It was a familiar scene at the Pontiac Hospital on Sunday afternoon. A crowd gathered with homemade cardboard protest signs, made soggy by the snowfall, to express dissent of another Quebec healthcare policy – this time its controversial Law 2. 

We’ve been here before: the closing of the obstetrics department, the omission of local imaging technicians from regional bonuses, to name but a couple causes that have compelled people to rally outside the hospital, demanding Pontiac’s unique needs be accounted for, and that Pontiac voices be heard. Whether or not they ever actually are is hard to say. They certainly don’t seem to be. 

Look only to last week’s announcement of a new $35,000 relocation bonus for nurses from outside the Outaouais who take jobs in the Pontiac. On the surface it appears to be a step in the right direction – a sign that perhaps the higher-ups in Quebec City are finally understanding that this region, because of its proximity to Ontario, faces unique challenges when it comes to retaining healthcare workers. But upon closer inspection, it appears to be yet another betrayal of the people already committed to this place. Aspiring Pontiac nurses who grew up here and know this community will not be eligible to receive this money. So what’s to keep them here? We already know they’ll be paid better in Ontario. Like I said last week – Groundhog Day. 

But despite not being heard, year after year, Pontiac residents continue to show up to walk in these rallies, with their signs, demanding better solutions. The walking, the rallying, is about more than just being heard. It does something for the people doing the walking. 

Sunday’s rally outside the Pontiac Hospital was just one example of this community’s commitment to itself over the weekend. 

Also in Shawville, the evening prior, the community gathered for its Santa Claus parade, one in a handful that take place across the Pontiac every year. Kids could be heard shrieking with glee as Santa made his way down Main Street, many jumping up and down, shouting his name and waving. Their energy was contagious, a generous gift to the adult chaperones, perhaps slightly less ecstatic, huddled in the cold for the event. 

And on Friday afternoon, some 20 students from École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge, inspired by their curiosity about their own limits, challenged themselves for a greater cause, walking 60 kilometres overnight, through the cold, to raise money for local food bank Bouffe Pontiac. 

The protest in Shawville won’t be the force that changes Law 2. The kids who walked through blisters and bear tracks and a blizzard certainly won’t end hunger in the Pontiac, though their efforts will fill a few bellies. 

Walking, marching, parading, are all acts of being grounded, rooted in place, together. The collective occupation of public space is an act of resistance and resilience. Walking offers an opportunity to process a shared reality, together, and in so doing, to build and expand all that is shared. Public expressions of discontent, of solidarity, of joy, are how we make known our togetherness and our commitment to each other. 

So thank you to all the people organizing Santa Claus parades this year, the people who continue to show up to rallies, and the students pushing themselves to support their neighbours, for reminding us all that we are people connected to place, and that with that comes the responsibility to show up for each other.