[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":194},["ShallowReactive",2],{"activist-section-may-bouchard-practising-social-activism":3,"activist-may-bouchard":118},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":102,"extension":110,"meta":111,"navigation":112,"oldPath":113,"path":114,"seo":115,"stem":116,"__hash__":117},"activistSections\u002Factivists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002F02.practising-social-activism.md","Practising Social Activism",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":101},"minimark",[9,14,18,21,32,35,39,48,51,54,60,63,67,70,74,89,93,96],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"education-and-language-issues","Education and language issues",[15,16,17],"p",{},"On her return to Pomquet from Montreal, May was shocked to discover that the children did not speak French and quick to understand the real prospect of losing the French language. Characteristically, she decided to “fight for our language here”.",[15,19,20],{},"Other community members were aware of language issues that disadvantaged French residents, so May joined a committee of FANE that was devoted to its resolution. They were determined to achieve Acadian status for their local school, but authorities were not on board with this, and years of wrangling ensued. The francophone community was repeatedly rebuffed using various legalities that were buried within the approval-granting process. There were even parents who needed convincing that a new French school would not lead to deterioration in the quality of their children’s English skills.",[15,22,23,24,31],{},"Meetings with politicians were plentiful – “that’s where the fight starts,” May said. She and her colleagues knew they had la Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse in Halifax working for them, and in addition they lobbied local politicians. An unrehearsed event during an Acadian carnival provided a boost: two senior Nova Scotian politicians publicly supported the French language and Acadian cultural preservation cause. Finally, in 2000, after eight years of lobbying, the provincial government approved the construction of a new French school in Pomquet. Since then, May has been a frequent guest in the school, receiving un Diplôme Honorifique (an honorary diploma) in 2008. She has held Honorary Membership status in the ",[25,26,30],"a",{"href":27,"rel":28},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.acelf.ca",[29],"nofollow","Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française (ACELF)",", the National French Language Education Association, since 2002.",[15,33,34],{},"For May, the long and arduous, and ultimately triumphant fight, for a French language school went to the heart of her passion for language and education.",[10,36,38],{"id":37},"francophone-seniors","Francophone seniors",[15,40,41,42,47],{},"May was part of the committee that established the provincial group for elder francophones in Nova Scotia, ",[25,43,46],{"href":44,"rel":45},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.rane.ns.ca",[29],"Regroupment des aînés et aînées de la Nouvelle-Écosse (RANE)",". With federal funding assistance, RANE has lobbied for the rights of seniors and organized educational events around the province. May continues as Pomquet representative of la RANE.",[15,49,50],{},"Since 2003, she has served on a committee to establish an integrated local community centre to support social interaction and affordable housing to enable seniors to stay in the Pomquet area. Considerable research on alternative housing rental schemes informed the committee’s approach to the province to fund just a fraction of what will be needed to build such a centre. In the scheme proposed, local volunteers would administer the centre’s finances, raise funds, and take full operating responsibility – something that May says will pose challenges to “figuring it out”.",[15,52,53],{},"May has also worked on a committee of the R.K. Foundation that runs a nursing home of the same name, as part of her commitment to seniors. A few of the improvements they have achieved include a garden, improved security for residents, and higher levels of fund-raising. May champions more research into seniors that would provide firm guidance on how best to help them maintain dignity and lead stimulating lives. Her experience working for seniors in Montreal gave her a lifelong belief that seniors must not defined in terms of their physical limitations, but as whole people.",[55,56,57],"blockquote",{},[15,58,59],{},"Every night we would serve cookies with hot chocolate to our residents… a time for individual conversations and story-telling that taught me the importance of recognizing the individuality of seniors and treating them with dignity and respect.",[15,61,62],{},"Her reputation for care spread had spread to the Quebec government in those days, and she was approached with an offer to build a care centre for her and her husband to manage that would house people with multiple challenges. But May was on her way back to Nova Scotia at that stage, where new challenges were in store for her.",[10,64,66],{"id":65},"women-matter","Women matter",[15,68,69],{},"As a founding member and President of FFAN\u002FAANE, May brought Acadian women’s concerns to the provincial level, where she was in a strategic position to advocate. And in her role as Vice-President of the Federation Nationale des femmes Canadienne Française (FNFCF), she took advocacy for women to the national level.",[10,71,73],{"id":72},"domestic-violence","Domestic violence",[15,75,76,77,82,83,88],{},"May was one of the earliest volunteers for the ",[25,78,81],{"href":79,"rel":80},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.thans.ca\u002FContent\u002FNaomi%20Society",[29],"Naomi Society for Victims of Family Violence",", in the town of Antigonish. Today, help is also available through the ",[25,84,87],{"href":85,"rel":86},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.antigonishwomenscentre.com",[29],"Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre and Sexual Assault Services Association",". Driven by the principle of women’s rights, she does not, however, call herself a feminist. But May says she is disappointed by any organization that does not overtly recognize the need for women’s equality, or the complex demands assumed by women in caring and educating their children. If she were younger, May said, she would get active on issues of homelessness and teenage prostitution.",[10,90,92],{"id":91},"working-collaboratively","Working collaboratively",[15,94,95],{},"Asked if she would call herself a leader, May answered carefully: “I don’t think so. I think I would be the idea seeker who says, ‘I think this has to be done’ – but you cannot do it alone”. The following anecdote exemplifies her approach:",[55,97,98],{},[15,99,100],{},"When you go by the church you’ll see we have a beautiful iron fence, but it was not always there. There was an old, broken-down fence, with a damaged war monument. As we passed it one day, my sister-in-law said, “Isn’t this terrible, why aren’t they doing something?” and I said, “Who is ‘they’?” Well, it’s the general people—you and I—so are we going to do something? We formed a small committee, raised the money, and had the fence built. So whenever you want something done, you get together and do it.",{"title":102,"searchDepth":103,"depth":103,"links":104},"",2,[105,106,107,108,109],{"id":12,"depth":103,"text":13},{"id":37,"depth":103,"text":38},{"id":65,"depth":103,"text":66},{"id":72,"depth":103,"text":73},{"id":91,"depth":103,"text":92},"md",{},true,"\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002Fpractising-social-activism","\u002Factivists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002Fpractising-social-activism",{"title":5,"description":102},"activists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002F02.practising-social-activism","mn3Y35nWZ-d8d1CdLxKkQ_Pd9ejKaL_Q4zXChUcoa7U",{"id":119,"title":120,"body":121,"description":171,"extension":110,"links":172,"meta":173,"navigation":112,"oldPath":174,"path":175,"pictures":176,"portrait":177,"portraitAlt":178,"province":179,"quote":180,"sections":181,"seo":190,"stem":191,"summary":192,"__hash__":193},"activists\u002Factivists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002Findex.md","May Bouchard",{"type":7,"value":122,"toc":169},[123,132,140,145,148,157,166],[15,124,125,126,131],{},"May Bouchard’s home nestles into a glorious semi-rural landscape on the Northumberland Strait in the historic village of her birthplace, ",[25,127,130],{"href":128,"rel":129},"http:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPomquet",[29],"Pomquet",", Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. Her awards, which fill a considerable space on the wall, include the Order of Canada, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and various certificates of merit and appreciation. Liz Burge interviewed May in 2008 – at her kitchen table – and asked why she thought she received the Order of Canada on October 26, 2002. May’s reply was typically brisk: “You have to keep it simple… it’s being able to work with people, you don’t do things alone. It’s for what I did when I worked in education… and I worked for women’s rights, I worked for seniors.”",[15,133,134,139],{},[25,135,138],{"href":136,"rel":137},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.gg.ca\u002Fhonour.aspx?id=6753&t=12",[29],"The Governor General’s office"," explained the award somewhat differently:",[55,141,142],{},[15,143,144],{},"A woman of action and a tireless volunteer, she is a model in her community. Known for her deep attachment to Acadian culture, she is equally well known for her pioneering efforts on behalf of the women of her province. In particular, she has served as President of the Association des Acadiennes de la Nouvelle-Écosse and Vice-President of the Fédération des femmes canadiennes-françaises. She brings the same generous dedication to other community causes, thereby promoting the region's vitality and development. Her constant availability for those in need is another example of her altruism and dedication to helping others.",[15,146,147],{},"In making May Bouchard an honorary member, the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française indicated that she “will stop at nothing” to help develop French language and culture. The prestigious l'Ordre de la Pleiade from I'Assemblee parlementaire de la Francophonie was presented to May Bouchard on March 23, 2011 in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia for her distinguished record of service to the francophones of Nova Scotia.",[15,149,150,151,156],{},"Her interest in cultural heritage extends to educating people of all ages, and to the history of her region as well. May was a founder and President of the Pomquet Historical Society, a Board member of the Pomquet Museum, and President of the ",[25,152,155],{"href":153,"rel":154},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.parl.ns.ca\u002Faheritage\u002Fpages\u002Fdefault.htm",[29],"Antigonish Heritage Museum",".",[15,158,159,160,165],{},"In addition to other forms of community activism, May is a Board member of the ",[25,161,164],{"href":162,"rel":163},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.pomquet.net",[29],"Pomquet Development Society",", a freelance reporter for the Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse, a member of the Pomquet Ladies Club, and a member of the Ste-Croix Parish choir.",[15,167,168],{},"During her interview, May’s passion for a wide skein of societal concerns was clear, but always tempered by patience, and her sense of realism.",{"title":102,"searchDepth":103,"depth":103,"links":170},[],"May Bouchard’s home nestles into a glorious semi-rural landscape on the Northumberland Strait in the historic village of her birthplace, Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. Her awards, which fill a considerable space on the wall, include the Order of Canada, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and various certificates of merit and appreciation. Liz Burge interviewed May in 2008 – at her kitchen table – and asked why she thought she received the Order of Canada on October 26, 2002. May’s reply was typically brisk: “You have to keep it simple… it’s being able to work with people, you don’t do things alone. It’s for what I did when I worked in education… and I worked for women’s rights, I worked for seniors.”",[],{},"\u002Fcontent\u002Fmay-bouchard","\u002Factivists\u002Fmay-bouchard",[],"\u002Fimages\u002Factivists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002Fportrait.jpg","Portrait of May Bouchard.","Nova Scotia","Everything starts at the kitchen table!",[182,185,187],{"slug":183,"label":184},"forming-her-activism","Forming Her Activism",{"slug":186,"label":5},"practising-social-activism",{"slug":188,"label":189},"creating-change-lessons-and-advice","Creating Change: Lessons and Advice",{"title":120,"description":171},"activists\u002Fmay-bouchard\u002Findex","For her work in defending Acadian language and culture, Mary Bouchard's many awards include the Order of Canada and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.","Fesvh3hSedSLOxT1Ljf7h8L36IK_SLdvORHS9FLsCWs",1789062651969]