Jean Dorion
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Jean Dorion is a Canadian sociologist and a Quebec nationalist leader. He is the current President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal (SSJBM), a post he held also from 1989 to 1994. He is additionally the treasurer of the affiliated Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ). A polyglot, he speaks six languages,[1] including Japanese, his wife's native language.
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[edit] Biography
Dorion militated in favour of linguistic laws starting in the 1960s, several years before the Charter of the French Language was adopted. He worked in the Government of Quebec[2], first as political attaché for Minister of Immigration Jacques Couture, and later as Chief of Cabinet of Minister Gérald Godin when he held the responsibility of the application of the Charter of the French Language.[3]
He was President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal from 1989 to 1994. Afterwards, he held the role of General Delegate for five and a half years[1] at the General Delegation of Quebec in Tokyo.[2] He was returned to the post of President of the SSJBM in 2003, succeeding Guy Bouthillier.
[edit] Private life
In August 1989, on a stroll through Old Montreal, Dorion met Hitomi, a Japanese tourist looking for directions. She was then living in the American city of Cleveland, completing a doctoral thesis in nursing science. Already proficient in Japanese, he guided her in her native language and charmed her. She learned French and moved to Montreal on June 23, 1990, in time to witness, two days later, one of the biggest and most famous Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parades in history (after the end of the Meech Lake Accord).[1]
They were married on May 4, 1991. Five children were born from this union, each with both a French and Japanese name: Thierry, or Chieri (meaning "house of a thousand blessings"); Marie-France, or Mariko ("child of truth"); Alice, or Asami ("beauty of the morning"); Blanche, or Yukie ("scene of winter"); and Émile, or Emiru ("prosperity"). The children follow Saturday courses to complete their Japanese culture and speak Japanese at home.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d "Deux histoires d'amour à savourer" by Betty Achard, Madame Magazine, October 2003, retrieved October 5, 2006
- ^ a b "Intégration des immigrants : la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste s'inquiète des intentions du gouvernement Charest", press release, CNW Telbec, June 8, 2003, retrieved October 2, 2006
- ^ "Une descente lente, mais inexorable", La force des mots, n.13, March 2004, retrieved October 5, 2006
