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 on the 21st of March during National Impaired Driving Prevention Week. In Park-Extension it was not long ago when a drunk man faced impaired driving and hit-and-run charges after an accident that occurred at the corner of l’Acadie Blvd. and de Liège St. The drunk driver for an unknown reason he changed lanes and hit a car stopped in traffic. There was a domino effect and two other vehicles were also hit. In that case thankfully there were no serious injuries but the incident reminds us that the vulnerability of the general population to a drunk driver.
In Quebec, 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 on March 21st 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 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 the 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.
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.
