Honourable senators, on February 23, a grande dame of Acadian theatre and former senator, Viola Léger, announced that she is leaving public life. Having suffered a stroke that affected her memory and her vision, this admirable Canadian actress is ending her artistic career of more than 40 years.

Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Viola Léger started out her career as a literature and theatre teacher. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Boston University and she later trained at the world-renowned École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

In 1971, she met the character that would change her life: La Sagouine. Antonine Maillet is the playwright behind La Sagouine and the only Canadian author who has ever been awarded the prestigious Prix Goncourt.

With her husky voice, her sensibility, her body language and her accent, Viola Léger, a national treasure, would play the role of this character nearly 3,000 times over the course of her career. As the writer Rino Morin Rossignol so deftly wrote, and I quote:

Viola played this role with such grace, humanity, and dramatic flair that these two women, the actress and the character . . . will be intertwined for eternity.
Thanks to this unique union between Viola Léger and the writing of Antonine Maillet, La Sagouine became the voice of an entire people by showcasing Acadia to itself and to the entire country. This character, with her rich and savoury language, casts a long hard look at humanity and brings us back to a fundamental value: human dignity.

This play has been performed in both French and English in Canada and Europe, breaking down cultural barriers and paving the way for Viola Léger's prolific artistic career.

In addition to managing her own company, bringing to the stage the work of several playwrights and working in numerous theatrical institutions in Canada, Ms. Léger set up a foundation in her name to support Acadian creators.

Viola Léger has received many awards and was a mentor and a model of artistic discipline and engagement to others in the theatrical world. Her unique on-stage presence is informed by deep, authentic, extensive soul-searching.

Her respect for the audience and the characters she played made her one of Canada's most inspiring artists.

This wonderful artist sat in the upper chamber from 2001 to 2005 and delivered strong pleas for arts and culture. Since she had the habit of doing it in her statements, I thought I would also end this tribute, honourable senators, by first wishing her a speedy recovery and by reciting a few lines from La Sagouine, the character that marked her life and that of many Canadians.

In a monologue entitled The Good New Year, la Sagouine says to her audience:

Yeah, well, it's been a pretty good year. . . No big dump of snow, no sudden death, no one crippled, no one got pneumonia, no water in nobody's basement . . . [. . .] no blueberries, neither, that's true . . . but lots of hawthorn berries and enough beechnuts to choke a horse. Clams were nice and fat [. . .]. And then there was a few weddings, and the picnic up to Sainte-Marie, and the elections. Because the government has more money than normally these days.
Have a happy retirement, dear Viola. Thank you.