalist Reeves has been named a grand officer of the national Order of Quebec during a ceremony held in Paris in the presence of Philippe Couillard.

“I am very moved to have this honour, especially coming from the mine, in Quebec,” said Reeves, 85 years and world-renowned scientist, at the end of the ceremony held in the premises of the general delegation of Québec in Paris.

When asked if he is optimistic about the future of biodiversity and the fight against climate change, he responds with a smile, ” it depends on the day “. “There are days where I’m more worried about than others. But what is positive is that there is an awakening general population “, launched by Mr. Reeves to the quebec press.

According to him, the Canada and Quebec are “much progress” and, despite some less good news, there is a collective awareness.

Mr. Reeves is a native of the village of Bellevue, which stood on the shores of lake Saint-Louis. After studying physics and astrophysics at the University of Montreal, McGill University and Cornell University, he has been a consultant for NASA, then director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique in Paris.

He then turned to ecology and the protection of biodiversity. “Astronomy, it tells us how is it that we are here today. It is the past, it is our history. Ecology is our future. Something needs to be done. There is this threat that weighs on us, ” he said.

Explanations

In a press briefing, the prime minister Philippe Couillard has also had to explain why, a few hours earlier, his government announced that he would not attempt to save the herd of woodland caribou in Val-d’or because it would cost too much.

Mr. Couillard has argued that the success rate was low and that the community of Val-d’or was not favourable to the backup plan, which would have impeded the development of mining and forestry in the region. “It is the member of parliament for Roberval who speaks to you, the jobs that forest also, this is important,” said Mr. Couillard.

The prime minister also announced the establishment of an international body on the artificial intelligence. For the moment, only Quebec will contribute financially to the adventure, but Quebec is said to have the support of France in its approach.

Mr. Couillard concluded Friday a week-long mission that took him to meet the president and Emmanuel Macron, who has qualified of “strategic” the relationship between France and Quebec.

Tuesday, at the headquarters of Airbus in Toulouse, Mr. Couillard announced that a congress of the suppliers of Airbus would be held in October in Montreal. After a meeting with the company’s CEO Tom Enders, Mr. Couillard told the press that never Bombardier would not have managed to launch the C Series only, and that the agreement that has allowed Airbus to put the hand for free control over the range of aircraft was one of “the best news since almost decades” in the field of aeronautics.