The Deaf Ottawans Equals in Every Respect Awareness Campaign: A Year Later

The Deaf Ottawans Equals in Every Respect Awareness Campaign: A Year Later

Written by Cynthia Benoit and Audrey Beauchamp  

It has already been over a year since the Franco-Ottawan community’s Deaf Ottawans Equals in Every Respect awareness campaign.  

The goal of this campaign was to promote this community, which is often overlooked and is in fact a Deaf minority within a Francophone minority in Ottawa. As with all languages, LSQ does not stand on its own. It is an integral part of a culture, a community, a history and traditions. Understanding the uniqueness of Franco-Ottawan Deaf people comes down to understanding and fully grasping their history, as well as the importance of historic sites that have profoundly transformed their lives and their language. 

We introduced some Franco-Ontarian leaders who had directly or indirectly impacted the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the region. Among those leaders are:  

• The pioneers of the Franco-Ontarian deaf community, Roger St-Louis and Serge Brière; 
• The organizations serving this community, the Regroupement des parents et amis des entendants sourds et malentendants franco-ontariens (RESO) and the Consortium Centre Jules-Léger (CCJL); 
• Those involved in the art scene, including Jonathan Poulin-Desbiens and SPiLL.PROpagation; 
• Those involved in sports, including David Joseph, curler and Deaflympian; 
• The young Franco-Ottawan leaders, including Dimitri Jean-Paul, Marie-Josée Blier, and Imane Moussa. 

We have also developed a simple yet effective guide on how to become an ally to the Deaf community. To discover this guide, click here.
Please click on the names above to learn more about them and view their achievements and successes. 

This campaign couldn’t have been possible without the micro-grant from the Association of Francophone Communities of Ottawa’s grant program Bilingual Ottawa, funded by the Government of Canada.  

We would like to thank these individuals and organizations that have contributed from near and far to this awareness campaign, the only one of its kind.