The Legislative Assembly of Quebec, in Canada, gave an effusive reception today to the Catalan foreign policy representative, Victòria Alsina, when the speaker of the chamber, François Paradis, announced the presence of the "Catalan minister". Quebec MPs rose to their feet and applauded in support of Catalonia. Alsina also responded by standing up and applauding the Quebec chamber. Catalonia's head of foreign affairs and open government was received by François Paradis, and signed the the chamber's register of honour. "It must be remembered that the Quebec parliament was the only chamber in the world that unanimously passed, across all political families, a resolution in favour of the national interests of Catalonia at the most difficult time in the independence process," the Catalan politician explained afterwards.
Alsina continues to tour Quebec, where she has reached several agreements at municipal and government levels to strengthen international cooperation. The high point of the visit came this morning with the announcement of a new office of the Catalan government in Quebec, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the bilateral relations that the French-speaking North American nation maintains with Catalonia. "We are very excited to announce the opening of the government of Catalonia's office in Quebec as an instrument that will allow us to continue building bridges and further strengthening our bonds of deep friendship," said Alsina.
Accompanied by the Generalitat's secretary of foreign affairs, Gerard Figueras, and the Catalan government's delegate to the United States and Canada, Isidre Sala, Alsina was able to attend the plenary session of the Assembly held this Wednesday, one of the last sessions of this legislature before elections in Quebec. The minister's visit to Quebec City ended with a meeting with the mayor of the city, Bruno Marchand, as well as the deputy mayor and head of international relations of the Quebec city council, Catherine Vallières-Roland, who expressed her satisfaction with the forthcoming opening of the Catalan office in Quebec. "The mayor of Quebec is very interested in growing and further strengthening the ties between Quebec City and Catalonia and Barcelona. He sees this office as a useful resource, also for him, so as to have a single window when he wants to address us, when he wants to promote initiatives in our land, when they want to organize and share good practices", added Alsina.
The Catalan delegation travelled to Montreal this Wednesday, where it will stay until Friday to hold several working meetings with the city authorities and visit key infrastructures, such as the Port of Montreal. In fact, the Quebec port has close links with the Port of Barcelona and both are partners in the initiative known as the Smart Port led by the Port of Barcelona.