SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — France-Acadie Relations

Honourable colleagues, in 1966, a delegation of 40 Acadians, including my parents, travelled to Belle-île-en-Mer, France, to commemorate the bicentennial of the Acadians’ landing on that island after the deportation. This year, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of that journey, the precursor to a new relationship between France and Acadia that took shape two years later with a historic meeting between four Acadian leaders—our very own “four musketeers”—and President Charles De Gaulle, who had once declared that Acadians belong to a race that never dies.

The relationship between France and Acadia goes way back, and it is now more fruitful and vibrant than ever. It is based on memory, resilience, recognition and shared aspirations in a world destabilized by geopolitical tension and conflict. This relationship draws on a shared history and a contemporary dialogue nurtured by the Francophonie. The political, cultural and economic ties that unite Acadia and France remain strong thanks to cultural diplomacy, institutional cooperation and joint participation in bodies such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Our exchanges help maintain Acadia’s presence on the international stage and strengthen France’s commitment to the diversity of the French-speaking world while offering it an entry point into America.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to France for its presence in Acadia and for the honour bestowed on me by the President of the French Republic this morning, through the Ambassador of France to Canada, His Excellency Michel Miraillet. This honour, which our Speaker also received recently, goes beyond me as a person. It honours a collective journey, shared struggles, tenacious loyalties, a strong sense of solidarity and bold political action. On this occasion, I want to recognize my family, my partner Luc Rondeau, who is here in this chamber today, you, my colleagues, and all the men and women who work every day to ensure the vitality of the French language, who work for social justice and who advocate for the recognition of minority identities.

Receiving this honour also means recognizing those who came before us. I am thinking of my fellow Acadian Pascal Poirier, the first Acadian senator, a lawyer and man of the theatre. He received the Legion of Honour in 1902 and is still, to this day, the longest-serving member of the Senate of Canada.

Colleagues, to my mind, being named a knight of the Legion of Honour is not the final destination. Instead, it is a renewed invitation to responsibility. Defending the French language, human dignity, equality and the freedom to be oneself is never a luxury or a trend. It is a moral responsibility. It means rejecting indifference. It means believing that society is stronger, fairer and more creative when it fully embraces all identities. There can be no true Francophonie without inclusion, no living language without diversity and no lasting dialogue without respect for fundamental rights.

I therefore accept this honour with gratitude and with the firm intention of continuing to serve the values that it embodies: liberty, equality and fraternity.

Thank you. Meegwetch.