Mayor Jim Watson and Alta Vista Ward Councillor Peter Hume have honoured Gilles LeVasseur with the Mayor’s City Builder Award, recognizing his many philanthropic contributions to the City of Ottawa including the work he has done for Ontario’s francophone community through his writings and volunteer work.
Gilles LeVasseur grew up in Ottawa’s Alta Vista area, a community with a significant number of francophone residents. As a francophone himself, he recognized the importance of defending, maintaining, and ensuring the quality of French language within our city.
Through his various professional and volunteer endeavours, LeVasseur has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments. As a lawyer and university professor of law, management and economics, LeVasseur is actively involved in files related to constitutional language rights in Canada. He is a member of both the Ontario and Quebec Bar Associations and has numerous university degrees. He is president of the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario and of the Regroupement des organismes du patrimoine franco-ontarien. He has published eight books, of which three directly address the situation of francophones in Ontario and Canada. For over 25 years, he has been an active member of key organizations working to promote the French language in Ontario and Canada. He received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for his contributions to the preservation of Franco-Ontarian heritage and the Queen’s Jubilee medal for his contributions to the Canadian Francophonie. He was also awarded the Séraphin Marion award for his outstanding contribution to the development of francophones outside Quebec.
Through his passion and dedication, Gilles LeVasseur has been instrumental, not only for the recognition of French language rights locally, but for his role provincially in safeguarding our Franco-Ontarian heritage.
The Mayor’s City Builder Award is a civic honour created by Mayor Watson to recognize an individual, group or organization that has, through outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action, demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making our city a better place today and for the future. This may include lifelong service, outstanding acts of kindness, inspiring charitable work, community building or other exemplary achievements. Individuals, groups or organizations may be nominated by members of City Council or the public.
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