Proud is one word to describe North Bay’s Franco-Ontarian community—an easy word to associate when you see the sea of white and green wash over downtown in waves during their annual parade, celebrating for the seventh year now, Franco-Ontarian Day and the 41st anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian Flag.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord (CSCFN) and the Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario (CSPNE) have joined during this celebration, along with local politicians for the flag-raising ceremony at North Bay City Hall on Friday—which saw hundreds of members of the community gather for the event.
Despite the chill of autumn in the morning, the spirit of the Franco-Ontarian crowd was warm and welcoming with singing and dancing.
Mayor Al McDonald said it was important to celebrate our Franco-Ontario heritage, especially with our population in the region who have such deep ties to the culture and history.
“In the region, we have an almost 30 per cent Francophone population and celebrate not only language but the culture and what our French community does for our whole community,” he said. “They’re tremendous ambassadors and have so many different events throughout the year.”
A great deal of pride comes from the fact that the green and white flag was born in North Bay, in 1975 by Gaétan Gervais, history professor, and Michel Dupuis, first-year political science student, both from Laurentian University
It was then officially recognized as the emblem of the Franco-Ontarian community in the Franco-Ontarian Emblem Act of 2001.
