Montréal, November 7, 2008. - On November 6, 2008 in Longueuil, Mtre Denis Roy, Chairman of the Commission des services juridiques proudly handed out the 2008 Robert-Sauvé Awards. The recipient of the General Public award was Sister Marie-Claire Bazinet, founder of the Centre de la famille des Hautes-Laurentides. The award in the Network award went to Mtre Bernard Bergeron, lawyer and Director of the Drummondville Legal Aid office.
Sister Marie-Claire Bazinet
During the early 1980s, while she was involved in volunteer action, Sister Marie-Claire Bazinet became painfully aware of the urgent need in her area for services exclusively targeting disadvantaged families. In 1986, she founded the Centre de la famille des Hautes-Laurentides, a non-profit organization committed to making a positive contribution to the wellness and personal development of parents and children. The organization offers educational parenting tools and a stimulating environment for children. For years, Sister Bazinet has been improving the daily lives of children and broadening their horizons. One of the many services provided is supervised visiting rights under the responsibility of Sister Bazinet, who also provides visit reports and testifies in court on a regular basis. Sister Marie-Claire Bazinet is unquestionably a fine example of devotion, leadership and love.
Mtre Bernard Bergeron
Mtre Bernard Bergeron has a solid reputation in criminal law, prison law and youth law. In addition to his demanding work as a lawyer, Mtre Bergeron has been involved in his local and professional community for over 30 years. He has sat on the boards of administration of various bodies such as La Bouée, Commun Accord, Le Refuge la Piaule du Centre-du-Québec and the Centre-du-Québec Crime Victims Assistance Centre. Mtre Bergeron was the past president of the Syndicats des avocats de l’aide juridique de la Côte-Nord et de la Mauricie – Bois-Francs. He was also past Secretary of the Fédération des avocats et avocates de l’aide juridique du Québec, and in 1998 he was elected President of the Arthabaska Bar for that year.
The Robert-Sauvé Award
The Commission des services juridiques created the Robert-Sauvé Award in order to recognize the exceptional contribution of two individuals to promoting the rights of the less fortunate. One prize is awarded to a person working outside the legal aid network (General Public award) and the other prize is awarded to a person working within Québec's legal aid network (Network award). The award is named after the first chairman of legal aid in Québec, The Honourable Robert Sauvé, chairman of the Commission des services juridiques from 1972 to 1977.
About the Commission des services juridiques
The Commission des services juridiques is the agency charged with applying the Legal Aid Act in Québec. Legal aid may be granted to anyone who is financially eligible, in order to cover various legal services involving civil, family, administrative or criminal matters or matters relating to youth law.
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Source:
Marie-Noëlle Trottier,
Information Officer
514 873-3562