The most read articles on - Québec in 2024

Curious to know what piqued your interest in 2024? Without fanfare, here, readers, are the most consulted articles for each month of the year.

January: an increase in rent costs

In the midst of the housing crisis, many Quebecers are concerned about the rate proposed each year by the Administrative Housing Tribunal. This is probably why the announcement of the suggested 4% increase in rents for 2024 caught your attention so much.

The next proposed increase will be revealed next January.

February: where are the owners of Provisions?

The discreet little Provisions grocery store on Cartier Avenue in Quebec City found itself in the spotlight this spring after its owners disappeared overnight.

Christophe and Stéphanie Bouillon are the target of a $446,250 lawsuit from the former owners of their grocery store. The couple from France has not given any sign of life since they fled last spring.

Their troubles with the law may not be over, but a page may soon be turned on the grocery store they left behind: the building that housed Provisions was recently sold.

March: the end of the Delisle affair

This is the end of a legal saga with multiple twists and turns which lasted nearly 15 years. Former judge Jacques Delisle caused a surprise in March when he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Nicole Rainville.

Released after a short detention, Jacques Delisle died a few months later.

April: forced to reimburse his owner

The title “A tenant forced to return $33,000 to his ex-owner” was enough to provoke a reaction.

However, this is what happened to Claude Charest, so the victory in court was short-lived

Believing that he had been illegally evicted from his home in 2021, Claude Charest sued his ex-owner Opti Plex, and won his case in court, forcing the company to pay him $33,666.

But Opti Plex appealed the judgment, the decision was overturned, and Claude Charest had to return the entire amount to its former owner.

May: a student sues Laval University

The legal proceedings initiated by Athénaïs Collard against her alma mater also caused a lot of reaction.

The student is demanding $1.2 million from Laval University, believing she was unfairly excluded from the specialized periodontics program after failing an internship.

She criticizes the University for having treated unfairly and abusively. The case is expected to return to court in February.

June: Midsummer does not (not) fall through

The downpours that fell on the Plains of Abraham did not destroy the spectacle of Quebec's National Day, but the organization still had to shorten its programming.

As our colleague Érik Chouinard writes, a few hundred spectators braved the elements in order to attend this shower of tributes. Antoine Gratton directed the Grand spectacle, the theme of which was Let's meet under the stars. A nod, according to several guest artists, to the work of Cowboys Fringants and to the group's singer, Karl Tremblay, who left us in 2023.

July: fight a plant invincible

It kills biodiversity, it’s invasive, it’s not killableit is in these words that a citizen described Japanese knotweed, a harmful and extremely tough plant which caught your attention in July. Around twenty resourceful Lévisiens then mobilized to try to slow down the spread of this perennial. Note that unlike other invasive plants such as giant hogweed, knotweed is not toxic and can be uprooted with bare hands.

August: the fight of two dads for health

It's not just bad news that gets attention. In August, it was the inspiring story of two dads who took control of their health that aroused passions.

Pierre Naud and Jean-Sébastien Roy lost 168 and 140 pounds respectively thanks to walking.

And great example of solidarity and determinationto quote one of the comments below the article.

September: trapped by a “Mr. Big” investigation

It was an investigation of colossal proportions which allowed the police to bring to justice Diana Torres-Acosta, this child caretaker accused of being at the origin of the death of a 13-month-old girl, in July 2019.

To trap the 42-year-old woman, investigators used the “Mr. Big” method, a controversial investigative technique used to get suspects to confess.

Judge Rachel Gagnon will announce next March whether the prosecution will be able to use the results of this investigation as part of its evidence against the guard.

October: no family doctors for healthy Quebecers?

What if healthy Quebecers stopped being followed by a dedicated family doctor?

This possibility, which was considered by the Legault government while it was negotiating with the Federation of General Practitioners, sparked a tidal wave of reactions and an outcry.

Health Minister Christian Dubé has since closed the door to this possibility, but his standoff with family doctors is not over.

November: Guilbault goes further than expected for the tramway

Geneviève Guilbault found herself under fire from criticism in 2024 by asserting that “the State does not have to manage public transport”. Mayor Bruno Marchand would later accuse the Minister of Transport of having “no vision” in sustainable mobility.

Geneviève Guilbault would cause surprise among certain parliamentary colleagues by going further than expected for the tramway project, in particular, by giving CDPQ Infra the mandate to build the D'Estimauville antenna and the SRB on Charest Boulevard. This is the most read news of the month of November.

December: a “major” discovery in Old Quebec

This is good news of an archaeological nature which concludes our list of the most consulted articles of 2024. The remains of an old fortification possibly dating from the 17th century were discovered at Parc Cavalier-du-Moulin, in Old Quebec.

Could it be linked to the famous Beaucours palisade, Quebec's first permanent enclosure, which researchers believed to have discovered in 2018? It's still too early to tell.