Event Advisory & Photo Opportunity – Embargoed until March 21, 2022
QUEBEC CITY, March 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quebec victims of impaired driving will be honoured with a new Commemorative Tribute to be built by MADD Canada this spring in Quebec City.
Details on the new Commemorative Tribute will be presented during a press conference on Monday, which will include family members of victims killed in impaired driving crashes.
| Date & Time: | Monday, March 21, 2022 at 10 a.m. |
| Location: | Hôtel Plaza Québec - Beethoven Room, 3031 Bd Laurier, Québec, QC G1V 2M2 |
| Speakers: | Odette Lachance, mother of Thomas Ratté Dominic Lemieux, husband of Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux, father of Emma Lemieux, son-in-law of James Fletcher Daniel Fortin, father of Jackson Fortin Marie Claude Morin, Regional and Victim Services Manager, Quebec, MADD Canada |
| Also Present: | Eric Dion, godfather of Thomas Ratté Maxine Perron, Architect, Régis Côté et associés Charles-Antoine Mailhot, General Manager, Groupe Relief |
| Photo Opportunities: | Artist rendering of the planned Commemorative Tribute. Ceremonial Cheque Presentation from the families of the victims of the tragic crash in Beauport Quebec in September 2021. |
| Safety Protocols: | Proper distancing protocols will be followed and masks will be required. |
The Commemorative Tribute, being created with the support of the Commission de la capitale nationale, will consist of three columns set on a broken line to represent a broken road and the broken lives of those touched by impaired driving. The translucent columns will be etched with the names of victims killed in impaired driving crashes in Quebec.
Odette Lachance and Eric Dion were crucial to this Commemorative Tribute. They worked tirelessly to see the project become a reality in memory of Thomas who was killed by an impaired driver in 2018.
Furthermore, the families involved in the terrible crash in Beauport in September 2021 organized a fundraiser in memory of their loved ones who were killed by a repeat offender. The funds will be used for Victim Services in Quebec as well as the provincial Tribute to be erected this spring. The fathers of Emma Lemieux and Daniel Fortin will present a cheque to MADD Canada during the press conference.
For anyone who has lost a loved one in an impaired driving crash in Quebec and would like to have his or her name memorialized on the Tribute, please contact Marie Claude Morin, Regional and Victim Services Manager, Quebec, MADD Canada, at 1-877-392-6233 or mcmorin@madd.ca.
The Tribute will be unveiled at a special ceremony in June. Going forward, an annual ceremony will be held each year to recognize new names that will be added to the Tribute.
