On Friday, October 18th, at the 72nd Annual Banquet of « Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française " in Ottawa, Valérie Lapointe-Gagnon, professor at Faculté Saint-Jean, was awarded the "Prix de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec" for her book "Panser le Canada: Une histoire intellectuelle de la commission Laurendeau-Dunton ".
The book is about the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, commonly known as the "Laurendeau-Dunton Commission", which represented "a major national reconciliation undertaking to counteract what some observers of the day called the Canadian crisis, an undertaking where notions such as bilingualism, biculturalism, multiculturalism and a special status for Quebec were discussed. "
Professor Lapointe-Gagnon is only the second woman in the history of the award to receive this prestigious prize; she delivered a speech to more than 150 guests including Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, highlighting the need to encourage women's continued participation in areas such as political history where they are still underrepresented.
The purpose of the National Assembly of Québec Prize is to "promote the production of works related to the political history of French America that are essential for the quality, originality and rigor of historical research and by their accessibility to the general public". The prize is accompanied by a $ 3000 scholarship.
"Panser le Canada: Une histoire intellectuelle de la commission Laurendeau-Dunton" is published by Éditions Boréal and is available from all booksellers as well as from online shopping sites.