Marcel Ouimet was one of the giants of Canadian broadcast journalism. A pioneering newscaster, correspondent and senior executive for Radio-Canada, he was best known to millions of French-speaking Canadians for his dramatic and descriptive reports from landing beaches, battlegrounds and ruined towns throughout Italy and France during the Second World War.
"The French language was my father's passion—not only professionally, but also as an affirmation of his identity as a Canadian," says Paule Ouimet-Scott, one of Marcel and Jacqueline's three daughters. "Long before the idea of two official languages in our country took hold and became a legal fact, he believed fervently that French is a vital characteristic of our entire country and not one confined to a single province. He followed through on this belief as a Radio-Canada executive, opening stations in New Brunswick and throughout the West. He also taught my sisters and me every day the value of this beautiful language to our lives, careers and citizenship as Canadians."
Marcel Ouimet's profound influence lives on at the University of Ottawa. Paule created the Jacqueline and Marcel Ouimet Bursary to honour the legacy of this trailblazing broadcast journalist and champion of the French language in Canada, as well as that of his devoted life partner. The annual gift goes to an undergraduate student in the French program of the Department of Communication who demonstrates financial need and participates in the preparation of La Rotonde, the French-language student newspaper that Marcel co-founded at uOttawa in 1934.
Paule knows firsthand the power of private donations to fuel individual and organizational success. She worked for many years raising funds to enable the United Way, the Université de Montreal and the Canadian War Museum to achieve their goals and further their ambitions. Paule gives to uOttawa every year to support the scholarship in her parents' name. She also has structured her will to bequeath a sum that will endow the bursary permanently, ensuring that the memory of this Canadian broadcasting legend and his vivid voice resonates across this land for generations.
Extend the legacy of a loved one
Marcel Ouimet's deeply meaningful life inspired his daughter Paule to set up a bursary in the name of her beloved parents. She also has structured her will to bequeatha sum that will endow the bursary permanently.
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