Toronto, Thursday, November 15, 2007

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I wanted to be here to celebrate 40 years of French theatre in Toronto.

Toronto. Canada’s largest city. And because it is very much a global city, it is at the crossroads of all the world’s trends and all its influences.

At the heart of this city, bursting with culture and ideas, a theatre. A French theatre which boasts full houses, season after season. A “p’tit bonheur” that, 40 years later, has become a universally acclaimed success.

And is that not the most eloquent manifestation of your desire for roots, and even of your longevity?

Is it not a shining example of your incredible cultural vitality?

Your history is one of resistance and, dare I say, stubbornness.

Artists are always creating. They are persistent, driven by an internal need, a passion that can overcome any obstacle in its way.

And so, even though your community is primarily Anglophone, and subsidies have been few and far between—if available at all—this has never prevented you, throughout these 40 years, from living, creating and entertaining in Toronto, and in French.

You have put your sweat and blood into this theatre. And you’ve believed in it the whole way through.

So much so that you have earned the trust and support of public- and private-sector partners.

So much so that authors, directors, actors and theatre communities in Quebec, New Brunswick and elsewhere in Canada have agreed to take part in the adventure, one play or one season at a time.

So much so that the region’s schools clamour for you and welcome you into their classrooms.

So much so that the public keeps coming back for more, again and again.

Each trial and tribulation, each success has brought you closer and closer together.

You are sisters and brothers, united by language and by heart. More than a theatre, more than a troop, you are a family.

A family that, in some small way, Jean-Daniel and I feel we belong to this evening.

As you are well aware, 2008 will mark 400 years of Francophone presence in North America.

A sharp presence that lives in each and every one of you, as well as in everyone who has helped to propagate the French language and culture throughout the continent.

This sense of linguistic belonging that we have in common is not and could never be inward looking; on the contrary, it is an opening up. For language is first and foremost a meeting place, a vehicle for solidarity, and a celebration.

Language is a unique way to understand and interpret the world. Seen in that light, La Francophonie is not a mental construct, but rather a melding of the minds. And, I might add, of the hearts.

It is also a call for dialogue with those who speak a different language, born of a desire for mutual enrichment.

In fact, you have understood this better than anyone, you who attract so many Francophiles, whom, incidentally, I would like to welcome this evening. What a marvellous idea these English subtitles are, for they are an invitation to discover cultural expression in French.

The survival of French in this country is not just Francophones’ business, but everyone’s business. It’s a value we share, a rich piece of our collective heritage. It is up to all of us to protect this language and this culture that are a part of who we are, a part of our identity, of our roots, of our history.

I strongly believe that cultures feed off one another. I would even say that cultures establish themselves and grow only through dynamic exchanges.

And if there’s an art form that is and will always remain a place for exchange and sharing, it is definitely the theatre.

Exchange among those who put on plays; junction between a work and its interpreters; coming together of actors and audience who find themselves, if only for the duration of the play, in a divine catharsis.

It is there that the magic of the theatre resides.

In that sense, the theatre is one of the liveliest modes of expression. And it is remarkably current and vital. For the theatre teaches us how to listen and see differently, and how to think as one.

Despite the strides that technology has made in recent decades, the theatre remains to this day the ideal place to depict—and I might add, explore—the difficulties and pleasure of existing. It is one of the most stimulating modes of expression, allowing us to plumb the depths of the human soul.

This evening, we pay tribute to French theatre, resplendent in all its forms.

We wanted to be here to celebrate with you. We wanted to publicly recognize its artists and artisans, who for 40 years have made it come to life thanks to their passion, their creative genius and their unique take on the world.

When it comes to the dramatic arts, we are witnessing an important part of our history unfold between these walls this evening. And I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, long live French theatre in Toronto!