That was very touching, Senator Boisvenu. Thank you.

On Tuesday, January 31, Saint-Boniface lost a true hero when the visionary philanthropist Marcel A. Desautels passed away.

This Franco-Manitoban will be remembered primarily for his contributions to post-secondary education in Canada, to which he donated tens of millions of dollars. The University of Manitoba, the Université de Saint-Boniface, the University of Toronto and McGill University all benefited from his generosity and named several of their faculties and scholarships after him.

He was an accomplished businessman who headed up Creditel, one of the country’s biggest credit agencies with 16 offices, which he sold to an American competitor.

As president of the Université de Saint-Boniface, I can personally attest to Mr. Desautels’ devotion not only to that university, but also to the University of Manitoba. For example, in 2008, he donated $20 million to the Faculty of Music. It was the biggest private donation ever made to the University of Manitoba and one of the biggest ever made to a music department in Canada.

In 2009, he was the lead donor and president of VISION, the Université de Saint-Boniface’s biggest-ever fundraising campaign, with a $15-million target. A building bearing his name was inaugurated at the Université de Saint-Boniface in 2011 and is now home to the health sciences program and the school of social work.

However, his remarkable philanthropic work is not the only reason to remember this francophone lawyer and businessman. He attributed much of his success to the classical education he received from the Jesuits at the Collège de Saint-Boniface. Marcel Desautels would voluntarily spend many hours meeting with students to encourage them and offer his personal support for their endeavours. He became a source of inspiration.

Marcel Desautels’ story is the story of a true visionary. It shows how, with determination, a citizen can leave their mark not only locally, but nationally. Most importantly, for Canadians, Mr. Desautels exemplifies what it means to give back to the community.

Rest in peace, dear Marcel.