Remembering, from door to door

I don’t know if you’re like me, but when I visit a foreign city, I read almost religiously all the commemorative plaques I come across on my way.

It was thanks to one of these plaques that I discovered the house – at 11, rue Victor Schœlcher, 14^e arrondissement, in Paris – in which Simone de Beauvoir lived from 1955 to 1986. Same thing for 32, rue des Bourdonnais, in 1^er district, where Abbé Pierre lived and worked from 1914 to 1954.

These commemorative plaques are nuggets of history that make our walks even more interesting.

I’m a big walker and I think it’s a shame that Montreal doesn’t have more of them.

Even if our history is not as long as that of Paris or London, there have been enough notable personalities and events for us to multiply this type of plaque.

Let’s take a name at random: Thérèse Casgrain, this feminist who contributed to obtaining the right to vote for women in Quebec. She was born and lived in Montreal, but you wouldn’t know it if you walked past her childhood home on Rue du Musée in the Golden Square Mile. This magnificent residence, which bears the name of his father (Maison Rodolphe-Forget), today houses the Russian consulate…

To find a commemorative trace of Thérèse Casgrain, you have to go to Quebec and admire the monument in tribute to women in politics next to parliament.

The birth of Overall refusal

The idea for this column came to me when I attended Robert Lepage’s show, Riopelle Project, last spring. It was recalled that it was in the apartment of Claude Gauvreau’s family, at 75, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, that a small group of artists had written the text of Overall refusal. I went to this address, now occupied by the airline Royal Air Maroc. There is nothing there that could remind passers-by of the historical importance of this building. It’s regrettable.

I spoke about my obsession with commemorative plaques to Yves Bergeron, director of the UQAM Heritage Institute. I found a receptive ear in this expert. He confirmed to me that the commemorative plaques respond to a collective need for memory.

When I ask him to name places where he would go to screw a plaque, Yves Bergeron answers without hesitation: the house of Réjean Ducharme, in Little Burgundy. It would also underline the importance of Château Dufresne as the starting point of the Quiet Revolution. Finally, many Quebec theaters have contributed to transforming Quebec and Mr. Bergeron believes that this should be commemorated in a more obvious way.

I wanted to have fun drawing up a list of personalities that I would like to commemorate and I admit that one of the first names that came to mind was that of Michel Tremblay. I quickly found the address of the house where he was born and so I wrote to the famous author to ask him if there was one of these plaques somewhere on the Plateau Mont-Royal. His response was quick: “There isn’t one. So much the better. »

When I ask him if that would make him happy, he replies: “After I die. I refused a Canadian stamp with my image twice. »

Note to self: it’s better to check with the person you want to commemorate if they are still alive…

The example of Quebec

In 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Communications adopted a new Commemoration Strategy. Entitled “I remember”, it will be deployed over the coming months. One of the measures concerns commemorative plaques.

The provincial government could take an example from Quebec City, which has its own policy. There are 142 in the Old Capital, which honor the place of life of historical figures, or individuals who have had an influence. Every five years, new names are added to the list. A committee studies proposals which may also come from citizens. “These plaques contribute to the influence of the city, which is responsible for their maintenance,” Jean-Pascal Lavoie, spokesperson for the City of Quebec, explains to me.

The owners of the buildings are, he tells me, always happy to welcome them, even if that can sometimes mean tourists stopping in front of their house.

Commemorate differently

I am a bit traditional with my plaques, I realize this when I speak with Denis Boucher, president of the Montreal Heritage Council. The historian makes me understand that my city stands out for its innovative approach to commemoration.

Examples: the river-mountain route, the installations in Chinatown, the insertions on the sidewalk of Sainte-Catherine Street, or the Peel Street route which recalls the meeting between indigenous peoples and newcomers.

We then talk about integrated design, a different way of capturing information. According to Mr. Boucher, these routes “establish a dialogue with the citizen walker”.

Another example: the mural in homage to Françoise Sullivan. “It leads us to learn history unconsciously,” says Denis Boucher. It is a form of commemoration which also tells the story of the artist’s approach. »

It’s true that these innovative approaches are different and pique curiosity. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to come across more commemorative plaques during my walks around Montreal.