Jean Dorion (born August 17, 1942) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, sociologist, and a

Quebec nationalist Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

leader. He is a past-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(SSJBM) and was the treasurer of the affiliated Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ). A

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

, he speaks six languages,"Deux histoires d'amour à savourer"
by Betty Achard, ''Madame Magazine'', October 2003, retrieved October 5, 2006 including

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, his wife's native language. He was elected as a member of parliament for the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

in the

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the 39th Canadian Parliament, previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General o ...

, in the riding of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher.

Biography

Starting in the 1960s, several years before the adoption of the

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

, Dorion was a vocal advocate of French language rights. He worked in the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

,"Intégration des immigrants : la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste s'inquiète des intentions du gouvernement Charest"
press release, CNW Telbec, June 8, 2003, retrieved October 2, 2006 first as political attaché for Minister of Immigration Jacques Couture, and later as Chief of Cabinet of Minister

Gérald Godin Gérald Godin (November 13, 1938 – October 12, 1994) was a Canadian poet and politician from Quebec. Born in Trois-Rivières, he worked as a journalist at '' La Presse'' and other newspapers and magazines. His most important poetry collec ...

when he held the responsibility of the application of the

. He was President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal from 1989 to 1994. Afterwards, he held the role of General Delegate for five and a half years at the General Delegation of Quebec in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He was returned to the post of President of the SSJBM in 2003, succeeding Guy Bouthillier. Dorion stated that Quebec's Bill 21 which prevents public servants with authority from wearing religious symbols is aimed at Muslims and other religious minorities. Dorion avowed that the CAQ's secular charter exploits 'petty prejudices' against immigrants to Quebec, and that 'I totally disagree with

he Bloc Québécois He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

on that point.'

Private life

In August 1989, on a stroll through

Old Montreal Old Montreal (, ) is a historic List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood within the List of municipalities in Quebec, municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is b ...

, Dorion met Hiromi, a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese tourist looking for directions. She was then living in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

city of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, completing a doctoral thesis in nursing science. Speaking some Japanese, he guided her in her native language and charmed her. She learned French and moved to Montreal on June 23, 1990, in time to witness, two days later, one of the biggest and most famous

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional feast day of the Na ...

parades in history (after the end of the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord () was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial Premier (Canada), premiers. It was intended to ...

). They were married on May 4, 1991. Five children were born from this union. The children follow Saturday courses to complete their Japanese culture and speak Japanese at home.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorion, Jean 1942 births Bloc Québécois MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Politicians from Montreal Presidents of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada