The rain of the morning had stopped at the beginning of the afternoon and the sun began to shine as if to also pay tribute to Janette Bertrand, who came to attend the unveiling of a mural in her image on Thursday created by ceramist Laurent Gascon in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district where it was born.
Young at 99, the great lady of Quebec media says she is honored by the tributes that are accumulating. “It sure feels good!” » she exclaims, taking care to add in the same breath: “But it doesn’t bother me.”
“Let’s say I have sown and now I am at the age where I am reaping. There is never too much of a harvest. It makes up for the years when I was scorned, when they called me Janette the slut because I had a letter from the heart that said the real things. Well, I’m happy to see that someone loves me. I’m happy to know that they love me. »
“A kind of popular teacher”
Although she is referred to as a journalist, actress and writer, when we ask her how she defines herself, she rather answers “I am a kind of popular educator. I teach people, I’ve always done that and now I’m not afraid to say it. Before I would have said “well no, I don’t teach”, but I think that at 100 years old – 99 yes – I can say that yes, I am someone who wants to improve the lot of people. Because I improved mine, I know how it works, there is a way to improve. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Janette Bertrand and the ceramist Laurent Gascon, creator of the mural.
Although she is recognized as one of Quebec’s early feminists, she is careful not to limit her influence to women. “Men see women changing. So it changes them too. They have to change if they want to have blondes. They’re going to have to change, aren’t they? Right now, at this moment, change is happening,” she assures, taking the example of her 50- and 45-year-old grandsons who take care of their children, “which our husbands do not. didn’t do it, ever, before. Men did not take care of children, that was the role of women, it was normal. »
A model of aging
And yet, she does not see her role as a feminist educator as the most important legacy she will leave. Rather, she believes that she has succeeded, at almost a hundred years old, in “showing people that you can age and stay in shape – not physically – but stay active, that’s what I’m going to leave to people. »
It is by addressing this question that the nonagenarian, already very excited, ignites. “Do you know why I’m so popular right now? It’s because there was the pandemic, when old people were shown to be nothing at all, objects to be thrown away. We were good for nothing, useless. That’s why people love me so much: they tell themselves that you can easily become like her, you just have to keep busy. »
While addressing the small crowd who came to witness the unveiling of the mural, she expressed her attachment to her original neighborhood. “I never forgot and that’s what made me successful, where I came from. I have never forgotten the real world, the world I encountered in my father’s store. »
“This neighborhood is in my DNA and if I left it, I always came back. Our childhood neighborhood stays with us all the time and the older you get, the more connections you make with your childhood. »
“I think I’ll think I’m beautiful!” »
She thanked everyone, emphasizing that “the popularity was given to me by you. It’s the public who says: “I love her or I love him, then we’re going to make her a star”. It’s the public, it’s your responsibility. Thank you to all the people who have always followed me and who have made me a kind of model to follow because I am still active. »
“I’m not doing this for the rest of you, I’m doing this for me. You know, resting tires me out,” she declared to general hilarity.
Then, looking at her mural, she said that “it’s hard for me to look at myself. Have you ever looked at yourself in a photo? We are never beautiful. But I’m going to look at myself from afar later when I leave and I think I’m going to find myself beautiful,” a statement that no one could contradict.