On March 16th, Marie Émilie Lacroix, an Innu from Mashteuiatsh and member of Initiatives of Change, received an Award. It was during the first tribute evening to the now deceased Gabrielle Lachance, a socially engaged personality in Quebec, Canada and the world. Marie-Émilie is well known for her social and community engagement in our organisation, particularly for facilitating the blanket exercise, her interest for youth development and for bridging the gap between different communities. During this ceremony, people from different organizations were also honored, including Bernadette Dubuc from the Movement of Christian Workers, Paul-Yvon Blanchet from Carrefour d’Animation et de Participation à un Monde Ouvert (a Quebec-based association promoting popular education and Social justice), and Michel Laberge from Development and Peace. Other attendants also shared their stories, including Isabelle Forest of Espace Art Nature. Members of different organizations, including IofC, attended this ceremony. Following the events in New-Zealand, our Christian and Muslim communities spent touching moments with Mr. Boufeldja Benabdallah, the chairman of the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. Marie Émilie was moved by this honor. She saw it as an opportunity to further commit to social engagement.
Robert Lapointe, Quebec City