QUEBEC CITY, March 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new Commemorative Tribute to honor Quebec victims of impaired driving will be built in Quebec City, within the limits of Parc de l’Amérique latine but at one extremity of the park. MADD Canada made the announcement today during National Impaired Driving Prevention Week.
The Commemorative Tribute, being created with the support of the Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec, 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.
“This will be a moving and lasting tribute to the innocent victims who have been taken so senselessly from their families and friends,” said Marie Claude Morin, MADD Canada’s Quebec Regional and Victim Services Manager. “It is also a powerful illustration to the public about the terrible and tragic toll that impaired driving takes, and a reminder that everyone has the power to prevent it.”
An artist’s rendering of the Tribute was unveiled today at a news conference before members of the media and victims and survivors of impaired driving. Among the special guests were Odette Lachance and Eric Dion. Their tireless efforts in memory of Thomas Ratté – Odette’s son and Eric’s godson, who was killed by an impaired driver in 2018 – were crucial to the development of the tribute.
“This provincial Tribute is extremely important, not only for families that have been touched by impaired driving but for each and every one of us. We will pay tribute to our loved ones, those who paid with their lives so that people understand and change their behaviour”, stated Odette Lachance. “By looking at this provincial Tribute, we cannot miss all the suffering that could have been avoided. May this Tribute drive home the need to make the right decision. How many more sacrificed victims’ names must we engrave?”
Also in attendance for today’s announcement were the families of victims tragically killed in a horrific impaired driving crash in Beauport, Quebec, in September 2021. Dominic Lemieux lost his wife Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux, daughter Emma Lemieux, 10, and his father-in-law James Fletcher. Daniel Fortin lost his son Jackson Fortin, 14, oldest son of Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux. The families presented a ceremonial cheque for $ 50,000, funds raised through a Go Fund Me campaign and corporate donations, which the families have donated to MADD Canada for its Victim Services program and the establishment of this Quebec Memorial Monument.
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 can contact Ms. Morin at 1-877-392-6233 or mcmorin@madd.ca.
The Commemorative Tribute will be constructed in the spring, and will be unveiled at a special ceremony in June. Going forward, an annual ceremony will be held each year to recognize new names added to the Tribute.
MADD Canada has provincial Memorial Monuments in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and is working to establish monuments in British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.
About MADD Canada
MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a Registered Canadian Charitable Organization which is volunteer-driven. MADD Canada's mission is to stop impaired driving and to support victims of this violent crime. The organization has a National Board of Directors representing membership from all regions of Canada. MADD Canada’s National Office is located in Oakville, Ontario.
