Quebec has three new historical figures -- three women who were designated as such on Tuesday, to help mark International Women's Rights Day.
The announcement was made in Montreal by the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy.
"This is the perfect opportunity to highlight the contribution of remarkable women to the history of Quebec, women who have enriched our culture with their talent, creativity and determination," she said.
The designation was granted to the ballerina, choreographer and founder of the Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ludmilla Chiriaeff.
The Lawinonkie craftswoman Marguerite Vincent, who created an important clothing workshop in Wendake around 1830, became the first Indigenous woman to get the distinction.
Finally, one of the founders of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Antonia Nantel, has also been designated a historical figure, while also getting a renaming in her honour: the Allegro foyer of the Maison symphonique de Montréal will now become the Antonia-Nantel foyer.
Former premier Lucien Bouchard, who is now chairman of the orchestra's board of directions, made the latter announcement.
"When no large orchestra existed in Montreal, [Nantel] had the audacity to imagine the creation of the first professional French-speaking symphony orchestra in Quebec, which would showcase not only the talents of musicians, but also of composers [from Quebec]," he said.
The sisters Françoise and Hélène David, Antonia Nantel's granddaughters, said they were delighted with the recognition granted to their grandmother.
"[I'm] very happy that women today are recognized in this way, including, of course, our grandmother," said Françoise David.
Her sister Hélène added that "it's probably the first time in history that Antonia Nantel has been called by her maiden name, as they said at the time, and not Mme. Athanase David, because she was still the wife of the politician, minister, provincial secretary, who has often been credited with founding the OSM," she said.
PROGRESS STILL FRAGILE
Minister Roy also designated the founding of the Provincial Committee for Women's Suffrage as a historic event under the Cultural Heritage Act.
Her colleague responsible for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest, took advantage of the moment to recall the importance of wome's struggle throughout history.
"Let us take advantage of March 8 to highlight these advances, but also to appreciate their fragility," she said. "We must never let our guard down."
Standing alongside her, the president of the Conseil du statut de la femme, Me Louise Cordeau, added that March 8 is also a time to remember that we all have a role to play, by educating today's children to build a more equitable and egalitarian society.
Françoise David, who was president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec from 1994 to 2001, said she believes that the most important challenge facing women today is to achieve equality in intimate relationships.
"We look at feminicides, we look at all forms of violence against women -- I think we're going to have to take care of the intimate, of what happens in the relationships between men and women," she said.
"We have cultural changes to make."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 8, 2022.
