It is inconceivable that of the 29 notable people who were entitled to a state-sponsored memorial at the time of their death, there are only two women in all of Quebec’s history – both former politicians.
That reality resurfaced this week with the death of the great Denise Bombardier.
Only one woman was entitled to a national funeral, and that was Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, the first woman elected to the National Assembly and a major feminist. A nationwide memorial service was held to mark the death of Lise Payette in 2018.
Prime Minister’s decision
The decision to grant the family a state funeral rests with the Prime Minister. It is not based on any objective criteria other than the missing person’s achievements and personality.
Long excluded from roles of power and from public space in general, women are increasingly taking their rightful place. A growing number of exceptional women from different backgrounds are also leaving their mark.
We could think of Thérèse Casgrain, a great women’s rights activist, the famous writer Anne Hébert, the surgeon Lucille Teasdale, the painter Marcelle Ferron or even the poet Michèle Lalonde, author of Speak White.
Do better in the future
In the case of Ms. Bombardier, this option was not considered by the Quebec government.
Of course, the wishes of Denise Bombardier’s family must be respected. Her husband, James Jackson, said on our site that she didn’t want “too much fuss and not too much spectacle” and that she would have liked the ceremony to be simple and without much pomp.
But we must still use it to acknowledge that the political authorities in our country have difficulty recognizing the contribution of many women in our society. And think about doing more and better in the future.
