When I started this project, I had no preconceived ideas about the type of people I would meet. It was rather a desire to reach out to fellow citizens from different horizons that motivated me. It is in this spirit that I approached a young family enjoying ice cream on the benches of Fleury Street East on a sidewalk sales weekend. I introduced myself to them, looking for their eventual agreement, in the same manner I would have with other anonymous passersby seeming to have a little time for a chat and pictures.

The dark sunglasses of the parents, Michel and Olivier Anie Pascale, should probably have given me a hint about them. Perhaps some of you, more familiar with television productions than I am, would have recognized them. They are both career actors and both part of the distribution of popular series. I admit that I felt a little embarrassed to confess to them my ignorance about their achievements! Modestly, they hadn’t told me more. After a simple WEB query upon my return home, I found out that they have held several prominent roles in theater, in cinema and on TV. Anie Pascale is even a finalist for a Gémeau Award at the Gala to be held in September 2015!

Michel Olivier grew up in St-Sulpice district where his family lived until he turned 7 or 8 years old. He attended the Louis-Colin school. Today, he and Anie Pascale live in Ahuntsic with their children Clara-Rose and Rafaël.

I thank them all for their time and wish the parents a long presence on our screens.

Ginette is crazy. At least, this is what she replied when asked to describe herself in one word. An opinion to be verified!

I had casually walked into Le Reliquaire to see the latest arrivals of second hand goods. The store seemed more packed than the last time I had visited it, which possibly went back quite far in time. I asked the owner if, by any chance, the store had changed hands. The lady at his side replied that this was not the case, that he only had had his haircut. Alain, who actually had a shaved head, then exclaimed: "Wait, you're going to recognize me!” A moment later he reappeared with a blonde wig. I expressed the wish to take a picture, but it was rather the woman, Ginette, a regular customer of the place, who showed willingness to be photographed.

After chatting a bit, I learned that she was a native of Sault-au-Récollet, where her parents have been living for 51 years. She herself came back in the neighborhood three years ago for its atmosphere.

Just like me, she studied Graphic Design at Cégep Ahuntsic but did not complete the program. She had quit, carried away by love.

Today, she works in the same institution with people afflicted with serious intellectual disabilities. It may be her empathy for them that prompted her to declare herself mad...

Let’s say she may have a pinch of craziness, but mostly a lot of humanity!

About the residents of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and the neighbouring burroughs

Michel Olivier G., Anie-Pascale R. and their children

Ginette L.