Proud Franco-Ontarian, he is the first to have built bridges with Indigenous peoples and to raise awareness of the various issues facing their communities and the great wealth of their culture and traditional knowledge. He participated in and initiated numerous research projects with the First Peoples and he ensured that these initiatives worked in true partnership so that the needs and visions of the communities guided the decisions and orientations adopted by the research team. Working on reconciliation was a priority for him, long before it was written into the speeches of politicians.
He also helped to educate generations of activists committed to the cause of defending the rights of Franco-Ontarians. He was a real living encyclopedia of the history of the first Francophones who came to settle on the Ontario shores of the Ottawa River. His guided tours during the Social work week during which he shared his unlimited knowledge of the institutions and key moments in the history of Francophones in Ottawa were the key activity of the program and all the participants came away impressed and motivated to continue the struggle for the survival of the community.
Rest in peace, friend David. We already miss you. If Heaven exists, you are certainly there and we would be willing to bet that in the very near future, some people will regret having given you the keys which give access to it, because there is no doubt that you will find there political and social causes to defend with all the fervour that we know you. The established Order had better behave itself.
The School of Social Work team