There’s no question of letting the “magic of Christmas” disappear! In Vanier, elves of all ages made sure to make Christmas a celebration, even in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Canada.
“We want to give a Christmas to all children, regardless of their level of poverty,” says the municipal councilor of this French-speaking sector of Ottawa, Stéphanie Plante. “Before, yes, people used food banks, but there were no lines, there were no people who couldn’t meet their needs until the end of the week. »
Sunday, 250 gifts and $5000 were collected at the Muséoparc Vanier. The gifts and money, which will be transformed into gift cards for teenagers, will be distributed to the 350 children who attend the Partage Vanier food bank, one of “the busiest in Ontario,” according to its coordinator, Jean- Michel Rousseau.
Each month, the organization serves “nearly 2,000 individuals,” including hundreds of children. This is an increase of “nearly 30%” compared to last year, he says. “It’s gigantic!” It’s a record year. » Attendance is even higher during the holidays, because “parents will spoil the children a little more, and neglect access to food a little more. So that requires additional help.”
The service has also become “a little destigmatized,” underlines Mr. Rousseau, who suspects that the removal of “accessibility pitfalls” may play a role in the increase in demand. At the start of the pandemic, first for health reasons, Partage Vanier set up an appointment service, still in effect today “so much that we are busy”. During their monthly visit, “customers […] are here no more than five minutes. Before, they moved around, then they were exposed to the whole society for two hours […] We heard it from the customers, it’s less annoying.”
According to a report by the organization Campaign 2000, published in 2018, approximately 3 in 10 children live in poverty in Ottawa-Vanier, which reaches 18e rank of federal ridings with the highest child poverty rate. At the federal level, the area of the constituency is larger than at the municipal level, but Mr. Rousseau believes that today, the data are “substantially the same”.
“We, here, are right at the front of this whole battle. We still see smiles, […] we see a lot of people finding jobs, a lot of families who are less dependent on us, but we also see an increase in new arrivals, refugees,” while rents rise. “All of this means that it increases our numbers and the needs. »
Discover the “culture” of Christmas
“Many Arab communities and Ukrainians,” who have settled in the area, frequent Mr. Rousseau’s food bank. A “new generation” of Haitians and French-speaking immigrants from West Africa has also settled in the Rideau-Vanier neighborhood, according to Mme Plant.
“We don’t want to see newcomers to Canada who have to use food banks. We don’t want them to have [à vivre] a situation here which is worse than at home, says the municipal councilor. So it’s very, very important that these people, when the holiday season comes, that they have no other concerns. […] and know that their children will at least have presents under the tree this year. »
Arriving in Canada six months ago, the Zemo family is experiencing their first Christmas in Canada. The Cameroonians, who live in Orléans, made the trip, more to take part in the celebration than for financial reasons. “ [On voulait] that the children relax for Christmas, because otherwise we would have stayed at home. […] We had no activity [prévue]. We didn’t know, [dans] culture here, how it happens,” tells the Duty the mother, Maurine Elad, who came to attend the event with her four children and her husband.
“It gives us a lot of joy, a lot of joy, to experience this,” she said. Even the 11-year-old, for whom the magic of Christmas is fading, has acquired a taste for the holiday. “He said to me: ‘I liked it, talking to Santa Claus.’ » And he did not fail to jump for joy when he was told how many gifts had been collected. “It was really a very, very, very, very beautiful moment. »
“Pure joy,” also says Vanessa Rizkallah. Arriving from Lebanon this year, she took advantage of the event with her two children, while donating a gift. Her friend’s daughter Marianne Ibrahim “did all the activities. She drew, she spoke with Santa Claus, she saw the show, she was very happy.”
Multigenerational magic
Joy was also visible in the eyes of the older volunteers. Retired teacher, Carole Guindon spent the morning wrapping gifts. “We haven’t been idle,” says, all smiles, the member of the Pauline-Charron Center, which organizes activities for French-speaking seniors in Ottawa.
” It’s beautiful ! When we no longer have young children, we lose the notion of toys and Christmas,” she confides, “surprised” by the “very wide variety” of gifts.
“There is a lady who brought a beautiful truck for a 4-year-old child, a big box,” says Marie-Paule. A volunteer at Montfort hospital, she says she experienced the magic of Christmas for a day. “I don’t have any grandchildren, so that’s one thing that helps me get through it. »