THE EQUITY had the opportunity one afternoon last week to sit down with André Fortin, Pontiac’s Member of the National Assembly, to explore his thoughts on the meaning of the upcoming Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebration, now commonly referred to as La Fête nationale du Québec.

DICKSON: What does Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day mean in the Pontiac in 2023?

FORTIN: It’s a fascinating holiday. It’s celebrated outside of Quebec. For example, you have Saint Jean Baptiste celebrations in French Ontario where they celebrate their history and the survival of French Ontarians over the decades.

In Quebec, it has become, over the years, our Fête nationale, the celebration of Quebec, what it is as a province, what it is as a community, and Pontiac is a big part of that.

We may not be exactly like the rest of the province, but we are an important part of the province. Everybody here is a full-fledged Quebecer, and we are proud to be Quebecers, so it’s an occasion to mark that.

DICKSON: Are you saying that anglo and franco Pontiacers alike, or any linguistic group, can identify as Quebecers and are therefore entitled to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste equally?

FORTIN: I don’t quote René Lévesque very often, but I believe it was him that said it first, that anybody who wants to be a Quebecer is a Quebecer. Anybody who lives here, who takes part in our community, whether you have roots here that are centuries old or they are brand new, Quebecers are people who live here and who bring their own history and their own culture and their own habits and their own cuisine and their own music to the collective of who we are. There is no model Quebecer, there are just a whole lot of different people with different backgrounds with different stories who come together to form who we are as a community.

It’s good that various parts of the county are taking the time to reflect on what Quebec represents to them and what’s worth celebrating in our province. And ya, there’s disagreements between people all the time. If we all agreed, it would be a pretty boring place, but it doesn’t take away anybody’s pride in being from here or sense of belonging in our community.

DICKSON: What do you see to be proud of as part of Quebec?

FORTIN: Well, look around. We have built a society that today is taking the time to celebrate the accomplishments of its people, that takes the time to put in social programs that are traditionally more generous than in other places . . . access to higher education, to pre-school care. And the Pontiac has built a community that, across linguistic boundaries, has worked well together and works better and better as years go on. And that’s a part of the Quebec reality that we are shaping here.

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