X-Nico

100 unusual facts about Quebec


Acadia River

The Acadia river takes it source from some streams at the foot of mountains near the Canada-United States border in the Hemmingford Township at Hemmingford.

Acton Vale

Acton Vale, Quebec, an industrial town in south-central Quebec, Canada

Albert Gilles

His family carries on his work today, and they have a museum in Château-Richer near Quebec City, which showcases Gilles' and the family's works.

Alice Rollit Coe

She was born Alice Sarah Rollit in Rawdon, Quebec, Canada on September 20, 1858 to John Charles Rollit and Elizabeth (née Spooner) Rollit.

Aliocha Schneider

He is currently in the television show Tactik aired on Télé-Québec in the role of Carl Bresson.

American Ramp Company

Additionally, in August 2008, it was announced that American Ramp Company had purchased Solo Ramps from Nicolet, Quebec, Canada for an undisclosed amount and would move production of the precast concrete operation to their facility in Joplin, MO.

Archibald C. Hart

Archibald Chapman Hart (February 27, 1873, Lennoxville, Quebec - July 24, 1935, Teaneck, New Jersey) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1912–1913 and again from 1913-1917.

Audet

Audet, Quebec, a small village in Le Granit Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region in Quebec, Canada

Battle of Lacolle

Several battles have been fought at or near the town of Lacolle, Quebec, Canada.

Brooks Pharmacy

As a result, that same year, Revco sold all of the New England Brooks stores to the Quebec-based Jean Coutu Group, which had already been operating stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts under the Maxi Drug and Douglas Drug trade names.

Canadian Industries Limited

In order to provide the massive amounts of explosives needed to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, a new dynamite factory was opened in McMasterville, Quebec.

CFOI-FM

On December 3, 2010, CFOI-FM applied to add a new FM transmitter at Saint-Jérôme, Quebec.

Channel 78

CBEFT (Radio-Canada Windsor) first aired on Channel 78 in 1976, moved to channel 54 in 1982 and by 1996 had become a simple rebroadcaster of CBOFT Ottawa-Hull.

Chartrand et Simonne

The series originally only had two parts but it was expanded into 6 parts and re-aired in 2003 on Télé-Québec.

Claude Bourbonnais

Claude Bourbonnais (born June 24, 1965, L'Île-Perrot, Quebec), is a former driver in the Toyota Atlantic, Indy Lights, and CART Championship Car series.

Conrad Gugy

In 1980, a street - Rue Conrad Gugy - was named for him in Yamachiche, Quebec.

In 1778, when refugees started arriving from across the border, with the marked approval of the now Governor of Canada, his old friend Sir Frederick Haldimand, Gugy erected dwellings and a school on his seigneuries at Yamachiche, Quebec, to house them.

Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village

In November 2011, the Town entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Auberge et Spa Le Nordik Inc. of Chelsea, Quebec.

David Douglas Crosby

In 1997, Crosby was appointed Bishop of Labrador City-Schefferville and, in 2003, was appointed as the Bishop of St. George’s Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

David Ross McCord

He was the fourth child of John Samuel McCord (1801-1865), Judge of the Supreme Court, and Anne Ross, a daughter of David Ross (1770-1837) Q.C., of Montreal, Seigneur of St. Gilles de Beaurivage.

Denis Viger

He worked as a carpenter and also carved wooden objects for the church at Saint-Denis.

Duvernay

Duvernay, Quebec, a former city, now a district of Laval, Quebec, Canada

Engineering News-Record

Award of Excellence recipients include Robert Boyd, who brought engineering and managing excellence to Hydro-Québec's $15-billion James Bay project, Fazlur

Éric Gauthier

Éric Gauthier is a quebecois author who was born in 1975 in Rouyn-Noranda, in the Abitibi region of Quebec.

Étienne-Alexis Boucher

He was also a municipal councillor for the municipality of Saint-Denis-de-Brompton as well as a school commissionner for the Saint-Hyacinthe School Board.

Fairness is a Two-Way Street Act

Both sides of the Ontario-Quebec border are highly populated with major population centres on both sides - Ottawa and Cornwall on the Ontario side, and Montreal and Hull on the Quebec side.

Fatback

Fatback is a traditional part of southern US cuisine, soul food and traditional Cuisine of Quebec, where it is used for fried pork rinds (known there as cracklings, or Oreilles de crisse in Quebec), and to flavor stewed vegetables such as greens, green beans, and black-eyed peas.

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives by year, 1966

George Ben Edmonson - Canada prisoner arrested June 28, 1967 in Campbell's Bay, Quebec, Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after a Canadian citizen recognized him from an American magazine article.

Fernand Mousseau

He was promoted to Lieutenant at the Brockville training camp for officers and was transferred to the Officer Candidate School in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec.

Festivites Western de Saint-Victor

The Festivites Western de Saint-Victor (literally, Saint-Victor Western Festival) are held in Saint-Victor, Quebec, Canada, in July of each year since 1978.

Frederic Erskine Bronson

Frederic Erskine Bronson, PC (December 4, 1886 – April 1953) was a leading Ottawa businessman and chairman of the Federal District Commission, forerunner of the National Capital Commission, a government body empowered with planning Canada's National Capital Region of Ottawa-Hull and Gatineau.

George Couture

Born in Saint-Joseph (now in Lauzon), Lower Canada, Couture was elected to the Lévis municipal council in 1865.

GM New Look bus

No prefix was used for Pontiac, Michigan, C (Canada) indicated London, Ontario, and M (Montreal) Saint-Eustache, Quebec.

GO Transit

The design was created by Gangon/Valkus, a Montreal-based design firm that was also responsible for the corporate identities of Canadian National and Hydro-Québec.

Governor's School of International Studies

The program has traditionally included a one-week immersion study in Quebec, Canada.

Greenfield Park

Greenfield Park, Quebec, a borough of the city of Longueuil, Quebec and a suburb of Montreal

Grosse Ile

Grosse Isle, Quebec, an island where many Irish Immigrants to Canada were housed and the site of the Grosse Isle Disaster

Guy Carbonneau

Carbonneau also appeared in the first season (2010) of La série Montréal-Québec, as the head coach for the Montreal team.

Guy D'Artois

In March 1999, Major L.G. d'Artois, a hero in war and peace, died in the Veterans Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec.

Halifax Shipyard

The competing Davie Yards Incorporated in Lauzon, QC experienced similar financial difficulty and spent much of the decade in mothball status.

Hana Gartner

Gartner grew up in Chomedey, Laval, and was educated at Loyola College (now Concordia University), in Montreal Quebec.

Herman Ngoudjo

He later went on to win the bronze medal in the 2001 Francophone Games in Hull, Quebec, Canada.

Isabelle Duchesnay

Isabelle Duchesnay (born December 18, 1963, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada) is a retired ice dancer who represented France for most of her career.

James Chabot

He was born in Farnham, Quebec, and moved to British Columbia during the 1950s.

Joseph Miville Dechene

Joseph Miville Dechene was born on October 22, 1879 in Chambord, Quebec.

Joseph-Alfred Archambeault

He was born into an upper-class family in the village of L'Assomption, then in Lower Canada.

Joseph-Félix Descôteaux

He was born in Sainte-Monique, Canada East, the son of Félix Descoteaux and Marie-Thérèse Manseau.

L'Avenir

L'Avenir, Quebec, municipality located in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec

Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality

It was established in 1982 from parts of the historic counties of Beauce, Frontenac, Mégantic, and Wolfe.

Lucien Gagnon

He was among the first to take part in the agitation in Canada against the British government, was present at the assembly of the six confederate counties at St. Charles, 23 October 1837, and left the meeting convinced that insurrection was the only remedy for Canadian grievances.

Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska

Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska (born May 27, 1930 in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec) is a Canadian writer from Quebec.

Mansfield Township

Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Quebec, was formed from the merger of Mansfield Township and Pontefract Township

Maritime Central Airways Flight 315

On August 11, 1957, the aircraft operating this flight, a Douglas DC-4, crashed in bad weather near Issoudun, Quebec, killing all 79 people on board.

Mary Anne Sadlier

Upon the death of her father, Francis, a merchant, Mary Madden emigrated to Sainte-Marthe, Quebec in 1844, where she married publisher James Sadlier, also from Ireland, on November 24, 1846.

Maurice Chappaz

Maurice Chappaz carried out still other numerous trips around the world : Laponia (1968), Paris (1968), Nepal and Tibet (1970), Mount Athos (1972), Lebanon (1974), Russia (1974 et 1979), China (1981), Quebec and New York (1990).

Maurice Harquail

Maurice James Harquail (born 2 December 1938 in Matapédia, Quebec) was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons.

Mauricie–Bois-Francs

It ceased to exist on July 30, 1997 (or August 20, 1997, upon publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec) when it was split into the modern-day administrative regions of Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec.

Melbourne McTaggart Tait

Born in Melbourne, Canada East, studied at St Francis College and received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from McGill University in 1862.

Microgadus tomcod

The town of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade is notable for its fishing village built on the frozen waters of the Ste-Anne, playing host to the scores of fishermen visiting the town to fish for tomcod.

Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School

Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School is an all-girls school located in Westmount, Quebec.

Montreal Canadiens centennial

The 2009 NHL All-Star Game was played at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec as part of the celebrations, and the 2009 NHL Entry Draft was held there in late June.

Montreal School for the Deaf

The Montreal Oral School for the Deaf (MOSD) is a provincial school in Westmount, Quebec, Canada with programs serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Montreal West High School

Most of the abuse reportedly occurred at the teacher's cabin in Morin-Heights according to victims and former students who talked to the media.

Mooers–Hemmingford Border Crossing

The Mooers–Hemmingford Border Crossing connects the towns of Hemmingford, Quebec to Mooers, New York.

Mother Joseph Pariseau

She was born Esther Pariseau in Saint-Elzéar, Quebec, Canada.

Normand Laprise

Normand Laprise was born in 1961 and raised on a farm in Kamouraska in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec.

Ojibwe dialects

Recognized Algonquin communities include: Amos (Pikogan), Cadillac, Grand Lac Victoria, Hunter's Point, Kipawa (Eagle Village), Notre Dame du Nord (Timiskaming), Rapid Lake (Barriere Lake), Rapid Sept, Lac Simon, Québec, Winneway (Long Point).

Outarde

Pointe-aux-Outardes, Quebec, is a municipality in Quebec on the north shore of the St Lawrence estuary, between the mouths of the Outardes and Manicouagan Rivers

Passepartout

Passe-Partout, a French-language children's television program produced from 1977 to 1987 by Radio-Québec (now Télé-Québec)

Paul Ahmarani

He was born from the union of two teachers, one from Cacouna, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Quebec and another from the Mediterranean coast.

Physella parkeri

The subspecies Physella parkeri latchfordi, also known as the "Gatineau tadpole snail", lives in Quebec, Canada.

Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson, Vicomte de Mouzay

He received his commission as governor of Canada on January 27, 1657, arriving in Quebec in 1658.

Pierre Guerout

He later set up his own business and had moved to Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu by 1783.

Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier

The main communities are Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Donnacona, Lac-Beauport, Neuville, Pont-Rouge, Shannon, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Saint-Raymond, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, and Deschambault-Grondines.

Quebec-Labrador Foundation

Founding the Living Rivers Program in Tabusintac, New Brunswick, QLF established what would become one of QLF's hallmarks: cross border, community-based conservation and stewardship programs aimed at both young people and established conservation professionals.

Québec-Montréal

Directed by Ricardo Trogi, the film focuses on nine people, all on the cusp of turning 30 and dealing with complex questions about life and love, whose lives intersect on four separate road trips from Quebec City to Montreal along Quebec Autoroute 20.

Quebec, County Durham

The village takes its unusual name from the more famous Canadian city of Quebec.

Reference re Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act

The provinces of Quebec and Ontario disputed the constitutionality of the Act, as they believed it intruded into provincial jurisdiction with respect to property and civil rights.

René Beauvais

We do know that he became a master woodcarver by 1812 and did extensive work in the church at Sainte-Thérèse-de-Blainville which included some carpentry, woodcarving, and gilding as well as the structure housing the altar, rood-loft, cornice, and vaulting of this building.

Ronnie Prophet

In his childhood, Ronnie Prophet lived in Calumet, Quebec and began performing at local venues in his youth.

Roxboro

Roxboro, Quebec, now part of the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Roxton

Roxton Pond, Quebec, a municipality in La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality

Saint-Georges, Quebec

Although a relatively small city, Saint-Georges is often considered the Metropolis of Beauce Region because it's the largest city in the region.

Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs

The Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs was a minor hockey team based in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which is now defunct.

Sainte-Marie Poutrelles Delta

The Sainte-Marie Poutrelles Delta were a Canadian minor pro ice hockey team in Sainte-Marie, Quebec.

Seven-digit dialing

This "exchange code protection" made it possible in some low or moderate-density areas to use seven digits to reach areas in another area code (such as Hull from Ottawa before 2006, as every Ottawa-Hull local number originally was reserved in both 613 and 819).

Sherbrooke Nature and Science Museum

The museum's collection of over 65,000 objects and specimens represents the diversity of the fauna and flora of Quebec, Canada as well as elsewhere in North America and around the world.

Sixte

Saint-Sixte, Quebec, small town in the region of Outaouais, Quebec, Canada

Spertiniite

It was first described in 1981 for an occurrence in the Jeffrey quarry of the Johns-Manville mine, Asbestos, Estrie, Québec.

STV Black Jack

Black Jack was originally a logging tug on the Upper Ottawa River and was based in Quyon, Quebec.

Syndicat des Cols Bleus de la Ville de Laval

The Syndicat des Cols Bleus de la Ville de Laval is a trade union representing blue-collar workers in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Ted Dey

Born in Hull, Quebec, Ted Dey was one of three brothers and two sisters born to Joseph Dey and Annie Buckley.

Thermalite

Thermalite safety fuses and connectors were manufactured in Quebec by ICA Canada Inc., however in November 1995 they ceased manufacturing of detonator cord.

Thomas C. Fields

Thomas Craig Fields (November 9, 1825 St. Lawrence County, New York – January 25, 1885 Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Thomas James Tait

Born in Melbourne, Quebec, the son of Melbourne McTaggart Tait, Tait entered the service of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1880, and by 1903 he was manager of transportation with Canadian Pacific Railway company.

Timber slide

The idea is attributed to Ruggles Wright who introduced the first one in 1829 not far from what is today down-town Hull, Quebec, Canada.

Trade secrets in Canada

The Civil Code of Quebec deals specifically with trade secrets in two articles (1472 and 1612); however, none of its provisions define the concept of trade secret.

U.S. Route 3

In Stewartstown, the road turns more directly east (still following the Connecticut River, which is no longer a boundary), before resuming a northeasterly direction through Pittsburg, where it meets the northern end of NH 145, eventually heading directly north to the Canadian border crossing at Chartierville, Quebec, where it becomes Quebec Route 257.

Vlasovite

Other localities for vlasovite include the volcanic Ascension Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Kipawa Complex, Villedieu Township, Quebec and the Strange Lake Complex in Labrador.

Walter Bernard Smith

He was born in Hemmingford, Quebec and became a customs officer and merchant by career.


1747 in Canada

August 8: Madeleine de Verchères, daughter of François Jarret, a seigneur in New France, and Marie Perrot (b.1678); Madeline (alt spelling) achieved recognition when, as a young girl, she successfully fought off Iroquois attackers and helped to save Fort Vercheres (Quebec).

1906 Birthday Honours

The Honourable Adélard Turgeon, Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada.

À Hauteur d'homme

The 2003 Quebec election itself happened over the backdrop of the war in Iraq.

Aldo Group

The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal, Quebec, in 1972, where its corporate headquarters remain today.

André Caillé

Caillé affirmed he voted Yes in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, but stated he presently believes the ADQ's autonomist policy is more concurrent with the feelings of Quebecers.

Arthur Beauchesne

Born in Carleton, Bonaventure County, Quebec, Beauchesne received a Bachelor's degree from St. Joseph’s College in Memramcook, New Brunswick.

Balsfjord

Their voyage was also noteworthy as the first transatlantic voyage sailing directly from Europe to the port of Chicago (other previous transoceanic ships disembarked first at Quebec, Canada.) After arriving in Chicago, the mindekirken colonists traveled overland to the area of St. Peter, Minnesota, where they remained during the "Dakota War of 1862".

Bar of Quebec

Quebec applicants must be graduates of the law faculty of one of six universities: the University of Montreal, the University of Quebec at Montreal, McGill University, Laval University, the University of Ottawa, or the University of Sherbrooke.

Canada Clause

A clause in the Charlottetown Accord that would have recognized the province of Quebec as a distinct society within Canada, aboriginal rights, sex equality and other principles; or

Concrete canoe

The 2008 National Concrete Canoe Competition was held in Montreal, Quebec and hosted by École de technologie supérieure.

Constitution of Canada

The proclamation, which established an appointed colonial government, was the de facto constitution of Quebec until 1774, when the British parliament passed the Quebec Act, which expanded the province's boundaries to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, which was one of the grievances listed in the United States Declaration of Independence.

Étienne-Théodore Pâquet

He dabbled into various commercial ventures: aforementioned wood commerce, the Lévis and Kennebec Railway (auctioned off in 1881 to the Quebec Central Railway) and the Quebec Mining Co. amongst others.

Fernand Daoust

In 1964, he was candidate for president of the Quebec Federation of Labour (Fédération des travailleurs du Québec - FTQ); Louis Laberge was elected president and Daoust was elected vice-president.

France Antarctique

However, the French crown failed to make good use of Villegaignon's exploits to expand the reach of the French kingdom into the New World, as was being done at the time with the claims of Jacques Cartier in the present-day province of Quebec, Canada.

Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy

In 1910 he travelled with H. Hesketh Prichard from Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador to Indian House Lake on George River, and contributed a chapter on fishing to Prichard's Through trackless Labrador (1911).

George Dragas

At present, he is also a Visiting Professor at Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, and Visiting Professor of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York.

Island of Montreal

The first French name for the island was "l'ille de Vilmenon", noted by Samuel de Champlain in a 1616 map, and derived from the sieur de Vilmenon, a patron of the founders of Quebec at the court of Louis XIII.

Jean Pelletier

He successfully persuaded Chirac to keep quiet during the 1980 Quebec referendum, though Chirac personally supported an independent Quebec like General Charles de Gaulle.

Jean-Guy Carignan

With the Quebec East riding boundaries redistributed in 2003, Carignan contested the Louis-Saint-Laurent electoral district in the 2004 federal election as an independent candidate but finished in sixth place while Bernard Cleary of the Bloc Québécois won the riding.

Joël Bouchard

He worked for a number of years as a TV hockey analyst for Québec's Le Réseau des sports (RDS), also producing and hosting his own show called "L'Académie de hockey McDonald".

John Hearn

John Gabriel Hearn (1863–1927), a Quebec businessman and political figure

Joseph Robertson

Joseph Gibb Robertson (1820–1899), Scottish-born merchant, farmer and political figure in Quebec

Lamarre

Yvon Lamarre, former Canadian politician and a City Councillor in Montreal, Quebec

Le Journal de Montréal

This change was accompanied by the addition of several new columnists, including journalist and television host Richard Martineau, former Quebec government ministers Yves Séguin and Joseph Facal, former federal government Minister Sheila Copps,former hockey player Guy Lafleur and the ex-hacker Mafiaboy.

Nicholas MacLeod

Nicholas Menalaus MacLeod (8 February 1870, Quebec – 27 September 1965, Spokane, Washington) was a Scottish–Canadian chess master.

Office québécois de la langue française

Daniel Boyer : Secrétaire général de la (FTQ) (Vice-President of the Québec Federation of Labour)

Paul Buissonneau

In 1952, the City of Montreal appointed Buissonneau as artistic director of La Roulotte, a parks-based outdoor theatre, which gave an early opportunity to famous Quebec artists Yvon Deschamps, Jean-Louis Millette, Claude Jasmin, Claude Léveillé and Robert Charlebois.

Peter Šťastný

Peter is the father of Yan Stastny, who made his NHL debut in 2005–06 with the Edmonton Oilers and is currently playing in Nuremberg, Germany, and Paul Stastny, who began his career with the Colorado Avalanche (the same franchise as the Quebec Nordiques, Peter's first NHL team) in 2006–07 and wears the same number (#26).

Pharmacy school

The pharmacy schools in Quebec (at the University of Montreal and Laval University) now offer only the PharmD degree that involves two years of basic sciences and four years of pharmacy education, similar to many programs in the United States.

Pierre Vincent

Pierre-Vincent Valin (1827–1897), Canadian businessman and political figure from Quebec

Polar Bear Shores

Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien in Quebec rescued the pair as they were not expected to survive in the wilderness alone.

Quebec referendum

Quebec referendum, 1980, the 1980 plebiscite on Quebec independence, or sovereignty-association

Quebec Route 205

Route 205 is a two-lane north/south highway on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada.

Quebec, The Revolutionary Age 1760–1791

Quebec, The Revolutionary Age 1760–1791 is a book (ISBN 0-7710-6658-9) by Canadian historian Dr. Hilda Neatby published in 1966 in both the French and English languages as part of The Canadian Centenary Series.

Résistance internationaliste

In 2004, shortly before U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Canada, a Hydro-Québec electric tower along the Quebec – New England Transmission circuit in the Eastern Townships of Quebec near the Canada-U.S. border was damaged by explosive charges detonated at its base.

Robert Layton

In the 1980s, he joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and was elected to the Federal Parliament in the 1984 election from the Quebec riding of Lachine, covering suburban communities on the west end of the island of Montreal.

Saint-Henri, Quebec

Saint-Henri, Chaudière-Appalaches, Quebec, a municipality of Quebec in the vicinity of Lévis

Sex Therapy: The Session

Thicke been added as a supporting act on Alicia KeysThe Freedom Tour tour, kicking off on February 28, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with stops at Madison Square Garden and Staples Center.

Télé-Québec

Télé-Québec (and its predecessor, Radio-Québec) was also assigned channel 2 in Rivière-du-Loup, channel 10 in Lithium Mines and channel 21 in Mont-Laurier.

Théberge

Carole Théberge (born 1953), marketing professional and former political figure in Quebec

Thomas De Koninck

According to a well known rumor, he would have inspired Antoine de Saint-Exupery for the creation of The Little Prince when Saint-Exupery was living in the house of Charles De Koninck in Québec city, in 1942 (see La transcendance de l'homme : études en hommage à Thomas De Koninck, Jean-François Mattéi et Jean-Marc Narbonne (ed.)).

Trade secrets in Canada

According to the Civil Code of Quebec, an action for breach of trade secrets or confidential business information generally arises either from a contractual liability action (article 1458) or, in the absence of a contract, from a civil liability action (article 1457).